Bronwyn Boltwood, Circa 2010
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Rebranding Proposal for Caliber
May 7, 2010 May 14, 2010 | Wyn
This was our last project for graphic design, and was due after our studio project, so truthfully most of the work was done in one day, although the logo ideas had been brewing for most of a week. I was one of perhaps three people in the class of twentysomething who did NOT present initials or logotypes. This is what happens when the professor gives a due date after the studio due date: everyone is half-dead already and feels lucky to have come up with anything to hand in at all.
I had noticed that the owner Claudie St-Arnaud liked playful designs from the inspiration file she sent us, and so I created visual puns, used bright colours, and chose more rounded, friendly sans-serif fonts. There are indeed gun/bullet references: a very typographical bullet from a C and an asterisk, and another logo that clips a section of a woodcut-style illustration of a revolver until it looks almost abstract.
The best way to see the work is to go see the slideshow (opens in new window) at my Flickr account.
Anand Kabra Fusion Couture
For our retail studio, we were given a 4600 sq. ft. leasehold (mall or streetfront as appropriate), and asked to find a cutting-edge international fashion designer and create a boutique for them. This was a special challenge for me, because I have never been interested in fashion because most haute couture is so unwearable on my frame. I looked at designers from Korea and India especially, and settled on Anand Kabra as my designer of choice. The boutique's design was to reflect the future direction of our designer's three most prominent design elements. In my programming, I analyzed Kabra's past work, the characteristics and demographics of my King's Road site in Chelsea, London UK, and the needs of the store.
See the programming report (PDF 9mb).
Infographics — Class Profile
April 12, 2010 May 13, 2010 | Wyn
For Project Management 1, we needed to survey the class and create infographics for favourite activity, languages spoken, and favourite colour. Having read some Edward Tufte, I thought this was good fun, aside from the surveying part, so I made a deal with a classmate that I'd do some proofreading, and she would survey people.
Here are the results:
Swiss House
March 5, 2010 May 15, 2010 | Wyn
This project is the culmination of a semester spent learning 3D Studio Max, the most complicated and option-infested program I have ever used, and that's saying something. We learned basic modelling, some of the available modifiers, lighting, and texturing. Our teacher was, by his own admission, relatively new to 3D Studio Max, so I taught myself quite a lot beyond the lecture material, using the help files and internet tutorials.
The project set:
Download the model (3DS Max file, 14mb).
The Tesla
Step inside the Tesla, and step sideways in time to visit a world where steam technology is common, but so are clockwork cybernetics and aetheric transference of matter not only to other continents but other universes. Dance under the light of a forty-foot high array of plasma lamps and drink absinthe or phlogiston cocktails. Step into a steampunk world where history, technology, fantasy, adventure, and mad science mingle.
The Tesla is the fruit of my hospitality studio project, where I was asked to program, plan, and develop a five-star themed venue with restaurant, nightclub, and exhibition space, in a major city anywhere in the world but North America. The concept had to be cutting-edge, integrate modern technology throughout, and cause guests to be educated as well as entertained by their visit. And so, given license to do anything I wanted, no matter how wild so long as it was commercially plausible, I decided that I wanted to do something steampunk. I'm a life-long science fiction and fantasy fan, and even more so for alternate history, especially with fantastical elements. Steampunk hits every one of those buttons and then some, because I also love Victorian tools and Art Nouveau, and steampunk covers them too. If I was going to design a club, it was going to be one that I wanted to attend.
Full Bloom Children's Center
November 19, 2009 May 18, 2010 | Wyn
Full version coming soon! In the meantime, here's a teaser from my print portfolio:
Loft Full of Curves
See the work:
Work-Research binder for the Loft Full of Curves (PDF, 3 mb)
Final CAD drawings of the loft (AutoCAD 2004 DWG file, 254 kb)
Client booklet and renderings on Flickr:
The loft full of curves is the result of our Design Project I course. The goal was a from-the-bare-concrete renovation for a Westboro loft apartment. The client was John Spencer, a senior designer at William McDonough + Partners. As a single man in his 40s, he needed space to live, work, and entertain, but wanted to avoid walls. He insisted on at least 30% sustainable materials, enjoyed transparent materials, and hoped for minimal use of colour, and space to display his art collection. Continue reading →
Lilivoltaiq, or Nature as Structure
This was a group project with Chantelle Hamilton and Maryam Aghajani. The point was to design a structure with 7m or more clear span, based on a natural structure. We chose lilypads, specifically the Victoria Amazonica, which is strong enough to hold up small children. We called our structure Lilivoltaiq because it is a solar collector in addition to being a floating pavilion that can be used for picnics or enjoying views over the water. Continue reading →
Eileen Gray Exhibit
One of our professors had us do a poster and invitation for an exhibit of Eileen Gray's works, and a rug design based on hers. Even though this was the last assignment of our monochrome term, our professor invited us to pick a signature colour for the assignment. Myself, I like red.
I did my typesetting and layout in Indesign CS2, since I wanted some precise effects with colours and overlaps that I couldn't do by hand. The typeface is Futura. The illustrations of Gray's pieces are all done by hand, as was the assembly. Oh, the scent of rubber cement in the morning. Continue reading →
2D Monochrome Graphic Design
September 20, 2007 May 14, 2010 | Wyn
This group of items are from an assignment doing monochrome graphic design. The "lines" item suggested a plaid to me, so that's what I did. The black stripes are paper, and it was very hard to cut and glue 1/16″ inch strips accurately. I deliberately threw the black/white balance off-center in this one too. Bob kept this for the next CIDA review, so my attempt at asymmetrical balance was clearly working.
The boxes pieces came out better than I would have expected since I have never had much of a feel for abstract art. Like the plaid, it's off-center and balanced at the same time. Bob kept this one for CIDA too.
It is surprisingly difficult to paint straight lines and sharp corners accurately. I should have borrowed a trick from Candace and masked them off with painter's tape.
This marker sketch of a seashell was done as a preliminary stage for the organic pattern, which didn't come out as well as I would have liked it to.
me@bronwynboltwood.com
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