. . . Well, at least “the sound and the entomological” (one of these is a close-up of a bug). I’ve composed some short filmstrips, below, of the following abstractions from the folio assignment which employ the sound imagery that some of these students chose as abstractions which accessed senses other than sight.

Note: The first film has the soundtrack which I believe was intended to be associated with the first set of images, but I thought it also worked well for the second series. Is there a principle or element of design which would have caused me to think that this was a good idea? If so, why? Also, these sound images were not annotated in the assignments, so I had to guess if they were actually meant to be paired with the image series that I chose. Do you believe I guessed correctly? Build me a case for why you believe I might have been wrong, or right.

Here are some examples of the various abstractions developed in the “Folio Assignment”, utilising found objects. (the original source photograph is posted before the abstraction.

Talk about these solutions in terms of the principles and elements of design.

Compare and contrast these choices in terms of their communication of the source photo. Are some more successful than others? Why? Have your fellow classmates arrived at similar solutions? What could be done to push the solution farther?

OK, just to reiterate, Here are the things that I’ll expect you to turn in next week. (You may want to do all the work first, and then do all the mounting at the end, in one swoop, so you don’t run out of illustration board in the middle of the night):

1. An “actual size” , black and white, illustration of the repeat of your original print, mounted on illustration board, 14″x14″

2. 3 separate COLOR illustrations of your print, each illustration in a different colorway, and reduced to 7″x7″, mounted on illustration board which is 8 1/2″x11″

3. 30 concept drawings of dress designs, utilizing the yard of printed fabric you will purchase from one of the dollar stores in the fabric district. These should be drawn in graphite, on 8 1/2″x11″ computer paper. Remember, “30 concept drawings” does not mean 30 different ideas. It means, maybe, 6 ideas, each with 5 different applications, each one applied to a different dress. Also, remember, if it can be a top, it can also be a dress.

4. A color illustration of one of your dresses from your 30 concept drawings, 8 1/2″x11″, with figure and flats, and the print from your fabric rendered to scale.

5. Your Merchandising plan should be accompanied by a collage (read the collage treatise) that illustrates your theme for the junior market. Your merchandising plan should be about a half a page, with a fabric swatch, and three paragraphs, all mounted on 8 1/2″x11″ illustration board in an organized composition:

Paragraph #1: Your Customer’s Profile - a description of the GROUP of people you are targeting, what they like to do, how much money they have to spend, how they make a living, etc.

Paragraph #2: This is your Demand Analysis. Based on your research in the market, (hit the mall) identify the demands in your market that promise continued popularity, are about to wane or die, those demands which are going entirely unsatisfied, as well as those which you can reasonably anticipate (Hypothetically, “This spring they will be releasing a Gwen Stefani film where she plays a madame in 1930’s Shanghai, so we can anticipate a desire for chinoiserie in the junior market”) .

Paragraph #3: Your Marketing Strategy - Once you’ve identified the demands in your market “Wow! no one is selling sexy clothes in the junior market!” then, talk about how you intend to satisfy the demands that you have identified, by constructing a theme. “Since no one is selling sexy clothes, and we’ve over-dosed on dusty colors and cowboy looks this season, and tailored looks don’t seem to be going away, then maybe really tight, neon-electric, “disco” satin, with chinese embellishments, could be very successful for us”.

6. Although you aren’t turning them in, remember to research 3 trends in your journal, find 3 fabrics or trims that illustrate those trends, put them in your textile books, and read Chapter 2. There will be a quiz next week.