å Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

Response
I enjoyed collaborating with my group (Neula & Gabby) on the tool montage project. It was interesting to see the different directions our thoughts would go in when we created the mind maps because some of my partners thoughts and ideas were things that I would never have thought of. As we each took turns creating thumbnails for our pairings it was interesting to see what they came up with for an image and it was fun testing my creativity when it was my turn to create an thumbnail.

Mind Map

25 Tool Combinations & 10 Choices

Thumbnail Examples

I am interested in Graphic design because I love being able to edit photos and videos and draw attention to certain details within them. Recently this summer I started hiking and exploring many of the mountains here in good old New Hampshire, and some of the sights that I saw were incredible. I loved tinkering in Photoshop with these photos and cropping them, burning the edges, changing and altering the exposure and doing things to them that distorted what the viewer saw. I also love to draw and I would take a sketchbook up on top of those mountains and sketch the areas around me so that I could later bring it back down and create something on my computer. Personally, I am interested into any kind of animated design elements. I love magazine designs that really pop off the page, and I think they are examples of utility designs.

Part of the reason I love Graphic Design so much is because the possibilities are endless. The term “Graphic Design” covers such a wide arrange of areas itself and there is a vast array of concepts. Graphic Design is the new era. The age of painters and sculptures is slowly losing its’ appeal because we are entering into this wave of technology. There is so much that is being made possible in terms of art because of technology, and I’m looking forward to exploring those boundaries within this class.

I love this image because it represents the new wave of art that is upon us. Technology is exposing artists to new concepts every day, and allowing them to take their creations to new heights. This picture is an example of that height.

http://peterharriscreative.com

I think this website also helps to represent the new age that we are in and the importance of Graphic Design.

My response to this project would be that it was time consuming however very therapeutic. Once I got focused I was in the zone, nothing could stop me! This project challenged my artist and creative abilities. My 10 choices were difficult to choose as I felt that all my possible 25 combinations could have been chosen as they were all strange and unique. I notice that I took all my objects and combined them literally; instead of doing that I need to not take it as literally and be more creative.

Mind Map:

Possible Combinations:

1. lightening + cows
2. Pills +hammer
3. Plants +stomach
4. Ladder+ thumb
5. Crabby Patty+ muscles
6. Apple + sponge
7. Sneakers + tape
8. Sun + marshmallows
9. Eggs + screws
10. Cell phone + bowl
11. Keys + sun
12. Tree + lightbulb
13. Kids + toothbrush
14. World+ scissors
15.  Hangers+ shapes
16. Water + nails
17. Coat +  sink
18. spoon+ rope
19. tv + toilet paper
20. Pots + keyboard
21. Antenna + buttons
22. Letters + mouse
23. Shelf + needles
24. Film  + brick
25. Piano +baseball

My 10 Choices:

Lightening+ Cows: Lightening and Cows don’t overlap at all the fun part about this combination is that lightening is a shocking event and a cow is just our producers hanging out in a field.

Pills + Hammer: Pills and a hammer, one object you digest and the other object you use, so this is a funny thumbnail to draw.

Plants + Stomach: Plants and stomach, plants have the ability to grow and change and a stomach is weird looking and it breaks down foods.

Ladder + Thumb: A ladder and a thumb is fun to draw because thumbs are weird and a ladder is basic. The idea of how I could combine these two is going to be interesting.

Apple + Sponge: An apple is a fruit and a sponge absorbs liquids, you can eat an apple however you can’t eat a sponge, so it was strange to draw

World + Scissor: The world give you the ability to draw it in many different ways and the scissor is a basic tool.

Coat + Sink: A coat keeps you warm and a sink cleans your dishes, so something you wear and something that you use.

Letters + Mouse : Many letters are in the alphabet and a mouse could be a computer mouse or an actually mouse, so that gives me more range within this thumbnail

Hanger + Shapes: A hanger holds close and a shape can be an irregular object of a regular shaped object, should be fun to see how those to connect

Shelf + Needles: A shelf holds things and a needle is sharp and can hurt, both are completely opposite from each other.

A few of my favorite Thumbnails:

Response
I found this assignment to be very insightful into how much work goes into figuring out the sketch or idea of your design. I enjoyed doing the thumbnails the most. I found some of the combinations to be quite funny and complicating to create.

Group Mind Map

Tool Combinations
1. World Mouse– I thought this would be fun, because I thought of a ton of different designs for it when I combined them.
2. Vodka Balloon
3. Fluffy Weight
4. Skinny Ants
5. Skinny Tea
6. Twisted Vodka– I immediately thought of a cool bottle for this design logo.
7. Chubby Belt
8. Screw Pedals
9. Stress Bracelet
10. Sail Shoes
11. Bike Ball
12. Cake Tea– I thought I would draw this, because I have never heard of cake flavored tea.
13.  Pen Nails– I love to do quick math on the table with my fingers. Why not be able draw with them?
14. Sweaty Bulb
15. Medicine Detective
16. Chocolate Bee
17. Electric Flowers
18. Spy Shoes– I chose this one because I thought it would be easy to design rocket shoes, sticky shoes…etc.
19. Plastic Sky
20. Electric Pen– I instantly thought of how cool a pen would be if you could speak into it and tell it what to put on the paper.
21. Boob Phone
22. Poop Cookie– Honestly, my friend told me to do this one.
23. Gun Prostitute– I thought of Austin Powers the movie and the robot seducing girls that had guns in their boobs.
24. Cyber Vacuum– I chose this one because the two work pretty well together. I thought every boy or girl needs something in their computer to instantly delete their history before their mother finds it.
25. Alarm Chair– I put these two together and just thought it would be a cool invention to have a chair that wakes you up after a quick nap before class.

Sample Thumbnails

Twisted Vodka

Cyber Vacuum 

World Mouse

My Response:

This activity was a lot of fun! I’ve never really created a mind map like this before but it really gets the brain flowing with unimaginable ideas! Its interesting how one word leads to another and how they branch off of each other. This is a cool concept and I think it will really help with other activities and predicts in the future while brainstorming! It also really shows how you think as an individual and how we all have our own ideas and way of thinking.

My Mind Map:

My 25 Pairs:

1. Yellow + Sunflower
2. Fall + Trees
3. Wood + Door
4. Metal + Arm
5. Blue + House
6. Pencil + Tip
7. Eyes + Green
8. World + Big
9. Leg + Long
10. Box + Wood
11. Spaghetti + Pencil
12. Soil + Body
13. Tool + House
14. Hand + Limbs
15. Taxi + Restaurant
16. Finger + Tool
17. World + Eyes
18. Body + Spaghetti
19. Sunflower + Hammer
20. Door + Eyes
21. Finger + Trees
22. Tree + Arm
23. Pencil + Trees
24. Nail + People
25. Finger + Pencil

My 10 Choices:

1. Tree + Leg: I thought this combination would be fun to draw because I could draw a leg somewhat like a tree stump and transform it into a tree and it would look interesting.
2. World +Box: This one was cool but simple because I just drew a box with the world inside of it but I wanted to make it look interesting.
3. Body + Spaghetti: I thought this one would be fun because I would just draw a person with a spaghetti-like body.
4. Door + Eyes: I just thought a door with eyes on it would look really mysterious and interesting…
5. Finger + Pencil: This one was somewhat similar to the Tree + Leg choice I did because I was simply just going to draw the tip of the finger and have it morph into the end of a pencil.
6. Metal + Arm: This one is boring because while I was creating the mind map I completely forgot the fact that I was drawing the thumbnails with sharpie and that you can’t see color or texture, which is why my mind map has so many colors and different elements on it.
7. Tool + House: I thought that a house made of tools would be interesting because you need tools to build a house, so a house made of tools would just be weird.
8. Sunflower + Hammer: I had the idea that I could have the hammer looking like it was about to hit something but have the flat part as the center of the sunflower.
9. Taxi + Restaurant: Just a taxi that looks like a restaurant. Nothing too cool.
10. Spaghetti + Pencil: I thought drawing a pencil that was all squiggly like spaghetti would be fun so that’s why I made that combination.

Thumbnails:

I really enjoyed doing this project because it really made me think of how i could make two completely unrelated things into a single thing. I had to be very creative coming up with the pairings and drawing them was challenging but also fun. I had never made a mind map before so it was kind of interesting to see different things that people associate with other things.

25 pairs

Phone book+Leaves
Moon+Money
Bank+Glasses
Lawnmower+Phone
Eyes+Camera
Teeth+Skater
Leash+Hand
Mountain+Party
Bunny+Camera
Astronaut+Laptop
Shoes+Plants
President+Tent
Trees+Jacket
Guitar+Hair
Chemistry+Contacts
Eyes+Family
Water+Money
Moon+Run
Planets+Grass
Sprinkler+Stars
Teeth+Test Tube
Cane+Vault
Shoes+Flag
Phone+Cake
Pickaxe+Headphones

10 pairs used

Phone book+Leaves- I felt like i could make phone books fall from the trees like leaves do and change the color of them like it was autumn.
Lawnmower+Phone- I thought it would be funny to have a phone using a lawnmower and make it like the phone screen is its face and it has arms and legs.
Leash+Hand- I was thinking about making a hand on a leash and maybe have an animal walking it or something to make it seem like it was an alternate universe.
Mountain+Party- Instead of humans partying, why not have mountains come to life and throw a party?
Shoes+Plants- I was thinking maybe have a plant wearing shoes or a plant growing out of a shoe as if it were a planter.
Tree+Jacket- Whats more fun than a tree wearing a shirt? A tree wearing a jacket.
Guitar+Hair- I wasn’t too sure if i wanted a guitar to have hair or have a person to have hair made out of small guitars. Either way it would be very cool.
Sprinkler+Stars- I think it would funny to have a star running through a sprinkler on the sun or something.
Shoes+Flag- I was thinking of just having a whole bunch of different shoes attached to a flag pole and making it into a big shoe flag.
Pickaxe+Headphones- I thought it would be funny to have a pickaxe using a pickax while listening to music in headphones.

Thumbnails:

Mountain+Party                                 Guitar+Hair                                    Phone+Lawnmower

I was very intrigued by this project. I thought it provided an opportunity for all three group members to be creative, both collective and individually. My group members and I enjoyed going around in a circle and coming up with the first word that popped into our heads and then comparing it to the original word, which was “tool”. Some of our trails of words had nothing to do with tools at all. We found this incredibly entertaining. I think that this assignment is a great way to warm up a person’s thought process and prepare for a more demanding art project, or even just a fun activity to do on an afternoon.

This is one of the three mind maps that my group and I created.

25 Possible Tool Combinations:

1. Radio Cat
2. Paper Sandwich
3. Paper Phone
4. Baby Hammer
5. Shoe Phone
6. Bubble Phone
7. James Dean Glitter
8. Kid Crafts
9. Beam Machine
10. Glitter Machine
11. Music Helmet
12. Bubble Bike
13. Needle Posters
14. Needle Nail Polish
15. Truck Clothes
16. Foam Finger Mittens
17. Ladder Umbrella
18. Superhero Salsa
19. Pop Dig
20. Glitter Kids
21. Sandwich Glitter
22. Airhorn Bubble
23. Poster Vase
24. Bottle Workout
25. Tree Teeth

My Top Ten:

1. Music Helmet: a bike helmet with built in speakers
2. Bubble Bike: an aerodynamic shield that surrounds a bicycle enabling the rider to go faster
3. Truck Clothes: a drapery for vehicles that protect them from the elements
4. Foam Finger Mittens: mittens in the shape of foam fingers
5. Ladder Umbrella: an umbrella that connects to the top of a ladder to keep the rungs dry
6. Needle Posters: posters with pre-cut holes that make tacking  them on the walls easier
7. Air-Horn Bubble: an airhorn that blows bubbles
8. Tree Teeth: an all natural tooth brush for mountaineers
9. Glitter Machine: a machine that dispenses glitter at parties
10. Baby Hammer: a petite hammer made for smaller hands

Some of my Sketches:

Glitter Machine

Baby Hammer

Tree Teeth

Airhorn Bubble

Truck Clothes

Needle Posters

Ladder Umbrella

Foam Finger Mittens

This project challenged me to find realistic combinations while still being creative. Many of the words that we had were actions or concepts instead of tools so this limited the options. It was interesting to see how other people think when making the mind maps.

25 Possible Tool Combinations
1) Lipstick- Carrot
2) Candy-Teeth
3) Balloon-Water gun
4) Wine Glass- Money
5) Mittens- light
6) Rose-umbrella
7) Pickle-fishing pole
8) Skates- Ladder
9) Hand-Boat
10) Pineapple- Vase
11) Book- tree
12) Bottle- dinosaur
13) Guitar- Nail polish
14) Needle- bubble
15) Shoe-cat
16) Football-screw
17) Popcorn-glue
18) Wheel-bubble
19) Gasoline-shoe
20) Popcorn-Bubble wrap
21) Ice-Star
22) Bunny-Mitten
23) Movie-money
24) Garden-Bike
25) Rock-Pineapple

My top ten choices:

• Pineapple-Vase: These tool objects have similar shapes so they will be more likely to look realistic when they are put together.
• Rose-Umbrella:I always see roses with little dew droplets on them and I think a rose would make a great umbrella for a little mouse.
• Gasoline-Shoe: I think of shoes as a form of transportation, almost like a car, so it would make sense to fuel up the shoe.
• Guitar-Nail polish: I love listening to music and doing my nails, so why not combine them into one object?
• Ice-Star: Many Hollywood stars fade over time and are forgotten almost like a melting star.
• Lipstick-Carrot: The pigment part of lipstick reminds me of a carrot popping out of the ground.
• Hand-Boat: When you cup your hand it has the shape of a boat.
• Book-Tree: Books are made out of tree so it would make sense to combine the two of them into one object.
• Dinosaur-Bottle: Bottles and dinosaur necks are similar. Dinosaurs were my favorite growing up so it would be fun to work with them.
• Football-Screw: Footballs fly in a corkscrew pattern so it would be fun to put a screw’s threads on the football.

Thumbnails

Thoughts
I found this project very interesting. This is really my first experiences with mind mapping. Taking objects from my mind map and combining them was both exciting, but challenging. I found  it difficult to create pairings that I could incorporate and create multiple designs for, but it gave me the opportunity to think outside the box and get really creative.

Mind Map

This was my Mind Map.

Tool Combinations

1. Mouse + x-acto knife= X-Acto Mouse
2. Chainsaw + Sandpaper= Sandsaw
3. Hammer + T-Square= Thammer
4. MAC + Sheet Protector= Mactector
5. Screwdriver + Screws= Screw’d
6. Grappling Hook + Bike= Brapple
7. Computer + Printer= Comprinter
8. Car + Utility Knife= Utility Car
9. Book + Keyboard= Book Board
10. Grill + Truck= Barbecue Drive- In
11. Mouse + Shifter= Mouster
12. Cutting Mat + Shelf= Cutshelf
13. Gasoline + Chainsaw= Chainline
14. 2X4 + Ruler= 2 by Ruler
15. Helmet + Computer= Commuter
16. Hammer + Nails= Nailer
17. Car + Bookcase= Read ‘n’ Go
18. Cutting Mat + Utility Knife= Utilimat
19. Crowbar + Filer= Crowfiler
20. Steering Wheel + Crowbar= Steerbar
21. Grappling Hook + Harness= The Hooker
22. Sander + Filer= The Smoother
23. Deck + Grill= DeRill
24. Training Wheels + Screwdriver= Screw Wheels
25. Mouse Pad + Cutting Mat= Mouse Mat

Chosen Ten
X-Acto Mouse
This would be interesting because it would be very useful for graphic designer’s since they usually use x-acto knives to mount their artwork and incorporating a mouse with it since they constantly use computers, obviously.
Sandsaw
I thought this would be fun to do because I could see it being a very useful object and there are a lot of different ways to combine these to objects together.
Thammer
This concept was on of the more simpler ones because both a hammer and a t-square have a similar shapes and wasn’t really difficult to design.
Screw’d
I thought this one was very practical and usually when you need to screw something you need a screwdriver and screws. Putting two in one makes it very handy.
Comprinter
I would honestly buy one of these if they actually exsisted. It makes the hassle of having to have a computer and a printer simpler and could possibly be used on the go.
Utility Car
I thought this one was fun because there were so many options for design. It was two different objects you would not usually see together.
Barbecue Driver-In
This one was a lot of fun because when people go tail-gating and have to bring a  grill, instead have the grill built in.
Mouster
This would be fun because it could be made to just an exterior design or have an actual use for it.
Commuter
I really like how catchy this name is. This is a cool concept. Instead of having to worry about holding your phone you have the internet on the top of your head.
The Hooker
This one would be fun to do because it is a really cool idea and seems like having a grappling hook on a harness would make it the easiest way you didn’t loose it.

Thumbnails

This photo was the best quality I could get. I do not have an Iphone/ smartphone or camera/

Response
This project was very enjoyable. Getting together with fellow classmates to create the mind-maps was fun and using the ideas generated from them to create thumbnails was a very fast way to generate decent ideas. The thumbnail sheet was very useful, a small space to draw in forces you to only focus on the important details of the image.

Mind-map

Tool Combos (red=the 10 combos I drew, blue=unused)

1. Clock + Eye — Grandfather clock with an eye instead of clock face, or an eye with a clock instead of cornea.
2. Diamonds + Dogs — Dogs with diamond strong teeth, or royal diamond dogs.
3. Sign + Pyramid
4. Trees + Fuel
5. Board + Flowers
6. Socks + Money
7. Cable + Plane
8. Football + Ella Fitzgerald
9. Feet + Shell
10. Ship + Coal
11. Cacti + Treasure
12. Cards + Gems — Cards made of gems or a card game using gems. Just a nice card game perhaps.
13. VHS + Earbuds
14. Ocean + Rock
15. Sun + Golf — I imagine super powerful deities would enjoy playing golf with the sun.
16. Chocolate + Wrench
17. Turkey + Car
18. Uniform + Grass — Thought of ghillie suits that snipers use. Also grass that is uniformly cut.
19. Smoke + Plane — Some sort of anti-smoking plane or plane made out of smoke.
20. Time + Shoes
21. Robot + Nukes — Basically just a badass super weapon. Robots are really fun to draw, but doing the thumbnails was hard.
22. Stereo + Headphones — Thought of headphones that play outwards rather than into your ears.
23. Bolts + Zipper
24. Headband + Hardhat — Would be very useless for actually protecting your head.
25. Bread + Chips — I’ve always wondered why there aren’t many bread flavored/shaped chips out there…

Favorite Thumbnails

Clock + Eye                                      Stereo + Headphones                              Smoke + Plane

My organized collection of images is in dropbox: GD_todd_gaunt –> ToolMontage –> Pictures