Art and Inspiration

Last week was busy as I spent one afternoon at Vivid Interiors and another touring Weatherspoon Art Gallery on the campus of UNC Greensboro. Ironically enough, I graduated from UNCG in December 2005, and not once in the four years I spent going to school there did I walk through Weatherspoon. After my visit last week, I’m wishing I’d checked it out sooner, especially since I spent so much time on campus! The purpose for visiting last week was to garner inspiration for the Bienenstock Furniture Library Design Competition this fall.

 

Weatherspoon Art Gallery – UNC Greensboro Campus – Greensboro, NC

 

Upon entry to the gallery, you find yourself in a rounded atrium as shown above. The daylight streams down from above to offer light into the center of the building, while you may or may not notice the plaster frieze carved into the walls encircling your head. I was struck at having not noticed the carvings until the curator pointed it out to me. The blend of art and wall was so seamless, it almost went unnoticed! Further, as your eye moves up you see the windows of the second floor galleries, which also benefit from the daylight coming in.

Weatherspoon Gallery Lobby – Note the plaster frieze located below the second-floor windows.

 

After getting over the awesome plasterwork in the lobby, I wandered down the hall where I checked out this piece. While the object of the trip was not necessarily to focus on the art itself, how could I help but check this out?! The piece was created from wood, burlap and resin, titled “DYBY” by artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. I think that I most appreciated the location the gallery chose for this interesting work. Just imagine walking by on the sidewalk outside the window…I know I would have to go in and check out. Which actually makes it inspiration after all, since a goal for design of any “human experience” space is to get people in the door.

 

“DYBY” (1993) – Magdalena Abakanowicz – wood, burlap & resin

Finding my way to the second floor of the gallery, I was taking note of all the interior details from wall placement to lighting and even where seating was offered. Down the long corrider leading to exhibition galleries, was a painting with a linear light fixture hanging parallel to the work and the long window allowing daylight to stream in overhead. I was inspired by the rhythm created by the similar linear elements and imagined what it would be like to view the painting at night, given the contrast that would likely be present in the darkness overhead.

 

In continuing through the gallery considering what might inspire the gallery I’ll be designing for Bienenstock, I found an interesting sculptural exhibit placed in front of a curved half-wall. While I took in the curve, I immediately noticed there was space around back and I had to know what might be back there. It felt a bit like a great surprise might be waiting on the other side. Not to be disappointed a different sculpture from the same series was there. Using a wall to separate the pieces allows you to consider them individually and maintains a clean look within the gallery and freedom from distraction.

This curving half-wall is what I decided would inspire some areas of my gallery. I appreciate simplicity and clean line very much in design and feel like it would be advantageous in a gallery exhibiting multiple types of art, as well as allowing the gallery to showcase many works without it feeling cluttered. Below is my concept sketch for doing a few “S” curve walls throughout the art gallery I’m designing. This should allow for sculpture, or even some multimedia works to be exhibited within the curve. I also think that many folks will, like me, wonder…”what’s on the other side.”

 

Concept Sketch – “S” curve display – Joy Rich

 

 

Life in Vivid Color

Being a design student has some great perks, one of which is getting to meet with some amazing members of the interior design industry. Last week, along with my classmates I got to visit Vivid Interiors, a design firm in downtown Greensboro, NC. Gina Hicks is an alum of Randolph Community College’s Interior Design program and she partners with Laura Mensch to run Vivid Interiors. Listening to Gina discuss her love for design and her passion for running her business was inspiring. She provided us a lot of insider knowledge regarding how to set up and pursue small business ownership, along with building client relationships.

 

Photo: Katie – Twinstripe.com

 

Their business is made up of design services for both residential and commercial clients, showroom design for furniture manufacturers and retail. Products in their store include custom upholstery made in North Carolina, along with local art and other home decor items. The space is eclectic and vibrant, and I could have spent all day hanging out there. I’m looking forward to dropping by on occasion to see what fun designs they come up with next!

 

Our Class, Instructors Holly & Addie, along with Vivid Owners Gina & Laura

 

Residential Renovation

My residential design course over the summer allowed me the opportunity to design for the Woodwards. Holly and Mark live in High Point, NC with their sweet dogs Dash & Lillie. After ten years in their 1930’s bungalow home, they’ve decided to stay forever. In order to allow them to live and work in their home for as long as possible, I was asked to provide ideas for modifying their home so it would be accessible, as they age in place. The couple also requested the home be expanded to include a master en suite bath, an additional bedroom, main floor laundry and a garage. Adding to the challenge, I was asked to apply a Bohemian aesthetic to their home, while including a few select furnishings and works of art that are sentimental.

Woodward Residence – High Point, NC

 

My overall concept for the space was to keep the color palette fairly neutral, using textures and layers to provide depth and comfort. Holly and Mark are fun people who enjoy entertaining in their home, so I chose to use turquoise blues and rust hues as accents. Finally, mixing and matching vintage and new furnishings instills a casual and collected vibe that fits the Bohemian approach.

In order to open the space for easy movement throughout the home, I took down the cased opening between the living and dining area and most of the wall between the kitchen and dining. The dining banquette is tucked into built-in bookshelves on a deep turquoise blue accent wall. My goal was to provide a dining area that felt a bit more intimate in the midst of the open floor plan.

The kitchen is my favorite spot in the redesign of this house. The butcher block kitchen island is the workhorse in the space, with an extra prep sink and a pull-out countertop on the side. Making sure there are work surfaces at different heights allows the couple to transition in their home. Also, I added a dog crate in the island for Lilly who needs a safe spot of her own when Holly and Mark aren’t home with her. The draperies hung from rods secured to the ceiling offer another textural element and help to soften all the hard lines that exist in a kitchen.

Getting to work on the Woodward residence was a great experience. Learning to balance what a client wants in terms of style and blending that with functionality for aging in place was a challenge. My hope is that I provided some options that will allow them to enjoy their home with their four-legged kids for as long as possible.

The Waiting Game

During the summer, I completed both a design for the nurses’ station of a women’s health office, along with a logo. This was part 1 of a 2-part project, that would conclude with designing the waiting room for the office. Overall, the goal was to achieve a design that utilized sustainable finishes that were also anti-microbial, while at the same time keeping an organic and soothing feel. Most of us have gone to the doctor, and can, therefore, relate to the feelings of anxiety that occasionally go along with it. So, my overall design plan was to evoke a feeling of peace and keep the space simple, to avoid over-stimulation. I chose a color palette inspired by Wink Gaines’ photo, “Sandhill Crane” (www.winkgainesphoto.com). The warm whites and soft browns combined with cool blue felt comfortable, like the colors you’d find on a private beach.

 

Logo Design

Nurses’ Station

 

 

Designing the waiting room for this facility was part 2 of the project, which I completed at the beginning of fall semester. The color palette was already set, so the tough part was space planning to allow seating for sixteen, while including a reception area as well. Having done some research on new ideas in waiting rooms, I wanted to include space for active waiting, as well as passive waiting. Those preferring to wait actively need something physical to do while waiting, as opposed to those who passively wait reading a magazine or looking at their phones. My design for the waiting room includes two desk stations for working on a tablet or laptop, as well as custom sand tables that allow for moving magnetic “sand” that is encapsulated in a glass tabletop, using a magnetic pen on the outside of the glass.

In addition, I wanted to incorporate some type of flowing water element, in order to calm those who might be restless awaiting their visit with the doctor. In order to maintain the color palette, and create a focal point within the space, I chose to do a custom water veil feature against a curved copper wall that had some patina on it. This balances out the vibrant copper by bringing in more soothing green-blues within the space. The waiting room is a bit more forgiving in terms of materials, so I used a combination of hard flooring, with wall to wall, low-pile carpeting to provide some softness underfoot. I wanted to also make the ceiling more interesting, so I chose to drop the ceiling throughout the waiting space using swirls and curves in the sheetrock overhead. The inclusion of cove lighting highlights the curves, while a large drum shade centered in the space provides some diffused lighting throughout.

 

Waiting Room

Throughout the space planning phase for the waiting room, I considered different preferences in waiting and comfort. Knowing the space must accommodate a variety of patients in differing treatment situations, I created zones that would allow patients to wait in an area most comfortable for them. There are a variety of seating options from sofas, benches and individual chairs, along with two small work stations for those that may need to work while waiting (not pictured above). The furnishings are arranged in a conversational way that is likely more relaxing for extroverted personalities. Shown below is a floor plan of the facility that gives a better representation of the space plan.

 

 

Floor Plan – note the layout of waiting area is arranged to promote conversation

Looking at the waiting area and considering introverted versus extroverted personalities (see my last post on Designing for Multiple Personalities), I think the furniture layout is relatively balanced, but it leans toward being more comfortable for an extrovert. In order to allow a few more options for the introvert, I updated the space plan by removing the sofa from the corner and adding two additional chairs with a table in between to allow for division. This allows an introverted personality to sit without someone at their back, and to be separated from others as much as possible within the space.

 

Revised Floorplan – more introvert-friendly

Overall, this project was a challenge. Being asked to consider the variety of factors, from individual patients and their stories, to balancing personality types, along with the inclusion of features and finishes that are required in a healthcare environment. There were a great number of variables involved and I am pleased with how my design turned out. I’ve learned that having a strong concept and design program in the early stages is the key to a cohesive design that solves the design challenges presented.

 

 

Designing for Multiple Personalities

What’s your personality? A tough question to answer, so tests like Myers-Briggs have made it easy to do with a few simple clicks. This particular test drops you into one of 16 different combinations of personality. You could be an extrovert or introvert, which seems pretty straight-forward. If you are an extrovert, you draw energy from the outside world, while an introvert is energized by having time to themselves. The next dichotomy is whether you are sensing or use intuition. If you are more sensing, you typically believe the information you get from the outside world, whereas those who are more intuitive believe the information they receive from their own imagination or internal dialogue. The third grouping determines whether you rely on thinking or feeling. Thinkers analyze choices and decide using logic, while a feeler tends toward past experience and emotion to make a decision. Finally, whether you judge or perceive determines how you move forward once you have evaluated your options. If you tend toward judging, then you prefer to organize, make a plan and then stick with it, and if you tend toward perceiving you choose to go with the flow and see what options pop up along the way.

 

 

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE TEST

There is data to suggest that we surround ourselves with what enhances our personality. We also feel more positively within an environment tailored to our needs. As a designer, getting to know a client can tell you a great deal about what their preferred environment looks like. For example, upon meeting a potential client for lunch, noting that they are wearing bold or contrasting colors provides a cue that they are likely an extrovert. Their attire invites attention, whereas, the opposite could be said of someone choosing muted hues. When looking at design within the commercial setting, a designer must be aware of meeting the needs of multiple personalities.

Open and conversational living area. An extravert’s dream! Image via: Culligan Abraham Architecture

Space planning is an essential part of design, but the effects of how an area is arranged can have a positive or negative effect depending on personality. Data shows that the idea of personal space can follow our cultural roots, but in general those we allow to be closest to us are more intimate friends or family. The further the distance between individuals, the less we know that individual. In terms of designing spaces where many are gathered; such as a waiting area, a designer should make allowances for individuals that prefer privacy. Including occasional tables and planters can create boundaries for people who need more personal space. At the same time, offering a seating arrangement that is more open invites extroverts to take comfort in their ability to socialize and reach out to those that share their traits.

 

Moving further into the effects of personality on preferred design aesthetics, a Sensor in the Myers-Briggs test appreciates well-organized, formal and symmetrical spaces. While, the Intuitive personality on the opposite end of the spectrum does not necessarily appreciate the opposite, there is more attention paid to the meaning behind things with which they surround themselves. Likely, there is a greater focus on layering materials and comfort, as opposed to strict organization. Providing both personalities with what meets their needs within the same space presents a challenge for the designer.

A private reading nook layered with antique linens. Image via: Aiken House & Gardens

 

What may seem like minor details can add to or diminish an individual’s experience within a space. One study notes the location of an entry point, whether it immediately opens into a larger space, or enters into a corridor or hallway prior to reaching a larger space. Not surprising, extraverts were more inclined to appreciate a door that enters directly into a larger space, such as a front door opening immediately into a living room. We could infer that the same might be true of an extravert entering immediately to a full waiting room at a doctor’s office. Further, they are less inclined to be disturbed by closer connections between public and private spaces, like a living room with a powder bathroom immediately connected. Both of these situations could be very unnerving for an introvert.

Waiting area with both individual and group seating. Image via: Emmett Phair Construction

A quality designer must take into account both who they are designing for and the intended outcome for the space. When designing a residence, you are more likely to consider the homeowner’s personality and preferences, while designing for commercial environments requires consideration of all personality types. At the end of the day, designers are required to be creative problem solvers!

Sources:

Clemons, S. A., & Searing, E. E. (2004). Perception of sense of place in interiors. Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, 22, 57-68. Retrieved from http://proxy144.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/205854158?accountid=13429

Matthews, Hill, Duncan Case & Allisma (2015). Personal Bias: The Influence of Personality Profile on Residential Design Decisions. Housing and Society Journal, 1-24. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08882746.2010.11430578

Wilson, H. K., & Cotgrave, A. (2016). Factors that influence students’ satisfaction with their physical learning environments. Structural Survey, 34(3), 256-275. Retrieved from http://proxy144.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1809587147?accountid=13429

Kopec, D. (2012). Environmental Psychology for Design (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Fairchild Books.

Color-Full

Summer has come and gone, all too soon it seems…unless you’re a design student! Ha! Truly a tough eight weeks for me, but the end product for my retail design project felt like a big win. The assignment was to choose a high-end retailer and create a fresh look for a brick and mortar store. I chose Kate Spade New York because her brand is all about a clean and modern look, that doesn’t take itself too seriously. To start, I researched the brand and began assembling inspirational images on a mood board. The idea of a mood board is to convey the overall feeling you are looking for within the space.

The first photo I found is shown in the mood board below and it’s a picture of Jackie Kennedy laughing with her hair blowing in the wind. I felt this image was spot-on in keeping with the brand. Further developing my concept, I decided on the idea of an “urban escape.” The store needed to feel like a vacation from the everyday grind.

Mood Board

After creating the mood board and developing the concept, I started sketching ideas for how to display the designer bags within the store. My first thought was to use the New York City skyline with the bags acting as the multiple windows in the buildings. Further pushing the idea of the city, I decided on a fire escape display to provide the focal point upon entering the store. Bags could be displayed on the stairs of the fire escape and it would provide a spot for changing merchandising signage and accessories depending on the campaign. These are rough conceptual sketches, not intended to be the final product, just gives an idea of direction.

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So, with a firm concept and good ideas for how to display the merchandise, I began choosing the furnishings and fixtures that would go into the store. Going back to Kate Spade’s brand, I decided clean-lined pieces with some color injected were the best bet. In addition to the furniture, I wanted to add varied flooring, wall and ceiling treatments to bring texture and a little bit of the unexpected into the store. A few favorite features of mine include custom leather “Starflower” wall tiles by Spinneybeck in black and white to provide a high contrast pop. Covering the concrete posts in the front of the store was also a challenge, and I decided to bring in the outdoors by using a living boxwood treatment to wrap the columns.

For the furniture I kept it clean, but injected fun using a black and white stripe cabana fabric for a tete a’ tete and a punchy yellow and white polka dot fabric for the swing chair I hung from the fire escape. The balance of furnishings I kept simple and classic, using woods and brass to warm up the space and balance the marble and terrazzo flooring. In the end, I feel the space follows the brand’s statement to “Live Colorfully.”  

Lessons Learned

So, I am now halfway through summer semester and still loving it. Don’t misunderstand…I don’t love every day, I don’t love the long hours, the creative drought or the deadlines that always seem to be looming. But, I do love getting to experiment with new materials, creating perspectives in Sketchup that allow for a very realistic interpretation of the design and I love getting to pull together a space. One of my first commercial design projects consisted of creating a concept for an elementary school redesign with my classmates, and then designing the Learning Resource Center.

Most projects begin with ideas and inspiration from the good ole world wide web and I was ecstatic to find so many creative solutions for school design, that allow students to engage daily. As a group we decided our school would be in a coastal region, which helped to influence our color palette and concept. The overall idea for the Learning Resource Center was to move beyond the idea of a quiet, non-interactive space where individuals go just to read and research. Today’s Learning Resource Center requires interaction with media, along with collaboration of students on group projects and a space where teachers can get assistance from Media Specialists in teaching students. With all of that in mind, I presented the following.

Overall Floor Plan of the LRC

Perspective of the computer/Ipad station as well as multi-level work space

Wave Wall for group or individual seating

As I mentioned above, one of my favorite things is finding new resources and materials. Area Environments makes some amazing wall murals, and their Blue Pisces was perfect for this application. It provides a muted, yet lively backdrop within the space. Further, I found some radial shelving that allowed for an easy flow throughout the space, and fewer hard lines.

Overall, I was pleased with my design. There is still a great deal to learn about rendering using Sketchup, Photoshop and Illustrator. I struggled with rendering what I envisioned and need to work on my skills in those programs.

Dreaming Again…

A few years ago, in the midst of a job I happened to do well, I realized I was not passionate about what I was doing. It occurred to me at the time, that kids play pretend and dress up all the time, dreaming big dreams about where their future will take them. But then it seems that for many people, myself included, waking up to the reality of paying bills and making ends meet takes precedence over big dreams. I started dreaming again, about what I really wanted to do, with the one and only life I had been given. Interior decor had long been something I enjoyed and I knew I had a knack for visualizing what others could not see within a space. So, after a great deal of prayer and many conversations with my husband about what going back to school would mean for our future, the decision was made.

Fast forward through first semester, and I finally got to start designing when my second semester rolled around. The project I was given in Visual Presentation included choosing all the furniture, fabrics and finishes for a room that my instructor had space planned. She gave very few specific parameters that had to be met, which left me to design to my heart’s content! I was in heaven! The first day looking for fabrics, I found this southwest styled ikat fabric that I decided would be the element I would build the room around. The colors in the fabric included warm reds, oranges and browns, with compliments of slate blue and green. Building on this fabric, I began developing an idea of who the client might be and what type of home would appreciate this particular fabric. I decided the client would be a family living on Lake Toxaway in the mountains of North Carolina. Once that was decided, the remainder of furnishings came together quite easily. I found one of the keys in my design process, while working on that project, which is to make the first decision. Once I decided that southwest style ikat was what I wanted, it made choosing the balance of furnishings and finishes for the space a breeze!

Once the space was drawn, I color rendered the space, Prismacolor blendable markers on Canson Vidalon Vellum. The end product took a few weeks to complete, but I was very pleased with how my first rendered space turned out. One of the keys to rendered spaces that look realistic is the recognition of where highlights and shadows would fall within the area. The rendering would lack depth if there were no highs and lows within the space. The final presentation board included the rendered space, floor plan, along with individual furnishings and fabrics. The fabrics and furnishings were labeled with letters and numbers that coincide with the board’s legend. At the end of the project, I felt proud to have a cohesive presentation that could have been presented to a client.

Looking back, I would like to know how many hours I put into that first major project, because it felt like I had been working on it forever by the time it was finished. Every project now feels that way by the time it is complete. I have learned that is simply a part of the process. Even so, I found in that project and the many since then that while it is hard work, it is work that is worth doing for me. I would even say I have learned this work is what I was made to do. There is a rush of excitement everytime there is a new project to work on, and at the end, the same feeling of exuberance and accomplishment. I love this life.