Decoding Houndstooth

Paisley, Argyle, Houndstooth, Plaid, Fishbone: Have you ever wondered what characteristics of a pattern make it indistinguishable from other patterns? 


According to Wikipedia Houndstooth "is a duotone textile pattern, characterized by broken checks or abstract four-pointed shapes, often in black and white, although other colors are used". It originated in Scotland and consist of alternating bands of four dark and four light threads. Its used in various textile versions from home decor to fashion. 


Let's decode this mysterious alternating band concept:
First, block out the solid squares from the striped squares.

Secondly, Find stripes within the squares.

Next, Mimic squares by placing a row of black squares then white squares horizontally. In between each solid square should be a striped square. These are alternated.

Finally, copy and paste striped bands half way in between above and below so that in the striped squares, there are five threads: black then white then black then white then finally again black. 

Here are a few examples of products that use the Houndstooth pattern in interesting and bold ways.

This is a Marc Jacobs dress that the character Blair Waldorf wore on Gossip Girl. I have no idea if this dress is still in stores but I do love the large pattern and color combination. I found it on Cool Spotters.

These chairs are fantastic. They may be a bit bold for my tiny Manhattan apartment, but I can see them in light, airy, minimalist home office adding a perfect amount of pizzazz to the space. The are the perfect combination of modern graphics and 19th century furniture. I found them on 1stdibs.com. 

This screen is by a designer named Courtney Skott and can be found on her website: Courtney Skott. 

Detachable Cork trivets found at vivavi.com

For a more "do-it-yourself" wall application, these decals from Modern Wall Graphics are perfect.

EazyWallz also makes large format wall stickers (for all you apartment dwellers who can't install wallpaper, like myself).

Lighting to Love

I love lighting, well who doesn't? Well, I guess those vampire tweens in the Twilight movie, but even they are exposed to overcast lighting. Lighting plays an important role in two of my favorite things: architecture and photography.  How much and at what angle light is emitted can largely effect how we perceive objects.  Additionally, the type of lighting, whether it's natural daylighting, incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, can effect what is perceived. When we look at a green frog, we are really seeing every light in the visible spectrum being absorbed into the frog except green. Green is reflected back and is what our eyes see. 

Below are some of the best examples of daylighting used to express architectural elements. In museums and churches, lighting is used to suggest a hierarchy or an order of importance within the space. The direction of lighting adds texture and cast shadows. Many sculptures are better viewed in this type of light rather than a diffuse uniform light source. 

Guggenheim, New York City

image from guggenheim website

Notre Dame Du Haut, Ron Champ, France by Le Corbusier

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Tx by Louis Kahn

image by Kimberly Payne

Church of the Light, Ibaraki, Japan - Tadao Ando

Dead or Alive at MAD

I wanted to share some of my photos of art work from the Dead or Alive exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City. These pieces of art are made of organisms that were once alive. At first, I thought some of it was crap, to be honest with you, but then I watched a video of how the artist came to conceptualizing the installation. It may have not been the way I would have conceptualized the idea...but it was natural...it was organic...so I began to appreciate the art more for its developmental values than just what meets the eyes.

The images above are from a piece called SPICE SKULLS by Helen Altman. This was one of my favorites. If you stood close enough to the skulls you could smell the nutmeg or the rosemary or the curry that made up each individual skull. I wanted to take one and use it in a pasta later that night.

This is where all my donated "locks-of-love" hair went! I knew it! This installation CAUDA EQUINA which means "Horse Tail" in spanish, is by contemporary artist Keith Bentley.

Intrinsecus by Jennifer Trask was simple and beautiful. The once alive coral draped the corner of the frame and extended beyond its perimeter.

This chair was not apart of the Dead or Alive exhibit. It was on the home-design floor. I thought it was interesting and colorful. How'd I love to spec something like this for a building I am working on!

Tools for creativity

While reading one of my favorite blogs, Logo Design Love, I was directed to a website called CreatingMinds.org . On this site, there was a list of "creative tools".  I include these creative tools below (who knew there were so many!):

• Absence Thinking: Think about what is not there.
• Adoption Checklist: A checklist of what leads to adoption.
• Art streaming: Keep creating until you get through the blocks.
• Assumption Busting: Surfacing and challenging unconscious assumptions.
• Attribute Listing: Listing attributes of objects and then challenging them.
• Brainstorming: the classic creative method for groups.
• Braindrawing: Good for reticent groups.
• Brainmapping: Combining brainwriting and mind-mapping.
• Brainwriting: Group doodling for non-verbal stimulation.
• Breakdown: Careful decomposition to explore the whole system.
• CATWOE: A checklist for thinking about problems and solutions.
• Challenge: Challenge any part of the problem.
• ChangingMinds: The ultimate persuasion website.
• Chunking: Take a higher or more detailed view.
• Concept Screening: Comparing options against a baseline benchmark.
• Context Map: Mapping the overall problem domain.
• Crawford Slip Method: Getting ideas from a large audience.
• A Day In The Life Of...: Seeing things as they are experienced.
• Delphi Method: Explore ideas or gain consensus with remote group.
• Diffusion Lifecycle: Spreading ideas one group at a time.
• Doodling: Let your subconscious do the drawing.
• Essence: Looking elsewhere whilst retaining essential qualities.
• Forced Conflict: Using conflict to stimulate the subconscious.
• Force-field Analysis: Exploring forces for and against an idea.
• Guided Imagery: Letting your subconscious give you a message.
• Head, Heart and Hands: Get all three systems of motivation engaged.
• The Hundred Dollar Test: How will you spend $100 on your ideas?
• How-How Diagram: Break down problem by asking 'how'.
• How to: Frame statements as 'How to' to trigger focused thinking.
• Incubation: Letting the subconscious do the work.
• Is − Is not: To scope out boundary of problems.
• The Kipling method (5W1H): ask simple questions for great answers.
• Lateral thinking: Thinking sideways to create new ideas.
• Lotus Blossom: Unfold the flower of extended ideas.
• Mind-mapping: Hierarchical breakdown and exploration.
• Modeling: For the artist in everyone.
• Moment of Truth (MoT) Analysis: Finding vulnerable customer moments.
• Morphological Analysis: Forcing combinations of attribute values.
• Negative Selection: Sort out the 'definitely nots' first.
• Nominal Group Technique: Getting ideas with minimal personal interaction.
• NUF Test: Check idea is New, Useful and Feasible.
• Pause: Think more deeply for a minute.
• PINC Filter: Evaluate pros and cons of ideas.
• Positives, Negatives: Look at both problems and benefits.
• Post-Up: Brainstorming with Post-It Notes.
• Problem Statement: Getting a clear statement of what you are trying to achieve.
• Provocation: Shake up the session by going off-piste.
• PSI: Problem + Stimulus = Idea!
• Purposing: Finding the real purpose of what you are doing.
• Random Words: Using a random word as a stimulus.
• Remembrance: Remembering solutions not yet discovered.
• Reversal: Looking at the problem backwards.
• Reverse Brainstorming: Seek first to prevent your problem from happening.
• Reverse Planning: Working backwards from a perfect future.
• Rightbraining: Combine incomplete doodles around the problem.
• Role-play: Become other people. Let them solve the problem.
• Rubber-ducking: Get someone else to listen to your talk.
• SCAMPER: Using action verbs as stimuli.
• Six Thinking Hats: Think comfortably in different ways about the problem.
• Storyboarding: Creating a visual story to explore or explain.
• Swap sort:  Sorting a short list by priority swapping.
• Take a break: When creativity is fading.
• Talk streaming: Just talk and talk and talk until you unblock.
• TRIZ Contradiction Analysis: Use methods already used in many patents.
• Unfolding: Gradually unfolding the real problem from the outside.
• Value Analysis: Deep analysis of where true value is created.
• Visioning: Creating a motivating view of the future.
• Voting: Democratic casting of votes for the best idea.
• Why not?: Challenge objections and assumptions.
• Wishing: State ideas as wishes to expand thinking.
• Write streaming: Write and write and write until you unblock.

I'm trying to figure out, which one of these tools I used to design these three options for a contractor's desk...and well the pig and the wolf were thrown in for laughs! 

Architizer asks...why design???

During my lunch break while cyber surfing, I happen to notice the Facebook posting by Architizer. I read the following questions and it got my brain wheels turning....


Architizer 

We're in the middle of a design dialogue with Fly NY, examining the "why" in design. Some ideas to ponder:
Q1. In 3 words, describe when you 1st fell in love with design.
Q2. What passion drives you to create? Where is it rooted?
Q3. Do you feel different design industries connect? (ex. fashion, architecture, DIY). How should they?

scroll down to see my answers

a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimberlypayne/2259017644/" title="002 by Kimberly Payne, on Flickr">

Answer 1:  High School Art I and Art II. I believe this is when I discovered my artistic strengths. I have  a wild imagination, turning literal objects into creative interpretations, as well as, turning creative concepts into literal objects. Around the time I was a senior in High School,  I knew I had to become an architect. I was not only inspired by the beauty of New Orleans' very own architecture, but I loved creating my own architecture inspired by modern artist and architects. 

Answer 2:  Music and dance is really what drives my creativity. When I listen to music, I instantly begin to write a story in my head and in that story, I develop space around what's inspiring me at that moment. Whether its my love-life, career, family-life, or just my hobbies...my feelings become images and they move and take shape to the music. My mother was (and is still) a great dancer. I danced for years - perhaps this is where my creativity is rooted. My father, who was an engineer, also has an artistic eye. The below image is a sketch he did of our home in Louisiana. Most of my creative talents come from my parents. The image above is my mom as an LSU Tigerette.

Answer 3: Absolutely, some designers are more focused on certain disciplines than others. I don't think being focused on any number of things is the right or wrong way to be (as a designer), but for me personally, I am interested in fabrication of objects (quilting, furniture making, fashion construction, industrial design) and the translation of beautiful images (photography, graphic design, painting). Architecture is connected in so many ways because it is not only the translation but is also the fabrication of spatial concepts. 

While I am not blogging...

I have been really busy with the new apartment. I have been painting, decorating, shopping, etc. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance but for this entry, I am blogging about some images I took with my iPhone. This is pretty much what I am not doing when I am not painting, decorating, shopping....

The images about are from the DOM/VALCUCINE showroom in SOHO. The showroom features a variety of brands making everything from kitchen cabinets to custom doors. 

The images above are from 2 Cooper subcellar. The image on the left is of the fireplace in the tenant lounge. The right is of the tile wall in the laundry room.  

The above image is a new light fixture that my friend, Jim,  from International lights brought to our office.  Jim has helped me tremendously when I have lighting questions. Anything from "what kind of bulbs do I need?" or "how far from the wall should this fixture be installed?" 

Sand washed textiles- this is going to be the color palette of our IIDANY Sustainable Quilt! I can't give too many details about the design but I'll give two hints: very traditional, very detailed. Below are some textiles at MOOD that I just love. Sometimes on my lunch break I go to MOOD and walk around and look at textiles to get inspired. I am taking an upholstery class at the Furniture Joint in July. I can't wait to apply these textiles to a chair or stool or anything really.

Personalitees

I designed a series of T-shirts called: Personalitees. These designs are inspired from color keys lying around the office. They make me laugh every time I read them. I created names for the colors describing distinctive personalities I have encountered in New York City. You can buy these at Cafepress. I am also looking for a manufacturer or vendor who could produce the shirts for a less expensive price. Email me if you know anyone that would be interested. I have twenty or so Personalitees designs, but I am only showing my favorite three: Architecture, Fashion Designer, & Fashion Executive.