NZQA New Zealand Qualifications Authority Mana Tohu Matauranga O Aotearoa Home > Qualifications and standards > Qualifications > NCEA > Subjects > Top Art Exhibition > 2013 > Top Art Exhibition - Design Top Art Exhibition - Design Show: Topart Homepage Visual Arts Homepage Billie Harris, St Matthew s Collegiate Massey University to do a Bachelor of Design with Honours, focussing on spatial design and visual communications. Information about my work: Focus I started off with choosing the issue of the partially blind. From there I developed ideas around the cause. I found a range of artist models to base my ideas around, some of these more successful than others. After I had formed my overall theme, I designed different ways of promoting my cause. I did quite a few of the pieces by hand, or aspects of them. Indian ink, water colour and pen were all techniques I used. The pieces I did on the computer were designed using Photoshop. Some of the works merge all of these techniques together. The brochure I designed has a cut out pattern on the front cover that I did by hand. Getting all the pieces to flow and work together took a while; I changed the colours a lot and re-designed my logo over and over. There were a lot of pieces I did early on that never ended up on my board. Also, learning how to use Photoshop took time as I d never used it before. 1
Billy Ridgway, Marlborough Boys College In 2013 I will be studying at MAINZ for audio engineering and music production. But this does not mean I will stop designing, as my design work will be used through my music, such as album artwork and website designs. Information about my work: The Undefined I wanted my artwork to express who I am, and what better way to do that than through music. Everything you see on the board is how I see what my music looks like. It s very colourful, because I see my music as positive outlets of energy. When I m listening to the music I produce, and close my eyes, those are the colours I see. I used a lot of layer masks in Photoshop to create the fade in of the water brushes and ink brushes. My most used tool would have had to be the pen tool and the feathering effect, because I had to do a lot of cutting out of photos. A high point would be looking at the final product. Danielle Forde, St Peter s School In 2013 I ll be attending the Victoria University of Wellington studying a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in marketing, as well as culture and context from the design innovation degree. Information about my work: The Blind Project Firstly I wanted an awareness campaign, but after not being able to choose one idea, I 2
chose four. I had to do a lot of research on the blueprints before creating my packaging design, trying to keep similar elements from my other work but relating it to 3D packaging. I used and experimented with manipulated photo graphics, collage and typography. I like to think that I pushed my use of typography through the boards. I felt that I really captured the colour scheme on my third board, but the colours on all boards still work well. Another thing I find interesting is my attraction to pushing circles through my work. In the end, the work was the result of a lot of experimentation and time finishing with a poster that can work for all themes. Harrison Sarsfield, Howick College Study fine arts at Whitecliffe College. Information about my work: One Small Step, One Giant Leap I had a hard time choosing a title for my band. However, once I had the idea of the Greek god of music, the process was really easy for me to create the concepts and modern theme for my fictional band. Photoshop and Illustrator were my main source of illustration, as well as the photography and sketches that led me to develop my ideas. A low was, halfway through the year, losing all my work due to a computer malfunction. A high was finally getting it finished and handed in. 3
Jae Woo Park, Western Heights High School In 2013 I intend to continue studying art. I plan to study either graphic design or industrial design at university. I would like to extend my ideas, skills and design understanding so that I can create my own unique style. Information about my work: Members (Design Team) At first I didn t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do. I just wanted to relate to myself, and what I might be doing in a few years time. I found that I probably would be doing design within a team, where it would hopefully influence today s society. I was mostly influenced by the artists Non Format and Charles Wilkin. I liked their sharp and simple design methods using many layers. As my situation was about a design team, I could link it with all the arts. I took personal photographs, textures from paint and different media. By trying to incorporate lots of different methods and media, I found what works well and what doesn t. My thoughts of development and processes were then focussed on simplifying my designs to suit my logo. I found that I was limited with time, as I was preparing my portfolio for several different universities and two art folio boards for NCEA, and also trying to obtain the best school grades I could. At times I would feel quite tired and stressed as progress would be quite slow. However, I realised it s a normal thing to overcome in these periods. It was challenging but fun to finish the journey of completing my boards and after looking back at what I have done, it is quite surprising and also interesting. 4
Maddison Cheesman, Mahurangi College This year I will be attending AUT University, where I will be doing a Bachelor of Design, majoring in graphic design. Information about my work: Paperact Circus For my Level 3 folio I wanted to base my theme on a concept that is usually presented in a traditional form. I found that circuses still to this day tend to use traditional fonts and imagery when advertising. Therefore, I wanted to create a unique and modern style of design that does not relate to traditional circus advertisements. Creating my pieces through Photoshop and Illustrator, I was able to include many forms of imagery, with the dominant use of paper. This enabled me to cut and paste, creating collage effects, scan in a wide range of different papers and textures, and take photographs of various paper objects. At times I struggled to maintain the circus theme as I found myself developing themes that did not relate to my brief. Although over all I felt that each brief complemented the others well. Sam Coventry, Nelson College To study a Bachelor of Design at Massey University in Wellington Information about my work: Tyga Hair Products I got ideas from a variety of different design artists who helped me generate my folio this year, ranging from vector artists to more surreal artists. I enjoy using surrealism. The main theme that flowed through my board 5
was that of a tiger. Tigers represent manly attributes (for example, roaring, which is used on my second board) and warm, dangerous colours. My work includes a lot of wet media, which I think is the reason it stands out so much. I created my own textures using paint and ink. I didn t come across any low points during the production of my work. I loved designing the surreal images, that was definitely a high point this year. Sarah Wood, Wakatipu High School Studying Design Communication at Otago Polytechnic. Information about my work: To Write Love on Her Arms I firstly brainstormed ideas relating to my brief, which was positive imagery that reflected the organisation in an enthusiastic manner. I continued to brainstorm more and more ideas that would somehow influence and inspire girls with the sense that they are beautiful and life is worth living. This brought me to photography and inspiring quotes that not only advertised my organisation, but also had the intention of making girls feel special and happy. My whole portfolio was created on Photoshop with paint brushes, photo filters and drawing utensils. In a lot of my work I used photography of my own. Low point - staying up until 5am to complete my work. 6
High point completing the work, finally, and being proud of it. Sophia Smolenski, Spotswood College For 2013 I am working at the local museum as an exhibition host. Information about my work: Untitled At the beginning of the year my teacher suggested that I design for something I would go to, or buy. I have always wanted to go to a Day of the Dead festival, so I decided to create a scenario where the festival was celebrated in New Zealand. I often would start by doing a quick pencil sketch to get my ideas down and then I would move on to creating them digitally using Illustrator and Photoshop. To create material to work with I would take photos, photocopy objects, create collages and create three dimensional forms in space. I would definitely have to say that high points were often when my designs and drawings would move away from the computer and move towards making things, especially with my logo design. Low points were when I had ideas that I did not have the technical skill to complete and at these times this felt limiting. Tapiwa Mutingwende, St Patrick s College, Silverstream This year I will be a year 13 student at St Patrick s College, Silverstream, and will attempt to get a Scholarship in design. (I created this portfolio as a year 12 student.) 7
Information about my work: RETRA My project was based on a watch that could travel through time and through different ages etc. I used a floral colour scheme to represent the 70s and 80s. The plan was to combine black and white with floral colours to represent the past and combine realistic colours with rich colours to represent the future. Through the characters I designed I was able to illustrate a clear picture of what the watch did. The name was developed from the two words retro and ahead, to make RETRA. The idea was to have RETRA as a watch brand that also sold clothing related to the watch in some way. All work on my board was created from scratch on Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I used Illustrator to create the vector images and used Photoshop to finalise and colour the images. The highest point during the production was seeing the final products and seeing how everything came together the way I wanted it and even better than planned. Thomas Lock, Tauranga Boys College This year I have decided to travel down to Victoria University in Wellington and study architecture. Information about my work: Tay The idea of the brand name came from a local surf street. Tay Street in Tauranga is popular in the region and it suited the brand s surf style. Ideas were developed from Carson and Coco Brun and a wide range of surf magazines. However, the main influences were surf videos from Dane Reynolds and 8
Craig Anderson, their easy style and bright, contrasted imagery. Loads of Photoshop, camera work and a few weeks of my life spent on beaches around the country. Hand drawings, Illustrator, paintings and textures of rough surroundings also featured as overlays etc. I used a lot of different modes and media and from there I racked up a lot of un-used work. I will say one thing, I enjoyed having zero plan and a camera with me at all times of the day to capture the necessary to the obscure. You never know how much of it may help. High points: seeing the final board, making the in situ pieces, magazine cover etc. The scholarship application was the highlight of the year, however, as you had to write about your ideas, methods and techniques, what made your work special. This was the best memory, along with the many laughs with teachers and students along the way. Low lights: having no sleep, having 60GB of work and using only 2-3 GB of it. Design, however, is such a sick subject and the year was amazing. It s been awesome now to see my work heading away around the country. Cool beans! Tom Pringle, Wanganui High School Study at Massey University, Wellington for a Bachelor of Design majoring in visual communication. Information about my work: Al Capone - The Great American Gangster The overall theme of my board is Al Capone and Chicago in the 1920s. I watched old school gangster movies, including The Untouchables, to get ideas on the era. Old photos of Chicago and mug shots of Al 9
Capone s associates helped me to develop my overall look. I came up with a security company called Chicago Boss. The idea behind Chicago Boss was that they would offer the same protection as Al Capone and the mafia would provide their friends and associates. The 1920s were all about prohibition and organised crime. I used a lot of images of the time mixed with some newer security icons, such as CCTV cameras. The first board is in keeping with the 1920s look and helped me generate ideas. I set up an installation on an old notice board and created a police criminal map of Al Capone, which I photographed and used on my board. This gave me ideas for the logo and the business card. I started off drawing and then moved into Photoshop. When designing the poster and the website I tried to incorporate the 1920s Chicago style with a more modern, cutting edge look to it. I really enjoyed researching my topic and finding out all about the old school lingo that the gangsters used. Plus it gave me an excuse to watch more American gangster movies. I was lucky enough to be head of social at Wanganui High School for 2012, which meant I had to help organise the school ball. The theme we chose for the ball was Chicago in the 1920s. This meant I could use a lot of my work and ideas when it came to designing the posters and the tickets for the ball. Copyright New Zealand Qualifications Authority 10