K I N G S & Q U E E N S
B R I E F
Design and 3D print a custom “chess piece” in the aesthetic of a film that has inspired you as a designer.
I chose the Netflix series, "Squid Game", directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, as my inspiration. I was inspired by the symbolism demonstrated by the series which related to real life situations.
Squid Game is about numerous people in desperate need of money who are asked to take part in a sequence of nostalgic childhood games. But what the players do not know, however, is that these childhood games have become deadly and life threatening. The film demonstrates the symbolism through its logo, character roles and cinematography.
M O O D B O A R D
I started off with a mood board in order to explore the ways in which my custom chess piece would be designed. The mood board includes: all chess pieces, traditional Korean house, traditional Korean tower and the Squid Game logo, invitation card, security guard and symbolic stairs. The three words that I found which encapsulated my aesthetic were; Power, Desperation and Hierarchy.
The circle at the bottom of the logo (second image on the top in the mood board) represents people in extreme poverty and debt. The square represents the masses. The triangle represents the wealthy who control the masses. The circle at the top represents the elite who control the world. Desperation relates to the bottom circle and the square as they symbolize the players who were in poverty due to debt or cash strapped. Hierarchy relates to the triangle as it symbolizes the security guards who were able to control the players due to their position and authority given to them. Power relates to the top circle as it symbolizes the elite owners who control everything that goes on throughout the game.
I decided to choose the "king" chess piece as I thought that this piece would best incorporate my custom aesthetics and express the symbolism of power, desperation and hierarchy. The king chess piece are free to move in all directions and take out any nearby pieces which connected to how the owners of the game were free to do anything they want with the players. Also, I thought that this chess piece was perfect for incorporating the Squid Game logo into the aesthetics. I began creating ideas with the aim of incorporating the Squid Game logo.
S K E T C H I T E R A T I O N S
I completely transformed the king chess piece into the Squid Game logo where I decided to keep the bottom circle as the base. This represented how the players were the foundation of the game, without the players, there would be no game at all.
I experimented with positioning all components flat facing up but I did not find it aesthetically pleasing.
So I carried on to iterating the lower square body and adding a slight curve. This symbolized balance which connected to first idea of the players being important for the game. Even though they are the masses being controlled by the security guards and owners, they are just as important as the reward money.
I investigated flipping the triangle 180 degrees which provided the designs with a traditional Korean house/tower appearance. I kept this change due to how it connected to the Korean origin of the series. Initially, I positioned the triangle to represent the shape at the top of the king chess piece but, altering and flipping it brought back the original Squid Game logo.
Also, I experimented with incorporating the symbolic stairs into my design. The stairs symbolized the desperation of the players as they compete for the prize. The iteration of the stairs around the design represent how they are not alone in this desperate climb towards freedom from poverty.
Finally, the top circle remained a symbol of power at the head of the design.
I made the choice to proceed with the design which incorporated the symbolic stairs and modelled it in Rhino.
F I N A L D E S I G N
R E F L E C T I O N
The final design involves the use of Rhino which I am getting the hang of but still have a lot to learn. It is still challenging to get familiar with the variety of commands involved in the process of creation. However, my final design turned out pretty great in terms of what I wanted to achieve and display. I am surprised with the amount of symbolism involved with such a miniature design. My most favourite feature would be the lower body stairs due to the meaning behind the simplistic component. My least favourite feature would be the upper body triangle for the lack of complexity due to my ability level on the use of Rhino. If I were to change anything, I would give the traditional Korean roof appearance to the upper body triangle.
R E F E R E N C E S
I N F O R M A T I O N
