Creative Thinking Exercise: The cube
Theme: The Chair
Project made for the Master of Visual Communication Design at Deakin (Melbourne, Australia)
SWISS/INTERNATIONAL STYLE:
Using analogy, the first panel is starting from the letter H (‘H’ from Helvetica – iconic for the Swiss Style, and ‘H’ as a visual for a chair).
The creative thinking process is focused on the duality of the letter ‘H’. As a parallel to the duality of the chair itself, the image implies that the chair as an element of rest and comfort as well as the seating of pain. This first panel is an introduction to the story behind the whole cube.
DADAISM:
Through the use of antonyms, the second panel shows the opposite of seating: standing / walking. The letters forming the word ‘chair’ are walking away in a protest against sitting.
PSYCHEDELIC:
By using unusual associations, the third panel illustrates the idea of being seated while drugged. The creative process that led to this image is mind mapping, the dentist chair appeared as a type of chair. The image illustrates the combined idea of the effect of anaesthesia and being immobilised on a chair.
PUNK:
As a result of my brainstorming exercise, one strong unusual association arose: the chair used as a lethal tool- the electrocution chair.
The image was created using inherent drama and combining two opposites: the office chair and the electrocution chair.
In line with the punk movement, the design has an anarchic message behind it: being stuck in an office chair might as well be the same with being killed on the electrocution chair- the only difference might be the amount of time needed to reach the same end-result.
MEMPHIS STYLE:
This panel illustrates the metaphor of ‘Sitting on pins and needles'.
POP ART:
The USP of a chair is the fact that it gives you a break, it helps you relax or rest. This is the idea behind the last panel. Illustrated through a pillow with the pop art exclamation of ‘ohhh!’, the design wishes to evoke the feeling of relaxation that a chair might provide.
