June 28, 2011

Thinking point, Idea searching

It is possible to create a visual concept by process rather than by inspiration. This can be helpful at times when you are under deadline pressure. The technique is to select two or three adjectives from the brief that summarise the experience the client wants from the space. This may be easier than you imagine; clients will often use words such as ‘sanctuary’, ‘warmth’, ‘urban’, ‘natural’ and the like when referring to the feelings they want your finished design to generate, particularly when dealing with a residential project. You can search for images that are strongly suggestive of these adjectives, and create a single unified collage. Generally, you will collect many images and edit them down to those that best illustrate the key adjectives you have chosen.

Finally, these few will be further edited to produce a collage in which each image tells its own story and melds with the others to create a single composition, thus reflecting the story that the client wants the space to tell.

Once you have created the concept, the images can be read to give direction for the decorative scheme. Texture, colour, form and style from the concept can all be echoed in the finishes you select, imbuing the completed scheme with the same sensory experience as the concept.

This concept collage has been created using found images and has been composed in a way that allows pattern, texture and colour to suggest a smart and sophisticated environment. It has been used to generate a scheme for a hotel bar and restaurant, situated by the River thames, overlooking a marina.

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