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Major Textiles Project

Visual design development

This tutorial suggests a range of activities to help you with the visual design development section of your support documentation for the Major Textiles Project.

Outcomes
This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcome:

H1.1 The student critically analyses and explains the factors that have contributed to the design and manufacture of the Major Textiles Project.
H1.2 The student designs a textile item/s that demonstrates an understanding of functional and aesthetic requirements.
H 2.1 The student communicates design concepts and manufacturing specifications to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Source: Board of Studies NSW, Stage 6 Textiles and Design Syllabus, Preliminary and HSC Courses (2007)

Drawings and sketches

Some points to think about:

It is important that the drawings and sketches you select to include in your support documentation are relevant to the textile item and shows the link between the design inspiration and the textile item.
Select the view which is most appropriate. In apparel you would usually show back and front but for a furnishing item maybe the side view is more significant. If there is a detail that is difficult to see it may need enlarging as a separate drawing.
The drawings and sketches should convey the creativity you have used to create your textile item.
The presentation of drawings and sketches should be contemporary and of a good quality.

See the tutorial on Fashion illustration for tips and exercises to enhance your drawings or sketches for: apparel, costume or textile arts (if it is art clothing).

See the tutorial on Object drawing and rendering for tips and exercises to enhance your drawings or sketches for: furnishings, non-apparel or textile arts.

View the sample illustrations in the Textiles and design support document, page 3037 which can be downloaded from the Board of Studies NSW site. It gives you a good indication of high, medium and poor quality illustration.

Inspiration for development of ideas

Activity

A mind map help clarify your thoughts when writing the support documentation. Take a look at the sample, it shows the beginnings of a mind map. The design inspiration is the city skyline on a grey day, the textile item is a dress.

mind map

Remember this is only an activity to help clarify your ideas before you start drafting your support documentation.

A good tip is to use small sticky labels on a board or on the fridge at home. You can then shuffle the ideas around, add to them and build up new connections between the ideas. Sometimes it's useful to draw lines between each block of text that relate to each other. It becomes a bit like a spider's web.

This section of the support document gives you an opportunity to show ongoing or progressive evaluation. It is relevant to show evidence of evaluation as your design ideas develop.

Analysis of functional and aesthetic design

Consider:

the specific purpose of the textile item and its appropriateness to the focus area
how the surface decoration or design enhances the appearance of the textile item
factors determining appropriate design, such as economics, environment, manufacturing techniques, sustainability or decoration.

Drafting, editing and proofing

Take time to draft the written part of the visual design development section. Leave it for a day or so, read through it again and edit it, adding or deleting where necessary. Check spelling and grammar.

A good way to check your sentence structure is to read the passage aloud. If it doesn't flow, ask someone for advice on how to improve it.

Points

Avoid losing your reader in long winded sentences. Keep the sentences fairly short and use points if you need to list things, it can be a lot clearer.