Returning to school to further develop a gift is one of the best things that I could have done! I really had a chance to formally explore how fabrics, materials, colors and textures fit together to make a concept.
A key concept that helped us students have a better grasp on textures, fabrics, colors and materials was a design board.
Design Board (n.) — a physical or virtual board that incorporates drawings, materials, or other swatches to convey your design to your client.
We had many opportunities to create design boards for real or fictitious clients so that we can become accustomed to mixing and matching swatches, presenting our design concept, and using design language.
Here is one of my early boards from class...
Design Board for my parent's family room (informal look) |
CLIENT: My parents
SPACE: Current family room
MY DESIGN CHALLENGE: My parents pretty much are empty-nesters. The furniture has been in the living room for at least 15 years and is quite dated, faded, and heavy. The carpet is also a dark green color, which easily attracts lint and makes the the room feel very bottom heavy. I wanted to give them a room with informal furniture, new window treatments, and a lighter color palette.
I've done a number of these design boards for various "clients", so I'll be posting more boards from my class in the weeks to come!
Stay tuned,
{Rashida}