Shoes - inspiration for collection 100 project

Shoes can be perceived as this very ordinary object and item of clothing, but delving deeper into the shoe world you come to realise innovative design and off the wall ideas.

The below image looks at branding into a different media, the trainers have been folded, torn and bent using paper to create these three pairs of high tops. I love design you have to look twice at and art which makes you wonder how it has been created.

The below design has also been crafted from paper... maybe not one of the most practical of ideas.

Maybe a boys take on shoe heaven?..

Perfectly crafted chocolate shoes put elegance back into chocolate. I'm sure this is a girls idea of heaven.
Experimenting with different media, in this case creating the effect of illusion and disappearance.

Whilst looking at origami shoes I came across these two particularly handsome chaps. It is such a good illusion and looks so effortless.

These two paper origami wedding outfits are so adorable, I can imagine trying to make these takes hours for an untrained hand. They look so simple yet effective.

Focusing on origami within shoes I came across these shoes which give the effect of paper and folding. This effect makes them look very elegant and weightless.

I love these tiny chinese style paper shoes and the was each design is slightly tweaked and tailored as if they are waiting for tiny babies to come and put their feet inside.

This shoe looks very mechanical and yet elegant. I like the design and the visible texture.

Are these yours?

I like the way this image tells its own story. There must be a lot of people living here or one very popular person and a very wealthy flip flop maker.

Urbanisation and territory.

Detail... inside the shoe... adds to the brand identity but will only be seen when the shoes aren't being used for their purpose.

An entirely edible chocolate box... edible evidence of indulgence.

Global warming going to your head. No more deceptive packaging. Clean cut, does the job and fit in well with the shoe design surprisingly.

This advert makes my hungry for cereal, but not really hungry for a soggy slip-on.

Shoe packaging utilised to the maximum. I think this idea is funny, quirky and altogether oh so practical for that pair of shoes that 'wont fit'.

Don't Panic! Style Inspiration

The complex world of fashion needs simple line drawings to help uncomplicate things. I looked at a range of artists who use simple line drawings in their work. I really like the style and feeling they give to the work.

These designs of mirrors look cute and I could use to represent vanity in fashion. They are very obviously hand drawn but I think this gives a nice feel to the work.

Using a touch of colour helps to emphasise elements without being too overpowering on the natural brown paper. I like the use of the worn paper, it could express the weathered and re-used fashion styles and statements.

Simple, clean image. With the use of shadow it gives it a depth and makes it more visually stimulating. Soft colours help you to focus on what you are actually looking at.

I like the boldness of the lines. There is a lot of personality in this design, not only because it is hand rendered, but because the fonts used are both very different and could represent a designed font and a natural handwriting style.

Simple, out of proportion, self explanatory. There needn't be any text along with this drawing. It is meant to be used as an activity for children to cut out an create their own art work, but I think it would look good framed as is.

Looking at a completely different style of design. To represent the more in-depth, high end side of vogue and fashion. I love this style of design and amongst other styles is one I aspire to. I like the high contrast in colours and the fantasy/real life feel they have. They set a scene a tell a story which seems real because of the use of photography, however, the images have been manipulated on a very high scale using layers, brushes, stamps, levels, masks etc.

Come on, Vogue!

To start off my research for this project I looked at the obvious Vogue magazine covers. I think the brief wasn't specifically relating to the Vogue magazine, however if that is the title of the monthly then there must be some inspiration and style to be found here.

All of the below Vogue covers focus strongly on the person photographed. The cover is the selling point of the magazine, and getting a celebrity on the cover will maximise sales. On all the cover's the model is centered on the page and there is a high contrast with lighting on the face and body. Backgrounds are blurred and flawless skin further attracts attention to the chosen cover-girl. The text giving information of the contents isn't necessarily needed as so much attention is drawn away from this. The audience is possibly more interested at looking at the images, that first drew them to the magazine, than reading the articles.

Another angle I looked at was the Madonna song 'vogue'. It is such a famous song and has well recognised dance moves. Fashion also relates to the song as Madonna wore her famous pointed bra. The song and style that come with it express women as strong, sexy and independent.

I also looked at fashion statements and how they have influenced the world. Outrageous trends seen on the catwalk are very influential.

Outfits like these are not wearable and high street stores will take elements from these designs and reflect them into their collection in a more consumer friendly and appealing way. For example they will take colour and texture and shape and replicate it on a softened scale. For instance, look at the design by Gareth Pugh below and compare it with the dress design found on asos. They show similarities, not on a huge scale but they can be compared easily.

asos.com

Books

When you say the word 'book', normally it doesn't conjure up many exciting visual thoughts, apart from maybe the thought of the stories within the books. Traditionally books come portrait with a cover to describe the contents, with variations of materials, binding techniques, size. However, looking at designs with are as visually stimulating as they are interesting to read you can come across many different designs, some of which I have found and can lead you to pose the question:

What is a book?

Below is a book with accordion like pages and art work based on Arabic designs. Full leather bound in green Moroccan leather. It looks seemingly ordinary from the outside but the accordion effect gives it depth and makes it more interesting.

Made with paste paper and with a leather binding this book focuses on pictures and dots wording around to enhance the message. This book has beautiful casing which makes it look more precious. Used as a little fancy rather than an informative piece.

This book although very pretty may be more visual than useable. This book was removed from the original binding and then put into sections and sewn over wooden dowels, the dowels hold the pages similar to how newspapers are held in a rack. The hexagonal slip-case cover is made from wood and pictured is repeats of the original cover. I love the idea of this book, it looks almost vintage and what you may expect past kings and queens to read from.

This is the 21st century's version of a book. The virtual book, where you can read a book from a digital screen and virtually turn the pages. I like the idea, but there's nothing like hearing the noise when you turn a page and the satisfaction of putting your bookmark in and finishing the book and it has doubled in size because you've bent the book whilst reading it.

Another version of 21st century technology gone mad. Although a very interesting and useful idea. This braille pad changes the surface pattern of the gadget using electromagnetic signals to make new words.