Abstrakt
Methodology
User: What do you see?
AI: I think that seeing less can help you see more.
In our daily lives, we unconsciously simplify and abstract what we perceive to better understand our surroundings. Our brains have a remarkable ability to comprehend complex shapes and systems by simplifying and categorizing them.
Can the process of abstraction, simplification, and deconstruction could be employed as a tool in other contexts, such as the design process. Could systematically simplifying something lead to new perspectives and understandings? Could it generate fresh insights and ideas regarding appearance and function when applied within a problem-solving framework?
This project began as an exploration of seashells, using them as objects of investigation. It quickly evolved into a study of abstraction as a creative method. The project employed cards with illustrations as prompts to inspire ideation and exploration of subjects.
The initial phases of the project involved examining, analyzing, and reflecting upon various seashells. We utilized digital and freehand sketching, technical drawings, color analyses, and expressions to capture their forms, expressions, and construction. We manipulated the level of detail, enlarging, reducing, and contextualizing the seashells.
‘This iterative process resulted in shapes that interpreted seashells in simplified, turned, twisted, and manipulated forms, using different materials and constructions to explore how their expressions changed. Fascinatingly, even in their most simplified forms, these shapes remained recognizable, despite significant deviations from their realistic appearances.
The project then shifted focus to investigating abstraction and determining at what point something becomes unrecognizable during the process. The aim was to understand whether abstraction could serve as a tool or method to enhance the understanding of complex problems.
To narrow down the experiment, three seashells were selected, each with specific representation techniques, a defined color scale, and a predetermined number of steps in the abstraction process. The experiment drew inspiration from semiotics' principles, which explore the interpretation of signs and various levels of understanding visual information through different modes of deconstruction.
