Work in progress

With the frame of the pencil drawn out, colour and detail can be added.

Work in progress

The pencil was created in Illustrator using the 3D Extrude and Bevel tool, set to a custom rotation setting, to create an isometric style…

Work in progress here:

Colour palette inspiration

For me, the colour yellow is synonymous with lead pencils. A palette similar to this illustration would work well – I like the subtle distinction between highlight and shadow.

Reference #2

This carving served as inspiration for segmenting a pencil into smaller elements.

Reference #1

Pencil reference #1 – the hexagonal shape appeals to me and its length offers ample opportunity to segment into different elements to act as a timeline.

Isometric information graphics

Additional example of isometric vector-based information graphics.

Pencil as metaphor

“thinking is drawing” — Alan Fletcher

“the pencil is a kite flown by the mind” — Ross Renwick

Despite exponential technological change and the push into a screen-based, digital space, the pencil has remained ever constant in the designer’s ‘toolbox’ and is a fitting visual metaphor for design education; places of creativity and idea generation.

Isometric style

This information graphic by Suzanne Wu for Good Magazine (2008) uses an isometric illustration style. The opposing 30 and 60 degree angles create an interesting visual language. This type of visual representation would be suitable for Assessment 3.

Visual timeline of key art movements

Interesting visualisation of overlapping artistic periods and the corresponding advancements in technology. More at http://gdh.2rsolutions.cz/

Design Periods

1990 – The Digital Revolution

1985 – 2010 Global Dialogue / Social conscience

1975 – 1985 Post-modernism

1960 – 1970 The Conceptual Image

1950 – 1960 Corporate Identity and Visual Systems

1940 – 1955 International Style

1935 – 1950 Modernism

1920 – 1935 Bauhaus

A grouping of design periods. Initially linear, but we can see that from post-modernism onwards change becomes exponential with a blurring of earlier, neatly defined, sequential categories.