Assignment 1 Project Plan

I intend to create a body of work that relates and feeds from the research project. So I intend to look at creating work themed around the concept of ‘what is cute’, this creates a wide open project that gives plenty of scope for development and experimentation.


I would like to explore an area of working that as a photographer I am not comfortable with. By this I mean I would like to explore creating work using non-photographic methods. I will start with doing some simple drawings, and turning them into illustrations, as I see this as a good starting point. I haven’t drawn properly for a few years so it will be interesting to see how well my drawing skills have stayed intact. I will also enjoy the break from photography, and will embrace being able to create imaginary imagery that does not have to exist in reality in order for it to be transformed into an image, as this I found the major downside of photography, even though Photoshop does help add an element of the unreal. I intend to make some simple illustrations based on the theme of cute, I can then use these simple images and translate them into different media, such as ceramic, glass and fabrics. This will help me to experiment through different disciplines and help me to develop as an artist.


Some of the design ideas that I have had, mainly influenced by my preliminary research as to illustrate animals, in a ‘cute’ style. Woodland animals appear to be the current trend of tastes and this is something that I’m going to investigate further. The drawings will be simplistic and be highly stylised, hopefully the style will develop over the time of the project and improve in overall technical ability.


I have someone in mind to do a collaborative project with, Joan Haywood, Who I have worked with on previous out of university projects. She sometimes assists me on my photographic shoots so I know that we get on and can work well together. We have similar ways of working, although she is a lot more organised and precise than I am. Maybe she can help stem my slap-dash approach to things. We have been meaning to do a little project together for ages and we’ve never really had the time, so this seems like a good opportunity to get her involved. We have fairly different drawing styles which might pose a problem with trying to create a concise body of work, or it might add a refreshing difference. We will solve those problems when we come to it.


I have explained my basic research to her and my preliminary illustration ideas. We have had a brainstorming session about how we could take the project further and how we can experiment within the project boundaries. We came to the conclusion that we can make more of an impact, and get more done by working collaboratively as we can draw from each other’s ideas and respond to each other’s drawings until we develop a style. We feel there is a real possibility of creating a ‘brand’ of style of these illustrations and objects, branching out to create a type of merchandise. I hope to use my research from the other project to inform this project. By using my research into cuteness and Kawaii to pick out specific factors that add to desirability, we intend to capture this and hopefully create a successful project. If we are not successful, then at least we had a good learning experience and a in depth investigation with plenty of experimentation.