OUGD603 - Brief 6 - Research Brief - Indoor Gardening - Initial Ideas - Sketches

Initial Ideas Sketches 

- One idea was to base the planters around different features within a garden. Miniature / indoor gardening is often influenced by full scale gardening. With this in mind it was considered that elements of gardens could be constructed in three dimensional designs, with areas left for plants to then be included within the design. Leaving areas for plants would make the gardens come alive and create a more realistic sense of them being gardens, providing context for the designs. It was considered that the designs could focus on a particular aspect e.g. a shed or pond and allow plants to be integrated into these. Alternatively Garden Design plans could influence the design of the planters and allow the design to become more representative of a garden as a whole with multiple features seen within a garden. Different types of gardens could be represented such as formal gardens, allotments, family gardens etc and use features that define these types of gardens.The designs will be quite compact and functional for 2 - 3 plants. The designs could potentially be made from wood or acrylic with etched designs on this. Alternatively moulds of the models could be made on the vacuum former and they could be made from concrete. 3D printing could also be used. The designs would be quite refined using block shapes and simple lines to create a contemporary aesthetic to the designs

- Another idea was to reflect different environments / landscapes. From research it was found that different types of plants thrive in different areas within the house because different climates are created in different areas. Miniature gardening often tries to recreate these different landscapes / climates that the plants come from to create a natural environment for the plants. The designs would visually represent some of the different landscapes / climates in the world such as the desert, jungle, woodland etc. It was considered that close up textures of these different environments could be created on the top of planters with a space for a plant to be added. This would create an abstract representation of each of the climates, creating a contemporary and refined aesthetic. The desert could be represented through a sand dune pattern or cracked ground, a woodland through leaves and tree stumps. These could be created using moulds of models then plaster on concrete would be used to create the raised designs.  Alternatively more complex designs could be created by creating varying heights in the land and the addition of more elements from the environment. For example sand dunes could be created to reflect a desert,  elements such as tree trunks, logs and rocks could be used to reflect a jungle habitat and tree trunks leaves and mossy areas to reflect a woodland.
Alternatively these elements could be created in a flat design and layered one behind one another to create areas for plants to be put between the layers. The colour of the final designs could also signal the type of landscape that the design represents with a desert reflected using yellow, a jungle reflected using dark green 

- Another idea was to use the forms and shapes and textures from different houseplants to create pattern designs for planters. The designs could be quite abstract using close ups of leaves allowing the shapes within these to become more noticeable and perhaps less recognisable as leaf patterns, whilst still complimenting the plants that would be used within the planters. Refining the designs to simple shapes and colour palettes would create a contemporary aesthetic to the design. Different types of house plants could be reflected across the range to make them representative of the selection of house plants on offer.  Potentially some texture could also be added to the designs to recreate a sense of the physical qualities of the leaves / plants. The designs could be slightly more zoomed out to allow more elements of the plant to be seen within a design such as leaves overlapping and interacting with one another, or the shapes of flowers etc.