This fall I was very pleased to publish another article in the “Think Like a Designer” series. This piece was published in the holiday 2018 edition of Mosaic Magazine. The cover includes a stunning photo of Fat Chance Belly Dance founder Carolina Nerricio. I simply adore the vintage assiut shawl elegantly draped over her head. Mosaic is a publication put out by the UK belly dance club, Mosaic Arabic Dance Network. If you are a dancer in the UK, be sure to check out their website.
Think Like a Designer: The Brief
When I was thinking about what to share in this article, I decided to focus on using a design brief. Professional designers in many different design industries work for clients. The design brief sets expectations for practical things like the timeline, quantity of pieces, and budget. But the brief also describes the main features of the project. The color, silhouette, materials and their application and uses.
Research your Project and gather Ideas
Professional designers like to create mood boards, vision boards, or collages of inspiring images. Perhaps you’re making a garden themed costume. You would then collect garden imagery and use your collection to inspire your design choices. One of the tools I use gathering inspiration is Pinterest. You can easily set up either a public or private board where you can gather and store images for you to reference during the design process.
Interested in reading this article? Click here or on the image above to access the .pdf.
Making a Custom Croquis
One of the ways that designers communicate with clients is through sketches and line art. In this article, I describe how I make a custom croquis. These design templates accurately capture the unique body proportions of each individual so sketching is quick and easy. The method I’ve been using for years only takes a full-body photo of the individual, affordable tracing paper, and a pencil. Using this method, you will ensure that your sketches are proportionally accurate to your model, or even just yourself.
Collaborations
I want to take a moment to say a few thank yous to the lovely dancers I have the privilege and pleasure to work with. Shout out to Basinah who appears bottom page 32 and Poppy Maya on the cover of our upcoming book Pose. Other dancers in the Pinterest collage include author/dancer/teacher Sara Shrapnell, Vakasha, Shalimar, and Zemira. The photos are taken by my co-author Alisha Westerfeld. My articles, blog posts, magazines, and books wouldn’t be possible without the help of my friends in dance.
Happy Holidays,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
December 25, 2018