Prologue
"Disaster City" is a project constructed entirely out of paper for the "Flat City" Assignment," apart of "3-Dimensional Problem-Solving" a junior-level graphic design class at Ringling College of Art and Design. It was an in-depth, several months in the making project with the purpose being to create a product of interest to consumers that could be sold. We had to develop a concept and give our product a life of its own, as well as get our hands dirty with lots of paper craft, making a visually cohesive and interesting city.
After the city was designed, we had to package it, making an instruction manual and including photos so you could conceivably hand it over to someone and they would be able to reconstruct your city. It was a good test of our ability in making something legible to the common man, as well as a challenge to our ability to make things tangibly in an ever increasingly computer-driven field.
After the city was designed, we had to package it, making an instruction manual and including photos so you could conceivably hand it over to someone and they would be able to reconstruct your city. It was a good test of our ability in making something legible to the common man, as well as a challenge to our ability to make things tangibly in an ever increasingly computer-driven field.
Disaster Cities, Flat Cities, Capital Cities, Oh My.
Although Disaster City is the name of my project, the name of the fictional city it depicts is different. The concept of my "Flat City" project is about a metropolis that exemplifies the worst that Capitalism could offer. This metropolis is known as Capital City. In Capital City, only the rich can afford to live, and boy do they. It is about lifestyles in excess, where people are ignorant as much as they are arrogant. Pollution is rampant and the government and citizens simply don't care and are quite oblivious to the harm they are causing to the environment, preferring to spend their concerns on material wealth and monetary gain instead.
So what happens? Nature strikes back. In real life we see natural disasters occurring at an unprecedented rate, seeming to coincide with global warming and corporate pollution and so I wanted Disaster City to show the last straw, with Earth going all out on the denizens of Capital City with a coastal Tsunami, gale-force winds Tornado, ground fracturing Earthquakes and one giant Super-Volcano.
This project reflects a lot of my personal beliefs. I am saddened how many of us are simply unaware of the drastic effects on the environment much of the civilized world is doing, and how many of the ones that are aware do nothing to stop it. I sometimes wonder if pollutants put out in America might cause a terrible disaster elsewhere in the world, such as the tsunami's in Indonesia. You would think if the Earth knew any justice, it would punish those that are causing this mess and not innocents. I am not trying to say that I am anti-capitalism or anti-American. I love my country, I just wish we could be more responsible. That goes for all humanity.
Political notions aside, I wanted to make Disaster City because I thought it would be a challenge to abstract the elements into paper. I wanted to stylize them in a manner that was almost cartoonish; something I could call my own, and also so it could touch on the whole "2012 end of the world" nonsense in a mocking tone, but perhaps also a warning one. After all, this planet is all we have; why risk it?
So what happens? Nature strikes back. In real life we see natural disasters occurring at an unprecedented rate, seeming to coincide with global warming and corporate pollution and so I wanted Disaster City to show the last straw, with Earth going all out on the denizens of Capital City with a coastal Tsunami, gale-force winds Tornado, ground fracturing Earthquakes and one giant Super-Volcano.
This project reflects a lot of my personal beliefs. I am saddened how many of us are simply unaware of the drastic effects on the environment much of the civilized world is doing, and how many of the ones that are aware do nothing to stop it. I sometimes wonder if pollutants put out in America might cause a terrible disaster elsewhere in the world, such as the tsunami's in Indonesia. You would think if the Earth knew any justice, it would punish those that are causing this mess and not innocents. I am not trying to say that I am anti-capitalism or anti-American. I love my country, I just wish we could be more responsible. That goes for all humanity.
Political notions aside, I wanted to make Disaster City because I thought it would be a challenge to abstract the elements into paper. I wanted to stylize them in a manner that was almost cartoonish; something I could call my own, and also so it could touch on the whole "2012 end of the world" nonsense in a mocking tone, but perhaps also a warning one. After all, this planet is all we have; why risk it?
Overview
Volcano
Buildings
The buildings of Capital City went through several design iterations. My class and professor thought the best approach was simple rectangular shapes, but at one time I had very expressive and futuristic buildings to fit a "toxic and polluted lavish extreme capitalist" theme.
In the end, I went with ugly, stark and bleak looking structures with massive (scale-wise) phrases lining the sides of them. The idea was that Capital City is at some level aware of its ugly polluted industrial nature and so one way they try to veil it is by having contemplative words written on the side of the buildings. Things like "Indulge," "Serene," "Trust Us," "Forest," etc. Some in particular were different to try and explain the story of Capital City. The phrase "Industry was our Vice" offers an ominous explanation to the audience to why the natural disasters are occuring all at once here.
In the end, I went with ugly, stark and bleak looking structures with massive (scale-wise) phrases lining the sides of them. The idea was that Capital City is at some level aware of its ugly polluted industrial nature and so one way they try to veil it is by having contemplative words written on the side of the buildings. Things like "Indulge," "Serene," "Trust Us," "Forest," etc. Some in particular were different to try and explain the story of Capital City. The phrase "Industry was our Vice" offers an ominous explanation to the audience to why the natural disasters are occuring all at once here.
Tsunami
Smoke Stacks
Tornado
Earthquake
Package & Contents
For the packaging I wanted to go for an Art-Deco theme, based off the postcards I had to design earlier. I felt contrasting the bitter destruction with a lavish 1940's Manhattan styling would be interesting; though I kept a dingy texture behind everything to reflect the ugly industrial buildings.
Booklet Detail
Fin
Colin Bright
Fall 2009
3rd Year Graphic Design
Flat Cities Project "Disaster City"
Ringling College of Art & Design
Fall 2009
3rd Year Graphic Design
Flat Cities Project "Disaster City"
Ringling College of Art & Design
