Creative Process
Inspiration
Beth Hoeckel's collages served as inspiration for my design aesthetic. I love how she incorporates images of vintage fashion into a surreal landscape. After creating my 1920's collage, I started adding other elements into the pieces to contextualize the many figures relating to fashion and feminism.
​
Image Reference: Hoeckel, Beth. Spaghetti.
Pinterest Boards
To source images for the collages, I created a Pinterest board for each piece. Adding to these boards also gave me a clearer vision of the aesthetic and styles, as text does not give you the full picture. I started to see the popular color palettes for each decade as well. Within these boards I included inspiration for the collage concept, background ideas, images from protests, fashionable figures, and photos of makeup or hairstyles.
1920s
1940s
1960s
1970s
1990s
Collage Techniques
selection
When selecting backgrounds, I chose to maintain round shapes through the timeline. For the images, I tried to maintain a theme of black and white for the feminism aspects, and color for the fashion. I believe this helped emphasize the historical aspects. Less color images were available for the 1920's, but fashion sketches included color.
photoshop
Although most of the collages I have created in the past were physical, I created this timeline in photoshop. Sometimes making selections became very difficult, but overall my functionalities were widened. Resizing images allowed me to make certain pictures focal points. I also experimented with blending modes within my 1970's and 1990's collages.
coloring
So that the timeline was visually appealing as a whole, I created different color palettes for each piece. Within the collages, I tried to use complementary colors and make sure there was a variety between the figures. I also edited the saturation and color balance of many images to minimize the difference of filters between "black and white" images.
iteration
In our class we practiced "killing our darlings", to make space for fresh, improved ideas. I used this method to consistently improve the collages and test out different compositions. This practice helped me develop better concepts.
Attention Management
I tried out the Pomodoro technique, four sessions of taking 5 minute breaks after 25 minutes of work, then taking a longer break. This helped me achieve full focus during my work sessions, without getting distracted. After struggling with creative blocks, taking breaks while creating my collages allowed me to come up with new ideas, get a fresh perspective on my work, and sort out ideas that didn't fit.