The Buffalo Loves Cotton assignment for students in the fall 2010 FTT304 Adobe Surface Design for Industry class was to study the master Buffalo Love Cotton concept board , color board and description/direction. This class project is a small part of a program-wide Buffalo State Loves Cotton grant that is sponsored by Cotton INC. From this they conducted their own individual research that resulted in a mash-up of all things cotton [history, plant, fiber, processing, etc] and inspiration from WNY [ area attractions, parks, historical and local architecture and events, art galleries, Buffalo bison, etc]
They created their own Buffalo Love Cotton concept vision, as well as developing their own fashion palette from the master color palette provided. They each developed print design motifs that were shapes and forms inspired by elements on their concept boards. They then created repeat patterns and presented them in three colorways with a suggested end product. Their work for this project was all in Adobe CS5.
Here are several of the concept boards with descriptions of their individual inspirations. They are linked to their individual Web galleries that they created for this class.
The focus for this concept is on the importance of art in Buffalo, NY. Among the galleries and the people who live here, art is something many people in this community find important. Inspirations came form art in the Burchfield Art Center, among other WNY artists. The art I found involves nature as well as buffalo bison and images of cotton.
For the Buffalo Loves Cotton project, inspiration came from two favorite places in Buffalo, Delaware Park and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. The Cotton Parkway, collection incorporates a vintage park scene that is updated with bright colors and rough sketches.
Colors are bright and vibrant, using main colors such as “Cotton Candy Pink,” “Pool” blue-green, and “Sunshine” yellow-orange. For accents and backgrounds, colors are light, airy and natural to show the mixture of a spring or summer day in the midst of an urban city. Inspiration for the motifs and prints came from the nature scenes of Burchfield’s paintings. His paintings are abstracted works of art using the same color schemes, bright vivacious colors with some darks and some lights. Inspiration motifs were the butterflies from the “A Dream of Butterflies” painting, cotton dandelions from “Dandelion Seed Heads and the Moon” were the base for developing other motifs throughout the prints using the same abstract rougher style of his painting.
The brightness in color contrasts nicely as a rough abstract print to show the contrast of the city of Buffalo in comparison to the light and airy parks of Buffalo, which is where the second inspiration of Delaware Park comes from. It represents by far a most favored place in Buffalo NY. prints were developed inspired by imagining Delaware Park as an older carnival scene. Motifs of cotton candy, bubbles and flowers as were incorporated to show a simpler beauty of nature of Buffalo.
Nautical Cotton was inspired by images of cotton as well as images of objects located by the the water in Buffalo, like boats and lighthouses. The goal was to develop a natural, carefree communal feeling with a bit of a nautical touch. The neutrals in the color palette produce a natural, organic vibe, while the brighter green and blue stand out and add a more carefree touch. The patterns aren’t very detailed, yet they convey the simple feeling of nature and beauty that is shown in the inspiration boards for this series.
Integrating cotton research into pattern making. “Imagine a lush Buffalo city skylight in a morning glow, surrounded by a field of soft, cotton plants. The sky, a soft blue and yellow hue takes in the abundance of Cotton plants stretching their leaves towards the heavens. Buffalo, in the distance, an “All America” city is waking up, ready to embrace cotton as the glorious king fiber that it is. Below, in the cotton fields, cotton Buffalo run free, ready to be captured and consumed for projects.” Cotton cannot obviously thrive in Buffalo Climate, so this is what I would imagine it would look like early in the morning in an imaginary cotton field in Buffalo.”
Organic Optimism was inspired by the spirit of Art Deco, the organic forms of the cotton boll unfolding and iconic Buffalo Architecture. As an art form, Art Deco is based on mathematical geometries and streamlined aesthetics. This collection melds motifs found in local architecture with the blossoming cotton boll. The prints are meant to reflect the optimism and spirit brought on by the advent of the cotton gin, other new technologies and the expanding travel opportunities that were synonymous with the Roaring 20’s.
This collection incorporates the natural feel of cotton against the geometric, sharp building lines/maps of the city of Buffalo. Local maps presented a nice clash against the soft look of the white cotton. There was something very odd about pairing the two together. I believe that opposites attract, and there is something magical when combined. The suggested end product should be something that is soft and comfy. This collection illustrates the feel of the city life and the people who live in it. The oranges represent the beautiful sunsets we get here in Buffalo. The greens and blues represent a sense of urbanization, sophistication, modern culture as well as an artistic city and the people who appreciate it for what its worth.
India is said to be the birthplace of cotton, so combining influences from India and Buffalo for Buffalo Loves Cotton seemed appropriate. Divinesootra is a mix of spiritual influence from India and Buffalo. Architecture from churches in Buffalo and Temples from India are blended together to make new design inspirations. The beauty of the Indian sari is also intermingled into the inspiration of the colors and designs.
Architecture of Buffalo is merged with various forms of cotton to create a new look for the two …. an eloquent city is united with a billowy blossom of cotton. Buffalo’s Architecture is enhanced by the rich blooms and is emulated in the prints of Button Love.
Cotton Central merges the Buffalo Central Terminal and Cotton. The colors and motifs represent the mash up between the architecture and things you would find in the Central Terminal and how you would find cotton in nature.
Pan American Cotton Exposition
This concept board is an imaginary vision of the 1902 Pan American Exposition that was held in Buffalo, NY. To be a celebration of cotton. Inspiration came from pictures and antiques from the Expo. Architecture, sculptures, and murals were combined with images of cotton. The names on the color board are also related to “the Pan.” This concept is meant to highlight a briefly magical period in Buffalo’s rich history.
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