State of the art, project management and documentation¶
For me, this medium functions as a digital journal, which I find interesting because the act of recording becomes part of the process, and for this type of material experimentation, it enriches the experience. In this first section, I present my main references and key inspiration, as well as the customization of the space and documentation.
1. Objective¶
weekly assignment
- Learn the process and tools used to document course work
- Acquire the necessary skills to publish projects, documentation and share the results of each assignment
- Acquire the necessary skills to resize, optimize and compress / zip images, videos and files
2.1 References, research & inspiration¶
I would say that part of the influence I have today comes from the fact that, during my first 15 years, I was fortunate enough to live near a rural area, in a setting surrounded by mountains and rivers—what we would describe as the countryside, somewhat removed from the city. That connection with nature had a profound impact on me. On top of that, i was influenced by my mother worked in clothing design and garment making, so I grew up surrounded by that kind of creative practice..
I think that, eventually, all of these interests and influences began to converge and, little by little, shaped the areas I became interested in. So, in a way, almost without consciously intending to, I have ended up developing projects that follow that same direction: ecosystems, considering both living and non-living elements—not only from a formal perspective but also within their sociocultural contexts—as well as well-being and its broader implications. Another theme I often explore is material culture, particularly crafts, and the human and non-human actors involved in their practices.
At the same time, I am always open to expanding my horizons and continuing to learn. That is something I find particularly interesting about Fabricademy, because I have learned that you do not necessarily have to confine yourself to a single field in order to propose ideas or address a particular problem. This is especially true when we think about design, which allows us to approach problems from many different perspectives."
Among other influences that I also find important to mention, because they can emerge in different ways throughout the work I do, are, first of all, the Andean worldview and the use of medicinal plants, which are closely connected to practices that have been present in my family. And, when it comes to artistic movements, some of the ones that interest me the most are Impressionism, Renaissance and Art Nouveau. I am also very interested in the evolution of industrial design and in the way materials have transformed alongside the development of technology itself.
I find it fascinating how human beings have related to their environment throughout history, and how we can trace that relationship through material culture. In a way, I feel that today we are returning, to some extent, to where we began, trying to reconnect with our environment in a much deeper and more conscious way. This is especially relevant because our actions have a significant impact, and we are capable of altering different ecosystems. This is also where the idea of non-human actors comes into play, and how they are affected by our actions. For example, Neri Oxman2 is someone whose work I find particularly interesting in this regard. I am drawn to the way her work explores this idea of reconnecting with nature and finding ways of working together with it and for it.
3. Tools¶
List the tools you used
4. Process and workflow¶
"Moving on to the weekly assignment, the first thing we had to do was set up our personal space, which would serve as a platform for documenting the different activities and topics we would be working on throughout the Fab Academy program.
4.1 Step 1¶
I already had Git Bash installed, so I opened it and started by checking my user information and configuring the connection with GitLab. The idea was to link my computer to the remote repository where all the documentation would be stored and published.
For this, I also had to create a folder on my PC that would function as a local repository and contain all of this information. This way, I had a local copy of the files on my computer while also being able to synchronize them with the remote repository and work with them online.
After that, the changes and editing of the files were carried out through Visual Studio Code. Once those changes were synchronized with the repository, they could finally be viewed on my personal Fabricademy website.
An important step was setting up the SSH key, which would allow me to establish the connection between my computer and GitLab. I first generated the key and then verified and configured it through Git Bash.
After that, on GitLab, I selected the “Clone with SSH” option and copied the repository address into Git Bash. This allowed me to clone the repository and transfer all the information from GitLab to my computer so that I could work on it locally.
Then, in Visual Studio Code, I looked for the GitLab integration in order to connect the repository. During this process, I was asked for an access token, so I went back to GitLab and navigated to Access → Personal Access Tokens to generate one.
Once both the SSH connection and token-based authentication were configured, I had everything ready to start editing and working on the files for my site.
4.2 Step 2¶
Regarding the customization process, I felt it was important to have a visual reference from which I could develop and articulate all of these aesthetic decisions. The first one was the choice of the color palette.
For this, I used an illustration as a reference of Park Inju 1 from which I took inspiration for the tones I wanted to use. I also took some pictures and included them in my color palette moodboard. I have always liked gradients, not only because of their visual quality, but also because they remind me my home sky, and relate to a practice that I personally identify with: I do not work within a single discipline, but rather move between different areas. Even though these areas may be diverse, there is ultimately something that connects them and gives them a sense of unity.
I therefore wanted to recreate that effect on my site as well. I chose two main accent colors: a medium blue with violet undertones and orange. From these two colors, I developed the rest of the color palette.
When I reviewed the MkDocs configuration, I found that there was already a theme that I could use as a starting point. However, in order to customize it further, I had to enable the option for additional CSS stylesheets using extra_css. This allowed me to add CSS code to define the color palette, background colors, and other visual aspects.
Typography was another element I was particularly interested in customizing. I looked through references on Google Fonts, and the typeface I liked the most was Playfair Display, a serif typeface. I felt that it worked well with Montserrat, which I was already using, so I decided to use both for my documentation.
Finally, I established Playfair Display for the headings and Montserrat for the body text, creating a typographic combination that clearly differentiates between the two levels of information. "
4.3 Step 3¶
Another aspect I wanted to customize was the icons for the different weekly assignments. I already had an illustration that I had created by hand using watercolors, so I decided to use it as a starting point.
First, I scanned the illustration and then looked for different icons or silhouettes that could convey the topics we would be exploring each week. Since I am already quite familiar with Photoshop, I decided to use clipping masks to integrate my illustration into these different silhouettes.
After that, something that has been quite useful for me has been organizing these visual resources in PowerPoint. This allows me to easily arrange the sequence of images and save each slide independently, using the appropriate size and file format. This makes it much easier to later insert the images on the website.
For this process, it is important to keep in mind that all the files used on the website need to be saved within the folder we initially created on the computer, since this is the location from which the site’s files are managed.
5. Results¶
As a result, I was able to publish the website with the requested information and, more importantly, I gained a better understanding of the workflow required to manage it. I also learned how to upload images, organize the files, and then customize different aspects of the website’s visual appearance.
One thing I consider important for future updates is to properly check the size and format of the images, as well as to include and describe the references used throughout the design process. Finally, I think this first version can continue to evolve, since there are still many possibilities for further modifications and personalization as the program progresses.
6. Weekly reflection & critical thinking¶
I found it particularly interesting how working through a digital medium, and having to personalize and edit it, ultimately led me to engage in a kind of personal introspection. The process made me prioritize the tastes, references, and interests that I consider most relevant and that I genuinely want to share.The idea is that, through this process of collecting and publishing information, someone can get a glimpse into my inner universe and, to some extent, understand how I see the world at this particular moment and how I am translating that perspective into a visual language. In that sense, I feel that building the website has been more than just a technical exercise. It has also been a way of reflecting on my own creative identity and on the references that are shaping the way I approach design.
One area that I feel I still need to explore further is working with code and understanding the different workflows involved. So far, much of the process has involved trial and error, complemented by different guides and references obtained through chatgpt. However, I believe this is something I can gradually improve as I continue working with these tools.
I hope that by documenting this process, this information can also be useful to someone else who may be going through a similar experience or who is just beginning to explore this type of workflow.