Excursion

A N E X C U R S I O N

THROUGH MY EYES

a journey by a design student. LEENHOMSI

A

N E X C U R S I O N

THROUGH MY EYES

a journey by a design student.

LEENHOMSI

Tasneem Alomari

Excursion International Design and Media, DES429 Design and Visual Communication Department, SABE, GJU

First Semester 2022 | 2023

AYEARABROAD

INTRODUCTION

My dad never stops bragging about how he used to walk at least 3 kms to school everyday, and I never stopped thinking about how it was a weird thing to be proud of.

My first week in Germany was filled with appointments. I had to rush from one place to another, and being in a new city without knowledge of its streets and bus schedules does not really help. Without exaggerating, I think by the end of my first week, I had missed over ten bus rides and had to walk all the way from my dorm to the meeting place, which is definitely more than 3 kms away.

After coming back home, my dad mentioned the story again, and for the first time, I could relate. For the first time I was proud to actually say that my health app recorded at least 12,000 steps everyday, that my calves were screaming for a ride home but I fought my way through and that I have lived it all.

You might be thinking what a negative way to introduce my journey and I agree. However, what I mean to say is that;

travel messes you up, but in all the good ways!

I always say a perfect trip without unlucky surprises gives you a good story to share, but trips filled with mishaps deliver the best jokes and are always the ones we remember the most.

Life is imperfect and so should be your travels!

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EXPERIENCE

My study semester was in Wuerzbueg. A small city with students dominating almost 1/3 of its population. It was a city filled with germans of course, but also students like me who came to germany to study and experience life abroad.

I got to meet people from all around the world, learning about their different traditions and sharing stories about the Jordanian culture too. I became more responsible and learned how to cook, something my parents were very happy about as they thought I would starve to death there. All in all, I became more confident, more independent and learned how to take care of myself.

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HOME, WUERZBURG

EXPERIENCE

My internship semester was in Munich. It was an easy choice for me to apply when I saw that FC Bayern Munich was looking for a design intern. Working with such talented people has broadened my perspective on how far design can go and has helped me develop and learn new skills in various ways. I had the option of doing home-office during this internship, and therefore, I was able to explore Europe more this semester.

Overall, apart from being homesick almost always, this year was something I needed for self development, skills improvement and all the fun.

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HOME, MUNICH

BARCELONA,SPAIN

Located between sea and mountains ,the city’s extraordinary architectural plan is not the only extra thing about it. Antoni Gaudi is!

His work is literally all over the place in Barcelona.

Gaudi’s nature-inspired forms and exquisite colors define his architecture and give a memorable character to the entire city. The city which left me in awe.

As a design student, it was surprisingly the architecture that drew my attention in this city. It was how the gothic decorative buildings fit in the modern streets of Barcelona, it was how all the different colors gave life to its walls and it was how every street had an element that caught my attention.

What interested me the most, and something I implement now when designing, was the fact that Gaudi went all out. He was bold and was not afraid to use colors, play with textures and experiment with materials. Although his buildings do not match the streets of barcelona, he designed them in a way so powerful that eventually the streets matched the buildings.

He designed to be followed not to follow.

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CASABATLLOBYGAUDI

This piece of art is not only a treat for the eyes, but was a home to a wealthy aristocrat in Barcelona, a spectacular Antoni Gaudi design that dates back to the early 1900s.

Gaudi’s evident attention to detail is visible throughout this art neoveou inspired building. The exterior of Casa Batllo initially gives the impression that it is built of skulls and bones. In truth, the bones serve as the pillars and the skulls as the balconies. Although not a single straight line can be seen on the building’s front, which was designed using colors and shapes found in marine life, the curves look coherent and well put.

Its random elements are well studied and placed in a layout where every corner contains a decorative element and the statement piece or focal point is not one particular thing in the building but the building itself placed between the other buildings on this street.

Grids and layouts are one of the most important elements in design, but one thing I learned through observation of Gaudi’s design is that sometimes you create a grid to break it.

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CASAMILABYGAUDI

This is Antoni Gaudí’s last civil work, which he started in 1906 and finished in 1912. It is considered one of his modern designs created in his modernist phase. Its nickname, “La Pedrera”, refers to its external appearance, where stone has been used as a key material for the design of the facade and the balconies.

The design appears to be simple, but when you take its features into consideration, you realize how complicated it is. Made from only two materials , stone and iron beams, Gaudi was able to create a simply complicated facade with stone and decorated it with iron beams, creating a focal point that creates a unique first impression for the people passing by.

Simple designs are not always simply implemented, and in every simple design there is a focal point that adds beauty to its form.

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PARKGUELLBYGAUDI

This park was designed by Antoni Gaudí upon the request of Count Eusebi Güell, who wanted to build a stylish park for the aristocrats of Barcelona. The mosaic tile bench at Park Guell is a major tourist attraction. It is a popular modernism style where broken tiles created a mosaic masterpiece, and this bench is an exceptional example of mosaic tile used in a functional architectural design.

Usually, all of the bits and pieces in a mosaic must fit together somehow and each piece found it’s place within this bench design. The beautiful thing with this mosaic style is that the tiles do not need to match in color or style.

The same goes for any design piece, whether graphic, typography or illustration. It is about seeing the picture as a whole rather than each element alone. All of the elements in the end should look coherent just like the mosaic tiles of this bench.

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HUNDERTWASSERHAUS|VIENNA,AUSTRIA

The Hundertwasser house is an apartment house in Vienna, built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

The building itself is not so special in terms of structure however, it is the window placements and the illustrative color blocks that give it its uniqueness. From far away, it seems as if the building is broken down into in-organic shapes that have been pieced together like a puzzle to create this aesthetic block design.

In this design, it is all about the visuals. Sometimes, taking a simple form and adding extraordinary visuals can create and extraordinary piece. A simple concept placed on an inorganic grid can produce an eye-catching design and reach this “wow” effect that every designer looks for in their end product.

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CONCLUSION

To conclude this excursion book, and as a design student observing the mind blowing architecture in Barcelona and Vienna, I realized how one can relate architecture to visual communication design.

Design is all about layouts, grids, forms and focal points and so is architecture.

Of course, Europe is filled with more than just 5 exceptional buildings, but these were the ones, in my opinion, that were jaw-dropping and worth stopping for a second to observe and be consumed by their beauty.

Writing this report has taken me back to a journey I was so keen on being a part of. It helped me document my thoughts for future reference and was simply an assurance of how exploring europe by foot is much more interesting than transportation.

I hope by the end, that I was able to take you on an excursion in euroupe through my eyes as promised in the title of this report.

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E C L A R A T I O N

I hereby confirm that the information provided in this report is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted anywhere for any course. I also confirm the images used are taken by me.

D

LEENHOMSI

leenhomsi

11 . 01 . 2023

l.homsi@gju.edu.jo +962790140787 LEENHOMSI

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Excursion

A N E X C U R S I O N

THROUGH MY EYES

A

N E X C U R S I O N

THROUGH MY EYES

TABLEOFCONTENTS

AYEARABROAD

INTRODUCTION

EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE

BARCELONA,SPAIN

CASABATLLOBYGAUDI

CASAMILABYGAUDI

PARKGUELLBYGAUDI

HUNDERTWASSERHAUS|VIENNA,AUSTRIA

CONCLUSION

E C L A R A T I O N