"Roger Woehl" wrote in message
I have been designing furniture and other wood projects for many years.
Usually I draw out the plans and then proceed to make the cuts and
adjustments as needed. I am at the point where I feel my project designs
are not very challenging or creative. I am curious if any of you use any
particular methodology to get your creative design juices flowing. How do
you stretch your imaginations to take a traditional idea and make it
unique,
eye catching and interesting? What is it about a project design that
causes
the observer to look at it with wonder?

Some random thoughts, in no particular order:

Basically dimension, proportion (it's amazing what how much better a 1"
table top can look than the ubiquitous 3/4" table top), shape (curve or
straight), texture (grain), and color (natural or artificial) are just some
of the variable parameters to deal with.

Like beauty, a good design is in the eye of the beholder. And, like music, a
good design is notable for both embellishments, and for what is left out
(the space between the notes is often more important than the notes
themselves) and, also like music, building upon a genre (mission, federal,
etc,) that has appeal to the beholder.

I generally design for the space a piece must occupy, an extra bit of
challenge for those of us who are somewhat "design impaired". I've not found
a definitive and thoroughly satisfactory solution, but Blackburn's
"Furniture by Design" or "Practical Design Solutions and Strategies" are not
bad places to start. There have also been some excellent articles in
magazines the last couple of years dealing with design parameters like the
"golden rectangle" and "Fibonacci series" (sp?), but not anything that will
take you all the way to where you want to go ... at least as far as I've
been able to tell. Might want to Google the wrec because this has been
discussed heavily in recent times.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...22502?v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...e&s=books&st=*

Proportion is the hardest of all for me because it changes drastically with
your view of the piece ... that, to me, is the "sticky wicket" of furniture
design and something that is probably best learned through prototyping.

On important pieces, I almost always "prototype".

Since I do mostly my own designs, I make a conscious effort to critique each
piece after I have had some time to live with it in the hopes that some of
the 'art of design' will somehow appear, but it apparently is just not in my
bones as it remains a struggle for me.

Good luck ... Basically I am still searching myself.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/16/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Swingman,
I thought you music analogy was interesting. In one my recent projects, I
had this perception or vision of it as musical in some way. The lines or
spacing or dimensions or something about it made me think "musical." I
didn't give it to much thought at the time but now I wonder if there is
something to the idea of shape and musical pattern that gives a piece
elegance and presence. Thanks for the pique.

Roger
"Swingman" wrote in message
...

"Roger Woehl" wrote
Swingman,
I thought you music analogy was interesting. In one my recent projects, I
had this perception or vision of it as musical in some way. The lines or
spacing or dimensions or something about it made me think "musical." I
didn't give it to much thought at the time but now I wonder if there is
something to the idea of shape and musical pattern that gives a piece
elegance and presence. Thanks for the pique.

You're welcome ... in a cliché' nutshell - "I feel your pain". I've been
struggling with this very same topic/issue for some years and have about
come to the singular conclusion that to please one's self with regard to
either furniture design, or music, is hardest of all. I've rarely walked out
of the recording studio, or the shop, with something I'm totally pleased
with.

To recognize, and most importantly, to appreciate, a talent in others is all
that some of us will ever be allowed ... c'est la vie.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/16/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Wed, Nov 28, 2007, 6:57pm (EST-1) (Swingman) doth sayeth:
snip I've rarely walked out of the recording studio, or the shop,
with something I'm totally pleased with. snip

Yeah, I used to be like that too. Then I lowered my standards.
Much happier now.



JOAT
You'll never get anywhere if you believe what you "hear". What do you
"know"?.
- Granny Weatherwax