Empress and concubines

• Main Author: Zhao, Tianshu
• Other Authors: Peer Mohideen Sathikh
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Design::Product
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/71100
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Personally I have great passion for fashion and accessories. I always believe that jewelries add a lot of personality to one’s outfit, and can play up the attires easily. I am excited to take up this opportunity to design my own set of jewelry that reflects my belief and style. Meanwhile, I am always interested in Chinese History and stories. I believe it would be very interesting to combine my favorite things together to create a design product that adds fun to other people’s life. Hence I decided to design a set of jewelry that has Chinese culture influence and tells the audience an interesting story. I started the project by researching and collecting a lot of information about Chinese culture. Then I selectively developed on some of the points and brainstormed on how to combine them cohesively. After which I came out with my own storyline as the background of my jewelry designs. I have also taken references from some famous fashion brands before sketching my own design. The actual design process was the repetition of sketching, refining, CAD, then refining again. Practical part came when I needed to 3D print my models out. I further refine the designs by making them more suitable for printing, and finally arrived at my products. Through researching stage, I learned a lot more about Chinese culture and traditions, especially regarding Qing Dynasty. I even found out that many popular Chinese dramas have obviously misused their costumes. During designing stage, I learnt that jewelry designing is not only about being pretty looking, but also about ergonomics, cost, etc. Completing this project also allow me to explore more on CAD and 3D printing, on different materials and their characteristics. The main unique feature of the jewelry set is the background storyline. Without which, the jewelry would only be a set of beautiful decorative accessories without content. The storyline brings all pieces together to form a comprehensive set. Each piece has its own meaning and altogether they reflects a culture, a hierarchy.