- Characteristics of the Designer's Work -

Hector Guimard is known for his flowing; 'whiplash' curves. Though many Art Nouveau designers included curves and natural references in their designs (e.g flowers, stems, etc); Hector Guimard abstracted these organic forms and manifested them as wild and untamed. Hence, instead of using neat and proper lines for my layout, I gave it a messier look so as to point out Hector Guimard's 'wild and untamed' fashion of work.

Also, Hector Guimard largely abandoned the notion of symmetry and geometrical idealization of nature in his work; which is why I came up with the idea of the asymmetrical shape at the top of my layout.

- The Layout -

Starting from the top of my layout, it is rather obvious that I've made use of the Art Nouveau; as well as Hector Guimard's style, to create a flowing curve effect. I placed it in a way such that it forms an asymmetrical shape; which is what Hector Guimard designs possessed. Also, this has a relation to my character: Zene, who hates anything that is symmetrical. As you scroll down the journal, it brings you to the bottom of my layout; which ends off with yet another organic form, as well as Zene's signature.

- The Colours -

The colours used here are rather muted and pale as I was inspired to use some of the common colours found during the Art Nouveau period. During the Art Nouveau period, new colours were developed which was paler than normal so as to lighten up the environment; in contrast to the Victorian period. Black was used in a very restrained way; as it contrasted well with the white used for most of the woodwork.

[Some colours used during the Art Nouveau era]

Bricks & Brass: Art Nouveau Colour. Retrieved August 15, 2007, from
http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/deselem/colour/colouran.htm

Hence, , I chose a pale beige background colour. The black strokes and text contrasted well with the background colour. At the same time, it makes reading more comfortable.

- The Character -

Zene is an example of my style applied. From another style of mine, I have created 'Munkey' - a stuff monkey; which Zene carries around no matter where she goes. The reason for Munkey's creation is so that it acts like a companion for Zene, showing a glimpse of Zene's other side - her sense of insecurity.

Furthermore, as I've mentioned above, Zene loves her set of chess to bits. Hence, I thought I should display some of her chess pieces for all to see. The addition of the Chess game indicates her competitive behaviour. As she had only gain knowledge of her own existence during the late 19th century; also known as the postwar period, the Chess board acts as a plotting graph for her to train her defending skills.