Decorative Plate Project

For this assignment I drew inspiration from the Japanese graphic designer Ikko Tanaka.

Ikko Tanaka's style fused modernism with classical Japanese symbolism. His designs used stylized geometric shapes with bold colours in order to create unique images, both familiar because of the traditional Japanese influence but new due to his modernist twist. I specifically used inspiration from his geisha design to create my own plate.

I used Bengali traditional elements since that is the heritage I grew up with. Specifically, I used the image of a Bengali bride because I think it invokes the same feelings when looking at a geisha (feelings of ideal and aspired feminine beauty).

I used a solid red rectangle to create the saree of the bride. The two green leaves in front of her face represent the ceremonial leaves used in Bengali weddings, the beige circles create her traditional headdress and the brown background is meant to invoke the imagery of land. I tried using earth tones just because land is very important to Bengalis and their history.

Red and green are also prominent in my design because it invokes the imagery of the Bengali flag, really making the Bengali influence obvious through the modernist style.