Floral Design Styles: Contemporary Design Techniques

 

Lesson Overview

Media: Video (67 minutes)

Seat Time: 7 Classes | 350 minutes teaching

 

Goal:

To explore contemporary design techniques in floral design.

 

Description:

This lesson will describe how to utilize basing and focal-emphasis techniques to arrange contemporary design styles. This lesson will also discuss the characteristics of formal linear, parallel and synergistic designs, as well as how the principles and elements of design are utilized in examples.

 

Objectives:

1.    To describe contemporary floral design styles, including formal linear, parallel and synergistic.

2.    To discuss how basing and focal-emphasis techniques can be utilized to construct contemporary floral design styles.

3.    To demonstrate how the principles and elements of design can be utilized in contemporary floral design styles.

 

Class 1

Class Overview:

Formal Linear Designs Video Segment

Action Plan

Vocabulary Handout

Key Concepts

Formal Linear Designs Check for Understanding

 

Essential Questions:

1.    What are formal linear designs?

2.    What basing and focal-emphasis techniques are used in formal linear designs?

3.    How are the principles and elements of design used in formal linear designs?

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Show students an image of a formal linear design on the board. Have students write down the first word that comes to mind. Discuss students’ answers as a class.

Step 2: Distribute the Action Plan, Vocabulary Handout and Key Concepts.

·         The Action Plan lays out a list of tasks for students to complete during the lesson.

·         The Vocabulary Handout is a list of terms used throughout the lesson.

·         The Key Concepts is an outline which identifies the main ideas presented in the lesson which students can fill in to aid in note taking during the lesson.

Step 3: Show the Formal Linear Designs video segment.

·         This video is 16 minutes long.

·         Be sure to utilize the Key Concepts for this segment of the lesson.

Step 4: Administer the Formal Linear Designs Check for Understanding.

·         The check for understanding is a short review of the content presented in the segment.

Step 5: Exit Ticket:

·         ABC Brainstorm: Instruct students to work with a partner to write down words related to the topic for each letter in the alphabet. Have students turn in their responses before leaving class.

 

Class 2

Class Overview:

Action Plan

Create a Formal Linear Design Project

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Have students write three characteristics of a formal linear design. Review answers as a class.

Step 2: Students should complete the Create a Formal Linear Design Project.

·         Students will create a formal linear design, receive feedback and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

Step 3: Exit Ticket:

·         Have students write down three statements about formal linear designs, two truths and a lie. Once completed, have students exchange statements with a partner to figure out which statement is the lie.

 

Class 3

Class Overview:

Parallel Designs Part 1 Video Segment

Parallel Designs Part 2 Video Segment

Action Plan

Vocabulary Handout

Key Concepts

Parallel Designs Check for Understanding

 

Essential Questions:

1.    What are parallel designs?

2.    What basing and focal-emphasis techniques are used in parallel designs?

3.    How are the principles and elements of design used in parallel designs?

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Prior to class, write the term “parallel design” on the board. Instruct students to write down their guess of the definition of the term in their own words. Ask a few students to share their definitions with the class.

Step 2: Show the Parallel Designs Part 1 video segment.

·         This video is nine minutes long.

Step 3: Show the Parallel Designs Part 2 video segment.

·         This video is 17 minutes long.

·         Be sure to utilize the Key Concepts for this segment of the lesson.

Step 4: Administer the Parallel Designs Check for Understanding.

·         The check for understanding is a short review of the content presented in the segment.

Step 5: Exit Ticket:

·         Find the Mistake: Write a description of a process or technique relating to the topic of the lesson which contains several mistakes. Keep a list of the intentional mistakes for reference. As students read through the description, have them identify each mistake and write down the corrected version. If time allows, discuss students’ responses as a class. Have students turn in their responses before leaving class.

 

Class 4

Class Overview:

Action Plan

Create a Parallel Design Project

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Think, Pair, Share: Show an example of a parallel design on the board. Ask students to identify two ways the principles of design are used in the example. Have them consider their response for one or two minutes before asking them to get into groups and share their responses. 

Step 2: Students should complete the Create a Parallel Design Project.

·         Students will create a parallel design, receive feedback and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

Step 3: Exit Ticket:

·         3, 2, 1: Students should write three things they learned about parallel designs, two new vocabulary words which relate to the lesson and one question they may still have about the lesson. Have students turn in their responses before leaving class.  

 

Class 5

Class Overview:

Synergistic Designs Part 1 Video Segment

Synergistic Designs Part 2 Video Segment

Action Plan

Vocabulary Handout

Key Concepts

Synergistic Designs Check for Understanding

 

Essential Questions:

1.    What are synergistic designs?

2.    What basing and focal-emphasis techniques are used in synergistic designs?

3.    How are the principles and elements of design used in synergistic designs?

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Have students look up the definition of the word “synergistic”. Lead a discussion about what characteristics they expect synergistic designs to have.

Step 2: Show the Synergistic Designs Part 1 video segment.

·         This video is 10 minutes long.

Step 3: Show the Synergistic Designs Part 2 video segment.

·         This video is 15 minutes long.

·         Be sure to utilize the Key Concepts for this segment of the lesson.

Step 4: Administer the Synergistic Designs Check for Understanding.

·         The check for understanding is a short review of the content presented in the segment.

Step 5: Exit Ticket:

·         Dice Debrief: Have students roll a die and answer the prompt which matches their number. Have the prompts written on the board for students to see. Students can complete this verbally or write their answers.  

-         1: Name one new thing you learned today 

-         2: Define the term “synergistic design” in your own words

-         3: Describe one way the elements of design were used in the design examples in the video segments

-         4: Describe one way the principles of design were used in the design examples in the video segments

-         5: Identify one basing technique used in the design examples in the video segments

-         6: Identify one focal emphasis technique used in the design examples in the video segments

 

Class 6

Class Overview:

Action Plan

Create a Synergistic Design Project

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Have students sketch an idea for a synergistic design and share with a partner.

Step 2: Students should begin the Create a Synergistic Design Project.

·         Students will create a synergistic design, receive feedback and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

Step 3: Exit Ticket:

·         Ask students to show how confident they are in their knowledge of the synergistic designs on a scale of zero to five, five being the most confident, and zero being the least confident. Have them hold the number up with their hands or say the number. Address any remaining confusion or questions students may have.

 

Class 7

Class Overview:

Action Plan

Floral Design Styles: Contemporary Design Techniques Final Assessment

Create a Synergistic Design Project

 

Step 1: Bell Ringer:

·         Have students pair up to review lesson materials to prepare for the assessment.

Step 2: Administer the Floral Design Styles: Contemporary Design Techniques Final Assessment.

·         The assessment is a comprehensive assessment covering material throughout the entire lesson.

Step 3: Students should complete the Create a Synergistic Design Project.

·         Students will create a synergistic design, receive feedback, and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

Step 4: Exit Ticket:

·         Have students turn in their Create a Synergistic Design Project.

 

Project Overview

Create a Formal Linear Design

Students will create a formal linear design, receive feedback and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

 

Suggested Floral Recipe: 

Container

Floral foam, pre-soaked

Floral wire and stem tape to reinforce stems, if needed

Medium-sized blooms or greenery for basing techniques, such as button pompoms, trick green dianthus, galax leaves and calathea leaves

Two to four dynamic line materials, such as curly willow, calathea or bells of Ireland

Four line flowers, such as drumstick allium or liatris

Two mass flowers such as carnations or chrysanthemums

 

Accommodations:

Display an example on the board for students to reference.

 

Modifications:

Allow students to incorporate half of the materials to focus on strategic placement and use of negative space.

 

Extension:

Have students present their designs to the class and describe how they think the viewer’s eye moves through the design.

 

 

Create a Parallel Design

Students will create a parallel design, receive feedback and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

 

Suggested Floral Recipe: 

Square or rectangular container

Water tubes or river cane, filled halfway with water

Five to seven medium-sized blooms, such as Viking mums, roses or carnations

Assortment of greenery with different textures, such as whisk fern, petticoat fern, African boxwood, button fern, umbrella grass and peperomia leaf

 

Accommodations:

Allow additional time as needed.

 

Modifications:

Provide students with a pre-made container base and mark water tubes where materials could be placed to appear parallel.

 

Extension:

Have students create a custom parallel container by upcycling everyday items.

 

 

Create a Synergistic Design

Students will create a synergistic design, receive feedback and perform a self-evaluation of their arrangement.

 

Suggested Floral Recipe: 

Three to five containers

Line material to create physical or implied lines, such as river cane or red twig dogwood

Accent materials such as bullion wire

Glue dots or staples to manipulate greenery into various positions

Eight to ten medium-sized blooms such as roses, cosmos, carnations or chrysanthemums

Eight to ten sprigs of small blooms, such as wax flower, hypericum berries, craspedia, baby’s breath or mini carnations

Assortment of three types of greenery, such as flax leaves, bear grass, leucadendron, lily grass or aspidistra leaf

 

Accommodations:

Allow students to work with a partner.

 

Modifications:

Allow students to limit their synergistic design to three containers.

 

Extension:

Have students display their synergistic designs and perform a gallery walk to discuss their peers’ work.

 

Career & Technical Student Organizations

National FFA Organization

Floriculture CDE