Form Follows Intent: Configuration of a Dragon Spirit into a Three-dimensional Dress Form

This paper documents a dress design process to demonstrate the theory that form follows intent. It includes a statement of the design context as a venue where the conceptual intent originated. The dragon icon became the subject, form, and content of the design project. The author's designerly endeavor is discussed with focus on reconfiguration of formal characteristics shown in the visual reference of the eastern dragon symbol into a dress design with the consideration of utilitarian, expressive, and symbolic issues. Throughout the process, the author was an active agent who created formal characteristics, manifested a thought into an object, and imbued a meaning to the dress, demonstrating the notion that form follows intent.