MORE IDEAS FOR DEPARTMENTS

FINAL DESIGN

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Typography on Final Designs

I began by trying out a range of fonts in different sizes using the words 'this is the art department' as an example. I wrote this in capitals because I felt it looked clearest and neatest, that way Brit students and visitors would be able to read the words easily avoiding any confusion.

The first one was written in the Eras Light ITC font which is very clear and simple but also very stylish. 'This is the' is in the size of 26 and the rest is 32 and in bold. I wrote the last line in bold so it is clear and obvious for the readers, slightly standing out from the image that will lie next to it.
The second one was written in the Century Gothic font which is the font the Brit School use in the prospectus and in news letters etc. Again the first line was written in a slightly smaller font, 22, allowing the last line "Art Department' in size 40 to stand out.
The third was written in @GungsuhChe, a font which is slightly different from the previous. This font is less formal and more stylish so I tried to match it with the layout of the text. Again, I made the bottom line slightly bigger to stand out from the rest of the text though I didn't have to make it any bolder because the font was originally bold.
Broken is a font similar to the graffiti style. I feel graffiti is now out of date and can look quite tacky so I don't think the font is suitable for my design. I also experimented with rotation and tilts to give a different effect.
In the last one, I used two different fonts, Arial (top) and Enviro (bottom). One is very stylish and the other is quite plain and some may say its boring. Mixing two fonts together allows two opinions. Some may like the first font and some may like the last.



I will use black text in my designs because I would prefer a minimal amount of colour. This will keep my design simple but effective.

As the lead architect, Kim Lodge, has said that the colour that will be used along with white and black on the outside of the building will be a neon yellow, it could be a good idea to have the same colour theme running through the building. However, when I asked students what they thought of the colour, most students disliked it and said they would prefer a different type of yellow in the building or a completely different colour all together.

Including Colour

Design Museum

KWADRAAT-BLAD

Design: Wim Crouwel ca 1967

TYPOGRAPHY: Working with sketches for the New Alphabet and preliminary artwork for Kwadraat-Blad.

New Alphabet was his most radical experiment, conceived in response to his experience of the first device for electronic typesetting; characters were designed to follow the underlying dot-matrix system.

THIN BLACK LINES

Designed by NENDO

The Thin Black Lines series includes furniture, lamps, vases, exploring the theme of outlines. The series was developed in cooperation with Phillips de Pury & Company and first exhibited in their Saatchi Gallery space during the 2010 London Design Festival. Rendered in simple black lines fashioned from bent steel, the forms are inspired by Japanese calligraphy. This distinct graphic quality allows playful manipulation of perspective, with objects often appearing as two-dimensional forms simultaneously. As your eye traces slight black lines outlining the pieces, volumes and surfaces appear and disappear, and the practical function of the product comes into focus.

MIMOSA

Designed by JASON BRUGES for Philips

Philips commissioned Jason Bruges Studio to create an artwork for the 2010 Solone del Mobile as a showcase for the organic LED technology developed at Lumibade Creative Lab. Mimosa is an interactive artwork consisting of slim OLED  panels arranged in petal configurations to form flowers. A motion sensor mounted above reacts to movement from nearby people, opening and closing the delicate petals snd changing the light conditions. The piece was inspired by the Mimoso family of plants, which open and close in response to environmental conditions. OLED technology is relatively new in consumer facing products. It creates light by passing electrictiy through.

Some interesting chairs I found at the Design Museum.

Further Companies

HOLMES WOOD

"We are the designers that specialise in wayfinding and environmental graphics, information and identity. Our approach is based on ideas of innovation, clear thinking and honesty. These connect with our detailed understanding of how people respond to their surroundings and to visual influences. The result is a long client list that ranges from small businesses to corporations, galleries and major museums."

 

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

"A comprehensive scheme provides Virgin Atlantic’s passengers with a fully branded experience ‘from booking to boarding’ at Heathrow. Design elements include signs, graphics, maps and interactive screens. "

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

"We created a cohesive, yet flexible sign scheme which communicates clearly with all visitors while complementing the architecture. Outside, our co-ordinated and elegant designs strengthen the impact of the Gallery’s presence on Trafalgar Square. Internally, the scheme is calm and reassuring, connecting all areas of the Gallery together. "

V&A MUSEUM

"Outside, a combination of bespoke glass components and banners creates a changeable system for presenting the exhibition programme. Inside we created a graphic language that works across all methods of communication with the visitor. "

3 Main Targets

I have used my evaluation to set three clear and achievable main targets for improving my designs.

- include colour   to make my designs look more interesting and easier to follow for wayfinding
- consider typography   to have quite different and even more unusual designs; text illustrating words; emerging text and images
- get opinions  to help improve designs

Evaluation

EVALUATION OF WORK DONE SO FAR

So far I have thought of many initial ideas for wayfinding after analysing existing brands, logos and various types of wayfinding and architecture. I then selected and developed one of my ideas which I felt was the most clear and interesting and also suited the description of the school. After researching a range of artists, I designed four similar designs which are weird and quirky though quite simple - I must include colour and consider typography for my final design.

Presentation

We were asked to put a presentation together for our key concept using powerpoint which had to include key ideas about how the school should be represented and how i approached the project. I also had to include references and inspiration, early idea generation and clear and detailed concept drawings including reference to materials and possible processes.

Unfortunately, our client, Kim Lodge the lead architect, was unable to attend the lesson, therefore I was unable to perform my presentation. I have put the slides from my powerpoint on my blog and written next to each slide exactly what I would have said in my presentation.

First, I started thinking about how I wanted the school to be presented and how I could include this in my designs. I wanted the school to be presented as fun and exciting through the use of images - preferably large scale. I wanted to include clear and simple wayfinding for easy navigation for students and for members of the public visiting the school. From the results of my questionnaire, I found most people wanted there to be a graphic and fine art feel in the new building.

I started thinking about how I could use interesting images for wayfinding instead of the usual arrows and words. I thought maybe having an image of a dancer on the wall holding a piece of ribbon which would leads you from the dance department to the reception would be quite a unique and original idea though in the end I didnt feel it was as weird or peculiar as I wanted my designs to be. I liked the thought of an image leading a person from one location to another location so I definitely wanted to include this.

I began looking at artists such as Yuri Shimojo for inspriation. I found her images really interesting to look at as they are weird and different which are exactly the charateristics I wanted to include in my designs.

Lucy Mclauchan, another artist I looked at for inspiration. I love how she uses many different images to creates one final image. I considered this when creating my wayfinding designs.

After looking at the previous artists, I produced this design using a computer. The design is unique and different but also weird and grotesque which would be interesting for Brit school students and memebers of the public to look at. It also provides clear and easy wayfinding as the spiders act as a trail students should to follow e.g. the image of the face would be in the canteen with spiders from the reception area leading towards the canteen revealing the main image of the womans face. In the reception, there would be some sort of sign post or key showing students which symbol or image they should follow, e.g. canteen [image of spider]. This design is ideal as it has a feel of both graphics and fine art, it is fun and exciting and allows easy navigation from the clear wayfinding. Paint is a possible material that could be used to apply my design on the wall.

I have put my design on an architectural rendering to illustrate how it might look like in the space.

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TRIALS

I did some trials using the same characteristics as Yuri Shimojo and other artists before I created my final design.

 

In my design, spiders, worms, liquid and flies would act as a trail students and vistors would follow to take them to where ever they want to go. The trail of spiders, worms, liquid or flies would begin at the front desk/reception, where a sign post would stand, leading them all the way to their destination (e.g. canteen, art department, etc) to reveal a large scale image of a woman with spiders falling out of her mouth, blood or water pouring out of a persons nose, worms shooting out of a womans mouth or flies escaping from a womans hair.

The sign post may look something like this.

Random, weird and unique but still clear and professional.