Design of the Year — Design Museum

I took a visit to the design Museum after Easter to see the design of the year exhibition. Some fantastic work and amazing design of the actual exhibition set up. Again it was the interaction with certain products and projects that made them stand out to me. It was also great seeing a spectrum of designs — Product Design, Graphic Design, Fashion & Architecture — all subjects that I feel graphic designers can take a lot from in relation to their concepts and also potential client audiences.

OK—RM
Strelka Institute Identity

Amazing adaptable identity that works in two languages across all the deliverables. The identity for the art institute has some great contextual references and the simple colour pallet makes it a piece of work that inspires my own practice through simplicity and function.

John Morgan Studio
Venice Architecture Biennale Identity

This amazing signage was for another exhibition/ gallery space and with the simple creation of a minimal typeface using only certain aspects of the letters it works across a variety of deliverables and works as an identity that can be applied across a variety of mediums.

Studio Frith UK
Kapow!

This publication was created working with the authors of the book. Its de-constructed layout reflects that of the character in the story, running on strange tangents similar to his mental state. A beautifully simple idea really well executed.

Berg
Mini Printer

This mini printer reacts to recent news information combined with news stories taken from recent social networking sites on the users phone. Using this information it creates a personalised, well designed mini news story printed in a receipt style and mixing images and shapes to create a new and interesting method of reading the news.

A Practice for Everyday Life
Bauhaus Exhibition

This is another design that was discussed during the Typo Talks and features a colour pallet taken from non traditional Bauhaus methods of thinking. The simple shapes are a clear visual reminder of the principles of the Institute, combined with typefaces used at the time it was a wonderful piece of design.

Anish Kapoor 
Zumtobel Annual Report

The dull pieces of information were laid out in interesting methods and cobined with bold gradients of colour the publication offeres a bolder and more interesting format to an annual report. Again its alternative ways of thinking that made it a choice for design of the year and put it up there with some of the larger products.

Extraordinary things about Ordinary objects — Design Museum

As part of the ticket price for the design of the year there was an option to visit the upstairs gallery, which featured stories about some of the everyday objects and items that we interact with everyday. A great exhibition and a wonderful tone of voice used across the exhibition with a load of research taking part in its success.

The signage across the exhibition combined a beautiful series of textures, typefaces and materials. I love that the stories are all written and have clearly been informed by genuine discussions by the designers and curators involved in the original designs. This personal touch and expression of opinions is something that I think benefits and exhibition and really puts the visitors in touch with the work.

Amazing to see this identity work for a project I have been aware of growing up in London and seeing the signage posted across trains all over the city.

BCN:MCR

After seeing plenty of hype around the event on twitter I felt it was worth taking a day to go for a visit. The space exhibited work from some of the top studios in Barcelona and Manchester, two cities that may seem very different but are both the second cities to the capitals. They both seem to take very different approaches to their sometimes overpowering Capitals and produce some stunning work! Hey, Much and Los Siento are all studios that I have been keen on for a long time and it was great to experience their work in the flesh.
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The visit was relevant to both the yearbook when considering the signage and experience that was created for the event. It is also relevant to my context publication looking at how the exhibition space altered the perceptions and experience of looking at the work.
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The main flaw I felt from the exhibition was the lack of writing, I was really interested in spending a fair amount of time going round and reading about the projects in a bit more detail. This has a big impact on the experience of the event as with little writing people are less likely to stay for as long and experience the work to its full potential.

The additional signage that was stuck onto the walls was also relatively neutral using the typefaces the studios use for their branding / logo and created using vinyl stickers.
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Beautiful and colourful booklet covers, didn't realise the designs on the bottom were created using material, a nice touch and works on a low budget because

Really like these book designs but it would have been nice to be able to pick them up and interact with them. This is something that I want to mention when thinking about the end of year show. The main experience of print is being able to pick it up and look through it, something I think is key in the success of showcasing students work at the end of the year.

The signage would have been relatively cheap to produce and has a wonderful effect. Also because of its relatively neutral colour pallet produced by the wood it doesn't compromise the colourful work of the studios.
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This is something I will consider when creating the signage for the end of year show. I have been considering using wood and a laser cutter for a while but might be a nice to use an alternative material, also layering different materials has a nice tactile effect and allows people to engage with the signs a bit more.

V&A Furniture Exhibition

Across the road from the science Museum the V&A were hosting a free furniture exhibition from the middle ages to current day. This was a great opportunity to do some extra research for the Inoda & Sveje brief and find out more about the history and development of furniture.

My favourite part of the exhibition was this interactive feature on the different woods and materials the furniture was made from!
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This idea of allowing people to feel and engage with the wood samples was something I wanted to include in the publication. As wood is such an interesting and varied substance it is vital that the customers are able to feel and engage with it to get a true understanding of the quality of products that Inoda & Sveje offer.

When you place your finger over the sensors on the top of the wood information about each comes up in a pop up box on screen! Again the interaction really engages people with the event, particularly with younger audiences who might becomes bored when walking round (I know I did as a kid).

These expanded illustrations were also insightful and provided me with some much needed research into the construction of chairs. I was considering including similar illustrations in the catalogue for Inoda & Sveje.
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More images of the even can be seen in the Scribd document below.

Google Lab Visit

During the typo talks last year Bibliotheque mentioned a project they were working on, hosted at the science museum in collaboration with Google. I made the most of my visit home over the weekend and visited a few galleries and events to get some extra research in.
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The room consists of a number of interactive experiments allowing visitors to engage and experiment with each one. The experience as a whole was amazing and the design of the space worked perfectly with the experimental nature of the event.
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I have recorded my experience of the event to document how it engages and interacts with online and offline percipients. I have taken a lot of inspiration from this and really starting to think about the end of year show... how can this year be different! A lot is changing in graphic design, and I think the show has the potential to push the boundaries using the shapes as signage to create an experience that engages its visitors making it stay in their minds!

The signage all the way through the event was based on this idea of experimentation and uses industrial style signage.

When you enter you are given a card that records all of the experiments that you explore while at the exhibition. Straight away engaging you on a more personal level, treating everyone as an individual and allowing them to shape their own experience or venture!

As you walk in you notice a rather strange series of sounds, then soon realise that they are coming from the experiments around the room, being used by both online visitors and those there in the flesh. The different experiments allow you to engage with each series of strange instruments as you walk around the room.
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Each gives the option of recording and saving the music you make onto your card, showing which experiments you engaged with! Again a very personal touch to an event with so many visitors both on and off-line.

Some of the experiments were more visual, this experiment takes an image of your face and saturises it in a simple process, then an etching type machine marks it out on to the sand. Again both on and offline visitors can engage with the experiments all being created live!
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Similarly to the music you can record the making of your face onto your Google lab card!

At the end you scan your card on the webcam and it shows you all the experiments you engaged with. I have only listed a few of the processes I explored but further documentation of the event can be seen in the Scribd document, I would honestly advise anyone interested in designing experiences or events to visit the exhibition!

Finally the signage across the floor was based on warehouse flooring, again this idea of a giant industrial experiment is communicated through the colours and tone of voice the typeface delivers. Considering how the floor of the end of year show or D&AD could be changed or worked with is another aspect to consider for the yearbook brief.