Studio Brief 2: Life's a Pitch

I feel the presentation went really well, I was really nervous before we did ours as it was quite a last minute decision that me Kat and Danni should present instead of each of us individually presenting the pieces of work we had done. I presented on behalf of me, Lily and Jess so spoke about 'defining the departments. This included Jess' designs of the men playing on toilet signs and mine and Lily's mock ups and concepts for the sensory way-finding system. The sensory immersive concept was well received and I felt was a great positive, as well as the 3-dimensional model we made, a mock up of the new student union.

I also made this graphic featured above on the concept slide, of the 5 senses. As a brief visual introduction I feel this works quite well however the image has been embossed in the process of creating the presentation which I don't feel works as well as it doesn't align visually with the other graphics. 

Feedback we got from the above slide concerning Jess' 'men' was questioning why they were indeed just men, these figures are meant to be representative of stereotypical practice associated with each disciplinary area. They're a humorous play on symbols with the toilet symbol however feedback did beg the question why they were just men and seems to much of a literal representation, however I feel it was better than using arrows or numbers or something really quite obvious.

The inspiration for the rooms are taken from scenes in a Clockwork Orange, outdoor spaces, planetariums and other soothing places. The futuristic 60's patterns and colours from the Clockwork Orange inspired room were particularly well received and I feel is a strong element, alongside the other influences which would work really well with the focus of calming students down as well as inspiring them further with the games room, where students can interact and spark ideas through digital games as well as more simple concept like the wall being a white board.

Feedback from John was correct in that we could've exercised the sensory stimulation elements further, including other elements such as smell as other groups incorporated this in their presentations such as the smell of lemons, researching this I found smells that increase productivity:

• Rosemary encourages clear thinking, improves memory and energises the mind.
• Citrus – grapefruit can help to fight mental exhaustion, lemon is uplifting, orange can ease stress and bergamot oil can even be used to help treat depression.
• Lavender reduces stress and anxiety.
• Peppermint is energising and refreshing and can aid concentration and stimulate the mind.
• Cinnamon can help to fight mental fatigue and improve concentration.

This could've been elaborated further with the herb garden in our 3d model concept as I only mentioned the texture and sight, this was a strong point however particularly as a means to upgrade the garden area right by welfare, I was pleased with feedback from John as he thought it was key I mentioned little details I'd spotted, the most unsettling being the big metal cube there that has death engraved into it that has been abandoned there. This being the complete opposite of what you'd expect to see in a garden right next to welfare.

I was really proud of the fact I was able to present on behalf of three people's work, I was incredibly nervous prior to the presentation, but overcame my anxiety and pushed myself and I feel it really payed off, I apparently seemed relaxed and got positive feedback from my peers on the precision of my execution. I feel far more comfortable presenting now in front of such a large group and on behalf of others. 

Textiles Way-finding Mock Up: Stimulating Senses

I made this mock up of the way-finding system we would implement for the textile department, I will hang this up in the corner of the classroom above us during our presentation, I feel adding another textural dimension will work well in our presentation giving a more visual aspect to our concept. I had great fun making this textural collage and am happy with the outcome, although quite random and sporadic I feel it incorporates a wide range of textures, colours and patterns which would look incredibly effective suspended and cascading around the walls and ceilings of the new building.

The original digital mockup I made didn't have as many elements or layers as the physical mock up and I'm glad I experimented in both mediums, the more hands on approach furthermore fits in with our theme of stimulating the senses. Not only is this a visual representation but it is also helpful for those with visual impairments. Therefore the sense of sight and touch are ticked off in this conceptual way-finding system.

Concept 2: Textiles

Enhancing this sensory immersive theme it may be perfect to have textiles hanging like textile artist Susan Lenz has explored, this will be especially ideal considering those who are blind.

Another less intrusive method would be sticking to the walls, much like this rope art displayed by Susan Beallor. This heavily textured element would really lend itself to aiding guiding people, giving another dimension to an average way-finding system. 

Looking into different elements of textiles, contemporary tapestry art could be really effective although a really difficult thing to be able to produce a sample of, however like below, artist El Abatsui displays their work at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.

Japanese artist Aiko Tezuka:
 
Kristen Carlsen Rowley at the Contemporary

This more interactive form of tapestry I could recreate with other forms of collage in a similar fashion, as I'm going for the look as opposed to process, I'd rather it be a mismatch chaotic explosion of textures than a detailed precise piece as I want it to be as inclusive to the viewer as possible.

I'd rather construct this than any other mock up as it incorporates my love for textiles and enables me to have a go at a more hands on approach which will be stimulating for my own senses. This whole concept of moving away from the computer and having visually stimulating signals is a good means of stimulating those walking around the university, this will be especially useful for those who have creative block, waking up students' creative minds as soon as they walk in every morning.

Wayfinding Research: Concept 2: Fine Art Area

Concept 2 

The over-arching theme for our presentation is going to be sensory stimulations, for this concept we plan to have a visual approach, through touch as well people can navigate their way around the building, each part will have identifiable elements associated with that particular course, for example illustration pencils merged together, photography a string of film negatives, and so on.



Drawing upon inspiration from Fine Artist Valerie Hegarty, I want this section of our way-finding system to incorporate multimedia elements, obscuring the line between painting, instillation and so forth. For the sample I plan to use different materials to create something that could be suspended on the wall/ ceiling, guiding people visually through to the Fine Art department.

This like all other pieces of this concept for our way-finding system connect physically with all other sections, for example this piece will entangle itself eventually with wires and cables guiding people to Graphic Design.

Wayfinding Presentation: Concept 1

Concept 1

We spent a whole day constructing this model for one of our ideas to develop the student union area for the new building, we each came up with wacky concepts and elements we would love to see in a new updated student union, incorporating different elements meant to suit all kinds of people, catering to how people relax differently.

The top floor you see is a rooftop bar with a 360 glass bar, fishpond and fire pit. Below you take the spiral staircase into the other garden area which we developed after viewing the current student union garden which is desolate, forgotten. Many people said they didn't know it existed or just assumed it was out of bounds. Having explored it we found it to be the opposite of relaxing, defeating the point of having it right outside the welfare office, it should be a place for taking a breather, relaxing and welcoming. It's quite the opposite, there's random pieces of work such as the 'Death' metal cube which hasn't been moved as it's so heavy. No attention has been paid to make it a comforting garden area so we addressed this designing our own outdoor cinema area, where we had a looped calming jellyfish video playing, the soothing sounds and visuals of nature would be much more suited than rubbish and 'death' cubes..

The downstairs garden area also had deck chairs and a decorative patio, looking from underneath, the ceiling is a planetarium, incorporating more immersive technology. The main room inside the union next to this is the ultimate chill out room. Choose a song on the jukebox and relax in the hammock or bean bag whilst watching and interacting with the giant touch screen entertainment system. Watch the lava lamp glow or follow the patterns on the floor, read a book, relax.

We really enjoyed making this model as we'd all been keen to move away from software and get hands on. It enabled our imagination to run and we developed the most obscure ambitious project, but it worked. Each area is tailored to different needs. This will be perfect to present during our presentation as a physical representation of what it could look like, me and Lily will also be working on miniature samples of the areas way-finding system, I plan to create the textiles area by patch-working together some scraps of fabric and possibly photography or the new course cartoons.

Wayfinding Presentation Brainstorm

Considering ideas for a way-finding system me and Lily planned what we could incorporate for different departments and considered a system that's all interconnected, each section blending into the next, often suspended from the ceiling/ walls.

For a few we thought about actually making some samples, so gathering offcuts from textiles and woodwork etc. we've gathered some things to utilise.