Object Proposal

The idea behind the design was to produce a limited edition publication, which marks the 80th anniversary of the BT Speaking Clock. It will include vector illustrations of each person who has been the voice of the speaking clock, both permanent and temporary. The concept behind the design is based on the need for talking clocks to the visually impaired, therefore braille and textured paper will be explored. The project will reference both ascii and line art, producing abstract images. It will become a collector’s edition and will therefore need to produce nostalgia and keep a sense of uniqueness to the design that won’t be produced or found anywhere else. It will also be produced using analogue techniques to keep a personal touch.

Monoprinting Workshop

In a recent mono printing workshop, I used new found skills to create prints which could be used within my object publication. I decided to show the contrast between new time and old time, relating to the history of time keeping and the many different types of clocks and ways of recording time are out there. I have placed a digital seven segment display against an abstract sand timer, and over layed colours and overlapped images to experiment with the mono printing process. I will experiment with placing these mono prints into my publication for an aesthetic background and interesting textures.

Interim Crit

After an interim crit showing my four different ideas, it was the preferred option to go ahead and develop the speaking clock publication as no one else within the feedback crit had heard about it before even though it is still quite famous. Therefore this seemed to be the most interesting and unique piece of information to experiment with and had the most potential to become something really interesting and with the most purpose.
  Ideas to develop it included turning it into a fold out timeline that people could then keep as a commemorative piece. Also creating a booklet that can then fold out into a poster that people can then keep as a piece of artwork, which could have the illustrations on, then on the other side have historic information about the clock, as everyone was extremely intrigued about the idea of it, even though it has been around for such a long time.

Idea Generation - Mock Ups

The first mock up idea was to produce a concertina booklet, which illustrated the faces of all the people who have carried the role of the voice of the BT Speaking clock.

The second mock up was to produce an exhibition poster based on the oldest clock in the UK, that is going to be hand wound for the last time this year. Therefore the concept behind the poster is the change between the elements to man made. 

The third and final idea was to produce a publication which displayed all the things that can happen in a second by either collage inspired by Dr Me or using the ideas from study task 04, of producing illustrations in excel, to commemorate the leap second being added for the 30th time.

Infographic and Data Visualisation Research

When reading Infographics Design and Visualising Data, published by Promo Press, it discusses interviews with different designers on their view on what Infographics and designing to display information is about and also discusses each of their design processes. 

Designer Derek Kim believes that infographics should portray data that is visualised through code and Design Studio Relajaelcoco believe that each project should involve a lot of fun and that playing around with ideas and design is the first step to reach a great level of illusion and engagement. They believe that rationality should be mixed with emotions to achieve the greatest possible design practice. They also believe that data visualisation and infographics should be the basis of a design education as they are a summary and include everything you learn from typography to layout. 

  

Designer Francesco Franchi believes that data visualisation within a publication should consider identity, aesthetics, and both emotional and contextual research. He also says that it is important to delete excessive portions of the design to make it as clear and well read as could be, however you still need to make sure that the message is not lost. 

 However Peter Oentoft believes that play should not be as important s the initial research as the research you do is where all the answers and ideas for the final design come from. He believes that good design is a piece completely in every way shape and from has been shaped by research. 

 MGMT Design have two views, that whilst information does need to be shown and be easily communicated and read , the design still at the same time needs to be interesting for yourself as a designer and others, who are your audience. When displaying data as a form of design, it needs to have multiple levels of depth for it to be most engaging for the viewer and audience reading.  

Above is MGMT's rebrand for America, where they have produced a series of alternative flags which display infographics based on facts and figures of modern America. 

Orlagh O'Brien's work shows after a survey of 250 people which colours best represent their emotions, which has then be split into gender, age and nationality. 

Designer Toby NG,  thought that if the world were a village of 100 people, what would the statistics be. He created a set of posters about the population of the world and then turned these numbers into graphics to give a better picture.

Anna Reinbold has produced three A0 posters exploring the rich history of dogs. 

Study Task 04 - Object Research Tasks

When researching the object I chose which was a clock; I approached the research in many different ways, looking historically, typographically, scientifically and how the object was portrayed within the world of art and design. The most interesting conceptual idea I found, was a woman who had created a clock which over 365n days, knitted a scarf, every half an hour it would knit a new line. The idea was aiming to be able to show past time, present time and future time. 

Above are drawing and designs that have been created on a Word document, using information and research I have found and producing it down into a simple form of image. The most successful designs in my opinion are the bell, showing that a clock actually has to contain a bell to be known as a clock, and other forms of telling the time are known as timepieces. The second idea was the idea of how scientists are making the second more accurate, and portrays the idea that can time ever be precise if it is something we created. The third and final best piece is the series of lines which represents the best way that a quartz clock performs at, if the bars are at a similar height. 

Above are illustrations I created after listening to a piece of music, the song I chose was Time by Pink Floyd, as I thought the sounds of the bells and the clocks ticking at the start of the song was very interesting and produce some different shapes and images. The first was using purely geometric shapes, then the second and third ideas were focusing more on the idea of a graphic music score, using a series of lines and overlays of different layers of sounds and music.

Above are excel drawings which have also been created from research about my object, the most successful idea is the series of line which shows time dilation, how we get further and further away from the most accurate time of the atomic clock and to compensate we have to add a leap second at the end of every year. The world clock excel drawing is supposed to represent how their is a watch that shows all the time around the world. It is also extremely interesting about the ideas of longitude and latitude and how each country reaches new year at a different times.

Photographs of clocks, focusing on the hand, to show the idea that all you really need to tell the time is the hands of a clock, the rest is just for decoration. Also when exploring I found some interesting types of clocks specifically an extremley intricate sundial on the side of the library which was symmetrical and reflected the time.



A short video idea which explores the concept of how time can be found all around us, even in dull everyday siturations the time is always ticking.

Research into Colour - Josef Albers and Pantone

Joseph Albers was an artist and educator who appeared to have innovative ideas about colour used within both art and design. At the age of 62 he began on his most well known project ‘Homage to the square’,within it, he experimented with colour using only a single geometric shape; a square. It explored the idea that colour can be changed through spatial relationships and the whole range of effects that can actually be portrayed through colour. It presented how colour and relationships within colours change through where they are placed, the juxtaposing, opposite colours and how colours interact with one another side by side. Within the project Albers explored hundreds of variations of one basic compositional page of three or four squares placed inside one another, slowly being placed nearer to the bottom corner. It showed the importance of how colours are laid out and used, as they have the ability to produce an emotional and psychological response. The differing plates and colour shames each hold different emotion, character and feelings, however colour is very subjective and different emotions can be conveyed depending on the individual person. Homage to the Square has been created in different forms, including paintings, tapestries, drawings and prints. The fundamental concepts that Albers was exploring within colour were contrast and space, and the illusions that different colours create when found next to each other and hoe flat two dimensional shapes of colour can create a three dimensional thing that can be seen and touched. 

Pantone is an idea that has now been created into a company after Lawrence Herbert founded the company in 1962 after being an employee there for many years. It became an innovation for the first ever colour matching system. Still used widely today, it’s purpose is intended for designers to colour match the colours within their design at the production and printing stage. The Pantone Matching System means that designers can be sure that the colours will be exact to their design work and printers and screens can be calibrated to do so. Pantone extends beyond colour processes such as CMYK and the system is based upon allocating numbers to each colour.

Final Crit

In the final crit many aspects of the design were discussed, specifically one aspect to improve upon was the final symbols, to make them all the same weight and line thickness, one idea was to place them within a grid to make the symbols more cohesive as a group and also to align the text evenly, therefore they are all in proportion and to create restrictions within the design.
 Another improvement to make was within the context illustrations, to make it easier to envisage and to make sure the buildings and lines are in proportion, also make the lines within the drawings thinner, to place more focus onto the actual designs.
 Another aspect to consider changing and rectifying is both the health and beauty symbol and the jewellery symbol, as they are to intricate, they need to be simplified to fit in alongside the other designs.
On the other hand some positive feedback was that each symbol represents the type of shop well and each symbol can e easily related to each. The food and drink symbol was seen as the best symbol, due to the thickness of the lines and relation to refreshments and fruit. Another comment was on the temporary aspect of the design, that this would work well, because the shops were constantly changing. However one idea was to place the symbols onto the window, therefore the shops name will still be shown.

These are the symbols which have been placed into a grid, and also the jewellery and beauty shop symbol have both been simplified, therefore fit into the aesthetic a lot better alongside all the other symbols. The weight of the lines have also been changed so they are all at a similar weight therefore look like a cohesive set of symbols, however the beauty symbol, the weight is thinner because if they are too thick, the shape begins to merge together. 

Here is the redesign of the illustrations in context, the lines have been reduced in weight, also the concept and the way finding system as a whole is easier to get grasp of and to understand, as the layout is simpler and is 2D, rather than 3D. This would also be good printed large as a sign on it's own, to show people their way around.

Grid Systems in Graphic Design - Joseph Muller Brockman

- The use of the grid is as an ordering system, it shows the designer conceives his work in terms that are constructive and oriented to the future.
- A designer's work should have intelligible, objective, functional and aesthetic quality, including mathematical thinking.
- The use of a grid implies the will to systematise, clarify and to cultivate objectivity rather than subjectivity.
- A grid will rationalise the creative process, and will integrate colour form and material.
- The grid represents the designer's knowledge, ability and mentality.
- The grid determines constant dimensions of space.
- The grid exists as a surface or space some sort of rational organisation.
- Using a grid forces the designer to analyse the problem in hand and analytical thinking to produce a solution to the problem.
- In a grid, if the pictures and text are arranged systematically, the priorities stand out more lcearly.
- A grid, constrcuts and objcective argument with the means of visual communication.
`- Constructs the text and illustrative material, systematically and logically.
- To organise the text and illustrations in a compact arrangemtn with it's own rhytm.
- To put together the visual material so that it is intelligvle and structured with a high degree of tension.

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