Evaluation - Object

The design meets the design proposal, as although the final outcome doesn't necessarily use braille within the design or would necessarily be accessible or readable to them, the finished design that has been produced has come from a process that has used 3D images and braille, therefore the concept behind the design is therefore stronger and brings more meaning into the design. Also the abstract look of the illustrations of the faces, actually follows on from this concept, showing deteriorating images referencing sight, and also the fact that everyone sees differently, and everyone can make of the drawings what they see themselves and they have the ability to create different images depending on who is looking at the publication. The design also has a strong purpose, as a collective piece of memorabilia, and to some people it will emit feelings of nostalgia and to other sit will educate the on what the speaking clock was, it's history and how it is still used now in the present day. It also exists as a piece of artwork in itself, as it is not an explicit image or publication to look at, people can make of it what they will. However the use of textured paper and letterpress actually enhances the concept of the idea that the speaking clock was used initially by the visually impaired. Therefore adding texture and using analogue techniques that can be physically felt and touched compensates for the lack of 3D imaging and braille within the piece itself. These ideas have been influenced by MGMT's design process within the Infographics book, that most of the design should be taken away in order for a more intriguing message to be understood and also to play around with ideas and experiment with different materials and processes.
  I think the design decision to use letterpress and bookbinding within the final outcome, was again to play on the concept, therefore every aspect of the book needed to be felt and physically produced. These techniques are also quite nostalgic, therefore it coincides with the nostalgia that the publication will produce for some of the older audiences. The paper was also a design decision, as the paper is ridged and can therefore be felt and touched as it has texture to it. However I think more textured paper, or to develop the project further, the pages should've included or been made out of braille which would show the information on, with text over the top, therefore it would be suitable for both the intended audience and others. Feedback from the final design included both successes and critique of the final design, that the illustrations were extremley abstract however this was preferred as it gave the piece something unique. The letterpress was thought to be successful has it added another handmade dimension, so the publication felt personal and more engaging as a physical piece to hold. Critique of the final outcome, was again to include braille, as this was the original intended purpose, however this wasn't conceivable at the time as the object needed to be printed, also the parts of braille that can still be constructed within the images themselves shows that that was part of the design process. Another critique was to include more text or information, which is a fair comment, as the piece itself it quite abstract and doesn't hold much information for the audience. However, on the other hand, the intended purpose was for the publication to act as a piece of artwork and collector's memorabilia, a form of nostalgia, not necessarily an informative document.
  In conclusion if this project were to be developed further, then the idea of braille and producing a piece of work that is intended for the visually impaired would be explored further as to how to make this possible. However the final outcome has been created from a huge amount of process and concept, which makes the project have more integrity and meaning and is therefore a successful piece of design, which is useful and effective for it's intended purpose.

Final Book

Development 2 - Cut Out Faces Test Piece

Below was the second design mock up, where 3D faces were built up using layered paper, this idea came about due to the nature of talking and speaking clocks initially being introduced to the visually impaired therefore they could hear the time. Therefore I developed my first idea of a timeline and simplified it to just the simplified geometric shapes of the faces, and built these up with layers of paper to produce a 3D embossed effect, which will be able to be felt and touched.

  

Then to further develop this concept and idea, I borrowed a braille typewriter and typed out the names of each person who had been the voice of the clock, then stuck these next to the faces, therefore visually impaired people could feel the faces and braille at the same time to try and visualise what the voice they were listening to belonged to. 

 However this piece didn't fit the brief, as it needed to be a printed document therefore I developed on this idea and began to photocopy them however this didn't show up the braille or shapes that made up the faces very well. Therefore scanning them and image tracing them on illustrator worked very well and produced some very interesting textures and images.

Development 1 - Interim Crit Response

Here is a piece I created as a response to my interim crit, I have created a timeline of the people who have been the voices, wth a piece of interesting information about the speaking clock itself on each page. I have then placed my mono prints behind to create a more interesting textures and colours and also to conceptually show the times changing from when the clock was first introduced to now. 

  However to be critical of this piece, the images used and the production of the piece doesn't really take into consideration the research I have undertook and it doesn't visually represent the information very well, it needed to have a more engaging aspect to it, so it could be visually and sensory stimulating, as the speaking clock is always about hearing and listening. I also wanted to concentrate more on the aspect of the talking clock being used by the visually impaired, therefore the publication needed to be able to show the information in a way that could be touched or felt, for example embossing the names or faces, or using perforated paper to produce some sort of braille. This idea was then discarded and developed on in a more 3D -  hands on approach. 

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.