End of the exhibition

Well I found the overall experience of the exhibition to be quite stressful. I managed to have one day off but I believe by offering my support on so many days made it a lot easier for the people around me. Decisions had to be made and I believe these were made easier by having me there. Some people required more leadership than others but the hardwork put in by Dan, Kiel, Martin, Teresa, Jon and Craig really made the completed layout a success.

The feedback recieved throughout the week has been in valuable and allows me and im sure the others to improve for the future.

I believe if the exhibition was done again, then we would need a more successful way of displaying the work as towards the end of the week the work started to warp and fall down constantly. I believe this should have been planned for but like many other tasks it was overlooked.

Looking at the main event I am still unsure whether invitations were sent out succesfully as it was hardwork getting answers out of those given the task. I believe my downfalls throughout the week was allowing stress to get the better of me, I believe this was due to a lack of trust in the ones around me as I don't believe the support of the other team leaders was adequate enough. But seeing as though this was the first exhibition put on by many of us it seperated the men from the boys as to who would rise to the occasion of making it a success. As a team leader I believe it is key to highlight those who made it a success, and those previously stated in this entry made themselves available at all times, whether it be a phonecall for advise; solving problems as well as being on hand at the exhibition to greet the public. I believe that my previous management knowledge helped me during the past week and although not everyone agreed with my decisions, I believe they were the right ones to make.

Sunday update

It seems as though money is becoming short for many students and this is starting to show in what people are willing to pay for. We have found that due to the way the work is hung the pieces are starting to warp, this may become an issue later in the week so the group will have to keep an eye on this.

I have also noticed the variance in attitude towards the Exhibition from some of our Designers, some are willing to do all that it takes whereas others appear to require nursing with every small task. This is leading to wasted time.

Most of today consisted of rehanging the displays as well as looking for new ways to hang the work so that it doesn't keep falling as often. Even though the amount of visitors today was less than yesterday the feedback from the public has been terrific. I was proud to talk to someone that liked my Demon work and it felt good knowing that people out there appreciate the hardwork and time that some of our Designers are putting in.

I have asked Craig to complete the 3 A3 boards that have been requested to state the purpose of the Exhibition.

Even though I am not on the rota for tomorrow I have decided to go in and help get the name tags completed.

Due to the work rate of some it has lead to some of the alterations not being fulfilled today. Even though I am a team leader I found it difficult to motivate people working alongside me exhibiting.

Is amazing really...

No financial support from the University, if it wasn't for the determination and hardwork put in this exhibition would not be worth alot. But considering the tight constraints I believe the final setup that we have produced is looking very good. We've had the public getting involved with the drawing board on the wall.

Some visitors asked how much we had for budget, and to be honest its quite embarrasing to say that we did not get backed. Everything coming out of our own pockets. I am hoping the rest of the week follows much like today but I am proud to be involved.

Even though descriptions were added 2 hours late, we believe the current layout works. The triangular displays allow the visitor to rotate the work so they do not have to walk rounbd a fixed display making it a lot easier to view the exhibits.

We did have problems with displays not holding and falling down but after using tape with stronger adhesive the movement has now been restricted.

Exhibition setup

After long old day the people that turnt up for todays setup have been doing a very good job, there are still minor adjustments that need to be made but its taking shape. After a look at ways of hanging the work it was decided to hang them in a triangle (3 pieces of work) instead of 2 pieces back to back. This was because it allowed the work to hang better and didn't look as boring.

A full update will be given tomorrow.

Website & Exhibition setup

Website

To start with Tom from the Exhibition group had been in contact with the Media company that design and run the High Chelmer website. I have been informed that they will display an advert upon their site but in return we will have to promote their website upon ours.

I have agreed to do this as it is important for us to get as much notice as possible. Their request was simple, stating that any text stating "High Chelmer" should be set in bold and be a hyperlink to the High Chelmer website.

I had initially setup the links to load the High Chelmer website on the current page. But I realised that our Exhibition is the most important piece of information being displayed so I decided that the hyperlink should open the High Chelmer website in a new window. That way our site will still be on display and allows the public to switch between the two. It also means that High Chelmer are getting what they require.

Another decision that I have made is to not set the High Chelmer logo as a hyperlink upon the welcome page. This is because I do not believe that the viewer (when visiting the website for the first time) should have the option to lose focus on what is important before finding out about the Exhibition.

Exhibition Setup

With the Exhibition just days away the proposed help on producing the tshirts with Dan and Jon from the Exhibition group has changed. They have stated that they believe they can do a high quality job without the exdtra support and we both agreed that training me to produce the same high quality designs would cost time.

Tomorrow (Friday 21st May) is the setup day for the Exhibition, I have informed both my group members (Kiel and Ryan) that I would like them there to assist with the setup to make it as easy as possible for Savva to complete the task. It will also make it easier to make the timetable known to each member of the group. We will be meeting at 9am to start as early as possible.

Update

Since the completion of the sketchbook and portfolio I have been in regular contact with Team Leaders Craig and Savva.
The main issues that were arising was setting up a meeting that all group members could go to tht would allow us to discuss display information; getting A3 boards printed as well as discussing how the Exhibition will be implemented such as meeting times, furniture and regulations and terms of the agreement to using the building.

For the display information we had to discuss fonts, sizes and colour. We have decided to use A5 pieces of paper that will be displayed below the image. The font to be used will be Century Gothic as this will be kept inline with the fonts used upon the website. Teresa has setup a template that will be emailed to each designer and to be complete ready for print on Friday 21st May.

Today the A3 boards have been printed, but due to the poor interest shown by some within the group it lead to myslef, Savva, Dan, Jon, Theresa, Richard, Craig and Martin to source everyones work and get it printed. With only Adams work to wait for now, if it has not been recieved in time to print for the Exhibition we will have to make the decision not to include his work.

The uniforms will be designed by Dan and Jon, each designer was asked to supply a tshirt that will be painted upon. This idea works well and I believe will keep the theme throughout each part of the exhibition.

We will be informing each Designer by email what time to meet at High Chelmer on the day of the setup. It has been provisionally decided to meet at 9am to get as long as possible on the displays.

Evaluation

When I started this module I didn't know what to expect, all I knew was that we would have to setup some kin dof display as a group. We were initially split into small groups to try and design a theme that could be used to base the exhibition around, and immediately I wasn't enjoying the work one bit. I was elected group leader for a task that I initially had little confidence in. I found I was leading a group of people that had no belief in what they were doing and I struggled to motivate them, looking back I possibly wasn't as firm as I could have been, in past modules I have been known to have a firm stance of when I want work completed by and I was starting to feel let down. It lead to much of the research collected for the group being completed by me and this extra stress I felt really hit my quality of work.

When I found that the groups would be swapped once the initial presentations had been completed I realised that instead of losing confidence in myself and eventually losing credibility in the work being completed I decided that I would use this bad patch as a way to learn and imporve for the future. I was teamed with Ryan and Kiel with the purpose being to design the website for the Exhibition. Even though I took a firm grip on the tasks I initially set out to get the most from both of them. To do this I decided to meet with the team leaders and try to understand what they would want from the website, after relaying this back to my group I decided to produce a mock plan of how the website should be laid out.

I was making the group stick to tight deadlines, giving us half the time as the Exhibition and Graphics team (6 weeks) to get it online. This decision was made as I believed that advertising the Exhibition would require a head start if we wanted maximum coverage to get people to come.

I noticed that I wasn't getting the most out of Kiel, I asked him to initially join the group as I know that he can come up with stunning ideas but I knew I would have to try something to inspire him to do his utmost for the project. For this I decided to build their confidence by giving every one the task of producing a mock website and from their discuss whose would be ideal to put forward fro implemtnation.

I was planning to put it to a class vote, but I decided to backtrack on this idea before being made public. I believe as team leader this was the best thing to do. It is my job to get the most from a small group and get a completed product. I believe that the voting during the theme presentations was badly undertaken as many showed their immaturity, some giving people no respect when talking. Due to this I decided it would be best for me to discuss with Kiel and Ryan key aspects and I would choose the design to implement. With Kiel still struggling to find inspiration I decided that his design would be used. It wasn't too dis similar from mine or Ryans concept but I believed it would motivated Kiel and give him the conbfidence to increase his quality of work. This is exactly the result that I got. I believe the class vote would cause a strain on such a small group and it was proven when we successfully completed a website that I believe details all the key areas of the Exhibition.

Another key decision that had to be made was how to split the work within the group, I asked for honesty at all times from Ryan and Kiel and found that they had little confidence in coding the website. This is where I decided to split the tasks, I would use Kiel and Ryan to produce the information, pictures and other materials to the website while I implemented and displayed it by coding the website. This allowed us to work efficiently and as people stuck to deadlines it eventually made up for itself by allowing us to complete the website earlier than predicted.

At many points throughout the project the Team Leaders would offer feedback to each other to make sure that we were all moving in the right direction. I expressed concern over the logo, it initially displayed a camera lens, after much interaction the Graphics Group agreed to redesign it as I do not believe it expressed the Design Studio idea in the right way.
Throughout the project the website team had to take their fair share of criticism. Often finding that ideas had to be explained as they were not obvious. What people didn't realise was the fact that neither me, Ryan or Kiel are coders, we are graphic designers so to ask us to be able to produce a website was a big ask. I believe it is a challenge that we successfully confronted as other groups offered ideas of what they'd like to see but I did not seem them as relevant or even plausible.

I have learnt a lot from this project, it has made me realise that you can't always make the decision that everyone wants you to make, you do what's best for the project not for the people and I believe this is why the website is successful.
It allowed me to explore ways of displaying work and the importance of fonts and colour schemes. Realising that you can't just pick a random one because I like it. It has to be relevant and easily fit in with its surroundings. The selection has to be easy on the eye. In terms of the website we decided to use fonts, colours and graphics that were relevant to a Design Studio, so using ones that represented handwriting seemed a good idea. The only problem was that not all letters were readable so we had to explore alternatives which are highlighted within the sketchbook.

I believe that throughout this module I have managed to develop my skills to take much more into consideration when answering a brief. I have realised that what I like should no effect the project itself as their could be better alternatives. I believe that the group still need to work hard through to the Exhibition for it to be a success. To do this I will stay in contact with the team leaders and through this we can communicate it to our team members what is required.

Exhibition work

For the Exhibition I have finally picked the three pieces of work that I would like to display. I have picked these specific three as it shows off a range of skills across a number of software packages.

The first piece that I have selected is The Bike, this was a personal experiment to learn new techniques within Flash. I believe that I have successfully detailed the lines of the motorcycle, and although there are slight mistakes I believe that it makes a good presentable piece of work. If design companies do make it to the Exhibition then I believe it will allow for easy feedback if they believe that alterations or alternative techniques could have been used.


The second piece if a 3D head that was created in 3DS Max during the final year of study. I was initially going to display only the head, but decided to add shots of the modelling as it details my knowledge of keeping the modelling clean to reduce the chance of mistakes occuring. Although the texturing itsn't great I believe it is enough to show my knowledge and allow for discussion with the viewing public.

The final piece originally started off as a research task, to design a moodboard that portrays feeling. Many people have commented that they are unsure what it is they are meant to be seeing, while others overlook their judgement even if they do realise what it is. I have called it Demon, as thats exacrtly what it is, through the use of colour I have tried to portrayed a figure within a cape. Even though it possibly isn't one of my best pieces of work, it shows imagination and again could start a good discussion if people are willing to offer feedback.


I have made the decision that instead of displaying the 3D head I will display 2 of the calender month pictures that I produced in the 2nd year. One is based on December with a fireplace lightly decorated with Christmas Stockings, while the other is of a Sunrise in August upon a palm beach. I have decided to go for this as it represents the 2D Design that I am good at rather than 3D Design which I do not enjoy.

Portfolio

This task took place before the actual binding that was recently discussed. I have looked around at others ideas and its apparent that nobody appears to be keeping their portfolio consistent with their website.

This is strange to me as keeping the familiarity between the two could make it more understandable when people view them. I believe that my portfolio would work well using a similar layout to my website, this is because it is clear and seperates the key areas so that people know where the more important information is based.

I have decided to display only my best pieces of work, the ones that are not appealing on the eye I have included to highlight that I have the knowledge to use specific techniques across a variety of software. I have highlighted that I'd like to get into Graphic Design displaying a spread of work across 3DS Max, Photoshop, Flash and Illustrator.
I have also decided to include a shot of the Exhibition website as I am proud of how my group has done in completing the task. Not only does it show a different aspect to my talent but also shows that I can be versatile with my role.










The title fonts were chosen through the research of fonts during the sketchbook material collection. I believe it fits the purpose well and is easy on the eye. To add more detail to each piece of work I have decided to add what software was used in the development within the bottom left corner of the page. I believe this is a good simple addition as it offers more insight into the Design.

Binding

Over the past three weeks I have been trying to find different ways of binding my Portfolio. I have a design layout ready for print that consists of key aspects of my work. The Portfolio will be based upon the layout of my website, keeping consistency in the colours and fonts while making it easily understandable for prospective employers.

Here is an example of the layout to the portfolio:



The layout is simple with the design work being the eye catching element. I have decided to keep the Portfolio similar to the website as anyone visiting my website will easily distinguish between elements of the page.

I have tried to collect as many different ways to possibly bind my work.

Ring binding:



I have found that this idea is fairly boring and has probably been used many times before. Another issue that arises is that the outside of portfolio would either be blank or would require me to produce a front cover that would look like poor quality when stuck on.

String:



The idea for string would be to holepunch the top of the pages in each corner and thread the string through to hold the pages in place. Even though this is cost effective I do not believe the idea fits in with how the work is presented on each page.


Paper fasteners:



This idea would work in a similar way to the string. It would fasten the pages together using two clips that would not be visible to the viewer. A problem with this system is they are not very heavy duty and may fall apart, another issue is they appear tacky. I believe that although this fits in with the work but it still doesn't look a professional standard that would make people want to read it.

Wire binding:




This is my preferred option for binding, it is cost effective; the look is of a professional standard and still fits in with the styling of the pages. It is simple, sleek and I believe will make people take notice of the portfolio.

Update

Late update with the website!!!

It is finally fully functioning, had major troubles with getting the Actionscript button working correctly. Security blocks on browsers were stopping the button linking back to the main website.

Initially we wanted the Bio to open in a Flash Player, but due to browser setups it will be loaded within the internet browser. The problem with this is that the display will shrink but after feedback from many sources it was found that the entire Bio page is fully functioning and easily readable.

Tasks

As the website is coming to a conclusion in terms of development we (as a group) have decided to optimize the website. We have decided to do this by adding a "welcome page" that consists of the logo, title, relevant dates as well as the logos to the main sponsors.

The exhibition group are currently discussing the possibility of dropping High Chelmer as a venue, if this is the case then their logo will be pulled from the website and no acknowledgements will be made.

Ryan has been supplied with the task of creating this particular page.

Kiels task (this was Kiels idea which I thought was particularly good) was to produce a Flash viewer for samples of the Designers work in the same style as the Bio's page.
For this to be a success we have decided to ask each Designer to choose one piece of work (doesn't have to be a piece on display for the Exhibition) we have asked for the piece of work to contain an interesting characteristic that would appear as an intriguing thumbnail.

Will the website be going live? Update

As of today everything has started to come together and by midnight the website will be available to the public.

As I write this the final Bio's are being uploaded to the server and the final test will take place as to whether it will work correctly.

Once I have completed testing I will update this blog entry to say whether it has been a success or not.

Testing has taken place on the email addresses in terms of the forwarding addresses for Savva, Craig and myself. This has been a success I am pleased to note so all that is required is handing over the relevant log in information to the team leaders.

Updated Business Card

Since gaining feedback on my inital design I have been told that the background image didnt really say "Graphic Designer" as I'd hoped, even though its my own photography it didnt really portray me.


After listening to a few suggestions I have come up with these two designs. I have decided to select the particular image as I can really relate to it. It brings both aspects of my life into the design.


It was a poster that I originally designed to try new techniques within flash such as shading and adjusting the thickness of lines. Not only was i able to produce a good end result but it now enables me to bring my personal life into the card with my love for Motorcycling.


From the initial design I have also adjusted the font. It was originally "Mistral", but after increasing the size of the font it became increasingly harder to read (making it pointless) I wanted to stick with the handwriting style though as I believe it had worked successfully. I managed to find a neat font called "Monotype Corsiva".


New Idea 1:

New Idea 2:

Group Tasks

This week the group tasks are as follows:

Ryan - produce a vector alternative image of the Bio's.
Kiel - Add the remaining Bio's into the flash movie.
Michael - Reduce running problems on the website before launch.
- Link emails to relevant forwarding addresses.
- Provide relevant leaders with log in information.

Fonts, Flash & Going Live

Fonts

At the start of the day there were worries of a mismatch in fonts and colours. To those worried, the current page that is live on the internet is just a "Coming Soon" page, just a kind of advert incase the exhibition group required it.

When it comes to the "Official website" the fonts match and colour scheme is in place. The font assigned to the main display area is "Century Gothic". The font used for the title does not effect the webstie group as it is displayed on the website as an image that the Graphics Group produced.

Flash

The bio's have almost been completed, Kiel has produced a Flash movie detailing each of our Designers. It has been bought to my attention that not everyone is able to view flash through their browsers. Due to this I will discuss thoroughly with my group on monday whether an alternative should be produced.

Going Live

If all goes to plan then the website will be launched on Friday 26th March. Here I will provide the relevant team leaders with their personal email address information.
The only thing that will prevent the launch of the website is the bio's not being completed in time. This should not be a problem though as Kiel is currently on track with what he is producing.

Weekly Task

I believe that the website can be completed soon.

Kiel is currently working on the Photographs for the Bio page for each of the students.

While he is doing that I will be arranging a Photo session for the remaining students that were unavailable last week.

Once Ryan has been updated and given the task of proof reading I believe that the website can go live by next week.

Efficient web browsing

It was discussed last week that we should possibly use frames upon our website. What this would mean is using the same menu, logo and surrounds on the page, but the content within the information part of the display would change. This would make the website more efficient as less memory would be taken up on the server and the graphics would not need reloading on every page.

After much time and effort I have decided not to go down this route due to the lack of knowledge. The problem is that the background would be set into sections instead of one large background image. The problem here is it would appear tiled and on some browsers would not align in place so would look messy.

Luckily this is not too much of a problem, although it will take longer for me to code every page the overall look of the website will be more appealling.

Work rate

Since my last blog entry the Website Group have been working at a rapid pace. After much deliberation a number of alterations have been made. It was found that the font used on the buttons was difficult to read and that the buttons were also pixelated.

I assigned this task to Kiel to reproduce them and he has done it efficiently so that there was minimal waiting time for me to update the coding of the website pages.

As Ryan was off ill last week I need to update him on the progress of the website, once I have done this I will assign him the task of proof reading the personal bio accounts and adjusting any grammatical errors.

Purchase of website domain

Just to update everyon, the domain has now been purchased and the website that will be used relevant media formats will be:

www.designstudioexhibition.co.uk

at the moment it will appear a dead link. After a quick discussion with Savva, I will be getting my website group to produce a "coming soon" page. This means that delays for sending out invitations and displaying basic information to the public will be kept to a minimum.

I aim to have the "Coming Soon" page to be published by Tuesday at the latest, as it is I am currently waiting for access details from the domain host. www.one.com

The plan now is to setup all of the relevant emails. For security reasons I will only be giving the team leaders access to their relevant email address (es) such as passwords. I have taken this step as it will allow Craig and Savva to decide who will get access.

Weekly task

This week will be important for the website, now we have the layout agreed it is time to get the pages produced and online. This week I will be coding the layout and getting it ready for the upcoming week. As this means that Ryan and Kiel will not be active for large amounts I have asked Ryan to produce colour swatches to fill a particular space within the website.
Kiel will be sourcing a camera ready for the Biography Photos next week.

Change of logo

After a discussion with Kiel and Ryan, I felt it right to to ask Craig (team leader of Graphics) if he could produce an alternative logo. The logo that his group originally produce does look good, but we do not believe it represents our exhibition theme.

There is a film lense upon the logo, and the exhibition will not be displaying any style of photography. So we have asked if they can rethink and change the lense to an object more relevant to our particular design studio.

Website layout

After a discussion with the team leaders it was decided that we should go for Kiels website design. The layout matched what we were looking for and in terms of content it was spot on. We had initially discussed that we wanted the website to appear as a designers desk, and this is exactly what Kiel offered.

Ryan had produced a good looking design, the reason we decided against using his particular design though was we belueved the text on the screen would be overcrowded and would take time to get the website coded. This is because the text area would appear as a notepad.

Compared to Ryan and Kiels designs my idea appeared bland, there wasn't a lot of colour involved so from feedback from the public it was seen as unattractive where as Kiels appealed to people and made people want to read the site.

Teaser

His a mockup of how the site could appear...

Group task

Now that a layout for the group has been agreed, I have told both Ryan and Kiel to produce a website screenshot of how they eprcieve the site should appear. This task will be completed by Monday, giving us time to relay what works and have a completed design ready to present next Thursday to the group leaders.

Over the next week I will also be researching domains to see what will give us the best deal on setting up a website.

The two that are of main interest are www.one.com & www.1and1.com

Initial Team Leader Meeting

The first team leader meeting was today and I am impressed with how dedicated each leader is. Each leader had their own agenda. For me it was to discuss the initial designs of the website and gain feedback as to what the two leaders would need.

Sav stated that the website would need:

- Email Accounts (seperate ones for mailshots and team leader accounts)
- Sponsors Page
- Events Page (both Exhibition and fund raisers

Craig bought his groups initial logo design to the table, slight alterations would be needed for the background colour, but after stating some of my ideas we are all happy that each group is moving in the right direction.

The layout that I proposed is farerly basic:

- navigation bar on the left
- Clear title
- Clear Logo
- Main Information Display
- Advertising banners
- Sponsorship banner


The initial feedback was good, in terms of displaying the work both Sav and Craig liked the concepts. The one thing Sav wasn't sure on was the title sponsor banner on the right of the screen. In practice it was good, but in reality he doesn't see it working. Due to the scale of the exhibition, plus the unknowns surrounding any sponsorship he doesn't feel it right to have such a banner. This was not a problem that I had anticipated so it was welcome feedback, so this particular banner will have to be thought through again.

The 2nd stage of my presentation concsisted of how the website would link to the theme of "The Design Studio". My idea is to setout the website as if it were a designers desk. A bit messy but containing objects that would be relevant to the theme.

The first plan was to setup the navigation system, going by Ryans presentation last week he showed of replicating a piece of paper that was stuck down with masking tape.

This was a succesful idea, both team leaders agreeing that it replicated the theme well.

The 2nd idea was purely to solve a space issue on the website. The logo would overlap the information display area of the site, my idea was to place the logo upon a curled up post-it note, that would easily be seen by the viewer; allow the text below the logo to be read easily and at the same time kept the link with the theme. This was another idea that went down succesfully.

Website Group Tasks

The first task I have set for the group is to produce plans on how the website could be laid out and collect ideas as to what the buttons could look like.

The idea is to collect a number of plans so that we can present them to the class and see what they believe could or could not work. Ryan was in "The Studio" planning group so his knowledge on what his old group members would want will be important. I don;t see the point in producing a website then finding the others don't find it suitable. So we will find what they require and go from there.

Work to display

Everyone has been asked to submit 3 or more pieces of work towards the exhibition.

I have many styles of work that I could use that would work within the exhibition including:

Photography
2D Animation
3D Animation
Graphic Design

As it will not be possible to display all of these I have decided to go with my personal favourites that I will enjoy explaining on the Information Boards.

Selected theme and grouping

After the initial theme presentations I believe that my initial groups went extremely poorly. Compared to other groups we did not gather enough research and present enough in detail. Part of me is glad that neither of the initial ideas were nominated, this is because I believe it would have been hard for it to be successful, as well as the cost of setting up either idea.

The idea that has been voted for "The Studio" has everything to be a successful exhibition. The theme of setting up the room like an artists studio links perfectly with the work. Not only will it be possible to display the completed articles, but also allows us to use designs for the work to be displayed to decorate the room.

Personally, I voted for "The Studio" as I was instantly hooked by the designs portrayed by that group and it had a very stable basis for which we can work from. The cost of setup should not be much, but I would be willing to put in money fi required. I have found that many students do not want to put money into the exhibtion, me personally I'd rather students put in money and end up with a successful exhibition, than moan how badly it could go and not even try to support it.


After previously being voted as team leader for a task that I was not confident within with my own abilities, I can say that I am excited to be named as Team LEader of the Website Group. For this exhibition to be successful I believe that the three team leaders will have to work closely together to make sure everyone is working in the same direction.

How do the themes relate to our work?

From the feedback received on the groups two main themes that we aim to present, it may appear to some that Magnification & Natural may appear random. One idea links directly to our work whereas one is more subtle.

Magnification is based on presenting the work in a greater view. Trying to represent our work in much finer detail than can be seen to the naked eye. There are qualities within glass than could make it a fun theme to work with, especially if voted for with such a broad mindset within the class.

The theme of Natural is more subtle, you have to appreciate the work for what it is and where the creator has come from to be able to produce something of that particular quality.
Just like in Nature you have to start at the bottom and learn your ways before being able to become something big.
Our work follows such a trend, we all started at the bottom (some with more knowledge than others) and slowly worked our way to producing finer pieces of work.
This is what makes it such a subtle theme compared to Magnification.

Theme Title Ideas

Magnification:

A Clearer Picture
Glassed
Over Emphasis

Natural:

Calm
Environment
Environmental Work

Business Card

To further my personal development the weekly task was to produce a business card that would fit in with the CV that I had previously created. I have decided to go for a constant theme using colour. With the Orange & Blue standing out and hopefully drawing attention to the card.

From feedback on my CV the order isn't quite right so once time allows me this will be adjusted.

Here is the 2 sided business card that I have developed:

Front:
Back:

Displays

Over the past week I have tried to find ways for work to be displayed within the exhibition. The ideas so far include:

- chicken wire
- wire mesh
- panel stands
- velcro
- polystyrene

The idea of using chicken wire and wire mesh work in a similar way. It is to get maximum usage from the space that we will have. Mounting the work to wire mesh would allow us to hang work in the corners of the room as well as different angles along the walls. Although this would appear messy and out of place within the exhibit, the natural theme would allow us to cover it up quite easily to blend in. The use of the wire mesh and chicken wire would be the most effective for a discrete display for the work.


With the chicken wire it would allow us to hang work away from the walls and possibly add depth to the exhibits. Using this alongside the polystyrene, the work could be displayed at numerous angles and also not appear flat. This would hopefully offer variety and make the displays more interesting.

Idea:
The problem with these ideas is that they may not be strong enough to hold the display boards. A way round it is to cut the display boards into smaller sections.

If it is found that the above ideas are not strong enough then an alternative is to use panel stands or even velcro. Velcro is very strong and could easily be used to attach the work to the walls. Also if the work was to be knocked by a visitor then it would withstand the hit and still remain on the wall.

The panel stands could be decorated to fit in with the theme, they are sturdy and offer a secure base for us to mount the work onto. the problem with the stands is that they are not cost effective. With a decent budget then i'd recommend these, but as this is not the case then it will not be as easy to find the money towards them.

Room Layout

So far I have looked into two styles of floor layout.

The closed layout follows a windy path with the work set around the visitor. The only direction for the visitor is to follow this path till they reach the far end of the exhibit. As it could be hard for the visitor to take in all information the work could be split into 3 sections that are based between the 2 walls. This would allow them to concentrate on a particular wall, then as they finish viewing them the next section would appear on the opposite wall.
Last week Dan from one of the other groups mentioned about using light to attract people to each of the displays and having a lack of light around the work. I believe this could work and using a simple spot light that does not cost alot - these could be situated around the work to give a similar impression. It keeps the focus on specific areas and if succesful make the visitor want to explore further into the exhibition.

The problem that I can see from having such a floor layout is it may feel clostraphobic to the visitors which would reduce their enjoyment and satisfaction levels during the exhibition.

The second floor layout that I propose is a more spaced out style. It would allow us to utilise maximum space within the room. With the layout allowing the visitor to choose what work to display next it would hopefully offer a more relaxing mood to their visit.


The problems that could arise from such a layout is that the visitor may miss work or not take all the information due to the vast amoutn of work around them.
Another problem is using suitable displays that would be safe within the themes so that there isn't any health and safety issues.

Hospitality

As part of my assigned tasks towards the presentation of the groups themes, it was down to me to research ideas for hospitality and making the visitors feel as welcome and relaxed as possible.

I have had a number of ideas:

- To have people on the main door to welcome the guests as they visit the exhibiton. This not only would make the guests feel welcome, but to also show a friendly face to explain what the exhibition is based upon and what they should expect to see. If possible leaflets should be made avilable to hand out to our guests to thank them for their visit and offer information that may not be relevant for display information.

- The second idea is to have drinks made available to our adult guests. Possibly a complimentary glass of wine. I believe that plastic cups would look tacky for any exhibit and replica glasses are avilable from supermarkets at a not to high a price.

- On each of the days that the exhibit is open each person should be ready to speak when asked questions, not being prepared for questions could end up making us appear stupuid and possibly leave a bad impression on our guests. This is even more so when it comes to the organisations that may visit, if we want to attract possible employers then this could be a big benefit to us. Even if a guest asks a question on someones elses piece of work, it wouldnt take much to find out about each piece of work prior to the event launching.

- My final suggestion is to offer a limited seating area (depending on the size of the exhibtion room).

Weekly Tasks

I have emailed all of you a copy of your tasks for this week. Here is a copy incase you delete the email.


If you believe you have ideas for a task that another member is doing then still produce something if you believe it will help. The more ideas we can produce the easier it will become to make people want to vote for our idea.

Exhibition Layout

From the multiple museums that have been visited as part of the research into how exhibits can be setout,they contain a number of interactive styles.

The styles witnessed were:

- Voice overs
- Interactive touch screens
- Information Kiosks
- Poster Boards
- Physical exhibits


I found that all worked well within their environments and allowed a variety of information to be passed on. More, compared to if one style was used. This was because I found that I had missed detail on an exhibit, but thanks to another style of information I still managed to recieve it.



During my visits I also noticed a big difference in my general feeling to the museums depending on the layouts.

I found that Brooklands had their exhibits close together and felt quite clostraphobic. This lead to me feeling rushed to go round the exhibits and felt I missed out on information as I wasn't enjoying it. Where as the Mercedes World was very spacious, even though there were large amounts of wall space the text and exhibits were displayed in such a way to make maximum use of the building. With chairs and tables added in areas, it allowed for a relaxing venue for the public to calmly walk around. I found I took a lot of time on each exhibit to take in maximum information.


Due to this I feel the best way to layout the Natural Concept is to use displays with space and give plenty of chance for the public to manouvre around at their own pace.

Personal Development - CV

As Part of my Personal Devleopment I have to submit a Curriculum Vitae.

Here is my first attempt at creating one:


Here is a copy that links to my website and business card in terms of colour scheme:

Fonts & Colours

From the information that was gathered at the museums it is important that the group discuss possible colour schemes for the information displays.

Throughout each of the exhibits there were two main colour schemes for text. For the technical information appeared to be presented in a formal style. The purpose to make it easier for the public to read the displays. These were mainly used for the selling of the exhibits so it was clear to see what would be avilable in a sale. For such a formal style the text appeared to be in black.

Other displays consisted of text set in a pastel colour. From research found, pastel colours relax the viewer - "...Cool and pastel colors work to provide a calming feel." (Doyle, 2003).

I believe it is important for the public to be calm and take their time while visiting the exhibiton so using such colours could be important for this to happen.

Using the website typo face, it was possible to come up with a colour that could be suitably read on a white background, but also stand out from the surrounding natural colours of green and brown.

The most suitable colour found was a pastel blue. Which supports the idea of the Americans where using pastel colours keeps the onlooker at their calmest psychologically.



For the font I don't believe Times New Roman or such formal fonts should be used. They are mainly associated with documents, and I think this would give the wrong impression. A font that is easy to read and doesn't give a strict formal format would work well.

For this I have elected the font "Euphemia".


On thursday I will discuss these findings with the group and see what they have researched and come to a conclusion on what should be used for the Natural theme.

Natural Theme - Information Displays

After a discussion with Richard, Martin and Robert on Monday it has been decided to concentrate on producing the Natural theme.

Over the previous week I have been researching the use of Information Boards and how they can be used to display information on an exhibit.

I have been to 2 museums and 1 exhibition to gather it:

London Motorcycle Exhibition.
Mercedes Benz World.
Brooklands.

Even though they are all completely separate, the ideas for portraying information are very similar.

The three key styles identified within each of the museums were:

Technical - this consisted of information based upon how it was produced. The aim for this style of sign appeared to be to sell the exhibit to the public.




This technical style used very little clear imagery and was concise with what was being displayed. In terms of the Natural exhibit for the group, I believe this style could be used to:

- inform the public of what software has been used to produce the exhibit.
- what effects have been used.
- whether the piece of work was completed in 2ND or 3RD year.
- title of exhibit.

Entertaining - the use of imagery and text appeared to be laid out to attract the attention of the public. In each of the examples pictures of past and present were displayed to show the life of the exhibit. The text was produced in the form of a story, it made the exhibit appear exciting and also gave the feeling that the public was part of that history just by reading about its accomplishments.



In terms of using this style within our exhibit, may be harder to do successfully. As the work is graphic based, it will be harder to produce a compelling story about it.
An alternative method is a question and answer fact board that allows the public to see what the inspiration for such a piece of work was, and also find out possibly why things were or were not done in a particular way. Shows reflection from the creator, so if the piece of work was created in the 2ND year, with the knowledge that has been taken from the 3RD year how would they change parts.

Relevance - this style of displaying information is concise and displays only the basic information.
It is displayed by taking a key characteristic from the exhibit, and adjusting it to display the information within that section. If done successfully, the information is discrete so that it doesn't take away from the exhibit but also is noticeable enough for the information to be passed on to the public.





This style of information could be produced by displaying the most vital information such as title, date of completion and creator name.

As seen in all of the museums/ exhibitions visited, poster board has been used to display all information. The only variances are the size of the board used.