Design Development

After completing the initial design process I then had to start looking into how my exhibition would actually be constructed and the materials used.

The beginning of my exhibition starts with a street scene. I imagined this to be a fake street actually built inside but then I decided that this would be quite costly and wanted to think of other ways I could actually create a street by illusion. I started to look in to Green Screen effects otheriwse known as Chroma Key. This is typically used for weather people when they stand in front of a large blank green screen and communicate the weather. The actual map of the country is generated by a computer for the audience to see at home. Using this idea I thought you could have clients walk into a room with one wall behind them painted green and the wall opposite them to have an image of a street on generated by a computer. This would give the illusion that they were actually walking down a street.

The next thing I began to look into for my exhibition was the making of the school. I decided that it needed to be a simple structure with maximum impact. The main body of the school would be made from a wooden frame, then plaster boards would be fitted and then plaster would be put over these. However the outside of the school needs to look like real brick work, so I began to look into artificial brick cladding. This is made generally from plastic and is moulded into any brick shape you want. It comes in different sections which can just be drilled into place on to a timber frame. A lot of companies creating stage sets will use similair methods to deceive people. Please click on the link below for a company which creates artificial cladding and wall panels.

http://www.grpbuildingproducts.co.uk/faq.html#faq-22  

Streetlife Museum Link

http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/portal/page?_pageid=221,631492&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Streetlife Museum Hull

I recently visited the Streetlife Museum in Hull to get an idea of what materials to use in my exhibition. They have a similar street scene to the one I am trying to create in my design so this was very helpful. I am now going to continue my research and find out how to construct the different sets that there are in my design. Please see below pictures I took whilst at the Streetlife museum.

My Concept Presentation

Below is my presentation board I used to describe my exhibition. This was created using Photoshop.

National Picture Theatre Hull

My current design project is to design an exhibition to stand in the building of the National Picture Theatre hull. The exhibition that I have designed is called 'Children at War' and is made to make you feel like you are reliving an experience of a child in WWII. My design is meant to play with your emotions and has several different elements in order to do this from sight, feel and smell. When being taught something people remember 90% of what they actually experience and so the exhibition was purposely designed to be interactive to aid learning.

Sustainable Materials

I've recently been doing some research into sustainable materials and found out some really interesting information about the shoes made by Croc. Not the most fashionable shoe in my opinion but the material that they are made from called Croslite is amazing! Croslite is a type of resin which is incredibly versatile. It would appear that the company Croc weren't focusing on fashion when they made their shoe but on the sustainability in the market place of their material. The material virtually eliminates odour, prevents bacterial and fungal growth and are non toxic. The company now intend to expand their product range into toilet seats and the building industry.

Interesting Websites about Sustainable Materials

http://sustainablematerials.com
http://www.ryanfrank.net/about/materials/
http://cabinco.co.uk/list-of-sustainable-materials-in-a-timber-building/

Interesting Websites to do with Ethics

http://www.aiga.org/design-business-and-ethics/
http://www.viviennewestwood.co.uk/
http://www.davidairey.com/
http://sustainablebusinessforum.com/green24/519obsolence-products-designed-profit-not-planet

My Design Ethic

Ethics in design I believe are particularly important. If all designers practiced ethically it would create a better world for everyone. I as a designer will always strive to follow my own ethics such as honesty, kindness and to design a high quality product made to stand the test of time.

I may not always be overly fond of a project or idea but would never use this as an excuse to not put all my effort in to achieving what I am being asked to do. I think it would be immoral of me to make a half hearted attempt at a design just because I didn't agree with the idea behind it. However, not everyone will agree with my ethical opinion. When the answer isn't as black and white as wrong or right and we get that grey area in the middle people's opinions will always differ. I just think that it's important to go with your instinct and stay true to it. Although, again venturing in to the grey area, if I really felt that a project would be severley detrimental to others I would refuse to do the design. Afterall that wouldn't be kind or honest now would it?

Looking at ethics from an ecological point of view I do believe it's important to produce a product that has respect for people and the environment. There are many ways in which people can help the environment no matter how small it's just whether they choose to shy away from the harsh realities of environmental damage or step up and make that small change. I strongly believe in encouraging quality over mass produced disposable items. Unfortunately products that are designed to last aren't always profitable that's why quality continues to lose out to quantity at the cost of the environment. 

Design Glossary

Plans- A drawing or diagram made to scale showing the structure or arrangement of something.
Scale Drawing- A drawing that shows a real object with accurate sizes except they have all been reduced or enlarged by a certain amount (called the scale).
Sustainable- Conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.

Photographs of National Picture Theatre Hull

National Picture Theatre Hull

http://www.ncww2mt.freewebspace.com/