During the Easter holidays I have been working on my final presentation for SEPA. This has been a stressful time for me as sketch up and my rendering programme keep on crashing on me, work that should have taken hours has been taking days because everything is SO slow! Anyways... here is some of the work which I have done on sketch up- these still need to be rendered etc. Throughout the interior I have created natural curved walls which reflect the work in which SEPA does.

My main inspiration in a very abstract way are tree's which help greatly to reduce pollution by absorbing carbon dioxide.

GROUND FLOOR - The roots of the tree which are firmly in bedded into Dundee this is shown through the curved walls in a vertical direction up to the first floor.

FIRST FLOOR-  The core of the tree which is the office space. This is the place which has the most knowledge and years of experience.

SECOND FLOOR - The branches- learning more things and branching out which is where the meeting rooms and lab are.

Will blog up my final presentation once it has been completed! :)

HOW THE LIVING ROOM HAS CHANGED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

Recently I watched an interesting programme on BBC4 on how our home has changed throughout the years. In this programme they are looking at how the living room has changed throughout the last 700 years. 


Firstly looking at the medieval days where the living room is arranged in a way where the most important person sits at the end of the table while people who weren't as important such as servants sat on the ground at the other side of the room, there was a divide in the room so that both the rich and poor couldn't cross. Later on in years the living room would be sub divided. With lighting being expensive in those days they used candles which were made from animal fat- to me this doesn't sound so appealing! Later on in the Elizabethan era living rooms where a way to show other how wealthy they were by their luxurious tapestries, statues and colour. The room was only used by the rich class which got used more as a ball room. Glass was also becoming more popular so rooms would be flooded with natural light. Even when moving home some people would take their windows out because they were that expensive.
  

The drawing room in the Georgian times were used more by the women for having tea parties - gilded gold rims, fire places and expensive tea ware. In the 18th century taste became a huge part of interior design and architecture. Designers such as Robert Adam designed more mass market interiors which could be seen in a more wealthy home for people who are from the working class and making it more affordable. In the Victorian times objects became a big part in the living room with every inch of the room filled with possessions. To me these rooms seem too cluttered and too much to look at with over whelming colours and different objects. Oscar Wilde changed the way in which the house hold looked by only putting hand made and unique interiors. Later on in the industrial revolution the living room had a multifunctional space for cooking, eating and for leisure time. By the turn of the 20th century electricity light bulbs became available only to the rich at first which changed the living room to a more contemporary way. The radio would become the main feature during the second world war after that the television became the main focal point of the living room. This changed the whole way the interior was laid out as the chairs needed to face the TV. In the 1960's DIY became the craze to make give the interiors of the house a new lease of life. In today's world the living room is more about technology with the games consoles and the multi functional space. 


For me this programme was a great insight into how the interiors have changed through out the years, I find it very interesting to see how the living room has gone from being very divided with wealth and class being a big part of it to then becoming a more equal space in today's world where pretty much all living rooms are very similar. To me the interiors of the Georgian and Elizabethan times are more unique and interesting than today's ordinary technology based living spaces. 
       

MASTER DEGREE DESIGN STUDENTS LECTURE!

In last weeks lecture we had two master design degree students who presented there research which they are each doing in their course. This was one of my favourite lectures and was very inspiring to see what their thoughts and views were. Firstly Bruno was trying to push the boundaries and ask how can blind people use other senses to there full advantage to communicate? Also how can design help a disability? He made us aware that only 10% of blind people actually know braille in the UK. Thinking about it how do blind people actually know when there is braille around? Surely there is an easier way to communicate with the use of another sense. Bruno showed examples such as the six speaking chairs which is used for people who have speech problems so that they are able to communicate better. Could there be an easier way for blind people to find there way around.


http://imd.dundee.ac.uk/sixspeakingchairs/about.html

Maria McLennan was researching into how jewellery could identify people in disasters. She explained how there is primary evidence such as DNA, finger prints and dental records but what if you where unable to find out any of this. These are effective ways to identify people but in certain situations this isn't possible. There is then secondary evidence such as clothing, passport, tattoos and jewellery but this may not be still on the body. Maria is now trying to design jewellery for this which I feel is a huge challenge. She is going to have to design something which is always on the body - cannot be moved and something which is made of a strong durable material which can with stand pretty much anything.


These projects interest me a great deal as they are actually dealing with real situations which could change a lot in the world for the better and have a real stamp on the design industry.

ACTIVITY 5B- SUMMER PLANS!

As I've got many months off from university during the summer holidays I am giving myself certain goals which I will do throughout the holidays such as making connections, organising my work and broadening my knowledge by reading more.

BOOKS-

1.THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS BY DON NORMAN

This book  interests me as it reveals how smart design of everyday things is a powerful indication on how and why some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate people.

 I feel that this could help me in the future when designing interior spaces as I need to think more about what the client requires and how to design something that will fulfil their needs and wants. Whilst designing something functional and of good design.

2.BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING BY MALCOLM GLADWELL

After reading 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell last semester I am going to read this book as I was inspired and interested in his other book. This will definitely be a book which I will read while lounging around on holiday.

This book is about the power of the sub-conscious mind and how decisions made very quickly almost by what your instincts tell you can be as good as taking ages to decide on something.

3.THE TEN FACES OF INNOVATION: STRATEGIES FOR HEIGHTENING CREATIVITY BY TOM KELLEY

Throughout second year and probably into my working life,  team work will play a big part in what I do. This book explains how both creativity and business innovation is needed in every business. It also highlights the different stages in which people play to get a better and faster result.

4.FASCINATE: YOUR 7 TRIGGERS TO PERSUASION AND CAPTIVATION BY SALL HOGSHEAD

What triggers fascination and how do companies, people and ideas put those triggers to use? This book explains how our fascination shapes our ideas, opinions and relationships and how to use this to our advantage.

I feel that this may help me in the future to understand and use  in a working situation.

5.THE LAYOUT LOOK BOOK BY CHRISTIAN CAMPOS

This book looks at different layout techniques that could be used for any design background from professionals to amateurs at any time in the design process.

Presentation boards are a huge part of my course at the moment and I feel that this book would help me understand how to layout my presentations better it could also maybe help thinking about how the layout of certain interiors could be achieved to a better level.

BLOG-

1.During the holidays I will create a delicious account. This will help me to organise all my bookmarks on the web so that I am able to find what I am looking for quicker and easier. As I use both a laptop and Imac this will be very beneficial to me as sometimes I'm unsure of where my bookmarked stuff is.

2. I will also join Twitter. I feel that this would be a good way to make connections with people from design backgrounds such as interior designers and architects.

3. Blog more about interesting design / architecture. I feel that recently with the end of a huge project looming I have been unable to blog as much as I would have liked so in the holidays I will read more articles to do with design and things which interest me.

4. As I have hardly changed my blog layout I will also do this in the summer to give it a fresh and more interesting display.

5. Lastly I will sort out my tags on my blog so that they are easy to read and more organised for both me and the viewer.

CONNECTIONS-

1. LORIN EDGAR

After my gap year to South Africa I have slowly lost contact with Lorin who I worked beside as an art teacher for 8 months. She was a very inspirational and interesting character so I hope by emailing her that I will be able to stay in contact with her again and find out what she is doing as I haven't spoken to her in around 4 years.

2. GAIL KELLY

Gail is an undergraduate graphic designer who used to attend DOJCAD. She is currently working in Glasgow as a Graphic Designer I will hopefully meet up with her in the holidays for a chat.

3. LEILA KALBASSI

Leila is the scenic artist at the REP theatre in Dundee. After doing work experience with her 2 years ago I am still interested in this field so will maybe try to contact her through email to see if she has any work experience over the holidays.

4. BLACK ANDREW DESIGN LTD.

5. BATTLEDOWN STUDIO NATURAL ARCHITECTURE

As the holidays are fast approaching I am wanting to get some work experience under my belt so I am hoping to contact different architecture firms (such as the ones above) to ask for work experience. Mainly I will be writing to them even if i get one acceptance then I will gain more knowledge in my field of work.  

ASSIGNMENT 5A- PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

During last semester I started to investigate into the relationship between children and the world of advertising. First referring to the book ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell I looked at the stickiness factor, which looks at how brands such as Sesame Street become so popular that they “tip” and become sticky. Everyday without realising it we are surrounded (some could say suffocated) with adverts. Everywhere we go , everything we do advertisement is all around us from television and radio adverts to billboards and shop windows we are sometimes unknowingly being subjected to buy, buy, buy! During a university lecture by Jonathan Baldwin I watched a panorama programme which highlights the issue of how more than ever advertising is having an impact on children. This programme opens your eyes, it was astonishing to watch both children and parents buying only branded clothing as they felt pressure to fit in with others . I started to wonder if family upbringing or who your circle of friends are has a large part to play in this and if advertisement even has a part to play.  

For my proposal I want to investigate how much affect advertisement has on children and if this has an impact on what parents are buying their children. This would be an interesting subject as we are unsure if children even understand what adverts are or if they even pay any notice when adverts are playing in between their favourite cartoons. To get a successful outcome I need to think about researching into families from different backgrounds, ages and sexes so that my findings are of the best quality. I would like to further my research by using certain research service tools to find out more about this subject. Referring back to ‘Design Methods’ by John Chris Jones I can think about the most relevant design methods to explore my subject further. 

Firstly I would like to find out how children interact with television adverts therefore I feel that an observation would be a worthwhile exercise. I could observe how children interact with television advertisement in their natural environment. A nursery or school scene would probably be best as I could get a large group of children together at the same time without them noticing anything unusual. In a family living area the child may feel that I was doing something and therefore I wouldn’t get an accurate result. Where as in a school or nursery the children would be used to different people and therefore be more comfortable in that surrounding. I would look out for signs such as how much attention do they pay when watching adverts? What are they drawn to? Does sound, colour and imagery play any part to what they watch? 

The size of the group would probably be around 15-20 children at a time with 3 or 4 individuals watching them. Although this may be a problem as it is hard to track five children at one time to see what they are watching so to get a more accurate reading I could install a camera on top of the television monitor which could track eye contact and see what they are watching although this may be more costly. This would be quite a fast process and overall to get an adequate result I would watch around 15 children. To track results I would collect results and form them into a pie chart so that they are easy to read.

Another valuable research tool to find out how much branding has an impact on children I could do a visual analysis of photographs.  I would show children individually images of branded toys, food,etc without any text and see how good children are at recognising different logo’s to find out how exposed they are to branding. I could also let them listen to different jingles from adverts to see how in tune they are with advertisement. This would be an exciting process for them as they are shown different images and sounds which would be played like a game. In between all this a casual interview could take place asking children where they know the logo from? Have they been bought anything with that logo on? What do they like about the logo/jingle? 

I would approach around 7 different children aged between 5-10 to get an accurate result. The experiment would last for around 5-10 minutes so that children are alert and interacting with you. This would take place in an environment where children are such as at school or youth club so there is a separate room which could be organised to do the experiment. The streets wouldn’t be a suitable place as there are too many distractions also if a jingle is played there needs to be peace and quiet for the children to listen to it and concentrate. To record results I would fill in a questionnaire as I was doing the experiment which would have all the relevant questions that i would ask during the visual analysis and interview. As the children are so young they would be unable to fill in a questionnaire themselves. 

I feel that mind mapping wouldn’t be a worth while research method as the target group is children this wouldn’t be exciting enough for them to want to participate in therefore they will loose interest and an accurate result may not be shown. One to one interaction and actually observing the children is the bast way to find out if adverts are doing what they should and selling a product to its target market. 

These research methods will get a clearer indication  to what children are watching and what makes an advert interesting. Also finding out how exposed children are to brands and adverts to see how good the child's memory is. This gives an insight into if children understand what logos are and if they have an impact on their lives.