RSA: Energy Hall visit

The Energy Hall at the Science Museum was an interactive space filled with energy related games, mainly for children but a lot of adults including myself were participating.

There wasn't as much learning as I expected, but there were facts put up on the walls and in the space which were simple and one that everyone would stop to read.

While owing to research, I already knew half the facts, it was still important for me to photograph and keep them.

RSA: Plasticity exhibition

Essentially the exhibition at the Science Museum was about Plastic and it's origin and different forms that have evolved to exist today.

The most interesting aspect about the exhibition was it's layout. Filled with ceiling high plastic floating bright red panels, made it very inviting and of course attractive. Which I think is an extremely important aspect of any display. Not to forget the upside down world, with tables and chairs fixed to the ceiling.

Although some facts were too detailed for my understanding, what I did like is how simply it was explained on little cards alongside the display. It was very fascinating to see the different uses of plastic and how much we use it.

The pen chandelier, if I may call it that, was the most interesting. Even though we all know pens are made of plastic, it's an invisible fact to us.

Bags, shoes, dentures, trash bins, chairs, tables, lipstick packaging.. the list is endless - all that is made of plastic. Plastic has countless uses.. without it, it seems as though our life would cease to function normally!

At the end of it, the question we must ask our selves is that despite knowing how harmful plastic is for our environment, we have habitually become accustomed to it to the extent that it's existence has been almost invisible up until there was a global scream about going green - is it fair to our environment? As human beings is not our responsibility to protect the Earth?

With these issues, I gained an insight into the vast world of plastic and our ignorance of it as well. This helped me narrow down in my head, the idea of awareness.

RSA: Visits & update..

Places I visited this week..

1. Science Museum - they had a few very good exhibits. One was about plastics and its history. It was extremely informative. Another was a small game area of sorts to teach us about energy. The pictures would illustrate further.
Website: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

2. Stanley Gibbons, 399 Strand - This is a stamp collectors paradise! They have stamps in all shapes, sizes, colour, country and year! They have stamp albums, special magnifying glass, stamp protectors and the list is endless. I bought one of the books recommended by the RSA (Collect British Stamps 2008) which as the title explains is a collection of British stamps. Some really good ones. When asked for help, they said that they only sell stamps and that's it.
Website: www.stanleygibbons.com

3. The post office - Purchased a special edition stamp package (James Bond). They also said that we must e-mail the Royal Mail if we needed any help.
Website: www.royalmail.com


Have found a list of printers and design studios who were commissioned by the Royal Mail for their stamps. Hoping that they would help.

Printers

1. Walsall Security Printers
2. De La Rue Printers
3. Cartor Printing

Design Studios

1. Atelier Works
2. Workroom
3. CDT
   

RSA: Stamps I like..

I like these stamps because of their illustration style, primarily.

RSA: Links & how I conserve..

Links everyone must visit:

1. Recycle symbols - www.testvalley.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=5881
2. DIY planet repairs - www.london.gov.uk/diy/index.jsp (taken from Natalia's blog)
3. Plastic Bags - www.plasticbag.org.uk

I thought after reading the brief that combining these two issues - alternative energy resources & energy conservation would be possible after sufficient research. But as I read along, maybe I need to focus on one of the two subjects as trying to show both through the design would be far from ideal.

While both the topics go hand in hand, and anyone aware about energy consumption would also be aware about using alternate sources and vice-versa.

Thus if I try to attempt to tackle the issue at a more local and human level it might have more effect.

Still under process of taking the decision. By next week I should have reached one.

Natalia's idea of the pink dot is fantastic. I am going to put up green ones around my flat and in my kitchen so my flatmates are aware of the reminders as well.


Reminders to:
1. Keep switches off when not in use
2. Only boil as much water as needed in the kettle
3. Turn the hob off when not in use
4. Turn the oven off when not in use
5. Don't waste water while washing the dishes

I realized after taking the DIY Living test that I don't waste energy except when I leave my mobile on charge overnight (which I have stopped from now).


Here's how I conserve:
1. Put my tap off while brushing my teeth
2. Keep my lights switched off when I'm not in the room
3. Whenever I go into the kitchen and any appliance is not in use I turn off their switch
4. I try taking shorter showers and keep it off when using soap
5. I wash at 30º in the laundry and 40º very rarely
6. I take my own bag when going grocery shopping to avoid using plastic
7. Avoid using plastic bags from shops for small items (gum, sticky notes, scarves, etc.)
8. Use newspaper and water to clean my mirrors instead of buying cleaning agents
9. Only boil as much water as I need
10. Always store whatever plastic bags I have so they can be re-used


Everyone should make a list of how they conserve. These are very small changes and anyone can easily make them in their daily life, and soon they become a habit.

You feel like a much better human being as you are not contributing to the waste in the world. You're helping conserve your resources.

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE THE BIG DIFFERENCE.

RSA: Mind map - edit one

Some additions and deletions in the Mind Map

1. Deleted surveying people (bottom right)
   
2. Added steps done so far (top right corner)
3. Listed places need to visit (top right corner)
4. Focus on using SYMBOLS
5. Added to find Stamp collectors

With further research, I narrowed down on using a symbol to be the focus of my design. Also listed the places needed to visit (Science museum, post office, printers and so on). Since the topic is renewable sources of energy, the project must be sustainable hence before the design is executed it is essential to speak with printers who would guide us on the printing process, whether we can use recycled paper and what would be the cost involved and so on.

Also trying to establish contact with the printer used by Royal Mail - Walsall Security Printers. The other printers are located outside London. Listed the designers/design studios used by the Royal Mail so they could, when contacted, give us (3 of us doing the Postage Stamp project) a clearer idea of what goes into the process of designing stamps.

Visiting..

1. St. Brides Library where they have a massive collection of design books for reference.
2. Strand where there are 2 shops (one being Stanley Gibbons - also the recommended book by the RSA) storing books on stamp and philately.
3. The Science Museum which has an exhibition on Energy.
4. The post office to find out whether they would help us.

RSA: Mind map

The map helped me collect and organize my thoughts on the project. It was an extremely helpful activity. Also led me to decide visits I need to make along with my class mates (doing the same project) and further research areas I need to focus on.

RSA: To start with..

Postage Stamps

alternative energy sources & energy conservation

I chose this topic because..

• It is design-centric
• It is research oriented

To learn..

• It is a challenge to design a stamp
• My first project which I dictate the path of
• I will realize my strengths and limitations as a designer
• Will brush my research as well as design skills
  

My first step was to read and re-read the brief and highlight everything I would need to focus on and keep reminding myself of.

Then came the research bit. I decided it would be good to do research on the history of stamps, how they came into existence, process of printing and the rationale behind designing stamps.

Next would be a brief research on alternative energy sources and their conservation.

While the above research takes place, ideas would already start forming in my head as to what the problem is, what I need to design to reach the ideal design solution.

So far I've noted that..

• The design should convey and immediate message
• Should use interesting colour
• Be sustainable in their execution/printing
• Be classy
• Look like they have been designed
  

Deadlines so far..

• Research and primary ideation 9/11
• Design and proof 23/11
• Final output 29/11

Reading and looking at..

• Royal Mail Stamps by Stuart Rose
  
• An illustrated history of stamp design by William Finlay
• www.royalmail.com
• www.ukphilately.org.uk
• www.stampprinters.info

Reference example

1978 Energy Issues
*Rose, Stuart; Royal Mail Stamps: a survey of British Stamp Design; Phaidon Press Limited, 1980; p16

• The design is very simple
• The Queens head is subtle yet visible and does not interfere with the design
• The design becomes easy to understand with the label below. But also it could be argued that the design should be powerful enough to convey its meaning without the help of text
• Colours are too flat and plain for my aesthetic eye
• The font of the value could be a bit more interesting

Design studio

Design studio:
Design Temple

Location:
Mumbai, India

Website:
www.designtemple.net

About them:

Design Temple is an award-winning, urban design studio. Over the last nine years, since its inception has developed their unique Indian contemporary language.

I think:
Chic, trendy, cute and ethnic in their designs. Very traditionally Indian in every way - right from their colour palette to the font to the designs - yet very modern. Pay a lot of attention to detail. Vibrant in their look and approach. The quintessential design studio - exactly something like I would run.

Check out:
India Now, V & A, London - Commissioned and held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London on August 31, 2007. The design installation presented contemporary India through vibrant symbology.

*all data taken from their website www.designtemple.net

1 piece(s) of design

Designing annual reports can be a daunting task for a designer but Harry Pearce at Pentagram did a beautiful job of this one.

The annual report(s) for the international human rights organization - New York based charity Witness to raise awareness about human rights violations in Burma.

It is simple, neat, has precise colours, sans serif type to suit it's purpose and most of all a very effective design to convey the message of the organization in the most non-fussy way.

Website:
http://pentagram.com/blog/2007/12/burma.php

The 2004 Witness annual report



The 2006 Witness annual report

Design process

Every designer has their own individual process of design, here's mine.

1. Brief - define, write, get..
2. Read, read and read
   
3. Research - books, journals, organization, people need to talk to..
   
4. Write your own brief
5. Ideate
6. Present concept(s) to client and re-work brief and idea (if needed)
7. Deadlines - set them and stick to them
8. Research - further delve into competition and relevant reading
9. Help - get assistance from other professionals if required
10. Budget - think and pen down finances and present to client
11. Implement - the idea should now result in a dummy
12. Approval - of the dummy by the client
13. Print proofs - communicate and rule out all problems with the printer at this stage and get proofs, show to client for final approval
    
14. Delivery - of the final product
    

To note:

• Sketchbook - maintain one for every detail and every project
• Rough outline - this process is not the 'ideal' one and you go up and down the process as the project requires you to
• In the loop - keep your client in the loop at all stages so there is NO communication gap
• Put in your heart and soul into every project you to (despite clients being extremely painful at times)
  

2 designers: I like & why

1. Neville Brody

At a time when art met technology, Brody emerged - as a designer. He is Neville Brody because he experimented, he mixed the media we use to communicate, he even combined the softwares we so commonly use today. He literally started and defined (somewhat) design from scratch. He gave us direction. He played with type. He almost told us to discover our own graphic language. He toyed with colour, geometric shapes, type and colour fantastically. Discovering and defining his own process (most important as a designer) resulting in an amazing mix of art, in its crudest form, and the digital technology, which was slowly overpowering the system of communication.

Website:
http://www.researchstudios.com/home/home.php

Examples:

Stamps for the Floraide, PTT, The Netherlands, 1991

Stationery for Schauspielhaus, Hamburg, Deutschland 1994

2. Paul Rand

A brilliant writer as well as designer. Like a guru for a student stepping into the world of design. Systematic in his work, Rand explores almost every aspect one can think of when visualising a design (including the process) - symbol, form, content, repetition, humor (it comes naturally to his designs), visual pun, legibility, colour, type, invention and the list is endless.. He is truly inspiring owing to his ability to be organized and abstract at the same time. He doesn't think twice before correcting his own work, even decades after its been published (e.g. the UPS logo). He 'plays' with type, colour, shape, size and every element of design you can think of. An intelligent designer, Rand's work never fails to fascinate me - encompassing the most complex to the simplest idea in a single piece of design.

Read:
Paul Rand: A Designer's Art, Yale University Press, 1985

Website:

http://www.paul-rand.com/

Examples:

IBM (International Business Machines) 8 bar variation, 1972

Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 1960