Sheffield Hallam University design trip.

On the 19th of June 2012 I participated in a design showcase viewing in which I observed and examined some of the work which some of the students had completed. The work was shown as part of the creative spark exposition at Sheffield Hallam University, This exhibition was a showcase of multiple different variations of design and art and is a way of conveying the type of work which we may well completed if we were to go to Sheffield university or in fact any University. This has given me an insight into the type of work and working techniques which University students use, the task they are set, the end results and how to display work at a professional standard. I found this trip useful as a progression of my later educational options in regards to University. There were many students work in which I found interesting and I will explain that further. There are multiple different types of areas in which the students work within such as; photography to product design.

Chris Stanley and Alexander Watson.

A working practise that was rather frequent with in this exhibition was projects which were collaboration; one example of this is a project where it had two students working on it. They were Chris Stanley and Alexander Watson who worked on a project called 'Behind closed door' which was a project set to give a message about domestic violence. Although they worked together they each had separate exhibits at the exhibition which shows even though they worked as a team they still did the same amount of work as anyone else, yet since they worked together the development of ideas was better since more ideas were thought of throughout the project. The idea of a collaboration is an idea that interests me and at University is the only place I have seen design student collaborate on a since project. The work was varied since it had multiple different experiments which were made and developed using many different Medias and techniques. Some of the experiments were physical and were at a very high standard and were exhibited very well since the amount of items was taken into consideration in regards to the amount of space the exhibition was given, due to this the work was easily found, read and was not cluttered in any way. This was a good point of the way the word was showcased and lets the audience view all of the work easily and not have to search through lots of different pieces of paper and other items which some of the others persons showcases you unfortunately did have to and so it may of put the viewers of from looking through the work, it did for me. The other work that was not a three dimensional was also shown at a high standard and was at a very high standard of work. The main work shown was a large (A2 or A3) poster which was the main aspect and final product of the students work for completing that project’s brief.


The size of the poster gave a real impact and caught my eye and that is why I went to look at the students work. Having the final end result a very large poster that is larger than anything else in the exhibit shows that that is the end results and since the previous work is much smaller is gives an idea that the initial ideas are small and in a sketchbook and as the work develops the scale of the work increases and shows the development through the increase in size in relation to the stage of work makes it more obvious as to the timeline of the work. The was work that had clearly evolved and developed throughout the work and the ideas that developed were clear and showed a timeline of the work, and was prove that the work had lots of development and was not just a last minute idea and not much thought was given for it. The final work was a poster that was giving a message about domestic violence and was entitled ‘Behind closed doors’ and was at a very high standard. The work worked very well and even though it doesn’t give the message instantly after a few seconds the message is clear due to the imagery since there is no text. The imagery is of black figures often in closed up positions in textured boxes giving the idea of looking behind closed doors and fits the title very well and this one was done by Chris Slater and the other collaborator Alexander Watson did his own end results which shows even collaborations need for done their own equal share of work and did their own final results. This poster was of the same size and was closer to an advent colander since there were a series of approximately twenty doors which had a flap so that they could open and inside were figures looking miserable and closed up. This work has many links in style to the collaborator yet in my opinion is more obvious as to the message yet can be considered somewhat simpler and less artistic. The work can relate to my own work since I have previously designed posters of my own that are designed to give a message and this work defiantly gives a message, the difference between poster whether it is to give a message or advertise is relevant since if it is giving a message like this one imagery is the main aspect and the colouring reflects the message which are usually dark since they are trying to solve a problem and I can use this to evolve my own work sine I can differentiate the message posters from advertising poster which have more text and are more colourful.

Kirsty McKinley

This work done by Kirsty McKinley was about creating the label for a sauce and was styled around Africa and Jamaica due to the type of sauce it was. The work was started by research which included notes and drawing that were showing the thoughts and processes of ideas and concepts. These were laid out well and enough though lots of people’s initial ideas can be rather scattered and hard to understand by other people Kirsty’s research and ideas that came from the research and developed from those are showing the thought processes well. The experimenting was focused upon monoprints and experimented with multiple different imagery and techniques within the monoprints. The prints had varying colours and comprised of images varying from detailed images of famous people’s faces (Christopher Lee) which were very detailed, clear and were obvious as to the person in which she is portraying in her illustrations.

The work on the people faces shows that she had experimented with much position and skill when creating her prints and she is capable of creating very well designed and performed monoprints which are often rather simple as to the images they are copying. The later work with the monoprints shows the purpose of the monoprints which was a way the design African face masks and tribal Jamaican faces in a style that suits them. The texture which the monoprints give are somewhat flat looking and simple yet there are consisting of mostly black and since when monoprints are performed the prints get covered mostly in black yet make gaps and groves that are not covered in colour and this gives monoprints a appealing texture which suits the subject matter of the African masks and Jamaican tribal faces very well. Although there is plenty of very good work on the monoprints it is not annotated or in any way explained as to the methods, techniques or reason as to them or the relevance of them although the reason is clear it is not written down. The experimenting was not hugely varied and only really consisted of monoprints, further experimenting into different medias would improve the work highly and having three dimensional experiments would show even more developed ideas of experimenting and would of looked very good at the exhibit as a showcase of experimentation. The working practises seem very fluid and each part carries on from one page to the other with each type of work whether it is experimenting, research or any other work in sections and not looking scattered and not planned out well enough and instead looks organized and is easy to tell the thought processes and development through the work. The final outcome of the project was printed out on an A2 or A1 piece of paper or thin card and is a very well designed work that is labels for sauces which relate to the countries of Jamaica and Africa in this case Jamaican jerked BBQ sauce and peri peri sauce. The labels were designed to wrap around a bottle or container of the sauce and have the logo in the middle and the information such as ingredients on either side. This work is at a professional standard and I can see the label on a true sellable sauce. The work is laid out well and the impact of the work is that it’s interesting and clear and can influence my own work since it shows how professional my work can be and how much can be done with monoprints. This work also shown how it differs from work that is designed to give a message instead of advertising sine it has more text than imagery and is more colourful.

Sophie Lauren Hill

Sophie is a photography student who in this project has shown multiple different photographs which depicts multiple women in varying areas and with varying additions. She has said that her work is a way of writing an optical story through expressions, desires and fears. She experiments with shadow and light and had worked in multiple different environments within a certain theme. The work is entirely photography and has no sketch book to show developments or any ideas. The Photography is at a very high standard and is very artistic, it shows that she is more than capable at photography and I have seen professional photographers who have taken less artistic and interesting photographs. This work is harder than the others to review since there is no sketchbook and since it is exclusively photography there is very little relation to my own work on my current project. There is no way of seeing the ideas of Sophie though the project which would have been interesting and that way would show how she thinks and how to start in photography. There is no research on display not to say there isn’t any but if there was research it would show why see had taken those photographs, in those positions and in that style. The layout of the work is very professional looking since the size and style has been taken into consideration as where to position the photographs on the wall where they are mounted. There are approximately twenty and are arranged in a kite shape at a level where they are all visible. The sizing of the pictures is varied and shows that yet more consideration was given to the image and subject matter as to how big the photographs should be, and how they would look when they are all together mounted on the wall so that they are presented well. Not only are the photographs taken professionally all aspects of the images were taken to consideration such as; colouring, light, shadow, subject matter, environment and what is included. The aspects I have just mentioned are all relevant and match each other so that nothing looks out of context. To make her work even better she had said on a plaque next to her work that she edits her work digitally after taking the photographs as to give further development to her work and makes her work even better.

Although the work is all of women there are still multiple differences between the works, some of the work is very colourful and full of light, having additions to the person such as make up, additions such as objects that they are holding and can often see large amounts of the surrounding environment.

This contrasts with one particular image that is a close up of a woman’s face that is moving and fades accordingly, it is in black and white and had lots of shadow very little white and no surrounding environment and not even the entire persons face. This shows that she has experimented in different styles of photography and is versatile in taking pictures of people yet staying within the confines of a certain theme. I think the work is very professional and I personally like it a lot and I think each aspect is interesting, although I like the work the working practises are very different to the ones I use during my projects and since it is a photography students work it cannot really relate to my own work or working practises yet the layout and subject matters draws me in and I can use the way of exhibiting the work.

Carrie Anne Owen

Carrie’s work is a collection of butterflies (a collector of butterflies is called a lepidopterist) and is displayed in a way that real butterflies are displayed yet these are in fact selections of multiple of fabrics and cloth with logos on which form the wings and most likely wood painted black to form the body.  The work is a reflection upon the communities and social groups which form our society and the materials and styles which represent the social groups.

The work is all done very well and to a high standard and all the aspects have been taken into consideration so that the work will not only be a statement upon the styles of social groups but also are displayed in the same way as true lepidopterist would showcase their own real butterflies. There are six crafted butterflies in each case and there is five or six cases altogether. The cases are mounted on the board in the same way in which the true cases are mounted and are of the same size. There is a small piece of card in a mount underneath the frames which have a Latin or Latin styled text describing the selection of butterflies inside the corresponding case and an English translation underneath with the Latin being bolder than the English. This is the same style which the professionals showcase the collections of butterflies in true displays. There is a small description of the butterflies using scientific terminology yet are pretending that the butterflies that she has crafted are in fact real species and the styles of the people that wear the types of clothing depicted in the work are having the same mannerism and lifestyle as the people, such as saying the gothic species of butterfly are ones that prefer dark enclosed areas in the same way that an animal’s patterns would be described yet liking being in dark enclosed areas is a stereotype of human Goths. The entire work concentrates on the idea of social groups and how they are seen and the stereotypes of the groups. Butterflies are very good creatures to use for this work in my opinion since they have a simple body and each of the butterflies body can be the same size which will make it easier to make and show that although people can wear vastly different clothing they are the same underneath. Another reason the animal chosen was a clever chose is that butterflies are associated with freedom and people can match this since people have the freedom to wear what they want and change their appearance. Freedom is another relevant subject since the way that they are exhibited is in a case which gives the idea of encasing the butterflies and as a community people are encased into social groups.

Each display case captures a different social group or gathering and gives examples of their clothing by giving the butterflies wings made out of the materials stylised to the corresponding group; gothic collection have Metallica and are all dark and consist mainly of black and white, yet contrast with other butterflies which are more jolly and childish and fit within a different social group. The materials used for the wings are roughly the same size of real butterfly wings and the body is around the same size of real butterflies, this adds to the realist look of the work since from a far distance a few of the examples could look like real butterflies. The idea of looking like a real science exhibit yet being in an art exhibit shows that there is a message to be given not really facts.  The project is shown without a sketchbook so there is no way in which to talk about the research, experimenting or working practises of her work. What I can take from this project is a that you can use hugely varying types of showcasing a certain subject yet use it almost in a mocking way to showcase a completely different concept.

Abdul Samad

This project was about creating a design for an elaborate swimming pool area building and the during this project there is much to evaluate since there is a relevant sketchbook and both three dimensional and two dimensional large scale showcases of work. This makes the exhibit look much more interesting and attracts the viewer’s eye due to large scale work on the walls and a large three dimensional architectural retranslation of the potential buildings structural design and layout and that is what attracted me towards it.

This is an example of one of the large scale pieces of his work which are mounted upon the wall. The work is around A2 or A1 in size and this works well since it catches viewers eyes due to the size and how interesting it looks which makes people who visited the exhibits curious as to know what each part is and since it is annotated it is easy to find out what each part of the concept buildings structure is representing.  On the floor next to his exhibit is his sketchbook and even though it is only casually placed on the floor and not on a table having a sketchbook does make me and possibility most other visitor stop and look through his sketchbook to see how the work was done, how it developed and what was done during the project. 

The work began with research into pre- existing architectural structures and creating multiple pages full of photographs of the interesting buildings which were well showcasing how interesting a building’s design could be and how artistic a designer can make a building look. This is an interesting part of his presentation of his work and shows that research can look like a mood board yet still work as a way of gathering ideas and showcase the research and what areas they would explore throughout the sketchbook work. The next aspect explored within the shown sketchbook is the development of ideas.

The development of ideas is highly explored, detailed and annotated with all of the aspects at a high standard and is more than readable and understandable. Some of the development work is architectural bird eye views of potential design layouts for buildings which are clear, understandable and has a key in the corner which relates to the architectural drawings by having coloured areas and the key which explains which are is depicting. The entire section that is the development of ideas is all well organised and clear with each aspect relating to the end result and the projects brief. All the notes and writing that goes along side the work is clear useful, describes the purpose of the work and how it is developing. There is no experiments that I could see but there was more than enough developing showing how the design of the building had evolved through out. The layout of the sketchbook is well done and clear with all of the items and aspects in a layout that gives enough room so that there are no pages that I had found that were cluttered and all of the aspects such as images, text and working were all positioned so that there was no overhang or overlapping. The sketch book helped me since the layout is one in which I replicate within my own work since the pages are filled enough so that they don’t looking lacking yet not too busy. The scale of the work that is mounted increases as the work develops until the final product of the product that is Three dimensional scaled mock up of the potential swimming pool building that he had developed in design through out    

The final work is shown in this picture and as you can see it is a scaled down and made out of wood and plastic. This is the work which drew me toward Abduls’s work since the work is more interesting due to the fact that it is three dimensional and very large (approximately one metre height) this work is at a high enough standard yet could be better if more detailed was added yet at this point it still works fine and looks good at the exhibit. This work does show how good a three dimension piece of work can look because in my opinion it is more eyes catching and interesting.  

James Stirling

James’s project is called ‘Project connect’ a project which I saw at the dome at chesterfield college and James is a student at chesterfield college. There is both sketchbook work and physical three examples of his which makes the task of evaluating and observing his work much easier. He has three sketch book that are display at the exhibition and they all have a different type of work inside which is interesting and not a technique that I have used myself for any of my own projects, and trying this way of working through a project is one that I think that I may try in the future since It does make the work look better when it is presented since the work is easier to find and looks like more time and effort has been put into it.

  

All of the sketchbooks had a large printed title that has the project title on a circular shape with additional shapes as well on it to add more style. This makes the sketch books look much more professional since it looks like the project has its own home style which is a very good idea yet on a few of the sketchbooks there is a further description as to what that sketch book is focused upon such as Journal research. All of the way through the sketch book a home style is carried on throughout and all of the work if possible conforms to the home-style. There is not a huge amount of research throughout the sketchbook but all of that is there is relevant yet is mostly just photographs with small notes attached but that is pretty much it. Despite this the research is laid out well and is easy to read. The development however is extensive and as with all of the work has the home style.

The layout is well thought of and there is enough space for it all to be easily read and understood with the annotations and explanations on separate textured materials added on which adds more texture and variety to the pages. There is work in multiple different techniques and medias in which have been developed which are all related to each other. Most of the work that is stuck in whether it is screen shots or written text most of it is of the same size and of a rectangular shape which cleverly adds even further to the home style that flows all of the way through the sketch book. There is a good amount of experimenting yet only a few are on the wall and are off the same rough size. I think if there were several smaller earlier experiments of display and as the work evolved, developed and improved the scale and size of the work. The experimenting was at start coloured card which was mounted on the walls.

     

The work is very interesting and the use of layering and the colouring and is in my opinion visually pleasing as with all of the other work that was mounted. Overall the work that was exhibited was whether it was on the walls or in the sketch book was at a very high standard and showcased at the exhibit at almost a professional standard. What I would use for my own work in the future would be having a home-style that goes all of the way through my sketchbook and perhaps having different sketchbooks for different purposes throughout the project.

Over all of the work at Sheffield Hallam and at chesterfield college was very interesting and looking at the way they work was useful for finding ways to make my sketchbooks for future projects.