OUGD405 Design Process: How too... 3 Design boards.

To kick off research for our first brief we were separated into groups of 5-6 people. Once in these groups we were given a theme, In which we were to direct and assign each member of the group a branch in which they would continue to research individually, producing 3 a3 boards of research. 

The first board was to consist of solely primary material, (Material that did not exist before you created it) research that was captured or collated by the individual. 

The second was to be a continuation of this implementing research from other resources to further develop your theme.

And the third board was to take a more directional approach focusing in on a certain aspect or sector of the overall research. 

Below is my groups brainstorm and the individual themes generated for each person in the group.


The sector of Public transport which I am focusing on Is the use of signs, maps and prints etc used to communicate with the public. 

For my primary research I went to leeds train station and took photos of any signs I saw that communicated something with the public in connection with public transport.
Wanting to collect some broder research I also visited a few local bus stops in my home town and took photos. 

I will put these onto an A3 board for my primary research, adding some illustration which I will use to create a continuous theme. I have chosen to trace an outline of an aeroplane and a skyride, also making a descriptive sign displaying my research theme. 

These are the images I worked from. 

Skyride at Barcelona, which I have been on and have my own photos, but they were not available at the time. 

(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/016/cache/barcelona-cable-car_1657_600x450.jpg)

(http://static3.depositphotos.com/1006438/262/v/450/dep_2624871-Direction-sign.jpg)

For my second design direction board I decided to look into 3 aspects of information design in public transport. The three sectors I looked into were; The evolvement of the tube map, the rail alphabet used for directional signs in train stations across the U.K and the 50 signs created in a system by AIGA and The U.S department of transportation for use in airports, events and other cores of transportation. 

I found 4 different designs of the London tube map that were most pivotal in the development of this publication. 

The first was not an actual starting point of the age of tube maps, but was a design for the first combined map of which was printed in 1908. The '(UERL) in conjunction with four other underground railway companies using the “Underground” brand as part of a common advertising initiative.'

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_map)

The first diagrammatic map was designed by Harry Beck in 1931, At the time Beck was an employee at the underground. Beck realised from looking at the previous attempts of the tube map, that passengers did not need to see the geographical locations of the station as they were travelling underground. This idea from Beck turned into a legacy of Harry Beck's as his ideas would be used in years to come. His concepts can be seen in the design of the tube map today. 

(http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/images/general/beckmap1.jpg)

After Beck had some sort of conflict with the underground publicity officer, Harold Hutchinson, Hutchinson then took over the design of the tube map. Hutchinson took away the smooth contours and angles that can be seen in Beck's design above. However Hutchinson did make some improvement to the map, adding in a new symbol that would recognise interchanges, a circle symbol for underground and a square for connections with British rail. 

(http://farm1.staticflickr.com/49/188469758_853f411f3e.jpg)

The current tube map has improved further more for the fast paced society that now grace the tube system day in and day out. Garbutt then began to design the tub map from 1964 for the following 20 years. Garbutt kept Hutchinson's interchange symbol idea, however changing it to a circle with a black dot inside. Paul Garbutt also restored the earlier curves that Beck had implemented into the map. The map as of April 2011 displays stations that can be walked between along with the distance between these, and added fair zones so travellers can predict some costs of their journey.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tube_map_thumbnail.png)

I then went on to research the alphabet which is used on these rail and bus signs, which many would assume is Helvetica. Nonetheless the alphabet/ type used for british railways has been specifically designed for this purpose and is called the 'Rail alphabet' from 1965. A newly digitised version was created in 2009 which featured six different weights. 

'Rail Alphabet is a typeface designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert for British Railways. First used by them in signing tests at London’s Liverpool Street Station, it was then adopted by the Design Research Unit (DRU) as part of their comprehensive 1965 rebranding of the company.[1]

Rail Alphabet is similar, but not identical, to a bold weight of Helvetica

and, not quite as similar, Akzidenz Grotesk or Arial). Akzidenz Grotesk had earlier also provided the same designers the broad inspiration for the Transport typeface used for all road signs in the United Kingdom.In 2009, a newly-digitised version of the typeface was publicly released. Created by Henrik Kubel of A2/SW/HK in close collaboration with Margaret Calvert, New Rail Alphabet features six weights: off white, white, light, medium, bold and black, with non-aligning numerals, corresponding italics and a set of Eastern European characters.'

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_Alphabet)

(1965) Rail Alphabet.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Railalphabet.png)

(2009) New rail Alphabet.

(http://blog-cache1.webink.com/assets/New_Rail_Alphabet.jpg)

The last section I looked into for my secondary mood is the 50 trans cultural symbols created by AIGA for transport hubs and events. The aim for these 50 symbols was that there would be an equal cultural understanding of quite complex messages received through these symbols by a broad range of people.

This system of 50 symbol signs was designed for use at the crossroads of modern life: in airports and other transportation hubs and at large international events. Produced through a collaboration between the AIGA and the U.S. Department of Transportation, they are an example of how public-minded designers can address a universal communication need.

Prior to this eaffort, numerous international, national and local organizations had devised symbols to guide passengers and pedestrians through transportation facilities and other sites of international exchange. While effective individual symbols had been designed,

 there was no system of signs that communicated the required range of complex messages, addressed people of different ages and cultures and were clearly legible at a distance.

To develop such a system, AIGA and DOT. compiled an inventory of symbol systems that had been used in various locations worldwide, from airports and train stations to the Olympic Games. AIGA appointed a committee of five leading designers of environmental graphics, who evaluated the symbols and made recommendations for adapting or redesigning them. Based on their conclusions, a team of AIGA member designers produced the symbols.

(http://www.aiga.org/symbol-signs/) 

All symbols used taken from; http://www.aiga.org/symbol-signs/

Secondary design board.

Image traced;

(http://www.theredbus.co.uk/corporateevents/red-bus-on-royal-mile.jpg)

For my directional design board I decided to pursue the use of way finding in graphic design, specifically directional signage system. Having learnt a lot from the development of AIGA'S 0 symbols, I wanted to learn more about how these signs relieved these bustling environments and made the users feel at ease. 

I found a great book in the library which I have taken all of my written research from; Gibson, D (2009) ‘The wayfinding handbook Information design for public places. New York, Princeton architectural press.    

'The heart of a civilization throbs wherever people come together to work, play, shop, study, perform, worship or just interact. Crowded into bustling spaces, they share the richness and diversity of human experience aswell as its challenges. In these spaces people may “Find their way” in the existential sense, but they also become overwhelmed or disorientated if they physically lose their way. Wayfinding design provides guidance and the means to help people feel at ease in their surroundings.

A way finding system links different people together, even if they do not share a common language or destination, by guiding all of them through the same space with a single system of communication. The unifying language of a wayfinding system creates a system creates a public narrative of how people witness, read, and experience a space. Each sign in a system, each seperate voice, serves a particular function and displays a specific kind of content called a message, which might include non verbal graphics and symbols.

Directional signs constitute the circulatory system of a way finding program because they provide the necessary cues that users need to keep on the move once they have entered a space. This sign type routes pedestrian or vehicular traffic between main entrances, key descision points, destinations, and exits points by displaying graphic prompts, such as typography, symbols and arrows. While their design should harmonize with the surrounding architecture, directional signs also need to be obvious and recognizable. Message content should be simple, coordinated for easy navigation through an entire facility., and based on specidif way finding strategy.'

Symbols used for the traces on this board are all taken from; http://www.aiga.org/symbol-signs/

Way finding sign has been created in the same process as the sign on the first board.

Hall image shows an inventive way of designing via both the directional and identifiable stems of sign systems. 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/234/458210210_94da7a2dff.jpg 

Directional design board.