Texture

   As a designer there will be times when I must consider texture. In many genres of design texture may need to be carefully chosen. Perhaps none more so than  Clothing and Fashion Design. I remember uncomfortable itchy scratchy sports wear at school, seemingly made from recycled sandpaper. I would never buy clothing like that again once I could choose my own. One of the most comfortable shirts I have ever had was one made from a very soft heavy cotton. A natural material that felt great to wear. Perhaps more expensive than recycled sandpaper, but the frequency of use easily outweighed the extra purchase cost.
   Furniture and Interior Designers will also think about texture. I wouldn't want a suite made out of itchy scratchy stuff.  I would much rather sit on the floor. Textured wallpapers on feature walls are popular but some textured finishes have fallen out of favour. Artex ceilings seem to be a thing of the past and thankfully wood chip wall paper is no longer popular.
   But what about other things with texture designed into them? My son has a book that cleverly uses textures to help describe the story. I can remember it was a favourite of his for some time. I also recall how quickly he remembered the new story. He liked the sort material on the teddy bear best of all. This demonstrates how we quickly connect emotions to texture at a young age, or perhaps how powerful teddy bears really are!
  Texture has aesthetic design  qualities and can have an emotional impact on us but texture also has  practical uses too.  Anti-slip floor coverings are a good example of how a practical application of texture can be used within a design project. The image below uses at least two forms of texture, and I suspect there maybe three. The first and more obvious one is the raised circular pattern. This would allows liquids to drain without entirely covering the flooring. Secondly the raised sections have a textured finish which will offer a better level of grip. Lastly the speckles are likely to be made from a more wear resistant material and could provide even more grip.

Anti-slip floor covering

   Texture can be used to give the impression of or convey quality. It can be used to improve safety and it can alter our emotional state. Considering textures in design is very important and many clever uses of texture can be found in our daily lives.

 
   Anti-slip flooring[online image]Available at:<http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/anti-slip-pvc-flooring-64569-2093471.jpg> [Accessed March 17 2013]

Display

  Definition: to arrange something or a collection of things so that they can be seen by the public.

   So you want to be a show off? 

   A great display will draw people in. A great display can hold someones attention even if they have no interest in what is on display and it has no relevance to them. This shows how powerful displays can be. We are drawn to them reflecting the skill and inventiveness of display designers, the people that build them and the people that staff them and bring them to life.
   A successful display has so many components to be considered I am sure I will miss a few. Perhaps you can leave me a comment if there are any you could add. What follows is how my mind runs over a basic checklist of what needs to be established early on when planning a display.
   Firstly and obviously who is our client and what is to be displayed? Have they got any thoughts or ideas? After all they should understand what will be on display better than anyone. This will help if an established brand or image exists. But even if the client wants a completely new image or brand promoting which is perhaps more creatively demanding, a thorough understanding of your customer will help. We must understand the product to be displayed and then the target audience.
   Moving on to design questions, what are we displaying? A single item or multiple. Available footprint for the display. Object size relevant to the overall display size. Should it be elevated or at ground level? Is there a colour theme to consider. Perhaps a style already promoted and known to the brand, relevant music, perhaps smell. What will the context be? Will the display be used in daylight or darkness and what about lighting. Will it be interactive. Will the display be motionless or have moving elements. Perhaps performers or a narrator. The use of multimedia in modern displays of all types is becoming a cornerstone in their design.
   The design phase would present new questions depending on what we are displaying. Will access to the intended venue or venues be an issue if the display is large. How will it be transported, safely erected and taken down. If the display has valuable items within it are there any security issues to consider. How close will the viewing public be allowed? Can they touch the display and interact with the merchandise or must it be kept at arms length and protected. 
   I would have some infrastructure questions. The electrical demand the display may have and how it will be supplied. Water if needed, amenities and overall site security. Risk assessments, insurance and any relevant health and safely requirements cannot be avoided. Local authority permission or any planning regulations or permissions needed must be granted. The list goes on! Many more obstacles may need to be overcome, but by asking the right questions and carefully planning your design, great displays are born.



    This display captured my attention. It features many recognisable things from the game series it is promoting. Life size characters and props that blend in to a large backdrop filled with images and graphics. It is interactive with gaming stations positioned around it, I like the way the screen mountings have been incorporated into the overall design theme. the floor covering and lighting have been considered and I'm sure there will have been audio or music of some description. I would have spent a few minutes just admiring the design qualities of this stand before indulging in its offerings.


Borderlands Show Stand[online image]Available at:<http://www.freddiegeorges.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/slider_2kg_pax2012.jpg> [Accessed March 9 2013]
The author would like to acknowledge that certain citation and reference examples were taken from the following publication
Cambridge Dictionaries Online[online]Available at:<http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/context_1?q=context> [Accessed March 9 2013]
   

 

Construction & Sustainability

   My last post on materials is perhaps relevant to this one. Metal has pushed forward our construction techniques and what is achievable, but is it sustainable?
   I suppose you must decide on what is sustainable. In a sense all buildings add to ongoing sustainability as they can be demolished releasing the land. Many of the raw materials can be used again, old bricks crushed to make modern lightweight blocks. Timber can be chipped and used in chipboard and MDF. 
   But to me sustainability is more than just reusing and building with efficient materials and techniques, it is building something to last in the first instance.

  
   A modern skyscraper has a life expectancy of 75-100.  I read the modern home is built with the expectation of lasting 50 years, yet we have the ability to build homes and buildings to last many generations. They could be supremely insulated and packed with eco-friendly devices and systems. A house that could be handed down generation to generation and perhaps paid for over generations making any added costs affordable. But if you where a house builder would you want that? I know white goods have a life-span factored in to them, the producers want you to buy new units on a regular basis. So why not houses too. 50 years is a slow turnover but it's better than hundreds of years. That's one factor, another is the quality of many things in today's world and in my view the lack of craftsmanship.
   So I am a big fan of quality and things that last. But all too often profit and shoddy workmanship interferes with my expectations leaving me feeling a little ripped off. I appreciate everyone needs a profit but I believe if you offer a quality product that may well last decades or generations you are not only securing a lifelong customer, but a lifelong advert for your products and services. That is surely priceless. I hope that within my designs I will be able to reflect my beliefs.
   Construction has changed greatly over the last few generations and we are now able to build structures unimaginable in days gone by. Precision engineering has moved forward leaps and bounds with many vast buildings constructed with tolerances of just millimeters. Materials are calculated accurately and on the whole the modern construction site if a safe place to work.All good news.
   A still growing sector of construction is the reuse of buildings. Alteration and conversion to either offices or dwellings has seen some very creative uses and some in exceptional locations on many differing scales.
   One big project I have been examining with interest is the rejuvenation of Battersea power station in Central London that was built throughout the early 1930's and completed in 1937. Positioned in a prime location on the banks of the River Thames at it's peak Battersea provided 1/5 of the electricity used in London. Equivalent to half the output of a modern nuclear power station. But could you ever see a modern power station of any kind turned into offices, shops and homes? Perhaps it's modern efficient design or the cost pressures of modern construction, but i cannot help thinking our predecessors tried harder with the finishing touches whatever size of project they undertook. Please check out the Battersea Power Station website to read up on current plans. It is an immense project and when completed will look amazing and it will still include one of our most iconic buildings when it might have been much easier to knock it down and start over.

Battersea Power Station

Image references:

Block image[online image]Available at:>http://www.rwdl.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/100mm-Solid-Block.jpg>[Accessed February 28 2013]

Battersea Power Station[online image]Available at:http://www.hsmith.co.uk/assets/images/battersea%20industrial.jpg>[Accessed March 04 2013]