Wayfinding

A book i picked up not long ago that i have started reading is the Wayfinding Handbook written by David Gibson. This book is really helping me understand the effect that signs have on humans navigating landscapes. I have taken alot from the book such as the effect that colour has on our perceptions of our environment. I also found interesting how the positioning of information around the viewer is critical in order not to overwhelm the viewer.

Perception

Tens of thousands of years ago early man was in touch with his environment from the lay of the land to what types of berries can kill and the locations best for hunting. This was all achieved through repetition, trial and error and subconsious learning. In todays modern world we rely on screens to tell us what to do and where to go. I hope to look into soloutions that can inform people about what there local suroundings have to offer but instead of usings tradtional signage and screens. As a designer and fan of subliminal learning i want to find ways of using what already exists and modifying it to subtly educate the viewer. For example maps of key tourist areas that are repeat patterns that adorn as many possible surfaces, hopefully the viewer will be absorbing this ambient information and benefiting from it.

Subliminal Repetition

Looking at subliminal messaging and realising that by simply repeating a phrase or even graphics you can teach the viewer without the viewer feeling overwhelmed. What got me thinking about this method of learning was the observations of Native tribal populations and how they were so intune with thier environment in terms of there understanding of local botany and the terrain. Recently i was in London and trying to get to grips with the metro system was rather difficult however like all things after repetition you beging to learn the locations and stops. I wonder if through subliminal messaging and repetition in the urban environment populations can be more in tune with the area without feeling like they have to learn. Although the argument against will be "we already have t.v screens" and " what about posters!" i agree that they work but i fel that subliminal repetition could be more effective and more intrusive but at the same time less intrusive.

Subliminal Messages

For my research for a pottential idea for fourth year i have been looking into Subliminal messaging as a carry on from looking at information. Subliminal messaging put simply is a way of encoding messages that carry meaning into advertising, surfaces or even products themselves. This information is processed subconciously and the viewer is often unaware of its effects. Often online you can find examples that feature the word SEX yes! the big nasty. The reason for this is sex often carries feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment that the viewer will apply to the brand or product. This all seems so powerfull and intrusive however it takes repetition over time to be conditioned. I believe that this technique could be used to apply messages that educate the viewer about issues relating to the product or even the state of world.
The example above is take from an Australian coke advert which features a tiny image hidden in the ice cubes. The erotic image i believe is used to associate feelings of enjoyment with coke, also the words "FEEL THE CURVES" fit perfectly with the image.

GDP

I have started to look at GDP (gross domestic products) of nations. I have chosen to look at this because given the current economic worries that the public face perhalps visual data relating to economic issues such as the cost of oil, the cost of living even the cost of the actual product the potential decoration adorns would be a good choice. I am still pondering the many volumes of data that relate to our lives trying to weed out a key issue that affects many people but at the same time i need to remember that the issue must justify the outcome.

DATA FLOW

Data Flow is a book i am currently reading to help me with possible fourth year ideas. The book is not a book for those who read alot (me) it is extremely visual but what little writting it has is very interesting the books author proposes a new approach to the display of data that relfects the issue at hand but at the same time becomes something that people want to view. Yes i did buy it for the pretty pictures however it has given me a glimpse at the possibilities of what designers can do to take important issues and translate them into something beautifull.

Who we are, what we were like

Leading on from the last post i have been looking at ancient Egyptian tomb art which gives us a detailed visual example of how ancient Egyptians used to live and thier customs. It got me thinking about how future generations hundreds or thousands of years from now will view our ways and customs. Perhalps as designers we must re-evaluate how we design objects. The idea im thinking about proposes that designed objects and environments should echo the current state of our world or the economy for example. So thousands of years later future generations can observe external factors from our time through our objects left behind.

Information Decoration

For a possible idea for my fourth year self directed project i am looking into Information visualisation. I wanted to look into the possible application of turning statistical information into something visual then creating something tangible. I want to see if information can be created into decoration that has a relevance to the product it adorns. I also find that this relevant decoration has striking simmilarities to hieroglyphs in the way they both echo tales of the objects story or use. My idea could possibly be statistical decoration that reflects the carbon impact of the object for example.

I will post back soon.