OUGD405 - Studio Brief 01 - Final Crit Evaluation

During our final crit session it was shown that there were both strengths and weaknesses of my final designs for the proposed wayfinding system. One of the strengths suggested that the colour scheme worked well in relation to the overarching theme of the wayfinding system, as monochromatic and greyscale colours have clear and direct links to black and white film, as well as shadows. This is also suitable for use on most background settings, such as walls, because it will stand out from various backgrounds. The form of the pictograms also worked well in that the circular shapes reflected ideas linked to film leaders, and even metal film reels and canisters.
As a development from this, it was suggested that I could recreate my card experiments using various other materials which would have more direct links to film, such as metal. These would give the system more of an aesthetic based on metal film reels and canisters. The use of this material would also provide a strong material for use as wall fixtures which would accompany my supergraphics and create natural shadows around this fixed one, and would be a suitable and durable material for use outdoors.

Although the shadows worked well, it was suggested that I also take these experiments outside for use in natural light, as previously I had only been working with artificial light from my phone torch which created a strong shadow that could easily have been manipulated. In terms of use outdoors, this could therefore mean that the shadows formed using natural light may not be as strong as those using artificial light. However, this should not be so much of a problem as I still have the use of supergraphics as a forced shadow being used in this wayfinding system.

Within my process, I used objective methods of creating my pictograms and signs which would overall create a universal system for use in the international festival, which needs to be universal so to be understood by every visitor from every country. However, it could have been suggested that the use of shadows developed from these makes the system slightly subjective, because of the idea that shadows change form and direction in the natural light so never stay in one universal form. This is another reason why I chose to design a fixed shadow using supergraphics, as this keeps the system objective and still follows a basic form which was standard throughout all of the other pictograms and signs.