Creative Road Markings

Another idea I have had on what to explore for my wayfinding brief is road markings. At first, road markings seem incredibly dull and unimaginative, which is mostly true. However, there are some examples I have found that take a much more creative approach to it. 

This is a very clever way of combining 2D and 3D design. From this I could design road markings of my own that combine the two mediums. This design focuses less on practicality and more on humour and aesthetics.

This is a unique system of wayfinding using thick painted strips of colour guiding the user to each destinations effectively and easily. This is a really effective system of wayfinding as it physically leads the user to their desired location without any user error. The user simply needs eyes and feet to use it.

This is an installation at the Plaza del Torico in Spain. This examples is less about finding a location as the lights don't actually lead anywhere but it is a good idea for a wayfinding system. As well as looking aesthetically pleasing, the main advantage of this system is that it is hugely effective at night time, A lot of signage around today have the disadvantage of not being legible in the dark without a light shining on it, e.g. road signs and road markings.

I can use this in my own project by coming up with a system that works effectively in both light and dark environments using light and/or reflectors.

These are examples of road markings in Asia. What I like about these markings is the characters and typeface used. The lettering is a lot more clean and structured than road markings in this country. In my project, I will be considering the typeface used as well as the method in which the markings will be applied. This method will have a strong influence on the outcome in terms of cleanliness and other aesthetics.

These images above are examples of what I aim to fix. The reason I took an interest in road markings is because, during my primary research walking around Leeds, I noticed that all the road markings seen all over the country are very effective but they don't have enough consideration for the quality of aesthetics as there are faults, mistakes and rough edges. I aim to smooth out these rough edges using alternate typefaces and methods of application.

Taking influence from all the examples of creative wayfinding systems, I will be producing my own to work in a specific environment. At the moment, my interest falls in road markings so i will be exploring the environment of roads themselves and how the wayfinding can be creatively designed. 

Hand rendered wayfinding and signage

For my wayfinding project, my aim is to give my signage system a personal touch. Throughout my previous projects, my main way of adding that personal touch is to work mostly by hand. This is because I feel more confident in working by hand primarily, and then translating it digitally to finalise things.

Examples that signage and wayfinding does not have to be designed digitally and can be just as affective when applied by hand. These examples include painted signs upon a brick wall as well as applying hand drawn illustrations on to a wall of a building.

One idea for my project is to produce signage similar to these pictured above. I will consider what surface my signage will be applied to as well as the medium I use to apply it, whether it is drawn with pen or pencil or maybe even painted on. I will also consider the colours used, influence by my research into the science of colour contrast. The colours used are a hugely important aspect of signage as it effects legibility from distances.

Creative Wayfinding 01

As well as wayfinding having a practical function for getting places, It is also an opportunity for creativity.

Creative signage using wooden slats protruding out from the wall. This is more of an installation design as apposed to signage or pictograms.

This signage design uses layered material to give it 3 dimensions. I think the clever use of white allows the layers to form interesting shadows and thus be the main feature of the signs. The contrast of the white sign with the dark wooden background allows the signage to be noticed.

This Spanish sign design focuses more on the surface upon which the wayfinding is written. The sign poles are cleverly designed to aid the viewer as to which direction to follow to locate what is written on the sign. The typeface used has been matched with the sign pole structure allowing the design to fully come together and work in harmony.

Not all signage and wayfinding has to be displayed on a wall of sign pole. This design is displayed along the floor of the building. The coloured lines take you from one starting point to a number of different rooms. This allows the viewer to physically follow the lines to their desired destination.

An example of wayfinding displayed across a wall. These floor numbers have been painted on to be legible from one view point. The numbers are painted across a number of surface facing different directions so in some cases, the number wont be as legible. But when standing in the correct location, the number will appear completely normal in form. The only disadvantage of this design, however clever or nice it looks, is that from a number of angles it will just look silly and a waist of paint and wall space.

What is a Book??

For my primary research into what exactly a book can be, I've found a number of blogs online. One of them being the 'Book Design Blog'.

Contemporary Japanese Design

Produced by Joe Leadbeater, this publication has taken elements of Japanese design and culture. I admire the considered use of paper, as it is typical of Japanese design with the colour and feel. The combination of Japanese characters and english text works well in cohesion. 

When designing my own book, I will also be considering the paper used. I will also be producing a cover or sleeve for my book as a finishing touch.

New Eden – A Book Celebrating Great Game Environment Design

New Eden is a book showcasing a selection of hand-picked computer game environments.Each spread features a high-resolution in-game render of a different game environment, plus an iconographic key and a mini-map ‘HUD’ that denotes the genre and environment styles, such as ‘space’, ‘swords’, or ‘apocalyptic’.Quotes from game designers are interspersed throughout, and the book is finished off with a wooden cover and lazer-etched design.

I Love Type Boxset

Each of the 8 publications centres on a particular typeface, complete with modern-day examples of the faces in use, as well as insights from some of the industry’s leading studios and designers.
Finally, all the books are encased within a white box embellished with rainbow foil embossed typography on the outside.

Rekonect Notebook: The Magnetic Lifestyle

This is one of my favourite bits of design. It's a concept for a notebook that is bound with magnets. This allows the pages to be rearranged, pulled out and put back in. The adjustable pages also means that (pictured in the middle) the page can be moved so that writing on it is made easier. Other advantages include it sticking to metal surfaces such as a fridge.

Photography - Shutter Speed

In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time when the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light, also when a camera's shutter is open when taking a photograph. The amount of light that reaches the film or image sensor is proportional to the exposure time.

These examples show how changing the shutter speed can make a huge difference on the outcome of the photo. It can give an object context such as the image below, showing the windmill is in fact spinning as apposed to being still.

On the right is some of my own photos taken today. I have taken a photo of peoples legs whilst they walk. One photo has a high shutter speed and makes the photo look static as if the person is frozen in that position. The movement has been taken out of the photo as the legs are in focus.

However, the photo below was taken with a very low shutter speed. This has resulted in a photo with a lot more energy and movement as the legs are completely out of focus, The person in the photo wasn't walking very fast but the shutter speed being at 1 second has made it look as though they're moving a lot faster.

Aperture 

an aperture is a hole or opening through which light travels.

f/1.4 means that the lens is letting in 0.4 times as much light as the human eye.

f/16 means that the lens is letting in 15 times as much light as the human eye.

The series of photos below are examples of when the aperture is changed. The photo on the left is at f/2.8 which results in a smaller focus point. Whereas the image with aperture at f/32 has a much wider focus. this results in a more 2D image with less perspective.





ISO

In very basic terms, ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera.