Assignment 5(b)

Over the past semester I have learnt various different types of research techniques that I had never used. It was intriguing to learn that observing people can lead you to developing your design ideas, interviews can also tell us so much about people and how they think. These research methods along with others will prove vital not only throughout my studies but also my whole future career as an Interior Designer. How can these research methods be used in a practical sense, would they work with a project that I have previously completed and how could these methods have helped my design?

Interior Design is about so much more than just what a building looks like on the inside, it is not simply about cushions and throws and in the main it is not all about Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen. Not that he is a discredit to Interior design but when explaining my degree to people they instantly think of ‘Changing Rooms’. Interior Design is much more about developing spaces that people experiences and understanding how people respond when they walk into a space. There are many different factors that can contribute to this experience such as sight, smell and sound, each of these can be designed to improve the experience of the space.

A recent studio group project gave me the opportunity to design a space and in turn create an experience. The brief was to design an interactive exhibition space on the theme of Juteopolis. Juteopolis otherwise known as Dundee was the jute capital of the world and was seen as an important industrial town. The Verdant Works in Dundee is an exhibition space and tribute to the Jute industry and the people that worked in the mills. The main part of the exhibition is the working machines that give visitors an insight into the processes that the Jute went through before being turned into sacking and carpet backing.

As a group we initially researched in to the industry and in were particularly interested in how people lived at the time. It became apparent that numerous people would live in the one house often sleeping eight to a room, fondly our group became known as ‘8 in a bed’. Although we were able to find lots of initial research on the Jute industry we struggled to understand the concept of exhibition design. This was an area that neither of us was particularly familiar with, however, we knew that we wanted the exhibition to be suitable for everyone and we did not want endless writing as we got the impression from talking to classmates that people generally do not read it. After developing my research methods this semester I can now reflect on areas of research that I would perhaps have done differently.

Observing people and how they react to a space would be an essential part of the research into exhibition design. Observing various exhibition spaces would allow me to monitor the positive and negative responses from the people visiting the exhibition.  As people move throughout spaces their behavioural patterns can become quite apparent, such as if they are comfortable or not and also whether they are enjoying themselves. Results that would come from analysing how people experience an exhibition would highlight areas of the exhibition that are of particular interest it may also indicate what type of exhibit people respond well too. Exhibits that are mainly text may evoke a different reaction to one that may encourage a more physical interaction. The use of computers and various interactive technologies throughout the exhibition space may exclude certain people that cannot use them or struggle to understand them. All of these problems and many more would be highlighted during observations, in turn, this would enable the design to take develop as ‘negative’ aspects of exhibits could be dropped and ‘positive’ areas may be adopted and manipulated into the Juteopolis design.

Along with observations it may be advantageous to conduct research by interviews. Interviewing is a successful way of getting a direct response however it is often important to ask questions that will evoke conversation. Simply asking “What did you like in the exhibition?”  would only prompt answers directly associated with the exhibition that the person being interviewed has just experienced. Instead questions such as “By which method would you get the latest news? “this question would perhaps give an indication as to whether someone prefers to read the news (paper), hear and see it (TV) or interact with it (Internet). This would also suggest whether that same person would rather interact with and exhibition, watch something about it, or read about it. Although interviewing can be a successful method of research, the interviewer must take into consideration the interviewee’s age, sex, social background and upbringing. These factors along with others could influence a person response to a question.

Whilst these methods of research would have helped the design of 8 in the bed, I would also find it important as a designer to experience a number of exhibitions to get a personal understanding of previous designs. Visiting a number of successful and unsuccessful exhibits would highlight the differences between them. I also feel that it is important to not let your personal opinions of the topic influence your design as it is not always the case that we are presented with a topic that we are passionate about.  Whist I would continue to research the theme of Juteopolis through reading and analysing the current exhibition at The Verdant Works, I would also interview certain members of the public that may have worked or lived at that time.

Particularly the method of observing people would uncover the most useful results as this would give me a true indication as to how and what people respond to. As this project evolved and once the exhibiton was opened I would find it essential to do a post develpomet analysis. This would enable me to analyse the design as it is used and if required further improvements may be made.

‘The key to successful exhibition design lies in selecting a range of techniques and technologies and applying them appropriately  so that the widest  possible audience can gain access to the objects and the stories behind them.’ Redman Design.

Bibliography

Redman Design, The Key to Successful Interpretation [Online]
Available at: http://www.redman-design.com/#/services/ [Accessed 09 April 2010].

With Thanks:

Verdant Works - http://www.rrsdiscovery.com/index.php?pageID=130

Rachel Laing - http://www.rachellaing.blogspot.com/

Fiona Sichi - http://www.fionasichi.blogspot.com/

Assignment 5(a)

Understanding educational spaces and how students learn in these spaces is vital to the overall improvement of the Education sector. Requirements for those with disabilities or learning difficulties are also now an important factor into how schools or educational environments are designed. In Dundee the Education Department of Dundee City Council along with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) have enabled the council to build six new primary schools and two new secondary schools whilst also redeveloping others throughout the city. These schools have been carefully designed to give students a more comfortable and enjoyable learning experience than they were used to. Is there any way in which more improvements can be made in this area, in particular for people with a learning difficulty such as Autism? What previous research would benefit this topic and what new research can help to develop a better understanding of what is required to improve the standard of educational spaces?

For any Designer, one of the most important issues to consider when designing is how the design is experienced. Whether it is a piece of Jewellery, a new piece of technology or an interior space, how people experience and interpret these design are of great relevance. Reviewing my earlier work, Design in Education: Understanding space and students, I can further analyse the positive and negative aspects of the research found at that time. This in turn would also enable me to introduce other research methods that may benefit my research.

Observing people in situ helps in understanding how people interact and behave within a space. It would allow the observation of positive and negative behaviour, not only socially but also positive and negative interactions with space. How people manipulate and use furniture or possessions can be analysed and used along with other forms of research to develop an enhanced learning space. Observing how students physically respond to a space would be advantageous to my research as it would give me a direct understanding of how people move, work and use the space. As an observer it is important to realise that the undertaken observation is for the purpose of determining a singular child or student’s behaviour. Observation of groups would be slightly different in such a way that people interact differently both socially and physically, depending on who is present. I would suggest not only observing once but rather over a series of different times and dates as to gain a better appreciation of a behaviour.

The interviewing process would give varied responses and results, depending on who was interviewed. Rather than purely interviewing the child or student I would find it essential to also interview the teacher or tutor and if possible someone such as a parent or guardian who looks after the child at home. Information from each of these people could prove valuable as each would help in piecing together an overall picture of the student’s development. A teacher or tutor whilst educating also observes each child carefully and monitors any areas in which they feel a child may need particular help in. Teachers may also know how to adapt lessons and tuition to cater for individuals. They may know what help either directly or indirectly is needed to aid in the improvement of a child’s education. For children with Autism or others with learning difficulties, teachers may know what is best to give these students an improved learning experience. Parents or Guardians will give an account based on how their child behaves and interacts at home. Although I am looking primarily at educational spaces there may be crossovers from the classroom into the home. There may also be instances where a child responds well to something at home and that could be worth trying in the classroom. Parents will also be able to inform me of how they see their child progressing, along with being able to talk about their child and how they feel he/she responds to certain school activities and spaces. Although a child’s answers to being interviewed would probably be quite honest, they could also be tarnished with a dislike for school or affected by their overall feelings on the day of interviewing. I would still think it would be important to interview the student as they may be able to instruct me as to things that the feel positively or negatively towards. In particular when dealing with children with specific needs I would find it highly important to interview teachers, parents and others that are in direct contact with the student.

There are various other research methods that could be used in aiding my research such as Visual Image based research, this research includes interpreting the response an individual has to particular images. These responses, as I have tested myself, can be slightly tweaked to manipulate the viewers’ response. In turn it is may be noted that different people may begin to “see” the same message. This is also a method commonly chosen by the retail and advertising industry to promote products and article for sale. Although this research is interesting, I firmly believe that this topic would benefit more from direct observation and communication. Visual based research could prove problematic as children in particular are exceptionally imaginative and therefore the results from these tests may not be of much relevance. 

John and Frances Sorrell’s approach of their project joinedupdesignforschools is about giving pupils the opportunity to design, improve and influence what their educational space becomes.  I feel that this approach in itself is successful, as the pupils become more involved and inspired, it also gives them motivation and a sense of belonging. All of these attributes can only be a positive thing for the educational environments.

Using and analysing all of the advantageous research such as observation, interviewing and the initial reading of past research and studies would enable a thorough understanding of the educational sector. It is important when conducting this research to consider; current environment, age of pupils, social influences, educational support and also be aware of the developments that can or cannot be made. Although this research would allow development into the spaces that are provided for education, it is important to note that continual development and research is essential. Education is always developing therefore research from one source and time may not be relevant a couple of years later. Also post development analysis would highlight areas that still need improvement and also developments that are successful.

Bibliography

Montgomery, T, 2008, Space Matters: Experiences of managing static formal leaarning spaces, SAGE

Pellegrini, A, 1996, Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds: A Methodological Primer, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Sorrell, F. Sorrell, J,. 2005, Joinedupdesignforschools, Hugh Merrell

How Do Magazines Influence People?

After my recent research in London where I observed how people interact in the London Underground my next step was to then learn to research through the process of interviews. To try and get a full response to the questions that I asked I found I had to be less direct with my questioning. Rather than directly asking people if they think magazines directly influence them, I had to develop questions that people would answer more freely. From these answers hopefully I would be able to analyse whether or not people were influenced by what they see and read in magazines.

At first I felt quite uncomfortable asking people questions as it felt really false; however after the first person I interviewed I felt more relaxed. Questions that I asked were quite general and could be answered:  “How many magazines a week and which do you read?”, “If you were sitting in a waiting room what magazine would you most likely pick up?” , “What celebrities do you associate with products?”  , these questions along with others would hopefully give me an indication as to how much magazines influence people. I interviewed a varied selection of people such as students, grandparents, a nurse, a dancer and one thing that I did notice was that advertisements always seemed to be a reoccurring theme throughout my conversations with them.

During my interviews it was apparent that the ‘type’ of magazine would be slightly different depending on the age and profession of the person. Whilst the majority of female students preferred to read ‘Gossip’ magazines such as Heat, Now, and Ok! , people such as my grandparents tended to not deliberately buy a magazine but would read the one that would be a supplement to their Sunday newspapers. Students enjoyed reading magazines that were current rather than magazines feature magazines. I noticed that whilst the people enjoyed reading the ‘gossip’ mags, they tended to read them to keep up to date with what was going on in the celebrity world. I could imagine this being something that would be discussed in class or as they were socialising with friend, it suggests that some of these people would read these magazines so that they can be involved in conversations. It was as though if you had not read the latest new on a big celeb then you would miss out on a conversation and it could make people feel quite insecure. This negative response to magazines would suggest that some people only read them because their friends do; therefore it suggests people are concerned of what others think of them.

Advertisements continued to be discussed throughout the interviews, I asked people to discuss products and what or who they associate them with. This particular area got the longest discussion, people managed to tell me the ‘product faces’ for products or brands such as; L’Oreal, Gillette, Nike, M&S, Sainsbury’s and many more. People were openly aware of how advertisements are aimed directly at the readers they noted that different magazines have different advert within them. One person said “you would never find an advert for Gillette in a women’s magazine, the same as you wouldn’t see a make-up ad in FHM” other said that they would buy try a product if they liked the celebrity that was promoting it. People were aware that there was a fakery to these adverts however it often did not stop them from trying the product on sale. A noticeable fakery was a female celebrity promoting a hair product when in fact she used hair extensions, so no matter how much a person used that product their hair could never look the same.

One person I interviewed told me how they subscribed to Time magazine but they never opened it out of the cellophane as they found it an intensive read. After suggesting that they cancel the subscription I was informed that it was often harder to leave a subscription than to join it. This would suggest that often magazines lure readers in with discounted membership and then the readers often feel they are being shot changed. It was also suggested that the front covers of magazines can be deceiving an example was of a men’s magazine where the cover of a female celebrity suggested that she was nude inside, however on further reading this turned out to be just the cover image and the images inside were fully clothed and respectful. Often the stories on the cover of the magazine, particularly gossip magazines, are aimed at getting people to buy the magazine. Readers also suggested that they enjoyed reading about celebrities’ lifestyles and fashion; often readers suggested that they would look for inspiration from what the celebrities wear and then hoped to get a bargain and look like them. Again this gives the impression of insecurities and people almost being ‘spoon fed’ as too what is or is not the right thing to wear, say, or use.

Overall it is noticeable that magazines are very good at influencing what think and what people like or buy. The people that I interviewed were all aware of how magazines are designed to influence our decisions when buying something and most of them confessed to having bought something after seeing it in a magazine. This links back to my earlier post about advertisements and how they are designed to give a certain message to viewers. If I were to use this method again I would hope to gain a wider range of responses as I was aware that a lot of the results were similar. However if I used this method to research something for a design project, I would hope to discuss my questions beforehand with classmates. This would hopefully give me the opportunity to alter any question that perhaps to not give me the answers that I am looking for.