Alternative title panel

The title in this is a little smaller than the next version.

Putting the panels together.

Here are some preliminary designs with the two panels. These could change, depending on what happens with the frame set up (it should be in Sarajevo by now from Belgrade, and will take a few days for the printer to have a look at it and get back to me on whether or not the fabrication is possible).

Title Panel with introduction by Dallaire:

Large and small panels.

Panels together.

And Danilo's panel. The blue will change with every panel to a colour sampled from each image:

Large and small panels together.

Large panel only.

Title panel

The title panel is a particularly difficult layout because it's not only for the title and logos, it also has to contain the intro from LGen Roméo A. Dallaire, in both Bosnian and English, of course.

image: http://www.romeodallaire.com/

For those of you who know who the Lieutenant General is, you will know he was head of the UN Peace Keeping Force when they (finally) went into Rwanda. Dallaire has been tireless in his work in genocide prevention and education. More can be learned about his work here: http://www.romeodallaire.com/

Currently, Dallaire is a Canadian Senator.










Well, onto the design. I have made a mock up of the design both with the large and small panel. Rather than having any one image, I've chosen eight, selected from all countries/regions represented in the exhibition.

Two A4 sheets, pasted together, with the bottom bend as the metal will be.

Side view, next to the life-sized version.

Englis text - at about 16%

Bosnian text - 16%

Mock up panel (complete version!)

It's not perfect, and took a surprising amount of time (and patience), but we can now see the first panel at full size. On its own it's nice, but once it's together with all the other images and type in different colours, I think it will look beautiful.

Type is beautiful.

Looking from about 2 metres away.

The type up pretty close. Roman hanging punctuation.

Sorry about the d...it was a little tough getting that last line of tiles together.

Project Management updates

The finals designs begin...

While this research project has a long way to go, the design process is now underway for real. No more experiments! We have all of the information except one little thing that might actually have a large impact on what happens next: the structure of the bottom panel (mentioned two posts ago) also has the printer a bit stumped, so until it comes from Belgrade and he can check it out on person, I have to wait. This means that until I can know for sure, this design might still change.

IF the design needs to be folded with the metal, this version I'm showing you now will change slightly. The graphics at the bottom (the film spools) will be moved to the bottom and folded under with the metal. If the design is not done that way, then I might rethink this, leaving it where it is, and just making the background of the smaller panel black with the same type and colour as the name of the person at the top.

My main worry is if they can't do those panels for any reason, then the breakout quotes either need to be added to the main panel, which changes all of the text again. This is a bit of a worry, because these panels are small than the original ones we were thinking of. The text size is the same as the designs for the other frames, but this is only because the breakout quotes have been taken out. If they need to be put back in...hmmm. Well, we'll just have to wait until next week when the printer will get back to me.

In the meantime, I've designed a large panel, according the the new specs, and printed it out. I kind of messed up the cutting and sticking stage for all the pieces, but I'm going to do it again this afternoon (when I get back from the 100 yen shop with cutting equipment and glue!). Anyway, the real purpose was to print the type to life size and hang it and read it to see if there are any tracking or legibility issues. So far so good, I think! The printing process will make the blue much more vibrant than my printer could come up with, so I think it will actually look very nice.

Here's photos for now - when I make the whole panel later. I'll post some more. I'll also do a mock up of the smaller panel and put them together later - watch this space!

After all the tiles were printed. What a puzzle!

Cutting and lining up the type section was pretty tricky...

Finger, for scale! Very scientific.

From about 3 metres away. You can see that it became a bit skewiff.

Wim Crouwel exhibition

Thanks to the AGDA Newsletter, I came across this interview with Dutch designer, Wim Crouwel this morning. Not only is he discussing type, but also how another designer adapted his type when designing his exhibition. Perfect! Wim Crouwel's prolific work in typography and design can also be viewed in this amazing collection, compiled by Het Geheugen van Nederland. They have beautiful high res images of his work, as well as sketches that are very interesting for viewing how designers worked in the 50s and 60s.

Enjoy the interview!

Interview: Wim Crouwel at the Design Museum 1 from Dezeen on Vimeo.

Interview: Wim Crouwel at the Design Museum 2 from Dezeen on Vimeo.

Printer spics and specs...

I heard back from both the original printer who produced the ICRC exhibition, "Missing Lives", as well as the current printer in Bosnia, who will be printing The Rescuers. Here is what we have:

*The large panels are 150cm x 86cm.
* The smaller panel underneath is actually quite tricky, as it turns out. The email said:
"Sheets for the label dimensions are 150 x 50 cm,

bent on the short side of 23.5 cm + 3 cm + 23.5 c"

 

It took me a moment and some close looking at the Belgrade exhibition photographs to quite understand what that meant, but this is what I have sent to the printer in Bosnia, who needed the sizes for stock ordering:

 

The panel looks bent over underneath the two back facing larger ones, and is bent at the bottom and one the sides.

 

Taking into account the folds in the metal, and because the graphics at the bottom of the panels will need to bleed off the page (and so fold under with the metal), the folds are going to have to be accounted for in the art board set up of the panels. This makes is 156cm x 97cm in total. I've emailed this to the printer and will see from his end if that sounds about right, then go ahead. 

Other document presets

 

The printer has confirmed other necessary, basic details for the print job:

* CMYK colour mode (I always ask this, because there have been times when a printer has preferred RGB);

* No outline of text needed - like this point, that's always a major hassle, especially if you need to edit something later on, but the text is no longer text!

* Bleed settings are standard 3mm;

* All images need to be set to correct dimensions and 300dpi.

*The photos will be printed on water resistant paper and then mounted onto alu panel (dibond) and laminated.


Once I hear back from the Bosnian printer, Julijan, regarding the print set up, designing will finally begin!

Update of production schedule and exhibition layout

Beginning of another week, and the design of the exhibition is still on hold until we get specification for the new frames. Each panel has an extra attachment at the bottom, which you can see in the image below. This will give us more space, and in each panel will probably hold the breakout quotes, but we're still waiting on the exact size for this. I've contacted a printer in Serbia who worked on the ICRC exhibition in Belgrade (see previous post), so hopefully I will have that information by tomorrow at the latest.

Thanks to the ICRC's involvement, we now have these frames, previously used on the "Missing Lives" exhibition.

Latest production schedules

Learning in the Museum

George E. Hein's book, Learning in the Museum (1998), is one of the many I have going on the boiler at the moment, and I wanted to take some time out to discuss his second chapter,  Educational Theory, and how Hein relates it to the museum.

Hein outlines four major educational theories: Didactic/Expository, Discovery, Stimulus-Response and Constructivism. Each theory travels along what Hein calls continuums: the first is based on theories of epistemology (what knowledge is and how it is attained), the second route is based on theories of learning.

Theories of Knowledge
Epistemology's continuum has two main extremes at either end. The first views all knowledge as existing outside the individual, the second, that all knowledge is derived from within the individual. The former is also known as a realist epistemology, and focuses on the subject itself being learned, as it exists independent of, and outside, the learner. In the museum context, a realist curator views the objects as having a meaning in the real world, independent of individual interpretation. The the focus of the curator's educational plan, therefore, is not the viewer/learner, but the subject itself.

An idealist creator, on the other hand, views knowledge as residing within the individual's own consciousness, and that true reality can never be known; rather, 'truth' is subjective to individual interpretation, which is also dependent upon the individual's personal and social history. An exhibition in this context will not expect a defined learning outcome, but will take into account the fact that multiple perspectives are possible - and probable. The knowledge continuum, as outlined by Hein, looks like this:

Hein's continuum of theories of knowledge. Source: Hein (1998: 18).

Somewhere in the middle of this continuum, this road of polar extremes, I believe the 'truth' (for want of a better expression) really lies (and yes, I do see the irony of believing in a truth!). An individual can gain no knowledge of anything (except possibly themselves) if there is no greater world around them to gain knowledge of. Likewise, knowledge in itself needs minds to exist within, and therefore cannot exist without individual thought and interpretation. In addition, there is the issue of the great pool of knowledge which came from individual minds and is passed on to others, particularly those important discoveries that fundamentally changed the way we think about the world around us, such as theories of gravity, as Hein exemplifies. On the other hand, one person's knowledge can effect the way others gain knowledge, and this is particularly true for the museum, where curators decide what and how objects are displayed, leading to possible interpretations through the presentation of supporting text, or, in other cases, lack thereof. In other words, one person's inner knowledge gives rise to incidences outside of themselves that affect the way others gain knowledge, and, as this is happening in many ways all around us every day,  it is highly improbable that external knowledge can exist without internal knowledge, and vice versa. 

Theories of Learning
Hein also provides a continuum for theories of learning, each end also with its own extreme. At one end is transmission-absorption, which entails a teacher (or curator) transmitting the message to be learned, and the learner absorbing it. This places more emphasis on the teacher as the active participant, as they incrementally transmit their knowledge of a subject in small enough portions to be absorbed by the more passive learner - the vessel to be filled.

On the other end of the continuum is the notion that learners construct knowledge of their own accord. A teacher or curator might wish to impart certain knowledge of a subject onto the learner, but this does not necessarily mean this is the meaning the learner will construct for themselves. The central point to this end of the continuum is the learner.

Hein's continuum of learning theories looks like this:

Hein's continuum of learning theories. Source: Hein (1998: 23).

Theories of Teaching
These theoretical approaches are met with the third element to Hein's educational theories; how to apply them in practice through theories of teaching. He joins together the continuum of theories of knowledge with that of theories of learning to create the four quadrants of teaching theory:

Hein's four quadrants of learning theories. Source: Hein (1998: 25).

Pedagogy
The Didactic/Expository pedagogy focuses exclusively on the subject. It's theory of knowledge is based on knowledge existing exclusively outside the learner, and needs to be learned incrementally. In short, something is taught and it is then absorbed (Hein 1998). A good example of this is rote learning of mathematical tables, scientific formulas or the dates of historical events for impending exams. the teacher teaches facts and the student absorbs them, then regurgitates them at a later date. Many critics of this kind of learning stress that it does not encourage critical thinking, and that knowledge is not easily adaptable to other situations, such as the creation of new formulas for maths or science.

Historically, museums have imparted knowledge from this view; the professional to the layman. Didactic programs were popular in the 19th Century, around the time that museums started to be recognised as important educational institutions for the masses. As educational theories have changed, so too have many museums shifted their focus towards more visitor-focused education policies.

On the lower half of the incremental learning scale is Stimulus-Response pedagogy.

On the other half of the learning theory continuum is Discovery and Constructivism. Discovery is interesting, and perhaps paradoxical, in that it allows for learner-based 'hands and minds on' discovery, by acknowledging the importance of first hand experience in learning, but sets definitive learning outcomes. In contrast, Constructivism is more concerned with what is already in the learner's mind, and, at its most extreme, experience, not teaching per se, is the best way to learn. Hein contends that Constructivism places more demands on a teacher, as they have to provide a stimulating and engaging environment for the students to learn within.

Even at its most extreme, even constructivism, it could be argued, is also dependent upon the reality outside the learner to exist, and a purely didactic classroom is also only effective if the students gain an internal understanding of the material being taught. This brings us back to theories of knowledge, and how they cannot exist without each other.

Educational theories, designers and exhibitions
So, why must a designer who is working on an exhibition consider the educational theories of the institution they are working for? Because the educational policies can greatly effect the way in which we, as designers, present information. The parameters we are allowed to work within are always tied to the client's needs, and understanding how a curator wishes to communicate information is fundamental to understanding their design needs.

Typography is particularly dependent upon this understanding. If you know the exhibition is curated from a Constructivist point of view, or from a more didactic policy, this can lead you to a greater understanding of what is to be communicated and how, and radically affect the choice of typeface, layout and even the type of materials the type is to appear on.

It's food for thought, isn't it?

Project Management - part 2

After a very quick chat with Leora this morning and a flurry of emails, it is now apparent that the framework of the design will be completely different to what had been planned. This is due to the fact that the frames cannot be produced in Bosnia.

An alternative has been provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The frames used for the "Missing Lives" exhibition have been offered to Proof for The Rescuers, and design specifications will (hopefully) be sent to Leora tomorrow.

This link has an image and some video on the Missing Lives exhibition, which shows the set up of the frames.

This link is taken from the exhibition's facebook page, and has more images. 

In some of the images, it looks as if the panels are put together in pods, much like the last frame proposal. This will determine the sequence of the exhibition panels.

Content
There will now only be 20 panels, which means some of the original plan must be dropped. The list is now:

3 x Title panel
Maps/conflict information
Intro to exhibitions, photographers and PROOF
(The message from Lieutenant General Roméo A. Dallaire will be incorporated into one of these panels).

4 x panels- Rwanda:

Salis, Augustine, Josephine, Enoch

4 x panels - Cambodia

Ngog, Ang, Seng and [name]

3 x panels - Holocaust:

Frieda, Jan, Andree & Paulina [combined on one panel]

7 x panels Bosnia:

Hassan, Mina, Salina, Zoran, Josef, Bjo, Bishop

For those whiz bang mathematicians out there, you'll notice this does not add up to 20, but 21. I'll have to quiz Leora next time I speak with her about which one she wants to drop. The next thing to do is to update and distribute the project management outlines (lists of materials needed and panel sequence). As the specs haven't arrived yet for the frame layout, the panel sequence will have to wait, but below is the new materials list.

Project Management

I tried to post this up last week, but Blogger was down. In the meantime, as these things happen, everything has changed, so what I'm about to post up is now out of date, but I still would like to put it up here for the record.

This post is all about Project Management. After an online meeting with Leora, we wanted to create a bit more order for the project's stages. We had been working on deadlines, but I think we were both making the mistake of thinking one another had other elements already planned. So, we did the planning together.

This is one of the HUGE benefits of doing this research: how designers and curators work together to plan the project is of vital importance, and experience is the best teacher in this case. Admittedly, I had assumed there were aspects to the planning that were in the realm of curator, but it is more constructive to make a plan if one is not already at hand, than make assumptions about what people have or have not done.

Firstly, the difficulty with this project lies in the fact that it is being collaborated on by people across the globe, which is fine if people are responsive, potentially disastrous if they're not. Because of this, having a plan that it shared with everyone will keep track of the deadlines, and also list all elements needed to complete the project. I created a list of every panel (which has since changed, and will be updated later today), what elements it needs (i.e English text, Bosnian  text and image) and whether or not we have it. It looks like this:

Preliminary list of elements needed before design starts on all panels.

Leora also needed a layout of the panels for the printers, so that they would be constructed in the right sequence. I created this layout:

Sequence of panels (plan).

These two documents will be updated today, as well as a third document that will list all deadlines.

Updated panel set up

Also discussed on Monday was the panel type, and possible issues with legibility. I went back to the original design and checked the size optically (as they're different typefaces, there's no point comparing them by point size). I have since changed the point size of the new design from 32pt to 36pt. I also tried 38pt, but the text was too squashed and difficult to lay out. I also reduced the size of the photograph and slightly increased to width of the text box.

Here is what it now looks like.

Click to see type at 100%. Adobe Caslon Pro 36pt.

Click to see at 17%

The Rescuers - Bosnian exhibition title.

There was something very strange going on with the blog the other day, so I couldn't make any notes on the title images I had uploaded. During our meeting on Monday, Leora and I talked about having one of the Bosnian pictures as the title, which people in Bosnia also thought was a good idea. I've created this one with Danilo, which I like the best out of all of them. I like the lighting, and the surrounding black makes it much easier to place type than many of the other images. The heading has also been changed around to read "Picturing Moral Courage" and then "The Rescuers". This surprisingly proved to be a little tricky with type layout, and I think below is the best fit for both. I tried using both types used in the panels - Caslon Pro for the smaller text - but it didn't look right. Also, it was necessary to make the smaller title all caps because the descenders interfered with the larger type. I also tried the same type below in italic and bold, but in the end, the simpler, book version worked better. At 100%, the type doesn't look so squashed together.

Click to view type at 100%

Click to view at 17%

Also, panel design experiments are out - the design will go back to the simple version. Worth experimenting though!

Title design - versions 4, 5 & 6

Title revised - again.

I've rethought the title panel also. This little trick is going to make the file sizes extremely large, so if this goes ahead I might have to make them into a single jpeg. But I'll only bother with that if this style is a go.

Revised title panel - this contains four masks. One for the main image to round the corners. which is then shortened to create the small black gap in between. The smaller, more colourful panel is actually 4 layers, all masks, all at 100%:  1 x colour burn (top layer), 1 x difference (next layer down), 1 x overlay, 1 x colour burn (underneath all the others) blending modes.

Panel revised layout

This is just an experiment, but I quite like it. It was inspired by the third version of the title, and I thought it would be great to have something flowing through all of the panels to join them together. I thought the titles of all the panels could have the underlay of images underneath. Here's some examples (Danilo and Mina).

Mina - before.

Mina - after.

Danilo - before.

Danilo - after (with corrected name)