Project 4: Collaborations

^ New York Subway, Massimo Vignelli

Project Description

For our final project, we're shifting our focus from the global context of international protest movements to the local context of Tennessee. Graphic design studios often operate across a similar variety of projects: moving fluidly from web design to branding to way-finding.

Launching from your Translations project in which you spent time understanding and designing for a hypothetical movement, you will now work directly with a client to address their specific needs. We will partner with UT Digital Learning to help design the way-finding and environmental graphics within their new space. Unlike our previous projects, "Collaborations" will ask us to operate less abstractly and instead solve complicated spatial questions with engaging visuals.

We will be working in teams to iterate, critique, and structures our graphics solutions. I'm aiming to structure these teams based on your personal interests; however, unlike other projects, you are to prioritize the whole as opposed to the individual components. In other words, please don't design in a vacuum—you want the entire product to feel coherent and considered. A few considerations:

Each team will have a single focus. Teams are expected to work towards a specific outcome intended for supporting the project goal of navigating through the space, and elevating the interiors. A diversity of outcomes is key, as our client might want to select from options, as opposed to a single choice. 

There are two key elements to a way-finding solutions. We will have both a client-facing presentation that "sells" our ideas through story-telling, precedents, and renders, and we will have a design tender that shows a contractor how we suggest our design should be implemented.

Grading

Your grade for this project will make up 1/4 of your grade for the class. You will be evaluated based on the specific team that you supported and the final two products.

Project Goals

    • to recognize and analyze the spatial needs of a client
    • to further understand the relationship between audience and brand
    • to understand the needs of working in a professional capacity
    • to develop a design strategy for a way-finding and environmental graphics project
    • to build a professional presentation accounting for different tiers of intervention
    • to work as a team
    • Design Tender:
    • The project report will provide Digital Learning with the full design tender, including possible materials, icons, and colors for signage contractor to develop further. It is intended as the ‘product’ that UT could price and take into production. The final document will include the following components that will be designed in a small team:
      1. Icon System (2 people)
        • The Icon System team will develop a distinctive and legible icon strategy for use in any possible way-finding.
        • At a minimum, these icons will include precedent examples, a considered approach to match UT brand standards, and additional icons for possible novel way-finding.
      2. Way-Finding Signage (4 people)
        • The space that we are designing is quite confusing and will require thoughtful orientation and signage. This will include not only directionals and destinations, but potential physical maps as well. Having a unique and interactive set up that is easy to navigate through and install will be key. You must also indicate how this signage system will be potentially constructed as well. This team will work closely with the Icon team.
      3. Mural Design (4 people)
        • There are several opportunities for graphics along multiple corridors. A colorful mural might make sense in a few of these areas, or you might develop with your team another strategy for treating these walls.
      4. Conference Room Art (4 people)
        • The Digital Learning team has many conference rooms that all have a pre-exisiting naming strategy, based on Knoxville counties. I'd like us to design either framed artworks or wall graphics for these spaces. You will develop a system to be able to quickly generate multiple versions of these artworks.
      5. General Support (3 people)
        • I'm asking for three people to work as additional hands, available to support any team that needs help.
    • Client-Facing Project Presentation (4 people):
      • This team will develop and collaboratively present a client-facing presentation that articulates the story behind the designs. You will also be in charge of photoshopping graphics into site photos. 
        • This presentation is not a duplication of the design tender, but rather a story-telling exercise that beautifully lays out your solutions with type and imagery.
        • Presentations will be 20 minutes, allowing 10 minutes for Q+A (30 min total allotted to each team). 
          • We will have 2 mock presentations to better prepare you for this final presentation. 

Resources

Reading

Inspiration

Rubric

EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR NEEDS IMPROVEMENT UNACCEPTABLE
CONCEPT Work demonstrates deep understanding of the project and ability to apply this understanding to outstanding visual and, if applicable, conceptual execution of the objectives. Strong understanding of the project goals and requirements. Student’s visual execution thoughtfully  fits the concept and objectives. Evident understanding of the project goals and requirements. Attempts have been made to explore visual execution and the idea is understandable, yet the piece needed more attention. Project met most, if not all of the minimum criteria. Needs improvement to exhibit fluency. Visual exploration is limited or incomplete and ideas are difficult to follow and/or too basic. Poor quality work that does not meet the project goal or objectives. Visual exploration is weak. Unsatisfactory. The work either does not evidence any of the project’s objects or has not been completed.
Objective 01:
To work within your group to clearly and effectively respond to a client's need.
Objective 02:
To identify and successfully implement a relevant visual tone of within your group.
CRAFT Excellent design craft:
No noticeable inconsistencies in form or execution. Surprising and effective craft choices in form.		 Strong design craft:
Negligible inconsistencies in form or execution. Effective craft choices in form.		 Solid, well-done work, could improve on the items noted in the Excellent list, in particular: better attention to detail, willingness to experiment without sacrificing quality. Does average work, fulfills the assignment. Feels rushed in execution or sloppy in attention to details.  No attention to detail, and barely qualifies as finished. Unsatisfactory. The work either does not hold together at all or has not been completed.
Objective 03:
To demonstrate care in the craftsmanship of the design your role within your group
Objective 04:
To work within a set of brand guidelines on your role within your group.
Objective 05:
To effectively build documentation (either the final design tender or client-facing presentation).
PROCESS Excellent, well-documented design process, ability to sketch and articulate ideas. A thoughtful and flexible honing of your project over the course. Thoughtful design process, ability to sketch and articulate ideas. A gradual honing of your project over the course. Solid, well-done work: could improve on the items noted in the Excellent list, in particular: more iteration and experimentation and willingness to articulate distinctive ideas. Limited iteration; student explores only a few other ideas, and they seem stubborn in their unwillingness to experiment. Singular solution that changes very little throughout the assignment. Unsatisfactory. No iteration or evidence of process.
Objective 06:
To annotate readings thoughtfully, participate in critique, and give and receive feedback
Objective 07:
To develop the graphics resulting from your role from your first draft to the final version. As a designer, your process should make your thinking visual.