Emma 3rd proposal

Working Title/Research question.

 

How do you create an experience?

 

Chapter Headings

 

· Introduction – This paragraph will explain the outlining questions that will be raised within this report. It will provide a short explanation into how these questions will be answered a

nd the process that will accompany them. This will also give a reason for focusing on the point that is being covered, which is how current exhibition designers create an experience and the process they individually follow.               

 

· Current experiences  – This chapter will be one of the main focus points of the report. It will look at the current designers that create exhibitions and the processes that they follow. There will be a variety of design groups and individual designers; they will be interviewed about how they go about the process of creating an exhibition from the beginning to the end. The next step after interviewing them would be to analyse the information gathered and work out any similarities and differences between the companies. 

 

· Influences – There will be a short reference to retail and how they use the space diff

erently, but maybe both exhibition designers and retail are influenced by the same attention grabbing techniques. It will be interesting to look into how retail, design their layout to get the buyer into the store and then to stay and buy. They provide floor plans and visual merchandisers to create these surroundings. Another area that will be briefly studied would be the history of exhibitions and their design. This will be researched and then explained within a timeline, which will show a difference or continued similarities from 1851 and maybe even further back to now.

 

· Do’s and Don’ts – The gathered information from the design companies and individual designers will be analysed, this will then provide an outlined process that maybe they all do and don’t do. Then the next step would be to produce a ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ list. The aim of this report is to see whether exhibitions have a certain process that are followed no matter the design company or exhibition. There will be differences depending on the type of exhibition; however there should be similarities within the layout of the work, the colours and type used. All this information given will provide the reader with a better understanding of how the design companies design an exhibition.   

 

· Summary – This section will look back at all the information given and researched and will provide a conclusion. The information gathered is to provide the reader with a better understanding of the process and detail that goes into exhibition design. It is an interesting area that has a big impact on the audience that is it providing for. Whether it is historic information or art, the audience has to walk away feeling that they have just had an experience. This report will explain how they are provide with one.

 

· Appendix – There are a number of books on exhibition design, however the ones found so far are not up to date. The only current books, look at existing exhibitions or case studies of past exhibitions. That is where the idea for a Do’s and Don’t list came from. As well as studying books, the Internet will also be used to gather information. Mainly about the location and current work provided by the design companies. Once the companies are gathered, the next step is to go and interview as many as possible to get a wide variety of information. Visiting galleries and exhibitions is also something that will be done to gain a good understanding of an experience and the commonly used elements within the space.

Brief Synopsis of content

 

There are thousands of exhibitions around the world, each one of them different from the last. But what makes them dissimilar? How do the designers create a brand new experience each time? Every space, audience, content and brief are different, so how do design companies produce the right outcome for the right experience.

 

Over the course of this report, questions will be answered as well as information gathered for the reader to gain, a good understanding of how exhibition design is executed. There are many design companies that work on making the right experience for the audience. This report will look into the work process of these companies and create a ‘Check list’ or ‘How to guide’ for anyone who is abo

ut to create an exhibition.

 

The main step in this report would be to obtain information from the current period. This report will look into current design companies that are working with exhibition design everyday. They are at the centre of the action and how it has developed since the 19^th century. These companies a

re the main focus and will be the main resource for this report. Interviewing them and creating a great database of information and process, is the aim. Getting first hand accounts will be a great way to collect do’s and don’ts, which will then be used to create a better understanding of the process.

 

There are many books written about exhibition design and the areas that have to be looked at, from the beginning, to the end, however they aren’t up to date. It would be great to compare these two resources and see whether they have changed much due to current climates and technology development. Creating a time line may be a great visual way to see the differences.  Seeing whether current designers still reference these books in their design process will also be interesting.

 

An area that could be looked into, linked to exhibition design, would be retail and how the space is used differently in this situation, to react with the audience and create an experience. Researching floor plans and the use of space could be interesting.

 

All of this information will hopefully provide the reader with a better understanding of ho

w the whole experience of an exhibition happens. From before you walk in the building, with the advertising and the leaflets, to when you leave and can’t stop thinking about what you have learnt from the experience and information. 

Action Plan

This report is mainly resourced by research from books, internet and personal interviews. The first step that has to be taken is to gain a good strong understanding of the terms used as well as the term ‘Exhibition’.

 

“For the immediate purpose, a working definition of exhibitions might be “the advertisement, in three dimensions, of a company’s product or service”.  (Exhibition Design, Theory and practice, Arnold Rattenbury (1971).)

 

“Exhibition design is, above all, about the planning of interpretive spaces.” (Designing ex

hibitions, A Compendium for Architects, Designers and Museum Professionals, Bertron Schwarz Frey (2006).) 

 

Then the next area to look into briefly would be the history of exhibitions and the design that has been provided. This will be gathered by looking into books as well as the Internet, however an area that can be visited would be exhibitions that are looking into the history of the ‘Great Exhibition’. A visual time line will be produce to communicate the information gathered about the history without it taking up too much of the word count.

 

Visiting a mixture of galleries and museums will provide a diverse bank of resources and will allow this report to compare any differences and similarities that may occur as well as understand the different elements that go into an experience.  

 

Once a good understanding of the history and overall elements that go into an exhibition have be research, I will then go into current design companies that focus on exhibition design and interview them to see what their process is of creating an exhibition and especially how they make it into a memorable experience. The aim of this is to gather a checklist of what the designers do and in what order they do it. This information will then be analysed and compared to other companies responses to see if it generic.

 

I will also look into, briefly, retail design. I currently work in retail and aim to contact the head office and see if they would provide me with any floor plans that they have used as well as answering some questions about why they place certain items in certain areas.   

 

 

Bibliography

Books:

Exhibition Design, David Dernie

 

Exhibition Design, Arian Mostaedi

 

Designing Exhibitions, Giles Velarde

 

The Great Exhibitions of 1851, A Nation on Display, Jeffrey A. Auerbach

 

Retail Desire, Design, Display and Visual Merchandise, Johnny Tucker

 

Exhibitions: Universal Marketing Tools,  Alfred

 

Visual Merchandising and display, Martin M Pegler

 

The Wayfinding Handbook,  Info design for Public Places, David Gibson

 

Wayfinding, Designing and implementing Graphic Navigation Systems – Craig M Berger

 

Designing Exhibitions, Bertram Schwarz Frey

 

Exhibition Design, Theory and Practice, Arnold Rattenbury

 

Design Week, Signs – Vol 24 No. 25 – 25^th June 09

 

Websites:

 

Holmes Design – www.holmes-wood.com

 

Stills Design – www.stillsdesign.com 

 

Together Design – www.togetherdesign.co.uk 

Alan Farlie – www.rfkarchitects.co.uk 

 

Bisset Adams – www.bissetadams.co.uk

 

Design week – www.designweek.co.uk

(I think that I might be repeating myself too much, so please let me know if I am. Thanks) 

Also Here is an idea for my cover and page spreads.