Initial Design Idea

What makes a good design? It is important that the physical elements of this project are designed well. I have been looking at the philosophy behind design. 

"The best designs in the world are based on purpose and function. When a design solves a functional problem as simply and elegantly as possible, the resulting form will be honest and timeless…. Technology can make simple things complicated, or complicated things simple." - Humanscale on design philosophy.
http://www.humanscale.com/form_function/design_philosophy.cfm

The objects and elements we are designing for this project have a lot of technical and conceptual meaning. Because of this it is important to keep the designs simple. Ten principles for good design are outlined on the vitsoe website by Dieter Rams. The overall aim design must be simple, functional and understandable. 
https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design

The next stage in designing the physical elements was to start designing with pen and paper. Trying to keep Ram's design principles in mind. I started with the idea of what it is the object needs to accomplish and how this can be accomplished with the littlest information needed. It is important to note that these are initial design ideas and are going to change as ideas further develop and testing is conducted. There are 3 main physical elements to this project. The lanterns, the map and the text which displays the penal laws.

The lantern is the object which tie all three stages together. It is the interactive element which triggers the  installations. We went with a gas lantern style as quick survey revealed it is most recognisable as a lantern and turning the dial is something everyone in the survey knew to do. At this stage we are planning on carrying out body-storming exercise in a couple of days that will inform us on design decisions with the lamp. The lantern will be raised from the group on a stand. The stand will be white so as not to distract from the lantern. The lantern itself will appear old, as if from the 18th century, linking it to the history.

What needs to be tested:

• What height the stand should be
• How will people know to interact with object
• What colour it should be
• Can technology be embedded all within the lantern or stand

The purpose of the map is to display light in the locations which the Presentation order has spread to. Initially I was looking at having an 18th century map, however there is a lot of unnecessary information in this. I decided to start with a white map, having the countries outlined in black.

What needs to be tested:

• What size and height the map should be
• If it is outside, what water proofing will be needed
• Should the countries be named
• Will the stand need to be stabilised/secured to the floor
• What material will best suit 
• What lights will be used
• How will these turn on (ie: dim to bright, flashing etc)

The purpose of the text is to display the penal laws using light in a jumble of text. Again like the map, I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Using only the letters, in white, and using the popular typeface at that time, Caslon.



What needs to be tested:

• What lights to use (led, bulb)
• How light levels will effect this
• What is the test way to display the letters, cut out or relief
• Should there be spacing
• Will it be legible
• What material would suit best

The colours throughout all the objects at this point are neutral, whites. Adding colour is just excess information. Further development on these designs will be carried out before all the designs must be mocked up and tested in order to evaluate their effectiveness. Changes can then be made to any design choices based off users suggestions and reactions.