As designers and creative thinkers, we have the unique ability to combat complex social, economic and social problems. Like many architects, interior designers and industrial designers are doing their part, we cannot underestimate those in the advertising and graphic design industries.
One area Graphic Designers use their skills for the good of the environment is through adopting sustainable methods within their design approach. In packaging design, graphic designers use the ‘Three R Method’ – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Reduce – this step looks at how packaging can be designed to use fewer resources and asking yourself how can I reduce the number of materials in the final design solutions?
Reuse – how can the packaging be designed to have a reusable function?
Recycle – using recyclable materials in your packaging design so that it can be processed into new products and cutting down the number of new resources needed.
However, doing good as a graphic design can extend into the choices you make when faced with a client’s brief. Consider the number of posters that need to be printed, the paper the posters are printed on, using sustainable ink or maybe offering an alternative solution to printed posters? These are but only a few of the many sustainable considerations that can be taken.
But what about advertising sector? Advertisers are doing their part in raising awareness for social and environmental issues. In this year’s Design and Art Direction Awards, the category ‘Creativity for Good’, showcased the most effective and creative campaigns for good.
One of the winners ‘Bullying Jr.’ campaign was conceptualized by the agency ‘David Miami’ for the fast food franchise ‘Burger King’. The aim of this campaign was to highlight that one of the biggest problems with bullying is that people don’t stand up to it.
“Burger King’s live social experiment shows how more people would stand up for a bullied sandwich than a bullied child. Within days the Bullying Jr. experiment was shared over half a million times, earned over three billion impressions and over 100 million organic views. Today, Bullying Jr. is part of classroom curriculums worldwide.” (D&AD Awards, 2018)
As the state of our environment is becoming more and more of a concern, environmental groups are using advertising agencies to bring awareness to these issues and hopefully reach audiences to make a conscious impact. The Emirates Environmental Group contracted J. Walter Thompson Dubai to create an awareness campaign highlighting the effects of polluting the oceans and by doing so the effects it has on the wildlife that inhabit it (adsoftheworld, 2018).
By using food from the ocean and subtly incorporating pollutants, results in impactful images that make the viewer think.
I believe, as designers we have a moral and ethical responsibility to utilise our skills for good, whether it be reducing our carbon footprint through conscious packaging design, tackling social or environmental issues. These are but only a few ways Graphic Designers and those in the advertising industry are making a difference.
Written by: Leigh Wright
(Cape town Associate Full-time lecturer)
If design was seen as a profession, or a specific something someone did, for a specific reason, then no, we can’t all be designers.
But….
Did you get up this morning and pick your outfit for the day?
Did you put together your breakfast and arrange your lunch?
Did you map out your drive to work, or your bus route to your destination?
Did you arrange your daily schedule, and align it to others schedule’s?
Did you decide what items on your ‘to do’ list needed priority, and which could be delegated, or held over to the next day?
Did you get home and plan, and prepare a meal?
Decide how you wanted to spend your evening, watching television, or catch-up on social media, or pursuing a hobby?
If you answered yes to just one of these questions you are a designer. In your small and personal way, you contributed to the ‘design’ of your day. Those small project planning and problem-solving decisions you made through the journey of your day showed that you have the ability to design. If only on a small and limited scale, a series of problems arose, and you dealt with them, presented solutions, alternatives, possible options, definite outcome solutions and you might also have learnt from mistakes you made along the way. Things you wouldn’t repeat in the future, because presented in the journey through your day proved them to be unproductive, or ineffective.
Its ok – take a moment, this is all new to you and possibly, your day has now taken on a whole new meaning. Even if you are already a designer, this might give your day a whole new perspective. Understanding that our everyday activities are systems within which we have planned procedures and routed outcomes is an interesting way to think about what it is we do every day, naturally.
Did you enjoy it? Your successful day! Where you productive and efficient? Chances are you’d be a good designer, but your day is all about you right? So, what if you were responsible for more than you, would you still be as effective and in control?
There are people that are more creative than you, visually express themselves better than you, but those are only part of the ways in which we visually or creatively communicate. There are other ways to communicate using design as a premise. Take your engagement through your own day as an example.
Whether you are making a small difference in your day or making difference in the world, solving greater problems than our own daily grind, or supplying a small home-based company with a design solution you can count design as one of your talents. To hone those skills and make a profound difference in our design skills, I believe you can be taught the skills needed to be a creative design thinker and master problem solver.
If you are keen to make a difference in the world, no matter how big or small, no matter what area of expertise your passion, design in an opportunity for everyone to contribute in some way and can be both financially and personally rewarding.
Yes, we are all designers, in our own way, whether we make a difference in our own lives daily or chose to make a difference in the lives of others.
Introduction
The face of retail commerce is evolving into the exciting world of the ‘iGen’ (those who were born with cell phones in their hands) – making the Millennials seem like old news. What is it that makes the successful retail interior work? How do retailers stay in business and how do designers keep up – but more so, stay ahead or abreast of the demands of the retail industry in terms of interior design?
New Concepts
The concept that seems to dominate the worldwide scene of retail design is ‘immersive experience/technology’ engaging all the senses, or, ‘keep-the customer-in-the-retail-space-as-long-as possible’ through scientific research, user behaviour research, graphics and branding design, and all that is digital and ergonomically pleasing.
Fig. 1. Immersive design. J Meyer H in Berlin’s design for a shopping experience with skydiving and surfing opportunities
And right at the top next to ‘immersive experience’ is aesthetic appeal and convenience. In the past, retailers worked ‘from the inside out’ by basing interior design decisions on what the retailer thought was best through their market research strategies. Nowadays, the design decisions are made working ‘from the outside in’ – carefully tracking, monitoring and interactively hearing from the customer what they want. This starts from the moment the customer arrives in his/her motorcar in the covered parking area of a mall. The magic begins when he/she walks through 4-metre high double-sliding glass doors.
Stay in business
When it comes to convenience shopping, Amazon is the leader. Few can compete with them; however, customers still prefer to see, feel and touch merchandise and retailers still prefer as many feet in their retail spaces as possible. The art of bespoke retail interior design has become a sought-after necessity for retailers who want to stay in business. What ensures the design industry to stay high in demand is creativity – the talent and ability to design and redesign an ever-evolving brand identity translated into the interior spaces through their know-how, experience and the X-factor that enables the world of retail to thrive amidst economic slumps. Let us look at a few design pointers from international and local experts:
Interior design ideas
Fig. Interactive mirror at Ralph Lauren
Fig.3 Immersive technology, virtual reality catwalk at Topshop
Fig. 4. RFID (radio-frequency identification technology) at a Burberry store, ‘which triggers related catwalk footage when some products are taken into a fitting room, or near a video screen.’
Fig. 5. Brand enhancement through the thematic design. Tread and Miller, Cape Town by Dakota Designs
Fig. 6 Natural elements such as green walls are important.
Fig. 7. Glazing enhances spatiality
Fig. 8: Order merchandise through correct display designs.
Fig. 9. John Pawson interior for Jil Sander label flagship store in Tokyo. Uncluttered display space
Fig. 10. Pause space at the entrance for orientation is important. Exclusive Books, Ballito Junction by Dakota Design
Fig. 11. Lighting that reflects the brand. Exclusive Books National by Dakota Design
Fig. 12. Lighting design in public walkways should reflect the mall’s brand. East Rand Mall, MDS architects.
Fig. 13. A bright coloured accent wall at the back. Exclusive Books Balito Junction by Dakota Design.
There are three basic circulation types or shop layouts – the grid, the free-flow and the loop floor plan.
Grid Floor Plans
Used in grocery, big box, and convenience stores. Shelf-stocked goods such as books, toys, speciality foods, hardware, and homewares
Loop Floor Plans
Maximize wall space and lead shoppers along a set pathway. Apparel, accessories, toy, homewares, kitchenware, personal care, and speciality retail stores.
Free Flow Floor Plans
Used in upscale, speciality, and boutique settings. Apparel, accessory, personal care, speciality brand, and mixed-use stores like bakeries that also display packaged goods.
Do not let layout Typology become the design imperative. The interior design entails so much more than store layout. We deal with 3-dimensional space.
Conclusion
Experience in retail interiors shows that less ‘visual fatigue’ is a preferred mode of shopping by engaging other senses in the shopping experience.
Finally, the term ‘glocal’ comes to mind when I think of the many national and international brands like Apple, Exclusive Books, Woolworths, Stuttafords and others. Interior designers always incorporate the specific context into the brand and the theme.
Written by
Marga Viljoen
“Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.” – Charles Eames
Designing without a purpose is like travelling without a map. You might end up aimlessly wandering around without getting anywhere or achieving anything of significance. Having an avid interest in both design and travel, I believe the travel experience can be closely related to the metaphorical “journey” of the design process. The following steps could serve as a map of sorts for the designer seeking their passport to success:
Identify
The first step in the design process is to identify the target audience. Who are you designing for? A target audience shares similar needs and characteristics, knowing these will help you communicate more effectively through your design.
Define
Be specific. Define the problem by focusing on the target audience you have identified. Ask questions and gather information that will be helpful towards getting solutions to the problem.
Brainstorm
Now that you know what the requirements are, start generating ideas. In this stage allow yourself the opportunity to come up with as many ideas as possible before you start narrowing down which of these could be most effective.
Implement
The next step is to make a prototype of narrowed down ideas to get an understanding of its limitations or potential for improvement.
Test
Finally, test the ideas that have been identified as the best solutions so far. This will help to alter and refine your ideas and give an even more informed understanding of the needs and point of view of the target audience.
As anyone who has done travelling might know, sometimes the greatest discoveries can be made in the most unexpected moments. It can be easy to fall into the trap of only seeking inspiration in the obvious, the ‘tourist attractions’ already known to us. For this reason, in my opinion, the design process should serve as a guideline rather than a rigid step-by-step guide to creativity. In whatever way you choose then to implement the process, inspiration usually only comes once you get started. So, start designing and enjoy the detours along the way!
Ginomi Kilfoil
Design is firstly a problem-solving exercise that enhances a persons’ experience but without the
knowledge and skills that are brought forward from the past, the future is meaningless.
There is a very fine line between creating something aesthetically appealing and making something
practical that still installs emotion in each and every person who walks into that space. It is human
nature to react to things that are familiar, perhaps it’s something visual, a smell of an interior or even the touch of something. This familiarisation is generally present in your life from the furniture your mother inherited from your grandmother, the knee blanket that was knitted by your aunt and the cookies you used to bake with your mother before holiday celebrations – these ‘things’ are hardly ever a modern idea or something you just bought from a home furnishing store.
Dubai is a very fast-moving, forward-thinking city; a city of dreamers and achievers but without the
cities strong ties to the past and knowledge on how they got to where they are now I very much doubt Dubai would be what we see every time we open the door or drive down Sheikh Zayed Road. Putting it into perspective, the United Arab Emirates was only created in 1972 meaning that the country went from Pearl diving Bedouins to Travel destination with the Worlds’ Tallest building in under 50 years!
I think Dubai is a great example and contradiction between old and new, Traditional and Modern!
Driving from one side of Dubai to the other you will find yourself passing the old souk/market,
watching the traditional ferries called Abra’s transporting people back and forth across the creek
along-side the new bigger blue and grey RTA ferries as well as the first mid-rise buildings lining the
Dubai Creek that now house banks and Government Ministry’s; as you make your way South onto high rise buildings that line the ‘blood-stream’ of the city, Sheikh Zayed road, past the Worlds’ Tallest
Building, the World’s First Seven-star hotel and into the dense high-rise area of the Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers.
Dubai has it all, but where do you balance it out? On one hand you don’t want to forget the Traditional or old ways, but on the other hand you can’t been seen to be stuck in the 1970’s! Many interior designers are stuck with this when they are asked to design for Middle Eastern clients, whether it be an Exhibition/Trade fair stand or a Hotel.
The Middle East has a great sense of where it came from and where it wants to go; but as clients they would almost always like an aspect of traditional culture incorporated in a very high-tech modern environment. They want the newest technology and the traditional mashribiya motifs, and they’d like it to come together like it was a natural combination. These traditional elements can easily be added into interiors through the use of textiles, flooring, wall cladding and light fixtures.
One current project that stands out in my mind is the new Al Seef District, where they have created a souk, harbour and hotel that looks like it has been there for many years. These areas are created to
look like the traditional mud-clad Arabic houses but it is indeed a newly build area in Dubai! The hotel will be spread across 22 of these Arabic houses and linked by a bridge that is above the actual souk area – once this Hotel is open it will be fascinating to see what they have done with the interior!
https://www.visitdubai.com/en/articles/al-seef-cultural-district
By Claire Gordon
8/7/2018
Claire is a Pretoria Alumnus working in Dubai for the past eight years
Our library recently received a new book. When I saw this particular book it immediately caught my attention because of its bold, bright front cover and the word at the top, ‘Brand’! My love of Marketing and all things ‘branding’ led me to take a sneak peek before the book made its way to its new home. The title of this book is ‘Brand Bible – The complete guide to building, designing, and sustaining brands – Edited by Debbie Millman’. (A side note to our students, this book is a winner and I’d definitely recommend that you take it out of the library and have a browse!)
When scanning through the book I stopped on page 56 and 57 which shows an awesome timeline of how the Coca-Cola bottle has evolved since its inception. In 1899 the image under the year is of a glass Coca-Cola bottle with no round curve in the middle of the bottle; it just looked rectangular like a milk carton but with a curved top. In 1915 a prototype was designed incorporating the two main ingredients of Coca-Cola namely the cocoa leaf and the kola nut. The first prototype was designed with a really big bulge in the middle, sort of how a 500ml bottle looks today, but quite exaggerated. The problem with this initial design was that it’s diameter was bigger than its base and thus it was not stable on the conveyor belts used in the production process. This prototype was therefore redesigned and the Coca-Cola bottle that we know today was birthed. The design continued to develop and evolve through the years to the point when it became a plastic bottle instead of a glass bottle. I just loved the images on these two pages and I was reminded what a strong, prominent brand Coca-Cola is and the fact that it is one of the top brands in the world. According to the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2016 Rankings, (http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2016/ranking Coca-Cola was ranked third with Apple and Google in first and second place respectively.
To me this highlights just how important even the slightest change in the design of a product can sustain a brand for many years. This simple change in the first prototype in 1915 was crucial to the actual functioning of the product but it was also the design and shape that has stood the test of time! Now, it is time to go and buy yourself a delicious ice cold can or bottle of Coca-Cola, but it has to be the original version with all the sugar in and not any of these newer ‘zero, light and life’ versions!
Gabriela started working as a Marketing Specialist for ASUS in 2008. In 2011, she was promoted to Marketing Manager for the South African region. After three and a half years with the company, she decided to pursue her studies on a full-time basis. She completed her B. Com degree in Marketing Management in 2014 and is now responsible for marketing efforts at Inscape’s Cape Town Campus.
3D Printed buildings, rotating skyscrapers, prefabricated buildings, sky cities, green communities – these are all buzz words within the current built environment. Understanding trends, knowing about latest products and inventions and being able to solve design problems with new technology and thinking – all this plays a vital role, no matter which design field you work in.
This desire for knowledge comes with your personal interest in what is happening in the world around you – but is that the only reason? Does your knowledge and background not also contribute to the value you can bring to your assignments whilst being a student, later contributing to your ability in solving a client’s project, not to mention making you a more viable individual and asset to future employers? All the above!
How does one stay on track with what is happening in the built environment? With instant online information to the international architectural stage, simply taking 30 minutes a week to read and research the latest building projects that have been completed around the world, seeing if there are any technologies and design ideas that are trending, or even researching what is happening in your local region in the form of building projects or trade shows can help keep you in the loop of what is happening in the built environment.
A constantly evolving field is that of ‘environmental design.’ Although our human desire for healthy living are not new, sustainable ideas and trends are constantly evolving, moving the built environment toward a more ‘green’ future. It is important to stay aware of the latest technology, as well as current concepts being developed by the industry and how such have been implemented and used by fellow architects and designers. These days, simply knowing that there are systems like solar energy, rainwater collection or wind power are not enough. Knowing how these are implemented and the importance of understanding how these systems can be fully integrated into the design itself are becoming ever more vital for future design thinking (see cover image).
There are hundreds of sources from which you can gather, learn and read about this kind of information from all around the world. These can include online, as well as many print and magazine sources, to attending a congress or lecture. ‘Like’ the Facebook and Instagram pages of your favourite blogs, architects, designers and trend websites. When it comes to understanding what is happening in the built environment, always focus on both local and international sources – we live in a connected world, make use of it.
Herewith some relevant websites and blogs to get you started with staying up to date on trends and technology in the built environment:
Reference – Rendering of COR building. Miami, FL, USA. Oppenheim Architecture & Design. Rendering: Dbox.
Carsten P. Walton is the Faculty Dean for the Built Environment at Inscape Education Group. He holds a Masters in Architecture from the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) in the USA, Carsten has been in private practice, specializing in environmental design for over a decade as co-founder of 7circle Architecture, with numerous projects completed in South Africa, the USA and Australia.
Congratulations to our two Cape Town students, Jared Harland and Marnus Erasmus who have won the DHK Think Space Competition! Their task was to design a boardroom space for iinet, which has since been successfully built. These 3rd Year Interior Design students have also won a 6 week internship. Well Done!!!