I went to the Photographers Gallery and saw the Saul Leiter Retrospective exhibition. I really enjoy looking at his photographs because they feel like they are happening in front of you. He captures people as they are doing something simple like walking down the street or crossing the road, as well featuring various means of transport such as trains, cars and taxis. This is what inspired my theme of 'Journeys' for the Unit 7 project.

'Photographs are often treated as important moments, but really they are little fragments and souvenirs of an unfinished world.' 

This quote really stood out to me because I feel like his photographs spark great curiosity as they only capture a small part of a moment or a persons journey. Leiter took photographs around his neighbourhood watching the people patiently, which I find extremely relatable because in many ways as a design student I am having to observe human behaviour. 

Some of my favourite prints include:

• Don't Walk, c.1952
• Red Umberella, c.1995  

After speaking to Kathleen about my two themes I noticed that the theme 'beauty' is too abstract for this project as it doesn't allow for much observational research, which makes it difficult to explore and test in regards to primary research, making it very limiting. 

Although I am choosing to continue the project with the theme of 'journeys', I am aware that it is very broad and so I am looking into changing the title to something more specific which will give my brief more direction. 

Possible Title Names:

• 'mapping journeys'
• 'mapping cities'
• 'city mapper'

WRITING WORKSHOP: 

Today we focused on the context of our themes, involving both the physical location and the ideological concept.

We worked in groups picking apart different aspects of the briefs, simplifying them an then relating it to our own work. This was useful because it helped me to identify all the different parts which I need to consider to make up my brief. For example, I need to look at the historical context as well as the art and design context. By pin pointing these aspects of my theme it has helped me to figure out which research tasks would be useful to carry out to get in depth and useful information, such as recording my journey on public transport and visiting the London Transport Museum. 

I completed my design proposal draft. This really helped me to focus on what I want to explore within my research as I had to write a a brief summary on by project concept and description.

I had my Chelsea Up event at Kings Cross

I also had to read over my design proposal and then submit the final draft on moodle. 

I picked up some books on Harry Beck and the tube map to inform my research on commuting in London. Harry Beck was one of the first designers to simplify the tube map. What was most interesting to learn was that he set himself limitations and rules, similar to the way I had to work on the Ceramics 1-100 project. Before, the map consisted of curved lines whereas one of Beck's restrictions was to only use lines of 90° and 45° lines. This way of working appeals to me because it means you have a guideline to design by and provides a structure, although I did learn that in some cases the rules were broken slightly and the 45° lines were changed to 60° angles to accommodate the growing tube lines and overcrowded map. Even though the map is entirely geographically correct it is very practical and provides a clear guide for everyone using the tube. I am drawn to functional and practical design which is why I have chosen to look at Harry Beck's designs. 

I visited the Museum of London. In the museum I came across two maps of London which provided me with a great contrast to Harry Beck's tube maps. The first map I saw was 'A Map of London and the Adjacent Country 10 Miles Round, 1748', which documented rural London. The thing that I noticed about this much was the insane attention to detail and it is said to be one of the 'most accurate maps of London'. However, because it contains so much information I don't see how it could be useful for someone to use to navigate which brings up the argument of something that is accurate and detailed may not be as useful as something which is simplified and less accurate, like Harry Beck's tube map for example. 

I documented my journey into Central London through taking photos of each stage. What I noticed was the difference in the amount of people who travelled on the overground in comparison to the tube, which was always much busier. I also made note of the different times in which I travelled in order to get an idea of when it was busiest on the trains. 

Chingford Overground at 12:41 - the train was almost empty

Victoria Line at 13:01 - the train was fairly busy with about half of the seats taken 

Piccadilly line at 13:15 - the train was full with many people standing

Victoria Line at 20:21 - the seats in the train were mostly taken and only a few people were standing

I have carried out some interviews with different people who use public transport, primarily trains to get some information on different peoples experiences and view points. I asked a variety of questions including if people find the transport system to navigate, how often they refer to maps for directions and what they always have on them when travelling. 

This is to give me an idea whether people have similar answers in regards to their daily commutes which will help me to an uncover any issues.

I have began looking into the concept of Psychogeography and have started reading Merlin Coverly's book (Psychogeography) exploring different theories and pschogeographical works by various artists.

'…psychogeography provides us with new ways of apprehending our surroundings, transforming the familiar streets of our everyday experience into something new and unexpected.' 

Lenticular 

adjective

Shaped like a lentil, especially by being biconvex:

'lenticular lenses'

This word describes the way the night tube map works which I was in the Night Shift Exhibition as the display changes between two different images. 

Today we were put into our themed groups and had to allocate different positions for each other within the group. Although we have decided that we can help each other out with all of the positions I am the main spokesperson which means I'll have to feed back to the rest of the group in class. I will also be looking at the materials library for new and exciting materials which would be suitable for my team to know about. Since we are a small group of three we have decided not to have a team leader. 

During research week I was beginning to doubt my project and worried that it would be too limiting just looking into London train travel. However, after having a tutorial I have been given new and interesting ideas to explore within my subject area. 

I am going to focus more on looking onto different people's experience on trains to get a variety of first hand perspectives. The idea of looking more deeply into what people do is also something I will continue to research.

I did a walking tour in central London, which was inspired by the book 'Psychogeography' written by Merlin Coverly. Part of the concept of psychogeography is looking at the way people behave in relation to their environment, 'the changing moods of the street.' I decided to start in Oxford Circus a busy and congested area and walk away from it in the direction of Notting Hill Gate to Portobello Road, which is a fairly straight line.

I did it once in the morning, where I noticed that most of the people were working people as the crowds moved quickly and it wasn't overly busy. As I walked through Marble Arch and along Hyde Park the crowds got smaller and the roads became much quiet. As I reached Notiing Hill it bean to get a little busier although not as busy as Oxford Circus. 

I travelled the route back later on in the afternoon and noticed it had become busier with more tourists. However, walking along hyde park down Bayswater Rd it was still very quiet. I think this is because the area itself is much quieter than both Notting Hill and Oxford Circus which are much more built up with shops and restaurants, in contrast to the park and some hotels which line Bayswater Road. Therefore, I think that our mood does change in regards to the environment because in Oxford Circus people are rushing and noisy, whereas when walking alongside the Park people go at a slower more calm pace. 

In the book it also mentions to record the journey and I chose to video certain points along the way, mainly to show the different pace in which people were travelling at and how busy it was. I have chosen to document this data in the form of a map and a timeline in my sketchbook to visually analyse this information. 

I spent the weekend working in my sketchbook.

After having my progress tutorial I realised that I needed more direction within my theme to pursue, which was also the reason my bibliography was lacking. I have been finding it difficult to get a range of secondary research and have only focused on two designers/artists up till now. 

Kathleen mentioned that in order to make my research more focused I need to give myself an aim in which I am designing for and a question to answer within my proposal as a way of narrowing my research down.

To do this I will use the grid method form the research task and labelling it with four titles.

Grid 1:                                       

• useful
• enjoy
• productive
• less useful

I revisited the London Transport Museum to get some observational drawings done as well as catch anything I missed last time. I noticed the textiles section and expanded my research on Enid Marx who designed the 'moquette pattern for London Transport Upholstery.' I really liked the way she worked in watercolour first when drawing up the design.

I also wanted to look at other modes of transports aside from trains, and so this museum was really useful to look at buses and bikes too, as a way of broadening my research.

In the afternoon with my group we did an observational drawing task on the circle line where we sat on the train and drew people. I found this quite a challenge because it was hard to find things to lean and keep a steady hand because the train did jolt. Although, taking the time to draw someone rather than taking a photograph meant that I really had to pay attention to the details therefore analysing them more closely. One thing I did notice was that people tended to slouch into the seat and lean on the walls, poles and seats in the train, which gave the impression that people were tired or maybe even slightly bored. 

We made arrangement with my group for Monday to be in the plaster workshop as we are in Archway. 

• we will make clay tiles covered in cling film 
• we will then go to the station and press the clay tiles into the different textures and patterns to get an imprint
• then we will go to the plaster workshop and make ceramic impressions from the clay

I think that this will be useful to take a closer look at the environment surrounding trains, and it also links with the work I have done related to the patterns and textures on the train.

I was in the workshop with my group for the entire day. We started off using clay to make tiles which we then pressed into the walls and floor of the Archway Underground station in order to get a relief of the textures and prints. Using clay for this was great because it picked up lots of the detail, so when we went to pour the plaster over the top of the mould to make the texture into a solid form, it picked up all of the detail. We decided to work with plaster because it is a fast drying material which enabled us to work with the plaster tiles on that same day. 

To further our use of materials and experimentation with the textures we also vacuum formed the plaster tiles with both transparent and opaques plastic sheets. The opaque plastic worked better because it showed the details more clearly. 

This was a useful workshop because it has extended my exploration of the textures and prints and allowed me to look more closely at the underground station. Also the vacuum formed shells gave a better sense of what the prints could be used for in regards to packaging.

Rethink Workshop:

We had a workshop were we worked in pairs for the entire day learning about each others project and working on new ideas inspired by their topic of choice. This was refreshing as it provided a break from our own projects as we had to generate ideas for something different. I worked with Lisa who is also looking at travel, but she is looking at bags and luggage specifically, whereas I am looking at packaging. This was useful because she was able to give me feedback and constructive criticism on any gaps in my research as well as new ideas to look into, such as making the packaging collapsable in order to back it smaller in size after it has been used. Products like plastic tupperware and plastic water bottles keep their shape even if they are empty and so this is interesting to look into forms which can be adapted once they are empty.

I worked in my sketchbook to document my research and generate some initial designs and and also did more research into materials and designers.

I had my tutorial with Kathleen today. She made me question what direction I want to take my project sinceI was feeling a little demotivated and felt my research was lacking something interesting to help inform design ideas. The main thing that I got out of my tutorial is that I should be designing something that reflects my opinion. Therefore, I shouldn't be designing food packaging since I do not think it is entirely appropriate to be eating on the trains as it creates mess and smells which can be unpleasant when travelling. By designing food packaging for travelling 'on the go' I would be contradicting that opinion of mine as I will be encouraging eating on the trains, and so I want to continue with research and alter the direction of my project. 

Although I feel worried about exploring another direction for my project I think it is necessary for me to come up with a more interesting and innovative idea, and also one that I feel I can fully support. 

I researched into silent etiquette which is apparent on all means of public transport. We have an understanding that on public transport there is a certain way to behave, for instance we know not to speak loudly on the phone or we wait to let people off of the train before getting on ourselves. One of the campaigns I came across was the 'Better Travel' campaign. One of the posters commented on 'smelly food' eaten on public transport, which also comes under this theme of silent ettiquete. This helped me to realise that I want to change the direction of my project from food packaging. I found this to be areal turning point within my research an I once again feel interested and engaged in my project research. 

Furthermore, TFL did a series of poetry advertising these etiquettes to make people more aware of their behaviour in regards to others on the trains. They put posters put up in train carriages which I really like because the poems made it an amusing and engaging way of getting people to adhere to these etiquettes.

'We love those papers you get for free but, we're sure that you'll agree, that love very quickly turns to hate if they block the doors and make us late.'

Another campaign TFL did in collaboration with Evian was the Carry Water and Travel Better London campaign, which involved giving out free bottles of water to commuters in order to remind them to stay hydrated when travelling, especially during the Summer months.

This reminded me of the conversation I had in my previous tutorial and confirmed to me that going into the direction of food packaging wasn't the right direction to take for me. I want look into designing a container or bottle to encourage taking a drink when travelling.

TFL JOINS DANONE IN GIVING OUT BOTTLES OF EVIAN ON THE TUBE, 23 July 2014 (TFL article)

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/july/tfl-joins-danone-in-giving-out-bottles-of-evian-on-the-tube

HAT DE BONO WORKSHOP:

This workshop gave me a more critical insight to my work. The workshop consisted of different coloured hats used to encourage different ways of analysing and critiqing my work. What I found most useful was the hat which motivated me to design ideas which contrasted to my previous designs. This helped me to redirect my my project into a more interesting route because there was no pressure to have to design something which I had to make so I could be as creative and imaginative as possible. One of the ideas I came up with involved a vending machine which contained small shots of water which could be received in return for recycling newspaper. This concept gives people an incentive to recycle as they get water in return for recycling a newspaper, which causes mess on the trains.

Overall, I do think that this workshop was useful because helped to broaden my creativity and push to come up with a variety of new ideas and also break down my ideas to make sure that I look at it from a range of perspectives. 

I made sketch models and drew up a visualisation for the vending machine concept on the undergrounds in order to further develop my idea which I designed in the Hat De Bono Workshop. From developing this idea I came up with a collapsable milk carton in order to save space in the bins. However this lead me onto the idea of focusing on looking at size and volume. It came to my attention that water bottles remain the same size whether they are empty or full, therefore they take up the same amount of space. I feel like this is something which I could include in my design in order to make it more interesting as well as tackle an actual problem. 

We had a lecture on Unit 7 Exhibition and Assessment which informed us on all of the upcoming Deadlines, which was helpful with time management and knowing what I need to prioritise, which is definitely finalising an idea and starting to make.

I found a material very similar to bubble wrap which is used as protective packaging as it is filled with air. I cut the tops of the airbag to let the air out and filled it with water. This felt really unusual and made me think about the texture of water bottles. Similar to the design of the Capris Sun packaging the airbag filled out to a fuller more rounded shape when fun, but shrank and became flat once it was emptied. This also reminded me of the molecular structure of water because of the way each section was linked together. 

As the plastic airbag was made out of a flexible, thin plastic it felt squishy and malleable to the touch which also made me think about the texture of the water bottle design in relation to its functionality.

I want my water bottle to be flexible and malleable so that when it is empty in someones bag it takes up as little space as possible. 

Materials:

I looked into making my water bottle out of glass, however, as it is a rigid and fragile material it is not very functional in relation to its purpose. Since the water bottle is designed to be used whilst travelling I need it to be made out of a durable, resistant and tough material. Also, as I want the piece to be space saving and change in size I need to choose a retrial which malleable and flexible, and preferably a type of plastic. 

I have been looking into plastics such as latex and silicon which are ductile and bendable which means that if the bottle is empty they can be squashed into the users bag without breaking. This also means that they will tale up much less room than a normal plastic water bottle which is rigid. 

I visited the 4D Model shop. I went in there with some of the characteristics of I need from a material. My water bottle is designed to be be flexible, but it also must be tough and hard enough to hold its shape. I was told to look at the rubbers and silicone materials because they were the the most flexible materials. However, the issue I came across was the drying time. Since the cast will have to be made with rotational moulding, which I will I will have to do all by hand, I needed to find something that drys very quickly, similarly to slip casting. However, this would also mean that I have to compromise on the hardness of the material, as the tougher silicones take hours to dry. 

If I want something very fast drying and so I was advised to look into  buying a resin. However, this meant I would have to compromise on the flexibility of my design, which completely defeats its design purpose and function, which is why have decided to try out the silicone material first. 

In addition to looking at using rotational moulding by hand, I also thought about making the silicone cast in two parts by brushing on the silicone in layers and leaving it to dry out. Although, this would mean having to join the two halves together which would ensure a seam line, which is not something I want. 

Therefore, I was advised to go for the Transit 20 Platinum Silicone (1kg). This takes 35 minutes to dry which is the most imprortant reason for choosing this particular silicon. It has a Hardness Shore of 20. I would have preferred to go for a harder shore value so that it would be more solid and dense, but I think that choosing a silicon instead of opting for the resin was the more appropriate decision, despite having to go for a material which is more of a risk. 

The silicone is also transparent which I think is appropriate for my product, however, I can add a pigment if I decide to.

I will experiment with the material and try and get it to work for my design. 

I filled the latex bottle with water and found that it sat up really nicely rather than lay down on its side because of the extra weight that the water added. Therefore, there is no need to redesign the bottle to have a flat base because when it contains water it can sit upright. This is really good because it keeps the design really simple but also makes the bottle slightly more versatile. 

I had to make a larger model using polystyrene balls (60mm x 2 and 80mm x 1) and the top of an Evian bottle because I think that my previous latex and ceramic casts I made were too small for my water bottle design. To make the mould I had to cut each of the polystyrene balls into halves and glue them down onto separate pieces of wood in the same position. I then had to go into this model with clay and fill in the gaps to join the balls together, which I then vacuum formed. However, I found that the  first attempt wasn't very good because the plastic gathered at some parts of the mould creating crease marks. I learnt that this happened because I didn't put enough clay on the model and so when I went back over it and re formed the plastic over it the second time it worked much better and there was no creasing. I chose to make the mould out of the plastic because I wanted to cast in a rubber materials and it wouldn't stick to it and the finished piece would look much cleaner in a plastic mould because it doesn't pick up as much of the finer detail, unlike the plaster mould. I also had to make a wooden part to the mould ! the same shape as the plastic vacuum to add greater strength and stiffness in order to ensure the casting material doesn't leak out of the mould. I used a jigsaw to cut out the two wooden parts and placed them over either parts of the vacuum formed plastic. However, when I tried to put the two parts of the mould together they didn't fit which set me back an entire day of making as I have to make the entire mould again tomorrow. Although, I did learn that I must constantly check that my piece fit and match throughout the making process so that this doesn't happen a second time!

I recast the silicone into the mould and left it to dry over night. The challenging aspect of recasting the mould is putting the two mould halves back together in exactly the same position and then getting the screw holes lined up. Also, because the plastic is opaque I can't really see through the plastic to align the shape up exactly and so I just have to try my best to match it up by looking into the pouring hole of the mould.

I also went down to the computer workshop because I wanted to add in some CAD models of my work and so I stated using Google SketchUp although, I am not very skilled however, I have been enjoying learning new techniques on the program. I also think that making them on CAD shows how the mould and the cast fit together really clearly.

Reflecting on my research in Unit 7, I started with primary research which consisted of collecting photographs around train stations and the tube, as well as photographing people to analyse. My theme of travel was particularly good for primary research as I am constantly having to commute. For secondary research I enjoyed visiting museums, gallery's and stores for inspiration which I found them useful because it helped with market research. I went into my theme not knowing what I wanted to design which was what enabled me to organically develop ideas and show progression within my work.

I found the tutorial advice very helpful because they acted like mini deadlines ensuring that I kept my standard of work up throughout the unit and kept me focused. The tutorials also forced me to look at my project with a holistic approach as I would constantly be confronted with questions and problems to solve about all aspects of my project by the tutors. However, sometimes tutorials could be challenging because at the start of unit 7 I felt like I had to convince the tutors of my travel theme, because it is very broad and I was warned that it could be difficult to find niche within this broad theme. In addition to tutorial advice, the technicians also provided extremely useful technical advice because they were able to introduce me to new materials and processes such as casting silicone, which I had never done prior to this project.

The Hat de Bono workshop and Make in a Day workshop were both very useful to take part in because they both allowed me to come up with new and exciting ideas by looking at more project from a slightly different perspective. The Hat de Bono workshop allowed me to quickly generate as many new ideas I could think of in 10 minutes, which I was then able to further develop. My favourite workshop was the Make in a Day workshop because I felt no pressure to produce something which was fully functional or aesthetically pleasing so I felt I had complete freedom, and I also found it useful to be working in 3D.

Making and experimenting with different materials to make sketch models really helped me to develop my ideas. This is because I am able to visualise the designs in 3D, which I can then improve through drawings and even more sketch models, which I think is clearly reflected in my sketchbook. I am designing a water bottle which was inspired by both my research analysis and also experimenting with AIRplus, which is plastic packaging. This was inspired from my research because I started to look into different types of food and drinks packaging in fast food places around train stations. To make my final piece I have chosen to use silicone because it is a very durable material, flexible and also transparent. This is important because I needed the bottle to be malleable as I designed it to be flat packed. The making process involves two parts: constructing the mould and then casting into the mould with silicone to make the water bottle flat packed as it can be squashed down when it is empty taking up less room in a bag.

Casting with the silicone was difficult because it was a completely new material that I have never worked with before and so I had to make a few cast to familiarise myself with it. The reason I found it so difficult to work with was because it has a very fast drying time which is why it is hard to work with.

Overall, I have really enjoyed working on my project because I feel like on the whole I felt focused and enthused about my theme of travel. Even though, half way through I did find myself becoming a little lost in the in the broadness of my research, however, I did end up changing direction slightly by moving into packaging, which I think was a good choice for me because it helped me to refocus onto a topic within my theme which is more niche. 

Today I chose to attach the screw top lid which I could attach to the main part if the bottle with more silicone. I did this by measuring a small amount of silicone and then leaving it to get tacky so that the consistency isn't runny and doesn't drop down the side of the bottle. I used a paint brush to get a more precise application of silicone. 

However, before attaching the lid to the bottle I cut down the thread of the plastic screw part because it was too long and so it took too long to wind it all the way down, which was unnecessary. I also neatened up the edge with a file. In addition, I spray painted the lid white to give it a cleaner finish, although the finish is slightly uneven and bumpy so I may decide to take the layer of paint off.

I also made another cast of my mould to see if I can get it to look more even in texture, which will give it more of a professional finish. 

I took my most recent silicone cast out of the mould and it actually came out even better that the last one I made. There were no holes in this cast which was really successful and means that there are no weaknesses within the making of the bottle. I also found that the thickness of the bottle is more consistent as there are fewer drip marks. I think this could be due to the technique I used when casting this mould, which involved rotating the silicone within the mould whilst pouring it out to get a more even coating. I used the same lid to finish the bottle as last time because I thought it reflected the simple and minimal aesthetic of the rest of the bottle. However, I chose not to paint this lid because after comparing the two I feel that the plastic finish looks more professional as it is shiny and smooth.

I continued to work on my A2 sheets on InDesign.

To day was the first day of the exhibition build. Initially I thought that my bottles would be displayed on the table, leaning on one another. However, I am going to be hanging them because we found that they blended in a little when on the table. Also by hanging them I think that it makes them more interactive because people can squeeze them and feel them, which will actually get the product across more clearly, in my opinion. 

I also got all of my A2 sheets printed.

I had a tutorial with Pauline to go over my evaluation which really helped me to stick within the word limit. During the tutorial Pauline noticed that my phrasing is often better when I say it than when I write it, and so Pauline encouraged me to say what I wanted to write down before actually writing it. This helped me to have more fluency in my written work overall.