The exhibition space is an important part of presenting the work. A bad idea can be perceived as a ‘fair’ idea if it is presented with very good graphics and layout. So by that logic a pretty good idea could be perceived as a great idea.
Last year each student was given two large boards about 3m x 1m each on which to display their work.
As such there has been some illustration and concepts about what the exhibition space will be like for the three projects there are to exhibit.
RSA – 4 x A3 boards, 1 x A4 board
Collaborative – 4 x A3 boards, 1 x A4 board
Final Major Project – 6 x A3 boards, 4 x A4 boards
Read on for a concept for the presentation of the exhibition area. It consists of the two large boards, papered in white with the project boards stuck to them. Read more…
For the final presentation tomorrow, boards have to be prepared to the specification of the RSA brief. In the case of the postage stamp brief this means four A3 boards and supporting documentation explaining the ‘big idea’. Two of the boards must show the stamps at actual size and enlarged size, the other two must detail the thought process and the progression of the concept. Here are the results of the RSA brief. There may be some final ‘tweaking’ before they are actually submitted to the competition but for all intents and purposes this is final. The supporting document can be downloaded here.
The permanent thermic ink is not suitable for the needs of the concept as they are unable to be activated by body temperature and are limited to grey or pink.
A different approach was needed to allow the stamp to perform it’s function without compromising the concept and restarting from scratch. The direction was to look outside of the stamp and include functionality that lends it’s self to a more interaction based realisation.
As a result the concept now includes more than just a stamp design, it includes a whole new way of customization, discussion and sharing with the added information about the topics relating to climate change and renewable energies delivered though a mobile social network.
The functionality of this is derived from the use of QR tags and mobile capture / internet devices.
This is a QR tag. It is a 2D structure similar to that of a standard bar code. The difference is that it can be captured using a mobile device’s camera and a reader interprets the image and decodes the information, which can be anything from a line of text to — the more common use — a bookmark for a mobile internet site.
The tag example shown here is a link to the new Rave Interactive social network.
The principle is that a user activates the heat, captures the QR tag and is transported to a mobile social networking site. The page they start on depends on which stamp they have captured, but they can navigate the whole site from their mobile device. The starting page contains contextual information about climate change, energy conservation and renewable energies as well as a task to take an image relating to the stamp captured.
This is then uploaded via 3G, MMS or email from the device and shared with the community. The images can be rated and the highest rated image over a recurring specified period of time is made into a stamp using the Royal Mail customization feature on their website. These can then be purchased and the submitter of the image receives them for free.
This encourages socialisation around an important topic allowing for exploration of the way to change the current status-quo. It encourages the capturing of images, be they inspirational or horrific, which further illustrate the positive points of renewable energies and the negative points of continued dependence on fossil fuels.
In a strange way this is also a method of stamp collecting, aimed directly at the younger generation who see stamp collecting as a book full of plastic and boring stamps. This provides a gateway for the younger generation to step into the world of stamp collecting. Bringing it into the digital era. It may even inspire them to take another look at the world of stamps to see what other cool things there are, allowing a stepping stone to the traditional method of collecting.
After re-reading various pieces of information provided by Augustus Martin, the previous designs are null and void. If thermic ink were to be used then it would appear and not disappear, unlike the designs shown that have the opaque layer disappear when heat is applied. This means two things, firstly the colours of the stamps are irrelevant as they will be screen printed with a layer of thermic ink overlayed and secondly the colour of change will be to a grey, black or pink.
After having some one-to-one feedback it was suggested that the problem may be overcome by looking more towards technology. Research has been conducted looked at QR tags and RFID as well as different reactive materials and so far the results seem not to aid the design. it was suggested that I ‘go back to the drawing board’ but the fear is that this will result in a half finished concept with little research.
More research will be conducted into permenant heat reactive colour changing inks / materials and hopefully the resolution can be found in time. If only there had been guidance as to which briefs were more suited to interaction designers, however I feel that the lines between the disciplines that ocupy a similar area are beomcing more blurred. I could be wrong of course.
The final presentation boards were coming along just fine today, matching the criteria to the RSA brief that needed to be fulfilled. That was until a small and yet glaringly obvious flaw in the most recent design came to light.
As the user is now supposed to have ‘tools’ to complete the task of cusomizing their stamp, the sudden realisation that “they could just use a biro” came to mind.
The final presentation board showing the stamps currently has the text on the stamp’s natural state and nothin underneath the colour layer. So when it goes transparent it shows a white mark, still problematic with the yellow but the look seems to be ok.
Robert Andre recommended contacting a printing company he has used as they deal in thermochromics. He brought in a tester pack to experiment with and so an email was sent. The reply was very helpful but exposed a few problems with the underlying principle of the design.
The biggest problem is that it is not as simple to use permanent thermochromic inks with the design, the process of printing is just as simple but requires a higher temperature to activate. So simply touching the stamp with your finger won’t activate the transparency. Helpfully the printing company (Augustus Martin) attached a few documents detailing certain aspects of the printing technology and certain constraints that are in place. Such as colours limited by the technology, activation temperatures and pricing. Permanent thermochromic printing is called thermic printing.
The solution to the activation temperature is to provide a tool with the stamps, a few small stencils and some stamps that can be put in the microwave then attached to a heat resistant handle to enable imprinting of words on the material. A pointed implement will be included to enable more detailed customization in line with using your finger to create a design. These are still in the early design stage.
The stamps have changed to match the colours of the thermic ink process and new identifications have been defined for each. Allowing a small white strip to the right of the stamp means the pastel colours are able to show the Queen’s head and the price more effectively. There is stil debate about including the words on the stamp in it’s natural state.
User testing is important in producing anything of worth so there has been a small amount of it today. Some actual size stamps have been printed out showing both the natural state and the heated state.
According to research, users will uncover all of the text and continue to search for more text rather than creating their own design. Maybe the text needs to be visible all the time? Or would that be too much information on the stamp initially. Would people be able to create a design with the text constantly showing?
The stamp needs to be simplified. Maybe the explanation of the stamp’s purpose could be written on the pack. There is also the possibility for a collector’s case, or the combination of the two.
The RSA brief is progressing but not as much as it should be. There have been a few problems with regard to the Thermochromic ink and the positioning of the text on the stamps. Also the colours are being difficult because of the yellow stamp and white text and queen’s head, so that needs to be addressed.
There has been some sketching of a few ideas of an actual ‘design’ on the stamps but then came a realisation that a design would negate the primary objective of this stamp concept which is for the user to imprint their own creation on the canvas and send it off to the recipient.
The size of the stamp has changed since the original concept of 35mm x 35mm to 35mm x 55mm in order to give the user a larger canvas to make their design.
In order for the user to be able to create their design, the canvas needs to be blank. Currently there is a single colour with the Queen’s head and price in white. When heat is applied to the tonal area it turns transparent and enables you to see the textual fact underneath relating to the specific renewable resource matched to the stamp. The colour is supposed to indicate which energy source as well as the cost of the stamp.
Problems keep occurring which can be quite disheartening but it also forces the search for an alternative solution, something which makes you think harder about the design and whether or not it is viable.
The presentation board and accompanying proposal document was finished today and though I’d share them with you. Click the image to view the larger version.
Here is the link to the .pdf design proposal.
They are only a concept at this stage and the materials need to be worked out but hopefully you can get an idea of what the project is about. The link to the official RSA page about the project is here.
