For my third experiment I tried a very commonly used bookbinding method: the French link stitch. I had my first encounter with this technique during my first experiment, but this time I put it in the focus by using a bold blue yarn, which really pops when put against the grey cardboard.

For this notebook I decided to use 14 signatures, each made up of 4 sheets of paper, which were folded in half. I then decided on the number and spacing of the holes and marked them on a piece of cardboard – this was then used as a guide, so the spacing would be the same on all of the signatures. I then used a needle to poke the holes into each signature separately. During the process I noticed how hard it was, to make the holes exactly in the crease of the paper and not a little to one or the other side.

The binding process itself was quite simple and straightforward, you just had to make sure to always go through the loop of the previous signature, to create this sort of crossover look, which is the signature of the French link stitch and gives it its name. In the last hole of each signature you would make a coptic stitch, to secure the signatures and give it more stability. When I was finished with binding, I glued another sheet of paper onto the top and bottom of my stack of my notebook, which would later serve as the endpaper, where the grey cardboard would be glued on. Then I put glue on the whole back of the book, to seal in the binding and make the final product more sturdy.

When everything was dried, I added a hot foil stamping to the cover, in the same color as the yarn. The final step was to glue the cardboard onto the front and back of my book and then all sides except for the back of the notebook were cut in a machine, to create this clean finish.

The whole project was a great success and I’m very content with the final outcome. What I really love about this binding method, is how sturdy it is and the pages lie completely flat. Having the edges cut with a professional machine also made a huge difference, in how polished the final product looks.

Presenting a brand identity or a logo is not just about sending the client the logo. It is important to covey the client a feeling about the design and the brand. Therefore, we as designers have to prepare a brand presentation. Only so the client understands the direction of the branding. A lot of times designers do 3 or even more logos which they present to the clients, instead of focusing on one and presenting it a best way.

What to include in a presentation of a logo:

1. Back story: including information about the business and including some words to summarize the brans direction. The client can so see really dived deep into.
2. Mood board:  normally this is something that already happens before as a compromise with the client about the style. But it is always good to show again where the original inspiration was gathered from.
3. Logos and variations: including design decisions, why you designed a logo/brand identity in a specific way. Showing all the variations and make it clear to the client what they can be used for.
4. Typography: there should be consistent set of fonts used across the brand so it is relevant to show them and how they should be used, also one with another.
5. Colour pallete: the brand has to have a complementary color pallete that is distinct to you client.
6. Brand pattern and elements: if there are some they have to be showcased. All the shapes have to be explained why they have been specifically designed.
7. Photography, style, direction: including this elements can really help the client to feel for the brand and can help them to follow the style when they have a brand photoshoot.
8. Social media feed example: if the client is predominantly on social media and uses this to target the audience it is nice to show how the feed could look like with the implemented branding.
9. Mockcups: help to create the wow effect for the client and give the client an insight of the possibilities in a real life sitations

The design of the exhibition and visitor experience play important roles in the exhibition spaces, as do the properties of color in the exhibition. However, given the survey of literature, there is limited research on the specifics of color properties in exhibition design and how these properties affect the visitors.

Engaging color properties, exhibition design, and visitor experience is the purpose of this creative project to understand how color affects visitors in exhibit spaces by understanding the influence of atmospheric variables in the exhibit environment, specifically background color. Color contains such an unconscious emotion that is uncontainable however, color choice in a museum exhibition is a conscious decision.

This research seeks to understand the relationship of 14 that color choice within the exhibit environment. The intention of the project is to explore the human reaction to different styles of paintings against each color property within an exhibit space. Through the physical exhibits I created, I am able to fully engage the viewer and comprehend their reactions.

Three tri fold exhibits were constructed, and three distinct colors selected. A monochromatic scheme, using variations of orange was selected. The paint colors were chosen from an assortment of color-aid sheets, and taken to a hardware store to be individually mixed according to the cards.

The bright orange hue  was selected because of its bold saturation and attention-grabbing capabilities. The warm orange color was chosen intentionally , warm colors tend to appear nearer in depth to the viewer so this would encourage the focus of the experiment to be the wall color rather than solely on the painting. This is due to the theory that the eye can adjust quicker to warm colors because of the longer wavelengths .

The prototype exhibit was setup for two weeks; one week for a well-known traditional painting and one weeklong for a contemporary abstract piece of art. These two particular styles of art were chosen because of their distinct features. A van Gogh painting , in which many recognize, is in the style of Impressionism which revolves more around an abstract visualization of a particular subject matter. A contemporary art piece  takes that one step farther with a completely geometric abstract image. The color palettes of both paintings  remained similar so that only the style of the artwork was a factor in visitor experience not the color of the artwork itself.

For the first week, van Gogh’s painting, “Wheatfield with Cypresses”, was hung in each exhibit. This famous artist was chosen because of its familiarity to most audiences . This way the focus in the exhibit was less on the artwork and more about the relationship between the wall color and the artwork. The particular painting was selected due to the balance of warm and cool colors again to give the majority of the focus on the wall color without having too much one area of the painting stand out.

During the second week of the experiment another set of paintings were hung in each exhibit space. An original contemporary painting, each hand painted by the author of this study, was hung to inquire if the style of art in the space affected the visitor experience via color. The size , orientation , and color palette of my painting remained the same so that there was consistency throughout the study.

For the contemporary painting, colors were taken from van Gogh’s “Wheatfield with Cypresses” painting in order to create a similar color palette. The initial design layout and color scheme was created in Illustrator and then mapped out on each canvas with tape. the original Illustrator design. After the design was mapped out, acrylic paints were mixed, and each canvas was hand painted in the same layout as the digital file.

The collection of data involved a survey for participants of the study as well as an onsite observation. Before any of this was done, an initial literature review directed research into topics like color theory, museum design, and visitor experience.

From the survey it was determined that the exhibit that least attracted the viewers was the third exhibit or the hue orange. Based on both weeks of the study, a majority of the participants would not likely return to an exhibit of this wall color. The graphs below  represent survey results from each week asking if the wall color from the exhibit they were least attracted to takes away from the actual artwork.

From the results it can be concluded that the background color of the  third exhibit was found to be too distracting for the viewers causing the color to be more prominent than the actual artwork. The two graphs side by side also demonstrates that the style of painting in the exhibit does not necessarily affect the perception of colors within the space. In both weeks, the color of the second exhibit  was found not take to away from the actual artwork by a majority vote. The first  and third  colors were said to take away from the artwork by the participants. A prediction was made that the third exhibit with the bold hue color would appeal more to the contemporary painting style than the van Gogh, however, the survey results show that this is not the case.

The second survey received only 20 participants but with some changes to the initial predictions. The second exhibit still turned out to be the most preferred exhibit with 50% of responses in favor. Only 5% answered that they were very likely to return to an exhibit with the orange hue background color paired with the contemporary painting. During the same week, 55% of viewers felt overwhelmed by the exhibit while only 15% felt captivated or indifferent. during the first week’s survey, a majority of people reported feeling distracted, overwhelmed, or anxious in this exhibit. The orange hue was so overwhelming and distracting that it was universally the least appealing exhibit with 84% in the first week and 65% in the second week agreeing.

Through the engagement color properties, exhibition design, and visitor experience, the purpose of this creative endeavor was to determine if the style of art hanging in the exhibit affected the response to the wall colors. The prediction was that the contemporary style painting would appeal more to the bright hue of orange instead of the van Gogh painting. The size, orientation, and color palette of the paintings remained the same so that those factors would not sway the viewers. The prediction was that perhaps the colors of the artwork is not what influences the visitor experience, but the style of artwork paired with the color of the space.

Während der Recherche für weiteren Experimente, kamen mehrere Ideen zusammen, die man ausprobieren könnte.

Hier sind einige Ideen für Design-Experimente zur Verbesserung von Leitsystemen:

1. Vergleichende Beschilderungsstudie: Vergleichen der Wirksamkeit verschiedener Beschilderungsdesigns in einer bestimmten Umgebung. Erstellen verschiedener Varianten der Beschilderung mit unterschiedlichen Farben, Typografien, Symbolen und Layouts. Messen Sie die Fähigkeit der Teilnehmer, Anweisungen genau und effizient zu verstehen und zu befolgen.

2. Benutzerfreundliche Ikonographie: Testen der Benutzerfreundlichkeit und das Verständnis der in Leitsystemen verwendeten Ikonografie. Erstellen einer Reihe von Icons, die verschiedene Orte oder Aktionen darstellen, und bewerten, wie gut die Teilnehmer sie ohne begleitenden Text interpretieren können. Anpassen des Design anhand des Feedbacks, um die Klarheit und Wiedererkennung zu verbessern.

3. Digitale vs. physische Navigation: Vergleichen der Effektivität von digitalen und physischen Leitsystemen bei der Benutzerführung. Erstellen eines virtuellen Navigationssystem mit Augmented Reality oder mobilen Apps und vergleichen mit einem herkömmlichen physischen Leitsystem. Messung der Zufriedenheit der Nutzer, die Genauigkeit und die Geschwindigkeit, mit der sie ihr Ziel erreichen.

4. Studie zu Farbe und Kontrast: Untersuchen der Auswirkungen von Farbe und Kontrast auf Lesbarkeit und Sichtbarkeit. Testen verschiedener Farbschemata und Kontraststufen für Beschilderung und Navigationselemente. Bewertung der Fähigkeit der Teilnehmer, Informationen aus den Leitsystemen schnell zu erkennen und zu verstehen.

5. Bewertung der mehrsprachigen Navigation: Bewerten der Wirksamkeit mehrsprachiger Leitsysteme. Entwerfen von Experimente, die Nutzer mit unterschiedlichem Sprachhintergrund einbeziehen, um die intuitivste und am besten verständliche Sprachauswahl für Beschilderungen und Informationsanzeigen zu ermitteln.

6. Wegfindung in komplexen Umgebungen: Untersuchen, wie Leitsysteme Benutzer in komplexen Umgebungen wie Flughäfen, Krankenhäusern oder großen Veranstaltungsorten unterstützen können. Erstellen von Experimente, die Szenarien simulieren, in denen Benutzer durch komplizierte Layouts navigieren oder mehrere Entscheidungspunkte bewältigen müssen. Messen der Effizienz und Genauigkeit der Navigation der Benutzer mit verschiedenen Leitsystemdesigns.

7. Benutzerfeedback und iteratives Design: Durchführung von Nutzer-Feedback-Sitzungen, um Erkenntnisse und Präferenzen über bestehende Leitsysteme zu sammeln. Beobachten der Benutzer bei der Interaktion mit dem System und sammeln ihrer Verbesserungsvorschläge. Nutzen des Feedbacks, um das Design zu überarbeiten, Änderungen zu implementieren und die Auswirkungen auf die Benutzerzufriedenheit und die Navigationsleistung zu messen.