Edward Tufte Conference

ET, as friends call him, addressed the crowd of perhaps 400+ people. He had an air of confidence but a humble smile while shaking hands in the first two rows. Most of the attendees were older business men and women who most likely work in the Silicon valley. I felt a bit out of place sitting in my biz-cas ensemble among sardine packed rows. My collared shirt, that I ironed in my sterile hotel room, was itching my neck.  Behind me, a woman watched in slow mo as coffee covered her new books. I looked around and imagined what my life would be like if I fit into this crowd. The nine to fivers who work to invest in modest midsize homes while fretting over retirement. They came in groups of colleagues and chatted about deadlines and meetings. I should take Tufte’s lead, who by the way makes a boat load of money with these conferences, and become an absolute expert at something. I would hold a conference where tech savvy college grads, rejected from the apple store, set up power point slides while ditzy girls with penciled in eyebrows register the suckers, 300 bucks at a time.

Tufte has made quite a name for himself in the world of informational graphics and the presentation of data. At each break, a line of at least 20 waited eagerly to have one of the four included books signed in silver felt tip. I remained in my seat and pretended to do the assigned reading.  With registration, we were given a cute cardboard box of his books and an 11 by 17 handout in his signature Gil Sans font. The assigned reading was required before the official start time of 10am but I was just too hyped up to focus after that free Styrofoam Starbucks coffee.

I have been interested in Edward Tufte for about a year now. M. Price, my prof for exhibit design at UCLA extension, recommended Envisioning Information for an assignment. Seen here. With the student discount the conference was a pretty good deal, I got a lot out of it.

During the conference Tufte’s main point was that we can consume much more data than most people expect. Highly dense graphics that use multi-levels of information are much more engaging than the excessively designed bar charts and graphs included in Microsoft Office. In viewing a graph that is dense, each person will search for the content of interest, thus the designer releases the authoritarian need to lead people through the exploration process. This forced exploration is often referred to as the painfully tedious, “Slow Reveal.”  You know,  those slow power point presentations with paragraphs in bullet form. Instead, if a person searches through information to make personal associations, this data will most likely be more memorable. Each person must use their own cognitive style to scan the information.  Tufte says “ there is no such thing as information overload, there is only bad design. Reduce the clutter”

Simple rules to follow:

• Never put information in boxes

• Always annotate

• Use gray linking likes

• Reduce optical clutter by calming down thick lines (mind the figure ground activity by using light lines)

• Find a good font and stick with it : Gill Sans/ Trebuchet

• Develop a sense of what is relevant (become a good sorter because 95 % of published material is junk)

• No matter how beautiful your interface design is, there should be less of it

• Mind the Quality, Relevance and Integrity of the content

• Fundamental design principles and solutions should arise from cognitive tasks and content not from the trends of software

Tango with Cows

A new exhibit was recently installed in the Getty Research Institute. Robert Checchi, the lead designer and my boss this quarter, has been working on this exhibit since last January. Typically it takes a year of planning for a show of this size. The new exhibit, Tango with Cows, explores the book art of the Russian futurists before the communist revolution of 1917. Parallels can be drawn to the Italian futurist movement where Marinetti (the founder) called for a reinvention of all the arts, propelled by modernization, technology, science and fast automobiles. However, the Russian Futurists where more concerned with examining and reinventing magnificent traditions of language and Russian antiquity. The curator, Nancy Perloff, writes “poets and painters sought to express the dialogue between the ancient and modern, past and present, and sacred and secular that characterized modern Russian culture.” Read Nancy’s essay here.

So now that you have a sense of the history, lets talk design. When you enter the GRI (at the west end of the museum), you will see a large poster covering the windows. Upon entering the building, a floor graphic extends towards the door continuing up the wall to meet the playful handwritten title. The title wall helps to set the mood for the exhibit while introducing the audience to the graphic identity before diving into the art.

Tango with Cows Title wall

The floor graphic wraps around the corner and into the gallery. Here is the introduction panel. Notice the offset paper. This was printed in house to save money because the floor graphics were about ten thousand dollars to produce.

A proper introduction.

This is where you will pick up a brochure. It is printed in black and white on a thin yellowish, off white paper. Three staples bind 4, 2 sided pages of text that introduces each artist with a small thumbnail of their work. Originally the brochure was going to have a time line and information from the text panels but due to budget this was cut down.  The aesthetic of the brochure is supposed to emulate the small books created during the Russian futurist movement. After the brochure was printed there were some concerns about the brochure looking cheap. The exposed stables and thin yellow paper was used to represent the scarcity of resources for these artists during the turn of the century. The curator thought it looked like a kinkos xerox copy. Using additional colors may have been an easy remedy for the “cheap” look however this would add significantly to the printing costs. When budget is concerned, clear priorities must be established. During the final stages of installation someone noticed that the exhibition were not included. Robert quickly typeset a stamp and had it created in a matter of days. Each of the 15,000 brochures were hand stamped by a volunteer in a green color keeping in line with the movement.

Brochure in hand, I walked into the small, dimly lit gallery, and took my first photo. As usual, the flash went of and my face burned with embarrassment. I muttered my apologies and the guard called me out and exclaimed that these are valuable pieces of work; sorry doesn’t cut it. Isak the guard, a Russian immigrant who has been in the states from 30 years was knowledgeable and eager to talk to me about the exhibit.  He pointed out on the back of the ‘Handheld Facsimile’ books that there is a price. Isak showed me one book, printed in 1912, that read 70 K (or Kopeeks sp?) which is roughly 70 cents. We got to talking about the facsimile books in the gallery and he was convinced it was the real thing. I was skeptical but he pointed out the thickness of the paper and the saturation of the black ink. I couldn’t believe that the GRI would set out the real books for everyone to thumb through and drool over. The books had such a likeness to the real ones behind glass cases that Isak and I were fooled until I read the label. I later asked Robert about the books imagining that he spent hours making the facsimiles but in actuality the GRI imaging services was responsible. THis department is in charge of photographing the work for designers.

The real book behind plexiglass.

The handheld facsimile.

Thick yellow pages look worn and aged.

My only frustration with this exhibit was the interactive screens that were not functioning. Perhaps the software was too complex or the images were too big because the screens would freeze. In addition, I felt like the design of the software was a bit busy and not so user friendly or intuitive. Many of the visitors would overlook the screens and the audio devices. Robert mentioned that one of the most difficult aspects of this exhibit was creating the mount for these screens. The mounts have to be the perfect height for most visitors and they must be simple enough not to grab too much attention. The work should be the star of the show. For this reason, Robert chose to keep the graphics on the floor rather than on the walls. Exhibits can get busy pretty quickly and then you will lose the audience without a clear hierarchy of information.

This was a successful exhibit that communicated effectively. Some questions to keep in mind might be:

How can a clear hierarchy of information be created for people to enter into the show at various depths?

How can the structure of the mounts be invisible and understated?

Where can a designer scrimp on budget without the majority of the audience noticing?

How can interactive pieces be more engaging, intuitive and user friendly?

How can compromises be made to please both the designer and the curator?

Exhibit Design: ‘A Light Touch: Exploring Humor in Drawing’

Last week, here at the Getty Center, I had the opportunity to tour  “A Light Touch: Exploring Humor in Drawing” with the lead exhibit designer, Saeyeon. I was immediately drawn to this show for a number of reasons. Firstly, I adore the hand drawn logo of ‘A light Touch.’ Saeyeon traced letterforms using graphite. She made thin lines filling in each letter while modifying some of the letters.

You may also notice that Saeyeon traced the Getty logo for the banner. It is in the upper left corner.

Putting together an exhibit like this is a lot of work. Designers strive for a structure and graphic identity that enhances the work. Most good design is invisible, it works as a cohesive force in conveying the concept of the show. A Drawings show like this, can take upwards of a 6 months to a year of advanced planning. In conveying the humor and playful nature of this show it was necessary to let the work shine.

The initial phase of design includes meeting with the curator, who in this case was The Getty’s Associate Curator of Drawings, Julian Brooks. After receiving the show materials and writings on the subject, Saeyeon poured over the caricatures and witty drawings conveying the human condition of Europe during the late middle ages. During this stage the designer starts to imagine how the space will tell a story. Perhaps getting a feeling for the mood of the room by envision a color palate and graphic styles.

Along these stages, several drawings are produced similar to this one created in vector works.

Notice how each drawing and each label has a specific measurement. There are standards that the exhibit design department established in order to have a consistent look in all the shows. For instance, all paintings are hung 60 inches from the floor. This is the perfect height for most visitors.

The exciting part of putting together a show is the installation phase. I came across some photos of this phase. Saeyeon described some difficulties at this point because there was so much detail in the logo. The logo was screen printed on to the title wall but all the lines did not come through she had to go back with a one-hair brush to fill in the details.

While some of the graphics are created in-house to save money, others are sent out to professional vendors. Here is a gallery of the process. Most of the titles are screen printed while the large drawings of figures are vinyl.

I love how these images are life size. The visitors feel like they are a part of the activities in the drawings. Not to mention that when blown up, these drawings create a nice contrast against the bright yellow paint that pops off the walls.

A New School Year

At the end of September I returned to the Getty to continue my internship at the exhibition design department. It felt like I was only gone for a week when it was really 3 and a half months. Since leaving for summer, three people moved on to other jobs and the department is now having interviews. I wish I could interview for the designer one position. I seriously considered taking some time off from school in order to apply at the Getty but everyone tells me that the last year of school is important. So I will stick it out and enjoy where I am.

In other news, I went on an office field trip to the LACMA. The exhibit designer of LACMA lead our department on a tour. We arrived at the Pre-Colombian portion of the Latin American art wing. I must admit that I had no idea what to expect. I initially saw the undulating wooden walls, wrapping around the door frames, and thought it was a piece of art. It was impressive. But then I got to thinking; is this decoration or does it serve a purpose?

LACMA pre columbian art entrance

Jorge Pardo, a sculptor, designer and artist, aimed to accentuate the ancient in a unique way. He said the the bright hues (18 colors in all three galleries), would not take away from the pieces which are intrinsically interesting. Personally, I was taken by the oranges and yellows of the first room. The space was striking,  accentuated with Pardo’s ornamental lanterns that had to be hand assembled by the exhibit designers. But that’s just it, it way overpowered the art encased in the horizontal wooden material. With iridescent vertical 8 foot drapes hanging from the ceiling, the gallery looked more like a trendy Los Angeles martini bar that would soon look dated. The contrast between this ultra modern aesthetic and the ancient art was beautiful but I just don’t think it has staying power. When the slates collect dust and the unfinished board is smudged with fingerprints how will it look? In this photo notice how the panels create odd topographical shapes. C’mon the the stand in the center looks like a pregnant woman.

Gallery

I took a few photos of the lamps. I thought they would go nicely with my multi-colored IKEA particle board furniture.

Gallery Lamps

Most of the art was hiding behind these wooden panels.

Art is hiding

However, a nice contrast is created between the sculptures in the center of the gallery and the paneled walls.

ready for my close up

You Inspire Me

I love when the rain falls in LA. The water saturates the vegetation so it shines with a radiant emerald green color. I guess I was in a mood to appreciate this kind of thing after coming back from a morning in Pasadena. I explored the galleries at Art Center to get some inspiration for my final assignments. It always helps me to look at precise beautiful work.

Aside from this trip, I have been so inspired this week. I went to a great EDA lecture on Wednesday where Wendy Chun spoke about the enduring ephemeral nature of new media. I finished reading Envisioning Information for my book review. This is an essential text for any designer, Edward Tufte is a genius. And last night I had the opportunity to explore Getty exhibits and their design studios with my Designing Experiences class.

This is the California Video exhibit three weeks before opening.

Our professor is showing us the foam core models of the gallery spaces.

Here is the project archive and the assignment wall. Each designer has a different color and the projects span about 2 years on the calender. And I thought I was busy.

Art Center. Enough said.

A creative print solution in the art center gallery.

Learning SketchUP for redesign and Arts Bridge

I have only recently discovered this free 3d modeling software from google. B.max suggested that it would be a perfect tool for our Arts Bridge kids. It will be a lot easier to create mock ups for their industrial designs using SketchUp rather than Illustrator. Plus it’s free!

So for my recent assignment in UCLAx Exhibit design class I will be using SketchUp to redesign the Westwood magazine stand. I figure I should learn the program before I start teaching it. I have been using this tutorial.

The assignment overview: consider the environment for a commercial transaction and product display considering all aspects of the experience from both the merchant and the buyers perspective. While the magazine stand in Westwood is famous for being featured in many films and student projects, it could stand a redesign. I took a walk into Westwood this rainy weekend to talk to the merchant at the stand. Some problems that he has run into include the height of the shelves, rain leakage around the counter, and visibility to reduce theft. One particularly unique aspect of this existing design is the tree in the center of it all. I hope to keep the tree and make it a more visible part of the structure. My working objective for the stand: Create a more inviting space for the average pedestrian and handicapped person while maintaining its traditional character and appeal. In carrying out my objective I am planning to include spot lights for reading, heaters, mats to reduce slipping and to create a comfortable surface to stand on, coffee cup holders, bag and coat hooks, install a bar for people to lean on while reading, mobile shelving units for easy storage, theft mirrors for the merchant, pull down shelves for shorter people, and clear signs for the various themed sections of the stand. I am sure there will be more to come. How I will go about designing all these amenities using SketchUp? It just seems so clunky and un-evolved compared to illustrator, given SketchUp has a completely different function.

A Little Self Absorbed

The most recent assignment for my UCLAx exhibit design class was sure tough. The assignment was to find three projects, ideas, objects that define me and create an event or exhibit that incorporates these objects. I was having such a hard time. I took a walk down memory lane and reviewed past assignments I have put my heart and soul into. But looking back on all these projects, I realize that they will always remain within the time they were created. While they are a reflection of a lot of hard work no one project defines who I am. So I looked around my room and thought about what I use most often. A list of three objects, of which I use daily, evolved from a series of photographs I snapped of my room.  Here is the photograph of my room and the description of the objects.

As described on the link above, I want to create an Auction where I sell all of my net worth. I pretty much want to get rid of everything I own. This is the next step of the assignment. I created an event to showcase these objects. The description and images of the live and silent auction can be found here.

It seems that most of my assignments have been pretty self involved. For Communication Design I have completed the first phase of a three part assignment where I will create a map of events that occurred on my birthday. There will be a local, national, and global map to showcase all of the newsworthy happenings. So far I have completed the national map. There was such a wealth of information. I broke down the national news into time zone categories. Four columns for the four time zones in the US start from the top of the page. If specific locations are found in the article, then longitude and latitude coordinates are placed with dots on the map. All of the more general information is placed in the outlying area of the map. The text follows the natural grid of the longitude and latitude lines. To show the time zones I created for clocks. The west coast starts at 8am, (when I was born), and the rest of the clocks show the time when I was born in the other time zones. Now if this description is a little messy, I hope my info graphic will clear it up. So check it out and leave me feedback. Is it readable, cohesive, personal or is it too business and clinical looking.

Projecting My Timid Voice

Presenting has never been a my strength. I always rely on visuals to get me through a presentation. Words just never come easily when I am under pressure to perform. Today my visual, which was the website, became a crutch where I spoke into the computer instead of towards the class of 6. This is something to work on.
Questions to contemplate: 1. How is typography translated from standard print materials onto 3 dimensional spaces? 2. How does the material (metal, stucco, foam core), play into the typographic treatment within these spaces? 3. How does an exhibit designer create a dynamic space under curatorial, economic, and spatial restrictions. 4. How much can designers rely on the crucial elements of light and color before they have to physically change the space? Answers/Ideas?

Empathy for the museum goer is key in good exhibit design. While researching this topic I came across the elements of Universal Design. North Carolina State has produced some helpful resources for reference. Literally putting yourself in the shoes of a less able person will instill more empathetic design ideals. Perhaps we should take a trip around the Getty in wheelchairs to make sure the current exhibits are up to high UD standards. Merritt describes his colleagues struggling to maneuver around the Getty in wheelchairs. I am curious to see how much has changed apart from the now automated doors.

Simple yet effective

Here is a very simple slide show created for my presentation on Tuesday. I will be discussing Cairns for the most recent assignment in my UCLAx class. Perhaps a cairn is a more abstract and elusive symbol than what the assignment is geared toward but it was interesting research and helpful to brush up on some html coding. A cairn is probably the most ancient symbol/means of communication. It musters up some odd associations: cavemen building Stonehenge, scouts tripping over trailblazing ‘ducks’ and Caspar David Friedrich fretting over the sublime beauty of his contrived landscapes. Complex stuff here.

Just The Beginning

The first week of class came to an end I am already stressing about the work for the next 10 weeks. I have marked all the big assignments in my little red planner but writing them down has provided no comfort. I realize, (after 2 years at UCLA), that I am not the kind of person that can complete a project the night before. The looming deadline will gnaw at my insides, and haunt me throughout the day. Enrolling in design for video last quarter forced me to plan out the 10 weeks early so that I would get the final film completed in time. I surprised myself when in the end it all fell into place. Here is a very low res reproduction of my work in the class.

http://classes.design.ucla.edu/Fall07/153A/10.html

Next Tuesday I will present the first assignment for my exhibit design course at UCLA extension. Exploring the use of symbols in society. I am a little confused about how this will relate to the other assignments where we will design events and exhibits. I plan to create a website for the presentation and post it here for some feedback.