What should I take away from formative assessment, and how will I realise it moving forward? That being more making, a deeper exploration of research, a clear direction of my project, maintaining good documentation, and finalising the pieces of work from the archives.
More Making:
When it comes to the materials and the physical making, I have done enough research and planning for this project, and now I am ready to start making. I have already completed both metal and woodworking workshops, but if my plans are correct, I might need the casting workshop as well to create the interactive objects for the table idea.
When considering the electrical work, I have an idea of what I’ll need, but I’ll allow for some trial and error as I make it, so I can fine-tune the pieces. As the final idea will seem simple, I want to focus on the minor details that will elevate the work, and those details can only be ironed out with prototyping.
With ‘The Wall’, the motion graphics will need to be fine-tuned with special focus on the speed and style of the information presented.
With ‘The Table’ again, motion graphics will be a big part of it, but I think the timing and speed of user interaction will be the main focus to achieve that professional polish.
Deeper Exploration:
With my existing and ongoing research, whether through artefacts or trial and error, I aim to ‘show my workings’ because I have the habit of knowing what I mean and just assuming everyone else does. So, moving forward, deeper exploration of not just my research but also each aspect of the process, writing about what worked and what didn’t.
Clear Direction:
A lot of semester one was spent trying to find my direction, what I want to make, and who I am as a practitioner. But after the winter break, I feel like I am coming back to this with a clear head and a clear direction. I am a designer, and I will produce an interactive exhibition showcasing the lives of industrial workers in West Dumbartonshire through archival photography, design elements, and documents, creating a moving and engaging collection.
I will also be rewriting a brief to keep my vision on track.
WIP Briefing:
After the WIP briefing and the walk around the Reid basement, a few things differ from the initial plan. After discussing with Paul the idea of a wall projection, an interactive table, and a vitrine, it was deemed too much for now, and that, by developing a more modular system and finalising the look, feel, and initial piece, more could be added later.
The wall is staying as it is, and I’ll start prototyping it as soon as.
When discussing the table and the vitrine, there are two options:
Option One – The table and the vitrine are two separate things; the table is an interactive piece with large, accurate replicas of pieces of machinery used in shipbuilding, and when the table is moved, it will display more information.
Option Two – The table and the vitrine are combined into one piece for the WIP, and either through user interaction or by sensing when the user walks up to the vitrine, the artefacts will be enhanced or ‘brought to life’ within the box.
Lighting :
As with photography exhibitions, great consideration is always given to lighting, with spotlights used to highlight work and draw attention. But in normal exhibitions, the lighting is usually stationary spotlights. But since I am using a projector, I can replicate the look of those spotlights and have more control over the simulated lights.
Above is a test of the fake spotlight effect; the lights will be programmed so that when each photograph is being explored, it will have the “spotlight”.
Plan of Action:
I find myself getting stuck for no reason. I know what to do, I have an idea of how to do it, and I know that the most I’ll learn is through doing it, trial and error, but I find myself overthinking or overplanning things again. Scared to take the wrong step, I take no step.
After diving deep into Robbert Trotter’s work, I fell in love with his street photography, which focuses on the people of Glasgow, and I want to shift the focus of my project to his work and highlight the characters of Glasgow.
Going back to the feedback I received during my formative assessment, I think this shift in project focus is also taking a step towards my strengths as a designer. I will design the piece around Robert Trotter’s Glasgow street photography at its core and use my strengths as a designer to bring Trotter’s work to life, elevating a normal photography exhibition.
I didn’t get the pleasure of watching all of ‘Mimesis- African Soldier’ due to time constraints. Still, my IxD hat was one, and what I couldn’t stop thinking about was the use of three large projectors, each playing a different film that intertwined to make something bigger. Screen 1 would be referring to footage on screen 3, as screen 2 provides more context or shows an abstract recreation of a young African soldier walking through the jungle.
The dance of the 3 different screens that sometimes had Q&A, other times they followed one another or sometimes visually harmonised, I’d love the opportunity to bring some of this into my own work.
Still Glasgow:
The photography exhibition Still Glasgow featured works by several artists from different time periods in Glasgow’s modern history. I mainly wanted to see this exhibition on how a traditional photography exhibition is presented for the consideration of the general public.
My personal takeaway from this exhibition was that it was a collection of photographs, but there was not enough space for each to ‘speak’. The one piece I did feel connected to was the video of children holding their breath going through the Clyde tunnel, which was given space and focus, a fake wall presenting the screen flush like the rest of the photography, but given an indent in the room to stand alone.
I thought I also had this, and while observing others, I considered the distance from the viewer and the art on the walls; some seemed to keep their distance, while others wanted to interrogate the details of others’. I’ll need to keep this in mind when considering how people will view my work.
Also, something I didn’t consider was the framing of the photography. If I plan to use projectors, the frames will need to be considered, along with the glass within those frames and the reflections… I might not use frames or frames wih no glass.
Glasgow Kiss- 25 Years of Art:
I didn’t plan on seeing Glasgow Kiss, but during my Christmas shopping, I happened across it. I loved the humour, the attitude, how game it is.
How this exhibition informs my own is that it’s not trapped within the frames that it uses for some of the work; some of the work wouldn’t fit in a frame, or maybe doesn’t need one. My own piece won’t be similar to this, but I want to bring a small sense of its fun and adventure into my own.
By finding the line between ‘Still Glasgow’ and ‘Glasgow Kiss’, using technology and my own vision, it might hit the target I’m aiming for: sparking something within people and asking them to really look at the work.
At the end of last week I spend some time working on some design aspects of the project within my new framing of being more abstract with it or less like a real exhibition in a museum and trying to do everything myself when usually it would be a team of people for each section.
Sadly the quest of finding unknown stories of Clydebank and Glasgow might have been too much of an ask so along with being less literal with the outcome I’ll be less laser focused on one aspect when considering my focus for the exhibition which I think might allow me to be more artistically open than before.
At this moment I want to select a couple of objects from the GSA archives, Katie at the archives who have suggested a few great work to include, some not digitised yet but I would love to have digital copies, physical copies or even the real work displayed in my collection. Katie has also put me in contact with one of her colleagues Jennifer who is in the WestDunbartonshire archives, so that might supply me with even more material.
GSA Archives:
Katie in the archives has already suggested the photography work of Robert Trotter who was a street photographer from Dumbarton (which I have also spent most of my life as my mothers family is from there) who has one digitised work (seen below) and a collection in the archives that I’d like to see properly and integrate into my project.
Robert Trotter, a piece from his ‘At Work’ collection.
My thoughts at point:
At this point of the project as my focus shifts and the project shifts so does my feelings towards it, before I was feeling stressed and a lot of pressure to produce meaningful work or to do something that has never been done before. But as the shift focuses more to artistic curation and displaying and engaging in work as well as helping others engage with it I cant stop thinking about the C.S. Lewis quote :
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it”
I also think the meaning of this exhibition has shifted, and not just in a literal sense as the outcome will be different as I imagined it, but for myself, I’m not really sure I even know what it was before but now its a subtle celebration of where I grew up, Clydebank, Dumbarton and Glasgow, after trying to distance myself for so long, those who shaped me, my family and my friends who would encourage my creative spirit as I would try and see myself as a one man army doing it all myself and my creative interests and endeavours that have been with me from a young age, encouraged by those around me and what I aim to continue into my life.
More Media:
As well as photography displayed from the GSA archives, I’d also like to get some archival footage of Glasgow, Clydebank and Dumbarton, so I’ve had a look at the National Library of Scotlands video archives and would either like to stabilise some footage and have it playing through to add to the overall theme and aid in the story of the project or to use them for a piece of my own work that I can display alongside the archival work.
During my appointment at the Mitchell Library I was told firstly that any pictures I take had to be documented and that anything from their archive was not allowed for exhibition or display of any kind, so anything I did find or found interesting can only be shown here in my research.
That being said, even though its not for my exhibition this was still eye opening and moving to see real stories of the people of Glasgow and really put it into perspective that if I am using these photographs from the past that, I know it might seem obvious, but that they are real people.
At this stage I’m still wanting to focus on the fact that my first draft of my dissertation in due by the end of Week 9 but I am still continuing with my research and looking for stories and objects.
Over the weekend on my way to Edinburgh for my friend Neil’s stag do I had a conversation with another friend of mine, Keir, who’s grandfather had worked one of the bridges we past, who then became the bridgemaster for that same bridge and who then stopped a man from jumping of the bridge, saving his life.
I’ve asked Keir to allow me to include this story and one of his grandfathers belongings because this is exactly the sort of thing I’m looking for, just a normal man who had worked his life and during that life stepped up to save another mans, without want or need for accolades.
Through the starting stages of these two stories I have so far, the photography of Robert G Taylor and now the story of Keir’s family the growing through line is one of Glasgows industrial past. This is a topic that has been covered more than enough but I want to focus on the people that made it happen.
Archived Industrial Images:
Looking through the Trove Digital Archive and searching for Clydebank now with this vision of people and Glasgows industrial past has narrowed my search, below is some images taken from the archive that caught my eye either for their artistic vision or the potential to use them within my work somewhere.
With this gallery of collected archived images I wanted to paint the visual image and lanuage of the work, I think with a black and white images with choice colours or full colour images with in them then it will draw more attention to them, highlighting certain aspects, people or places.
Another detail I want to point out with some of these images is the difference in scale, the relationship between the structures and the people that build them.
Finally Seeing SEEP:
It was long awaited as the exhibition was either closed or I was busy but I finally got in to see the exhibition and was not disappointed the level of multimedia outputs but still with the amount of consideration and attention that went to displaying these pieces in such a way.
In such a small space they used the space efficiently with consideration to the hight of the room as well as the audience and eye levels. Even something as simply elevating the projection felt like a dynamic use of the space, the spaces created with the use of walls to make them feel like almost different rooms.
The use of light and even multiple light sources, to either highlight or use in a dynamic lighting of the exhibition its self.
When looking at the videos shown the mix of speaker audio on the larger more focused custom built rig and the personal headphone output, the only problem that I personally had with it was that one custom rig was welded metal and the other was a wooden set up for the projection stand and I understand that both are the exposed material but personally I would have liked if they both were the same material.
To Do:
Getting myself back on track.
Keep looking for the objects and stories of the people Glasgow and Clydebank.
At this moment I have contacted people about stories, turned to my family and friends to try and find stories as well, I have now been in contact with Barbra at the Glasgow Archieves in the Mitchell Library though, so thats another line to follow. I am worried that I wont find the stories I’m looking for and that this might have been too big of an ask.
Develop the exhibition that I will put on when I have these stories, how will I display the work, how will I realise the stories and objects that I have collected with the same amount of respect and consideration I have seen SEEP.
I think it might be a good use of my time to get a stand in object or a collection of stand in objects that I can then start to develop with and realise so that when I do have the stories and objects I can insert them in and find out any issues or developments before I have peoples things and stories so that I might make them proud of the output and show the stories and objects respect.
Tidy up my Design Domain digitial form sculpture for TechTonic.
I won’t let it get into my way but I would like to allocate some time to the Design Domain VR scultpure so that I may display that confidently at the exhibition, I want to tidy it up and impliment some things that make it impossible to break or wander.
Continue developing the REDACTED night.
I want to continue dedicating my weekends to REDACTED at ISO with Pav and faciliate the guys on making a great show and showcasing their talents and abilities as well as showcasing my capabilities to those in the field.
Continue researching and writing my essay
Even though I have sent away the draft I still want to continue working on it, writing the second half to a passible level and then once I have the feedback redraft the essay.
Extended Design development
Extended Design will take a back seat until semester two, once everything else is sorted and the essay is submitted then I can focus on Extended Design and give it the time it requires.
Group Tutorial:
Initially I was worried about the group tutorial and felt like I didnt have enough to show because I’ve got bogged down in trying to find the story and the object but after talking about my project with Paul and the guys helping me think less about the story and the object and more about how its shown, it reminds me about what Nicholas Oddy said:
Its less about the object and what the facts are and more about the story and how its told.
Also after a cobversation with Marco about how today went he said something about my project that I liked “you’re working on the envelope, not whats inside… work on the envelope”
Devlopment with the new direction:
Below is a initial sketches and development considering the new direction for my project and how I will display the the research and artifacts, with more of a focus on the soul of the story and the artitsic expression of my final year, instead of being too literal which I often struggle with when it comes to design work.
The three sketches above show the development and the detatchment from the usual work seen in exhibitions and building upon that, by using exhibition displays that I felt communcated well as a starting point I believed that I then could.
Appointments:
Mitchell Library:
I have an appointment with the archieves at the Mitchell Library on Wednesday the 3rd of December to look through the most recent Glasgow Poor relief records with a request of any stories that tie to Clydebank or industry, due to the information act the records from 100 years ago are the only ones I can access but it might still be informative.
GSA Archives:
I have also been in contact with the GSA archives and messaged them to contact Katie who I met when I tagged along to the year 3 scanning days at the archives, who asked me to just contact her with any questions or requests for access to the archives. With the new direction I have now, I feel more confident with what to ask for and because its less specific or tied to the objects.
Week 7 has been independent study week and I’ve took this time to focus on finishing the first draft off my dissertation as well as planning.
Collecting Images:
Typographic History:
Even from old painted signs of business on the wall can tell the story id people, their lives, the times they lived, the state and style of Glasgow at the time.
Photographic History of Clydebank:
A collection of archival photography from Clydebank’s history, the main draw of these is the people of Clydebank.
Personal Object Stories:
Recently I have snapped my house key, it sits in my flat as a reminder but now I have a story, emotions and a time and story in my life of the time.
War and Peace of a Garden Exhibition:
My main focus on with the ‘War and Peace of a Garden Exhibition’ was the character communicated through it, I felt a greater connection just through the amount of care and attention the the display and layout of the objects. The ability to do so much in such a small amount of space.
Write a brief:
Chat with Gillian:
Finding the Stories:
As the main hurdle I’m facing now is that I do not have the specific stories and objects to focus my work on and as advised by Gillian, I need to find the story and the objects and then all the work and set up I’ve done can be put to good use.
This message was also stated by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert:
‘Just get out and do the work and it’ll all come eventually, you’ll find your way.”
Following good advice my next step is to go out and find the stories, my only concern is that people spend a lot of time trying to find what they consider the ‘best story’, I don’t have years to search so I’ve contacted the people who might know on the off chance of sending me in the right direction, so I have emailed:
The Clydebank Post
The Clydebank Post Photography Club
Clydebank Museum and Local History & Archives
Hub Singer Camera Club
I need to revisit the idea of crowd sourcing these stories and objects, be that through online, or by making posters and then posting them around Glasgow, Clydebank and more of West Dunbartonshire. As well as physical posters I think it will be useful to utilise the community of local groups online and in social media, after a conversation with Lil and her suggestion of the app Nextdoor and putting posts on asking for objects and inputs, or doing the same on facebook market place and asking for stories for the objects they’re selling.
First Contact:
After sending out a number of emails I came into one reply from Rab Taylor of the Hub Singer Camera Club who let me know that his father, Robert G Taylor, was an avid photgrapher and that he had scanned in his fathers photography from the 50’s and 60’s.
Above is a few of the photos I’ve selected from the archive that Rab has supplied, personally these photos appealed to me the most, either for his portrait photgraphy work or even just the snap shot into the lives of life at that time.
I know these locations and streets so well but they are also so different and alien to me, seen in this era.
I’ve emailed Rab to ask more about his father, his photpgraphy, if there is any objects that remind him of his father and that if he would mind that his father and the photography be included in my piece.
Clydebank Industry:
When thinking about making a poster to ask people for stories and objects, I thought that looking to two of Clydebank’s biggest histoical business would inform my use of font and style to be indicative of that time.
At this moment in time the questionnaire isnt live bnecause as I’m asking for peoples names and contact information which means an ethics form will need to be filled out.
I’m also working on posters and posts for the online communities on social media to ask for their input.
Today, the QR Code is slapped on the bottom of forms, screens, and posters with very little thought, a second thought. With this work, I want to put the QR code at the front, make it the main focus and explore the idea that it is a portal of information.
Idea 01:
With this concept, I want the footage to be just as polished as the sculpture and have the relationship between them to be clear and cohesive.
Idea 02:
Another idea is to create an interactive sculpture with spinable pieces so users can create their own QR code and see where it leads.
Obviously, the QR codes will need to be tested to avoid accidentally scanning anything rude.
Chandelier:
Idea 01:
At this moment in time, I think another possible idea would be take my Expressive Data project from last year forward for the extended design project.
This button will take you to this project for a more in-depth look.
During the development of that project the idea was floated that this chandelier or collection of chandeliers is more akin to a light sculpture and data visualisation, and that it would be very fitting in places such as the United Nations headquarters in New York or the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, so remembering this I have asked a friend of mine, Elias, who might be working with the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo for his masters.
Possible Locations:
GoMA:
As the GoMA is well known to me, it was one of the first places I considered when thinking about Extending Design, it’s easily accessible, the space is open and dyamic and here I have shown the main hall as I think it would be a space for showcasing all of the chandeliers, but as I write this I remember the balcony area and how one of the chandelers would be able to hang down through all 3 levels allowing an upclose look at one of them.
The GoMA would also be ideal for the QR code sculptures within the space, displayed as shown above, completely open and well-lit, with natural light flooding the space.
Nobel Peace Centre:
The Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo was initially mentioned when the project for extending the design was first done, as the Nobel Peace Centre focuses on rewarding those who seek to bring peace and the betterment of mankind, and I feel that a piece that focuses on the beauty of the human routine would be openly welcomed there. The Nobel Peace Centre is also no stranger to hosting art exhibitions that align with its own mission.
United Nations Headquarters:
As mentioned previously, the Nobel Peace Centre is an organisation that aims to achieve and maintain peace worldwide. As a place of work, I think the chandelier hanging in the space can be a gentle reminder of why they do what they do, to actively see a small representation of the lives they help.
Start Point:
Now that Extending Design has officially started, and with the time away, I have settled on my plan and idea for it going forward. I will use my chandelier data visualisation, which will be displayed as a long-term light sculpture at one of the previously discussed locations above.
The piece will be a number of data visualisation chandeliers that use programmed NeoPixels to display the activities of people’s day-to-day lives from around the world. A colour corresponding to the person’s recorded activities will then be displayed on their tube.
Considerations:
Off the top of my head theres a few things I want to note so I don’t forget them:
Light – How light is the space, with the chandeliers’ light visible during the day? How bright will the light it produces be? What colours will be used to indicate what actions? What connotations do those colours have to different cultures? Are the colours unified across each chandelier, or are they personalised for each country/region/continent represented?
Who – Who will the chandeliers be representing? And where are they from?
Material – What material will be used? How long will the material last? The materials need to be strong enough yet light enough to hang, and the tubes themselves must allow the light to be seen.
Construction – If this is long form and it has to hang from the ceiling for a number of years, it must be built to withstand the usual damage of ageing.
Run time – As the chandelier changes throughout the day, when will it start, and when will it finish? Will it be 1:1, 100% accurate, or as the organisation’s workers start their shift?
Previous Prototype Sketches:
Above are the initial sketches of the chandelier design, with a possible final version in the top right of the page. I was envisaging the final chandelier design to have two levels, or maybe three, with one smaller than the other, with tubes of different sizes to correlate with the different humans being, of course, of different shapes.
Above are the development sketches of the smaller-scale prototype, with more consideration of how the tubes might be suspended when displayed.
When considering larger versions of the chandelier, the materials and suspension techniques will be closely tied together; the heavier the material or the more tubes, the more solid support will be needed.
Previous Prototype Documentation:
Here is some initial project documentation showing how the light system will start at white and then change to colours as activities are logged throughout the day.
Extending Design Group Tutorial Notes:
Simplification:
After my conversation with Gillian, it became clear that several questions needed to be answered, and those answers would shape the project’s future direction.
What is the data?
Where is the piece going?
Who is the piece for?
I think these 3 questions are all interlinked, feeding into one another.
With the new direction, the question of the data was answered with simplification. The data I had was hard to communicate because I was tied to the idea of it being in a public or semi-public place rather than a closed-off gallery, so I had to simplify it so people could understand it at a glance, and if it’s going to be in Glasgow or anywhere else in the world, then what is the simple constant, weather.
When considering location, both in terms of the type of location and its position on the globe, it can be affected by the idea that the data is weather data. What is a meaningful location? If Glasgow, then where in Glasgow or anywhere else in Scotland? East and West? Glasgow and Edinburgh? And what building, somewhere public but open enough for people to appreciate the work. Or, combining those ideas, is a light piece in Edinburgh that shows the weather in Glasgow and vice versa.
And who is it for? This builds on the previous incarnation of the project, which is for the public/semi-public; the piece makes more sense to be seen by others rather than hidden away in a gallery. In this iteration, I’d like to either open the public’s eyes to data visualisation or the weather of Scotland.
Expanding this further, it could encompass more of Scotland and its weather, a collection of chandeliers scattered across Scotland, each showing the opposite ends of the weather, North to South, East to West.
With the basic font of this wordpress website, it had the bold punchy font and with it being
The Tone:
For the overall tone of the design I was struggling to find the words to describe it but I feel that this song by LCD Soundsystem encapsulates the tone, enegry and theme I want for the design and studio.
Possible Name Change:
After a conversation with Lexie and getting a secondary opinion on the possible name of the design studio that does not exist. But continuing with the same style of the ‘process’ idea when considering the font and weight of that font along with the full stop and the digital identity but changing the name to ‘cobalt’.
Cobalt is usually found in rechargeable ion batteries that is found in computers and as a design studio that uses a lot of technology
cobalt.
But playing on the colour that shares the name it could be a fun idea that the one colour we can not use within the studio is cobalt or similar colours.
Working within restrictions boosts creativity.
brickwork.
Another possible name was brickwork, something solid and dependable but with the air of not taking yourself too seriously.
After ‘Show and Tell’ I didn’t feel that I had done my project justice either in my work or my presentation. I wasn’t very sure or very confident in my work in front of others because I feel like their work was better or at least more artistic, I think I need to be less focused on design and more artistic in my practice.
You can’t help but be a designer, so be an artist. You’ll be a designer anyway.
Mikhail did give me a good photographer to look into who has a trio of zines of ship building on the clyde and the working, his work shows the tones and scale of the shipyards.
See things to their conclusion, don’t stop too early and move on to the next thing without exploring it fully.
With the typographic experimentation I had explored one tone, come reading from one poet and one style that fit those parameters, to analyse it thoroughly, I need to look into how different tones and different images add to the experience and the storytelling, how the harmonious relationship between audio, in whatever form, and the visuals tell the story.
Scottish Poetry:
Glasgow:
Sing, Poet, ’tis a merry world; That cottage smoke is rolled and curled In sport, that every moss Is happy, every inch of soil;— Before me runs a road of toil With my grave cut across. Sing, trailing showers and breezy downs — I know the tragic hearts of towns.
City! I am true son of thine; Ne’er dwelt I where great mornings shine Around the bleating pens; Ne’er by the rivulets I strayed, And ne’er upon my childhood weighed The silence of the glens. Instead of shores where ocean beats, I hear the ebb and flow of streets. …
Afar, one summer, I was borne; Through golden vapours of the morn, I heard the hills of sheep: I trod with a wild ecstasy The bright fringe of the living sea: And on a ruined keep I sat, and watched an endless plain Blacken beneath the gloom of rain.
O fair the lightly sprinkled waste, O’er which a laughing shower has raced! O fair the April shoots! O fair the woods on summer days, While a blue hyacinthine haze Is dreaming round the roots! In thee, O city! I discern Another beauty, sad and stern.
Draw thy fierce streams of blinding ore, Smite on a thousand anvils, roar Down to the harbour-bars; Smoulder in smoky sunsets, flare On rainy nights, while street and square Lie empty to the stars. From terrace proud to alley base, I know thee as my mother’s face.
When sunset bathes thee in his gold, In wreaths of bronze thy sides are rolled, Thy smoke is dusty fire; And from the glory round thee poured, A sunbeam like an angel’s sword Shivers upon a spire. Thus have I watched thee, Terror! Dream! While the blue Night crept up the stream…
But all these sights and sounds are strange; Then wherefore from thee should I range? Thou hast my kith and kin; My childhood, youth, and manhood brave; Thou hast that unforgotten grave Within thy central din. A sacredness of love and death Dwells in thy noise and smoky breath.
It was so fine we lingered there for hours. The long broad streets shone strongly after rain. Sunset blinded the tremble of the crane we watched from, dazed the heliport-towers. The mile-high buildings flashed, flushed, greyed, went dark, greyed, flushed, flashed, chameleons under flak of cloud and sun. The last far thunder-sack ripped and spilled its grumble. Ziggurat-stark, a power-house reflected in the lead of the old twilight river leapt alive lit up at every window, and a boat of students rowed past, slid from black to red into the blaze. But where will they arrive with all, boat, city, earth, like them, afloat?
As fast as Glasgow burned its theatres to the ground it built them back again – we couldn’t do without our plays and tunes, we need a dance and song to keep us going. This gaff’s given us the lot: couthie comics, rude rhymes, romance, camp and catchphrase, flicks (with music), Ali Baba’s thieves, diverse monsters (Mary Shelley’s, Columba’s), wafting Rhine Maidens, our very own Marie Loftus, a masked ball, a harlequinade, a circus, Dan Leno’s Orlando Dando, Henry Irving, and Sarah Bernhardt for one matinée only – not to mention the sensational telly (One O’Clock Gang still daft in the memory).
Whatever walls come down, go up, go round, this magic box holds all, swirling, birling in the waiting darkness the works shine through.
Out of this ugliness may come some day, so beautiful a flower that men will wonder at that hour, remembering smoke and flowerless slum, and ask , glimpsing the agony of the slaves who wrestle to be free ‘But why were all the poets dumb?’
What is at the heart of this? What is the soul of it?
During the weekend, I again had another breakthrough and a meaningful conversation. With Lexie, I discussed what I loved, but I didn’t really have an answer beyond design. I have always loved it, and I practice design thinking, streamlining interactions and processes even when I was working a retail job in Dunelm in Clydebank:
In the bulb section for years, it was a mess, no one could find out where the correct bulb was and staff couldn’t accurately count or stock these bulbs because of that mess, there was no system in place and anything that anyone tried over the years make technical sense because of the barcode on them or the stock levels and how often the had to be restocked but they didn’t consider how people actually thought, so inspired by all those design books I read, Don Norman obviously, I designed a system that within groups of fittings, from left to right, as we read in the west, went from smallest wattage to largest and then again from left to right prioritised the most common light temperature to the least (warm to cool). The customer could come up and by process of elimination identify what type of fitting, what wattage they needed and what colour of light they wanted.
Why am I waxing on about how proud I am of the design of this bulb selection in a retail store that I don’t even work at anymore? Because I loved doing it, and I loved how much easier and simpler it made a small section of people’s lives — and yes, the store’s employees were very thankful —but no customer considered what system was in place or who had done it.
Design is the heart of it.
And with the soul, when I was younger, I didn’t really have much nostalgia for anything, as all young children of that age do. Still, when I was a teenager, I think at 16, just before my exams, I had a house fire and a lot of the things from my childhood, memories, heirlooms from people that had passed went up in flames due to a poorly designed old extractor fan in the toilet, it had went through the walls and up into the the loft and anything the fire didn’t get the water damage from the firefighters seen to it. I didn’t think it had effected me but till this day that smell puts me on edge. But not until recently did I realise that after that, I long for the things I took for granted, I collect things, I don’t throw things out that I should, I put so much importance on the objects in our lives and the objects that people give us or leave to us. And the add fuel to the fire , horrible pun, my memory is horrible until I have something that triggers those memories, a sight, a smell, the texture of an object in my hand. To remember the things I’ve done and the people in my life I have objects that transport me back to those moments in perfect detail.
The soul of it is the objects and heirlooms that remind me of my life and the people, places, and experiences in it.
I was distancing myself beforehand, but I should embrace it.
Show and Tell Feedback:
Show & Tell 21.10.25
This is a good start. You reflected on previous work to find a direction for YR4. Although a bit unfocused to start with you have found your topic; museum exhibition, storytelling engagement and communication. ‘Museology’ is a cross-disciplinary field of study within cultural heritage and museums that has become more visitor-focused to communicate cultural and scientific heritage. Visitors now expect interactive media, immersive installations and themed galleries to bring heritage/history to life.
You have already carried out some research in this field but perhaps you could be more forensic about what each company you’ve researched does well. This may help you identify how you can bring this to your own work, i.e. film, motion sensing, interaction, 2D animation, etc.
You have decided to use the town of Clydebank (stories, history, people) to build your project. The town has rich historical resources, objects and a wider thematic context.
Write yourself a ‘Digital Exhibit Brief’ for this project — specify a venue (e.g. a gallery in the V&A Dundee or Burrell) and/or format. You should include details of the work’s proposed materials, its scale, and its technical requirements. This would provide you a framework for your creative response. You intend to make a collection of objects that tell the story of your chosen theme (Clydebank, Shipbuilding in Clydebank, Singer etc). You then decide what shape this takes.
Continue to add to your Learning Journal. Consider categorization, perhaps use Weeks – Week1-2, Week 3-4 etc. or months. Perhaps add subheadings to identify changes in direction/additional topics, artist influences, technical developments etc.
Write yourself a brief.
Create 2 or 3 studies using your preferred medium, 2D animation, photography, AR, interaction. Push each of the studies as far as you can and see where that takes you before moving on to the next
Tagging along to the Archives :
I emailed the archives and heard nothing back, so when I heard that Sean and Lexie were going to meet Neil to do some scanning of their object for their project, I tagged along on the off chance that I would gain some knowledge and as well as learning more about how to scan in objects and stitching together the photographed images, I also got into contact with Katie In the archives that was so helpful and that if I needed anything or had any question to contact her.
So not a waste of time at all.
Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert:
Initially one of my photographic inspirations, Sutton Hibbert’s was so appealing that I ordered a 3 set of his photography zines but also contacted him on the off chance just to seek a pit of direction, and he very promptly responded.
Last week, I was unsure of what I was doing and found myself getting into a bit of a funk. I wasn’t sure why until I took some much-needed time away to spend with my family and watch Scotland beat Belarus 2-1 at Hampden. But as I was sitting there getting a bit too swept up in a game of football, I don’t usually follow, I realised a few things, firstly, how much I loved the motion graphics of the Scottish Football team and how I couldn’t take my eyes off it and that I wanted to do something like that, I wanted to work for somewhere that did something like that.
And secondly, when I was enjoying the shared experience with my family and 50,000 other people, it hit me why I initially wanted to do the stories of people, because we are who we are by the lives we have, the stories we experience and tell, and the stories we share with others are essential. Today, we are more technologically advanced than ever before, but the art of communication, of spoken word and of telling stories in informal, spontaneous settings is dying out.
With ‘Listen to Bridgeton’, the story being told is such a personal one, of one man helping another through the language and structure of vintage bus restoration. This documentary has the exact same elements I would love to create: the personal, touching story, the honesty, and even the beauty of the spoken testimonies and the footage of the warehouse.
It was once again the spoken testimony of people who actually lived in the flats, sharing their stories and describing it as a palace when it was new, with the beautiful footage of the flats themselves before their demolition. We often look at things, perceive them as we initially do, and don’t change our opinion until shown otherwise or given a look at the same place, object or time through someone else’s lens.
If I do love graphic design, motion graphics, and creative direction, then it would make the most sense to go to a conference for it, to see the front-runners in the field and look to them for a goal and inspiration.
Looking at more studios:
Initially, I was looking at Interaction Design studios last week, but as I mentioned earlier, I think motion graphics will likely be a significant part of it. No matter what the outcome is, I want to give consideration to the typography, the identity and the graphics of the piece.
As with the previous studios, I want to look deeper and think of what works and what doesn’t, in an ploy to improve myself and with Pentagram, that is obviously a legacy brand, their work is obviously great and feels like the front runners in a modern yet feasible motion graphics and graphic design work, but the product design work follows that same methods but I believe that when in a different creative practice like product design, that must have its own style and more of a focus on form instead of flat aethetics.
D8:
D8 is a studio that I have recently enjoyed without even knowing it. After reviewing their projects, I was surprised to discover numerous design campaigns I was familiar with and enjoyed, all originating from a single studio. They consistently delivered a modern, vibrant style that has recently caught my attention and held it. My only concern is the longevity of this style, and I’m sure they will adapt with the times as they have in the past but their most recent work already feels very “of its time”.
Applying that to my own work:
I see the style of these studios as two sides of the same coin: a new, modern style that’s cool and controlled, and another that’s more vibrant and punchy. My initial takeaway is that locking myself into one style is a quick way to go stale. I should be constantly developing and changing, both in my style and in my life, rather than being locked into one thing and turning away from everything else and secondly is that wether its cool and sleek or loud and punchy the presence of soul put into the project can be seen.
Typographical Motion Graphics:
After my chat with Gillian and enjoying the typographical motion graphics of the Scotland game, I thought this might be an interesting avenue to explore. Given how moving and engaging the documentaries were, I realised I could create something equally moving with simple imagery and audio.
With the foggie bummer video, it packs so much character and soul into such a short time. The energy and speed of the text on the screen carry through that same energy.
Looking to Clydebank:
In Clydebank, a local Facebook page is where locals share updates about the area, its current events, and its history. While it’s mostly filled with traffic updates and lost keys looking for owners, it occasionally offers hints at the town’s rich history.
A Bankie Lad by Iain Ingram:
Wi a Jaurie a Peerie and a Tuppeny pie by Adam McNaughton:
Giving time and consideration to the timing, the inflection, their voices, the relationship between the two men and the imagery that these poems describe and trigger in your mind, while still not taking away from the writing. Less is more.
Nicholas McLaughlin Blog 