OUGD405 1 - Study Task 1

Study task 1
video 2 mins long groups of 4

test how people react to interventions and with public space

supergraphics and wayfinding

1. create a diversion
2. create a new connection
3. make someone pause or stop

thorougly document Leeds

gather visual research/ ideas for you subjective sign system: beauty, loss, fear

only use abstract graphic language
no text

Jim Lambie

Pae White

Eltono

Ideas 

1. block off a way, use arrows to direct people, mock construction (X over pavement tile)
2. a chair, bench (decorated), pathway (with a dotted line or arrows), hopscotch/footprints
3. chalk drawing, tape installation

We could carry out our task at Liberty Park, Trinity or Merrion centre, on Briggate, at LCA or Uni of Leeds, or at the train station. We though that everywhere with maybe the exception of Liberty Park would give us lots of people to interact with our signage.

SIGN 1
Our first setting was the University of Leeds campus. We chose to use this setting around lunchtime as a lot of students and staff would be wandering through the campus, and we would be likely to create an intervention or diversion of some sort.

For our first sign we used tape to section of an area of walkway we observed many people walking through - the space between a pillar and a large plant pot. The path through here was direct and one frequently used, presumably for its ease and speed.
We decided to tape off this area using red and yellow tape. We chose these colours - using colour theory - as red symbolizes danger and yellow is eye catching, encouraging people to take notice of the sign and create the potential for pause or stop.
The way we arranged the tape formed a sort of cross shape as crosses are used to symbolize a wrong action. We thought this would deter people from walking through the section too.

Whilst filming our sign, we observed that everyone was diverted around this walkway, not using the path they potentially would have done.


SIGN 2
For our second sign we moved to the city centre, particularly Briggate, the popular and busy shopping street in the centre of the city. 

For this sign we created an arrow, placed onto Dan's torso and pointing towards his hand, which is held up in a high five motion. Once again we used the material at our disposal, tape, but instead of red or yellow we used green. The arrow signifies direction, or an invitation, and the green colour represents the word 'go'. All these coupled together clearly invite people to high five Dan while he remains motionless in the centre of the street with his hand outstretched. 

As expected we were successful in our approach and many people came to high five him either on their way past him, or physically changed their path in order to high five him.
In this way we made many new interactions with the public, in the form of a high five.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlN6rlf8-ps


EVALUATION

Overall our signs worked really well. We achieved 2 of the objectives: creating a diversion, and making a new connection. 
In creating sign 1 we took into account colour theory and the use of red and yellow I think helped to reinforce the purpose of the sign.

Sign 2 was more abstract in the way it was presented - on the human body. I think this also worked well though, people were more likely to interact with it as it was on another human making it more familiar to them.