S5 / S6

INT2 / HIGHER / ADVANCED HIGHER

DESIGN UNIT : DESIGN BRIEF OPTIONS

Welcome to your S5 / S6 Design Unit.

On the next three slides you will find Design Briefs for three Design Unit projects. All you have to do is choose the project that best suits your abilities and/or interests and begin gathering together your research for it.

We have created the three Design Brief options so that there is at least one brief that will apply either to your skills or areas of interest. Please read each very carefully before making your final choice

As a guide…

• Choose Option 1 if you like working in a flat, 2D way and/or if you want to develop work along graphic design, textile design or information design routes.

• Choose Option 2 if you like designing and creating 3D objects and artefacts and/or if you are interested in architecture, interior, industrial or product design work.

• Choose Option 3 if you like creating 3D work that involves the creation of intricate, detailed surface patterns, textures and decorations and/or you are interested in jewellery or fashion design.

You will also note that the client for your Design Unit is the same for each of the three briefs. We have chosen the National Museum of Scotland as our ‘client’ as it is a massive source of inspiration for almost any design route that you can think of. It is also within easy reach of us here at Deans, free to enter and therefore freely available for you to visit as and when you need.

Finally, after your design brief options, you will see much smaller versions of these briefs laid out on another page/slide. These are for you to neatly cut out and stick onto your first design Unit board.

You should make your selection of design brief over the summer break and start collecting research for your project prior to your return in August. Thank you and Good Luck!

Design Brief Option 1

Repeat Pattern forThe National Museum of Scotland

You have been commissioned by the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh to design a repeat pattern that will form the basis of a new branding scheme for the museum.

The repeat pattern design that you create will be used on a wide variety of soft and hard surface furnishings around the museum (curtains, blinds, upholstery, wall panels, etc.) as well as in the museum gift shop where it will be used on souvenir items (gift boxes, diary covers, souvenir tea towels, umbrellas, ties, scarves, wallets, bags, etc.)

The pattern that you design must be inspired by and reflect the museum’s eclectic collection of different objects and artefacts from all around the world and across all historical periods. Your repeat pattern design will need to reflect the diversity of this collection by including visual references to all six categories of the museum collection. These categories are:

• Geology• Archaeology• Natural History• Science• Technology• Art

As the pattern will be used all around the museum and on many different surfaces, the design that you create should be subtle enough so that it does not clash with or draw attention away from the museum’s collection and displays. However, it also has to be attractive enough to encourage people to buy souvenir items covered in the same design from the museum gift shop.

In order to demonstrate the success of your final design, the museum management team has asked that it be presented to them already applied to a product that will be sold in the museum’s gift shop. They have left the choice of this object up to you.

Design Brief Option 2

‘Grand Gallery Info Hub’ forThe National Museum of Scotland

You have been commissioned by the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh to design an eye-catching self-supporting structure that can be used by museum visitors to access information about the museum and its collections on interactive touch screens.

The structure that you design is to be sited in the museum’s ‘Grand Gallery’ and must be an unusual, sculptural ‘conversation piece’; an attraction in its own right that will encourage visitors of all ages to use its built-in interactive displays.

As a unique, site-specific structure, the ‘Info-Hub’ that I design will need to reflect the museum’s diverse collection of objects and artefacts and be inspired by a combination of colours, patterns, shapes, textures and forms taken from each of the museum’s six main exhibition categories. These are:

• Geology• Archaeology• Natural History• Science• Technology• Art

In order to both encourage donations towards the creation of the Grand Gallery ‘Info-Hub’ and to show the museum’s management team what the finished ‘Info-Hub’ will look like, you are required to create a detailed scale model of your final design that will go on display at the museum alongside your design development work.

Design Brief Option 3

‘The Collection’ Body Adornment forThe National Museum of Scotland

I (alongside other designers) have been commissioned by the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh to design and create a unique piece of body adornment that will be modelled at the museum in a forthcoming catwalk show called ‘The Collection’.

The title ‘The Collection’ has been chosen as it not only refers to a group of fashion designs, but also refers to the varied ‘collection’ of objects and artefacts on display at the museum. The purpose of the catwalk show is to show how the museum’s collection can inspire artists and designers in their work whilst at the same time highlighting the rich diversity of objects and artefacts that the public have access to at the museum.

In order to truly reflect the diversity of the Museum’s collection, I need to take my inspiration from the colours, patterns, shapes, textures and forms seen across all six categories of its displays. These are:

• Geology• Archaeology• Natural History• Science• Technology• Art

The piece of Body Adornment that I create must be more than a traditional piece of jewellery or fashion design. It needs to be an innovative, avant-garde, witty or dramatic ‘conversation piece’ – a ‘wearable sculpture’ that grabs the attention of the catwalk audience and promotes their awareness of the museum’s diverse collection.

The piece that I design and create should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, lightweight, comfortable, safe to wear, not too cumbersome (i.e. not too large) and should have a high level of detail and finish. It also needs to be durable enough to survive being placed on display in the gift shop following the catwalk show.

Repeat Pattern for the National Museum of Scotland

I have been commissioned by the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh to design a repeat pattern that will form the basis of a new branding scheme for the museum.

The repeat pattern design that I create will be used on a wide variety of soft and hard furnishings around the museum (curtains, blinds, upholstery, wall panels, etc.) as well as in the museum gift shop where it will be used on souvenir items (gift boxes, diary covers, souvenir tea towels, umbrellas, ties, scarves, wallets, bags, etc.)

The pattern that I design must be inspired by and reflect the museum’s eclectic collection of different objects and artefacts from all around the world and across all historical periods. My repeat pattern design will need to reflect the diversity of this collection by including visual references to all six categories of the museum collection. These categories are:

• Geology• Archaeology• Natural History• Science• Technology• Art

As the pattern will be used all around the museum and on many different surfaces, the design that I create should be subtle enough so that it does not clash with or draw attention away from the museum’s collection and displays. However, it also has to be attractive enough to encourage people to buy souvenir items covered in the same design from the museum gift shop.

In order to demonstrate the success of my final design, the museum’s curators have asked that it be presented to them already applied to a product that will be sold in the museum’s gift shop. They have left the choice of this object up to me.

‘Grand Gallery Info Hub’ for the National Museum of Scotland

I have been commissioned by the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh to design an eye-catching self-supporting structure that can be used by museum visitors to access information about the museum and its collections on interactive touch screens and displays.

The structure that I design is to be sited in the museum’s ‘Grand Gallery’ and must be an unusual, sculptural ‘conversation piece’; an attraction in its own right that will encourage visitors of all ages to use its built-in interactive displays and screens.

As a unique, site-specific structure, the ‘Info-Hub’ that I design will need to reflect the museum’s diverse collection of objects and artefacts and be inspired by a combination of colours, patterns, shapes, textures and forms taken from each of the museum’s six main exhibition categories. These are:

• Geology• Archaeology• Natural History• Science• Technology• Art

In order to both encourage donations towards the creation of the Grand Gallery ‘Info-Hub’ and to show the museum’s curators what the finished ‘Info-Hub’ will look like, I am required to create a detailed scale model of my final design that will go on display at the museum alongside my design development work.

‘Th

e C

olle

ction

’ Bod

y A

dorn

men

t for th

e N

atio

nal M

use

um

of S

cotla

nd

I (alongside

other d

esigners) h

ave be

en co

mm

issione

d by th

e Na

tiona

l Muse

um o

f Scotla

nd, E

dinbu

rgh to

desig

n an

d crea

te a uniq

ue pie

ce o

f bod

y a

dornm

ent tha

t will be

mod

elled at th

e mu

seum

in a

forth

com

ing catw

alk show

calle

d ‘Th

e Collection

’.

Th

e title ‘T

he C

ollectio

n’ h

as been

chosen

as it no

t only re

fers to a g

roup of fa

shio

n de

signs, bu

t also

refers to the

varied ‘colle

ction’ o

f obje

cts and

artefacts o

n display at the

muse

um. T

he p

urpose

of the ca

twalk sho

w is to

show

how

the m

useum

’s colle

ction can

inspire artists a

nd d

esigners in the

ir w

ork w

hilst a

t the sam

e tim

e highligh

ting th

e rich diversity o

f objects a

nd a

rtefacts tha

t the p

ublic ha

ve access to at the

muse

um.

In o

rder to

truly re

flect the d

iversity o

f the M

useum

’s collectio

n, I ne

ed to

take m

y insp

iration

from

the co

lou

rs, patte

rns, sha

pes, te

xtures a

nd fo

rms

seen acro

ss all six categories o

f its disp

lays. T

hese

are:

• Ge

olo

gy

• Arch

aeo

log

y• N

atu

ral His

tory

• Scien

ce

• Te

chn

olo

gy

• Art

Th

e piece of B

ody A

do

rnmen

t that I crea

te m

ust be

more

than

a tra

ditional p

iece

of jew

ellery o

r fash

ion de

sign. It ne

eds to

be a

n inno

vative, ava

nt-g

arde, w

itty or d

ramatic ‘con

versation piece

’ – a

‘we

arable scu

lptu

re’ that gra

bs the a

ttentio

n of the

catwa

lk aud

ien

ce a

nd p

romotes the

ir aw

aren

ess of

the m

useu

m’s d

iverse co

llection.

Th

e piece th

at I design

and

create

should be

relative

ly inexpe

nsive to m

anu

facture

, lightw

eig

ht, co

mfortab

le, sa

fe to we

ar, not too

cumb

ersome

(i.e. n

ot too larg

e) and sh

ould

have

a high leve

l of de

tail and finish

. It also

nee

ds to be du

rable

eno

ugh to survive

being

pla

ced

on d

ispla

y in th

e gift sho

p fo

llowin

g th

e catw

alk sh

ow

.

These copies of the design briefs are for cutting out and mounting on your first Design Unit board.