Brief 5

05 Brief Title

The Brief

Solution

Evaluation

Ditto Press

Represent a body of research in a way you deem appropriate.

I chose to research a topic I was obsessed with as a child - the Pyramids. I chose this topic as there is a myth surrounding the building of the Pyramids which has been mistaken as fact. I borrowed from Ancient Egyptian culture in my design solution, creating a hieroglyph style alphabet, this, combined with the physical nature of the design makes the content clear to the audience.

I tried something different with this brief - installation/ sculptural design. In challenging myself with new techniques I learnt a lot. This brief taught me a lot about research in general, what to believe and what not to believe. It is impossible to make primary research into an event that happened 3,500 years ago as I unable to own a time machine at this present time.

Brief Type Visiting Professional

Collaborators N/A

Background

There are a lot of things I am happy with about this brief, I challenged my own abilities, I made new designs rather than taking the lazy angle - taking content of Google and copying information from Wikipedia. I have developed my modelmaking skills, and the next time I embark on a project with similar requirements I will have this experience to build on.

The research topic was open, anything was possible. The research could be communicated using any media, it was a completely open brief.

Considerations What to research was the biggest consideration. It had to be a topic that was irrelevant, yet important and something that would be able to enlighten people.

David M Gaskell

OUGD603

Brief 5

1/4

Research

David M Gaskell

What I did

Why I did it

How the research informed me

I researched the history and evidence behind the building of The Pyramids. This gave me the content, from there it was a case of exploring the visual language of ancient Egypt. Looking at the Pyramids themselves, Egyptian art and hieroglyphs.

I knew the information I was delivering could be contained in a single sentence. The visuals had to be dramatic and a little bit over the top to balance the reduced information.

Through research I gained a definite direction, I wanted to use hieroglyphs as it is a way of coding information.

OUGD603

Brief 5

The visual language research was in order to give me a direction to follow with the brief.

2/4

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

.

,

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

Side 3

Side 1

B

Side 2

A

Development

David M Gaskell

Direction

Production

A sculptural pyramid with a hieroglyph mural.

I will be using mountboard to construct the pyramid, hand lettering the typography. The pyramid with be cut using a lasercutter, for accuracy and to make the process quicker.

OUGD603

Brief 5

3/4

Outcome

David M Gaskell

Pyramid

Decoder

Why it works

Three dimensional pyramid is used as a physical representation of the the Egyptian pyramids. I chose this direction as I wanted to make the content obvious.

The hieroglyph copy can be decoded using the key on the base of the pyramid.

The design has a visual impact it wouldn’t have if I had decided to produce a standard book. The outcome is relevant to the research I undertook as it represents hidden information/truth.

People who take the time to engage with the pyramid will learn how the pyramids were made, it isn’t the easiest method of delivery,

OUGD603

Brief 5

4/4