DESIGNING MODERN BRITAIN SECONDARY TEACHERS GUIDE INDEX This guide contains everything you need to know about visiting the Design Museum’s Designing Modern Britain exhibition, which runs until December 2006, with your students. The guide includes preparation information, notes to accompany the exhibition and Key Stages 3 & 4 gallery task sheets to support your students while they are working in the exhibition. It also includes follow-up classroom activities, including design briefs to inspire your students after their visit.

SECTION 1 BEFORE YOUR VISIT 2 About the Design Museum 2 About Design Museum Education 5 Preparing for your visit 6 Designing Modern Britain exhibition notes

SECTION 2 AT THE MUSEUM

16 Key Stage 3 Gallery task sheets 22 Key Stage 4 Gallery task sheets

SECTION 3 AFTER YOUR VISIT

28 Key Stage 3 Classroom follow-up activities 31 Key Stage 4 Classroom follow-up activities

This guide was written by Designing Modern Britain curator Sophie McKinlay and Design & Technology teacher Ali Johnson. It was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Page 1 SECTION 1 BEFORE YOUR VISIT ABOUT THE DESIGN MUSEUM The Design Museum is one of the world’s leading museums of 20th and 21st century design. Since 1989 the museum has been housed in a former banana warehouse at Shad Thames, on the south bank of the river by Tower Bridge. The museum is the UK’s cultural champion of design and one of the UK’s largest providers of design education resources. You can visit the Design Museum’s website at www.designmuseum.org to download our secondary D&T education resources and to discover more about the museum, our exhibitions and the designers featured in Designing Modern Britain. ABOUT DESIGN MUSEUM EDUCATION A visit to the Design Museum is an exciting and engaging introduction to design history for D&T students at Key Stages 3 and 4. The museum’s wide range of exhibitions explores the work of major contemporary designers as well as the history of 20th and 21st century design. All of our exhibitions are supported by Teachers’ Notes, Key Stage 3 & 4 gallery task sheets for students and a range of Product Evaluation Workshops. PRODUCT EVALUATION WORKSHOPS Daily – 10.30am to 11.30pm & 1.30pm to 2.30pm Up to 30 students per workshop Design Museum Product Evaluation Workshops are based on our unique product han- dling collections. Each workshop is a one-hour, hands-on session, combining observa- tion, product handling, drawing, discussion and problem-solving exercises, which high- light the importance of creativity and innovation in the design process. Teachers can choose workshops on the following collections: Mystery Products Unusually designed products, the function of which is not immediately obvious. Chairs A diverse selection of flat-pack chairs to demonstrate different collapsible structures. Designing Modern Britain An historical collection of everyday objects which explore Britain’s design heritage. Lighting A range of modern domestic lighting, featuring both functional and decorative products. Textiles A collection of contemporary textiles including pieces by the world’s leading designers. Graphics Innovative product packaging that explores a wide range of graphic design solutions. Recycled Products Ingenious products made from recycled materials or incorporating found objects. Page 2 SELF-DIRECTED VISITS School groups can explore landmarks in design history and contemporary design on self-directed visits to the Design Museum. Exhibition Notes for teachers and gallery task sheets for pupils and students, as well as risk assessment outlines, are available to teachers when booking group visits. FE TALKS A series of daytime talks for groups of FE design students accompanies all of our exhibi- tions. Led by the exhibition curator these talks are particularly suitable for AS/A2 level stu- dents of Art & Design, Design & Technology and on Art & Design Foundation courses. GREAT BRITISH DESIGN DEBATES What do Year 12 design students think of Britain’s design heritage? Leading designers will engage students in fun and thought-provoking debates about our design heritage at the Design Museum and regional arts institutions, during June and July 2006. GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAMME The museum’s dynamic Saturday Design Challenge programme for Gifted & Talented secondary students comprises a five-week design & make course celebrating Britain’s design heritage and inspired by our current exhibition Designing Modern Britain. SPECIAL NEEDS GROUPS We welcome opportunities to organise visits and workshops for pupils and students with special educational needs. A specialist teacher is available to plan and lead such visits every Thursday. CPD SECONDARY D&T TEACHERS Design the Designing – four-day course Now in its third successful year, this four-day course of conferences and workshops is organised by the Design Museum and the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust, with sessions by top designers and D&T education specialists. INSET You can arrange INSET days, half days and twilight sessions with the Design Museum. Tailored to suit your department’s CPD priorities, these sessions can include exhibition tours, workshops and curriculum focus sessions. TEACHING RESOURCES Free, D&T curriculum-related teaching packs to accompany Design Museum exhibitions can be emailed to teachers on request or downloaded from the Design Museum website. WEBSITE www.designmuseum.org Described by the Times Educational Supplement as an “invaluable resource”, our award-winning Design at the Design Museum online archive offers information on all the designers and technologies featured at the Design Museum. You can also download teaching resources from the site for free.

Page 3 HOW TO BOOK I Advance booking is essential for all group visits, workshops and CPD activities. Our education activities book up quickly, so please contact us early and have a range of dates available for workshops and visits. I Groups should book at least two weeks before self-directed visits and six weeks before workshops. A minimum charge for ten students is made for all paying groups. I A cancellation charge will be made against any confirmed workshop bookings if cancelled up to seven days prior to the date of the workshop. I Workshops are offered to groups of a minimum of ten and a maximum of 30 students. I The maximum group size for a self-directed visit is 50 students. When booking please state if you would like us to send sample gallery activity sheets to you in advance. I Teachers and adults accompanying education groups (ten or more students) are admitted FREE but must remain with the group and are responsible for students’ behaviour. School groups must have appropriate staff/student ratios for museum visits. I Teachers who have booked a group visit are entitled to a FREE preparatory visit beforehand. Please book your advance visit when you make your telephone booking.

Price per student: Self-directed visits: KS 3 - 4 FREE AS/A2 & FE £3.50*

Workshops: KS 3 - 4 £4* AS/A2 & FE £6* *minimum of 10 students CONTACT US For all bookings and information about our education programme, please contact:

The Education Team T 020 7940 8782 / 8769 E [email protected] Design Museum Shad Thames London SE1 2YD www.designmuseum.org

Page 4 PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT Please read the following information to ensure your students gain as much as possible from their visit to the Design Museum. PREPARING STAFF: I Become familiar with the Designing Modern Britain exhibition by making a free preparatory visit, visiting our website www.designmuseum.org or by reading the exhibition notes included in this pack. I Identify areas that will be of particular interest to your group or pertinent to your project. I If you are bringing students on a self-directed visit, gallery task sheets for KS3 and KS4 are included in this pack and can be duplicated for each student. Look through the questions in order to check them against your students’ knowledge and understanding.

PREPARING STUDENTS: I Give students some background information about the Design Museum and the Designing Modern Britain exhibition, and about the workshop they will be doing at the museum, if you have booked one. For more information, students can visit the Design Museum website at www.designmuseum.org. I Set homework to research a specific designer whose work features in the exhibition. They could use a variety of sources for information including the Design Museum’s website, www.designmuseum.org. I Develop a handling collection. These could be made up of affordable, everyday objects such as cutlery/shoes/toothbrushes/CD cases/ bags/belts or objects that relate specifically to your projects. Students can then use these to become familiar with design terminology through discussing function, aesthetics, target markets, materials, manufacturing processes, modifications etc. I Carry out a short focused task disassembling a variety of objects so that students can gain insight into manufacturing processes and materials used. I Remind students that all work carried out at the museum can be included in folder work as part of their research.

Page 5 DESIGNING MODERN BRITAIN EXHIBITION NOTES This exhibition explores how design has transformed British life since the 1930s. Designing Modern Britain considers how design affects every aspect of our lives; from the way we move around the city to the way we spend our leisure time. Many of the most gifted designers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have worked in Britain and have helped to modernise Britain. The exhibition illustrates how designers have responded to social, cultural, economic and technological changes to create the Britain we live in now.

The exhibition is laid out in a series of focused displays which contextualise important design developments within different areas of modern life. The information below summarises the main elements of design history conveyed by each display:

Page 6 1920-1930s DESIGNING MODERN TRANSPORT I One of the world’s most progressive public transport systems was established in London during the 1930s. A total of five underground railway companies, 17 tramways, and 66 bus companies were merged in 1938 to form the London Passenger Transport Board. Until then each company had its own signage, maps and vehicle liveries, which could then be confusing for passengers on long journeys.

I Frank Pick, the vice-chairman of the LPTB, recognised the need for a strong new identity and coherent signage system. He believed this could be achieved by implementing a comprehensive design policy covering station architecture and furniture, signage, posters, maps and the clothing worn by LPTB workers. He commissioned a wide range of artists and designers to help realise his ambitions. Architect Charles Holden was responsible for designing new stations and depots in a modern style using then-radical materials such as glass bricks and concrete. Artists such as Man Ray were commissioned to design posters to advertise the possibilities of travelling in London by public transport. British artist Paul Nash designed some of the upholstery.

Underground map 1933 I As the Underground network expanded, it became difficult to fit all the routes in a geographic map. In 1933 a diagrammatic map produced by the designer Harry Beck was issued as a leaflet. He continued to refine it until 1959. The design was based on an electrical circuit with each line represented in a different colour and interchange stations as diamonds. A variation of Beck’s map is still used today and has been adopted for use in other cities such as Paris and Tokyo.

Page 7 1930s DESIGNING MODERN HOMES I During the 1930s, the design of British homes began to be transformed by émigré designers who arrived from continental Europe. , Serge Chermayeff, Erno Goldfinger, and Eric Mendelsohn brought a new modernist aesthetic to British housing. The modern home was the product of technological change. As electricity became more widely available in the early twentieth century, homes could be painted in pale colours rather than the dark tones which were needed to disguise the grime of gaslights. Windows were enlarged because buildings could be supported by new steel structures rather than exterior walls. Fixtures and fittings were made from newly developed materials such as aluminium, steel and glass. I Bernard Lubetkin built an example of the new type of high-rise living at Highpoint, in 1935. The luxurious apartment complex had communal resources such as heating and refrigeration. The interior at the Design Museum shows the apartment of Dora Ventris, a Polish émigré, who commissioned the former tutor Marcel Breuer to design the interior.

Nesting Table1936 design DESIGN: Marcel Breuer CLASSIC PRODUCTION: Isokon I The few pieces of furniture designed by Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) in 1936 for Isokon during his brief exile in London are among the most influential examples of modern furniture to be developed in Britain. Among them is this nesting table designed by Breuer for the UK manufacturer Isokon. I Isokon specialised in the production of plywood furniture, largely because of the links between its founder , who helped Breuer and other Bauhaus émigrés to settle in London, and Venesta, a company that imported plywood from Eastern Europe. Pritchard encouraged progressive architects to design furniture from Venesta’s plywood. Shortly after Breuer’s arrival, Pritchard invited him to design furniture for Isokon and insisted that he too should work in plywood.

Page 8 I Breuer would have preferred to have used metal, as he had in Germany, but, despite his reservations, he soon appreciated the sculptural properties of plywood. This nesting table comes from Dora Ventris’ living room but, having been conceived by Breuer as a light, compact table to be moved around the home, it would occasionally have been used in other rooms such as the dining room.

Model B32 chair 1928 design DESIGN: Marcel Breuer CLASSIC PRODUCTION: Thonet, Austria I While working at the Bauhaus, the German designer, Marcel Breuer, wanted to design a chair to be built on a factory production line, like a car. He decided to use tubular steel to create a cantilevered chair – that is, one that is supported by a single base. By adding a robust wooden frame to the seat and back, he eradicated the need for the additional support of cross-pieces and hidden tubes to leave a light, elegant structure. I Its lightness and modernity were enhanced by the textural and colour contrast of the polished steel tubing, warm wooden frames and translucent cane of the back and seat. Breuer then developed an armchair version of the B32 in the equally radical B64 in which he positioned the arms to float gracefully above the seat frame.

Page 9 1940s-1950s DESIGNING FOR A CRISIS I During the period 1941 to 1951, all major areas of British design came under the aegis of Government in a programme which became known as the utility scheme. Throughout World War II, most materials such as wood, plastics, metal etc were reserved for military use. There was therefore a shortage of materials for home use. I The Government set up the Utility Scheme, led by an advisory panel chaired by the manufacturer Gordon Russell. Under his guidance, 20 designs, simple in style and easy to assemble, were devised for quick construction with minimum materials. The Board of Trade regulated the allocation of materials and only allowed certain manufacturers to produce the items. I Utility furniture was reserved for people whose homes had been damaged by bombs, or for newly married couples setting up home. Demand for housing and furniture was unprecedented as thousands of homes had been destroyed during the Blitz and over half a million couples were getting married each year. In order to purchase the new furniture, applicants had to show identity cards as well as give a valid reason for their application. If deemed acceptable by the authorities, they were given a permit to order furniture and household objects from the Utility catalogue, in which all items were sold at controlled prices, free of purchase tax. I The scheme, however, proved to be too austere for the public. The secondhand furniture market boomed as people hunted for more individual pieces to furnish their homes rather than their plain Utility counterparts. The owners of Utility pieces often customised them, as illustrated by the carved back of one of the Utility chairs. By 1951, materials were more readily available and the Utility Scheme ended.

Page 10 1950s DESIGNING FOR MODERN CONSUMERS I Planned by the then Labour Government as a ‘tonic to the nation’ the Festival of Britain was intended to celebrate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition and mark an end to post-war austerity. The Festival was nationwide, with a permanent exhibition site on the south bank of the Thames in London. It offered the opportunity for a new generation of designers such as Ernest Race and Robin and Lucienne Day to show new designs for a post-war Britain. I The Antelope chair was designed by Ernest Race to furnish the outdoor terraces of the Royal Festival Hall and was a hugely popular design with its playful use of materials, colour and form. Abram Games was chosen as the principal graphic designer for the exhibition, designing the Festival logo as well as posters, pamphlets and publicity material. His striking graphic design style conveyed ‘maximum meaning’ from ‘minimum means’ using a man’s head as the logo, accompanied by red and white flags. 1960s-1970s DESIGNING MODERN FLIGHT I Concorde is one of the most famous engineering design projects of the twentieth century and a rare example of successful international collaboration. Its Anglo-French designers produced the world’s first supersonic commercial passenger aircraft, which at its fastest flew from New York to London in less than three hours. When the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee was established in 1956, flights from London to New York took as long as 15 hours. Teams of British engineers in Gloucestershire worked for over a decade with their French colleagues in Toulouse to resolve the technical challenges of developing an aircraft powerful enough to fly faster than the speed of sound. It was the only commercial aircraft to fly faster than twice the speed of sound, and at 60,000 feet – twice the height of Mount Everest. I Concorde’s sleek triangular wings enabled it to fly at exceptionally high speed, but required it to take off and land at such steep angles that its needle-shaped nose had to be tilted to allow pilots to see the runway. To further optimise speed, Concorde needed to be as narrow as possible. The cabin was only 1.8 metres high with space for just 100 seats. Despite this, more than 2.5 million passengers flew supersonically on the British Airways Concorde from 1976 to 2003. I 20 Concordes were built: six for development and 14 for commercial service. More than 2.5 million passengers flew supersonically on the BA Concorde alone between 1976 and 2003. A typical flight from London to New York was three hours and twenty minutes, compared with seven hours for a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. As Concorde flew twice as high as conventional long haul jets,turbulence was rare and passengers could see the curvature of the earth through the windows. Page 11 1970s DESIGNING MODERN CULTURE I The National Theatre opened in 1963 under the directorship of Laurence Olivier. It was initially housed in a former music hall, the Old Vic, behind Waterloo station. It was conceived as an open-minded, progressive company which would put on plays to reflect the changing life and spirit of contemporary Britain. I The NT established a reputation for its pioneering approach to new writing and methods of interpretation, both in direction and design. Production designers such as John Napier were employed to design radical theatre sets for the NT’s innovative theatre programme. For Peter Shaffer’s play Equus, Napier designed a minimal set where members of the cast and audience actually sat on stage together, creating an intense and intimate atmosphere. Equus established Napier as one of the world’s leading production designers. I Like London Transport in the 1930s, the National Theatre of the 1970s proved remarkably adept at ensuring that every element of its visual communication reflected these aims and ideals. Strikingly modern posters and a bold new logo designed by Ken Briggs all shaped the visual identity of the theatre company.

Equus masks 1973 design DESIGN: John Napier CLASSIC PRODUCTION: National Theatre Workshop I An example of a design solution to the problem of how to represent horses in the theatre without using live animals. The designer, John Napier did not want the representation of the horses in the play to look like pantomime. The horses were played by actors who wore masks made out of cane, foil and leather. On their feet they wore metal shoes to represent hooves. John Napier worked closely with a choreographer, Claude Chagrin, to show the actors how to animate the masks and hooves by ensuring that every gesture, such as a flick of the head would indicate the movement of a horse. I His design was considered so important to Equus that critics complained when the director Sidney Lumet used real settings and live horses in his film of the play.

Page 12 1980s DESIGNING MODERN LEISURE I In 1982, the Hacienda nightclub opened in Manchester. Formerly a yacht showroom,it was converted into what was described as an ‘industrial entertainment zone’. Ben Kelly was commissioned to design the club. He stripped the building to its iron pillars and girders, introduced checker-plate flooring and road bollards and raising the DJ onto a platform constructed out of scaffolding to accentuate the industrial character. I The Hacienda became the blueprint for the super clubs of the 1990s such as the Ministry of Sound in London and Cream in Liverpool. The influence of industrial interior design can also be seen in mainstream shops, for example, the sandwich shop, Prêt a Manger. 2000s DESIGNING BRITAIN’S FUTURE I Designers and architects spend much of their time designing our future. To make provision for an ever-increasing population, 150,000 homes need to be built each year as well as hundreds of new schools, and dozens of new hospitals. Schools need to be rebuilt or renovated and new prisons, roads, bridges and public transport systems constructed. I The Thames Gateway is an example of an industrial area which is currently being redeveloped to accommodate an anticipated 500,000 newcomers – the equivalent of a town the size of Sheffield, with 200,000 new homes. The area being developed currently has a population of 1.6 million residents and is a mix of light industry, pockets of natural beauty, as well as new housing for some of Britain’s most deprived communities. I The construction of the 2012 Olympic stadium in the Lower Lea Valley will act as a powerful catalyst for economic recovery. Planners, architects and engineers are working on a master plan for the area which will include the venues and infrastructure needed for the 2012 Olympic Games. It will set out the location of the key Olympic facilities and their relationship with transport, public spaces, local ecology and the landscape.

Page 13 London 2012 Olympic Park design MASTER PLANNING TEAM: Allies & Morrison, Buro Happold, EDAW, CLASSIC Foreign Office Architects, HOK Sport for the London Development Agency I The brief for the master planners was to produce planning outlines for the infrastructure required by the London Olympic 2012 Park, including transport improvements, the construction of 11,000 new homes and the development of waterway and open space strategies. I At the heart of the park is an enormous stadium conceived to replicate the human body, with its roof acting as muscular support for the rest of the building. The objective, according to Foreign Office Architects, was that the stadium should “communicate the idea of physical strength, sport and movement”. As London will not need such a large sports stadium after the 2012 Olympics are over, it needs to be dismantled swiftly to leave a smaller stadium and to clear the rest of the site for redevelopment.

The 21st Century Antarctic Research Station design DESIGN: Faber Maunsell, Hugh Broughton Architects CLASSIC

I How do you provide a safe, comfortable place for scientists to live and work in the most extreme environment on the planet, where the temperature can drop to -56 degrees Celsius during the winter, and where prevailing winds can reach more than 90 miles per hour? This was the challenge facing the engineering consultancy Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects when they were commissioned to design the Halley VI Research Station for the British Antarctic Survey, sitting on the 150- metre thick floating Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. I Their solution was to create a prefabricated structure of 12 interconnected modules on two platforms: one to accommodate the permanent staff, the other for extra summer staff and the research laboratories. The station is mounted on mechanical legs, on skis which will enable it to climb above the snow and to be relocated inland if there are significant movements in the ice.

Page 14 1920s-PRESENT DAY: ICONIC BRITISH VEHICLE DESIGN I The Design Museum has chosen some rare examples of classic British cars for display as part of Designing Modern Britain. Among the examples is an early model of the Austin Seven Chummy. Designed in 1923 by Sir Herbert Austin, founder of the Austin motor company, with the draughtsman Stanley Edge, the Chummy was the first British car to be made affordable to the general public. I Alongside the Chummy is the first-ever production model of the Mini. Manufactured by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, this white Morris Mini-Minor was the first of five million models to be produced over the next forty years, making the Mini one of the most popular cars ever to be designed and made in Britain. The Mini was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis as the British answer to the Italian and German bubble cars which were flooding the market in the late 1950s. The Mini was packed with design innovations: by positioning the engine sideways rather than in its conventional front-to-back position, Issigonis saved so much space that 80 per cent of the little three-metre-long car could be occupied by the driver and passengers. I Also on display is the first production model of another classic British car, a green 1948 Morris Minor, as well as the futuristic three-wheeled 1970 Bond Bug and a 1985 Sinclair C5. Designed by the inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, the C5 was intended to be a compact, inexpensive electric car but it flopped amid safety concerns, after test models skidded on snow and ice. The display is completed by examples of innovative bike design, including cycling’s equivalent of the Mini, the Moulton Compact Bicycle 1962 and a Raleigh Chopper, 1968-70.

Page 15 DESIGNING MODERN BRITAIN KEY STAGE 3 GALLERY TASK SHEETS

1 CHAIRS Take time to look at the collection of chairs. Complete the task below using two chairs which contrast strongly with each other. For example, they could look very different or be made from different materials; or one could be old and one new.

Page 16 chair 1 INFORMATION Designer

Date of design

Date of manufacture

Name of chair

Materials

OPINION

What is it for?

Who is it for?

How comfortable is it?

I like

I dislike

Page 17 chair 2 INFORMATION Designer

Date of design

Date of manufacture

Name of chair

Materials

OPINION

What is it for?

Who is it for?

How comfortable is it?

I like

I dislike

Page 18 2 Find a chair that is made from an unusual material. Briefly sketch this chair. Write down the name of it and the year it was made.

Now annotate your sketch.

a What materials have been used? b Do you think you could make the same chair in a different material? How would this change the design?

Page 19 3 Look at the Sinclair C5. What do you think the designer was trying to achieve with this design? Can you see any problems with it? Design a small vehicle for inner-city use. It must look modern so people want to buy it; however, it must also be safe and environmentally friendly.

Draw and annotate your solution.

Page 20 4 Find an example of graphic design that interests you. (It may be a poster, a map, a book or album cover). Look closely at any images and lettering that have been used. Consider the layout of the piece and any use of colour. When was this design produced? Who for/by? Why is this design effective? Use the space below to make further notes or sketches to illustrate your points.

Page 21 DESIGNING MODERN BRITAIN KEY STAGE 4 GALLERY TASK SHEETS

1 CHAIRS Take time to look at the collection of chairs. Complete the task below using two chairs which contrast strongly with each other. For example, they could differ in appearance, materials used or date of manufacture.

Page 22 chair 1 INFORMATION Designer Date of manufacture Name of chair Materials Manufacturing processes

OPINION Function User Ergonomics Social/environmental issues

I like I dislike

Page 23 chair 2 INFORMATION Designer Date of manufacture Name of chair Materials Manufacturing processes

OPINION Function User Ergonomics Social/environmental issues

I like I dislike

Page 24 2 Find a chair that is made from an unusual material. Briefly sketch this chair. Record the name and year of manufacture.

Now annotate your sketch

a What materials have been used? b How do you think this has affected the design of the chair?

Page 25 3 Look at the Sinclair C5. Think about what the designer was trying to achieve. Can you see any problems with this design? How would you modify this vehicle to become safer and more desirable to a modern user? Draw and annotate your solution.

Page 26 4 Find an example of graphic design that interests you. (It may be a poster, a map, a book or album cover). Look closely at any images and lettering that have been used. Consider the layout of the piece and any use of colour. When was this design produced? Who for/by? Why is this design effective? Record your thoughts and ideas using sketches and notes.

Page 27 KEY STAGE 3 CLASSROOM FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES The suggestions listed below are intended to give ideas for potential projects that can be run at school having visited the Designing Modern Britain exhibition. These may be developed into major, term-length projects or used, in part, as short focused tasks to reinforce a specific key area.

1.GRAPHICS BRIEF DESIGN AND MAKE A COLLECTORS’ EDITION ALBUM COVER

research I Look at the different album cover designs on display in the museum. Sketch two that you like the most and think about why this is. Annotate your drawings by describing the style of the lettering, any pictures that have been used, the colours and layout. Have any unusual materials been used? How does the design make you feel? Is it shocking? Exciting? Weird? Happy? Sad? Record your thoughts. I Look at examples of collectors’ or limited edition releases. Note special features, materials used, any tricks that have been used to increase sales. I Research cardboard engineering techniques, for example v-folds and parallel planes, sliding and pivoting mechanisms. Think about how these could be used to make an album cover more exciting. I Students could then be given a framework in which to write a specification and work on a range of possible design solutions. These could include sketches and ideas for mechanisms modelled in scrap materials.

final outcomes could be one or several of the following:

I A presentation, full-colour drawing of the final design. I A three-dimensional album cover made in card (full-size or scaled down). The nets for these could be calculated and cut by hand or by CADCAM. The graphic elements could be produced by hand, computer or a combination of both. Special features may include moving parts or three-dimensional elements. I Extension tasks could include designing additional products to support the re-release (eg T-shirts, mugs); designing promotional materials such as posters, flyers etc.

Students should then evaluate their work.

Page 28 2.RESISTANT MATERIALS BRIEF DESIGN AND MAKE A CHAIR FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE

research I Study the diverse range of chairs on display in the museum. Sketch three that you like most and think about why this is. Annotate your drawings with notes about the materials used, colour, shape, function (used for what?), target market (used by whom?), ergonomics (how comfortable would it be?) What makes it different to other chairs? I Think about all the different chairs you have sat on today. Make a list of all the different types of chair (kitchen, office, classroom, beach, stool, armchair, bench, dining room, garden, etc.) I Focus on one type of chair. Find a picture of at least two examples of this type of chair. Compare them in terms of materials, shape, size, comfort, cost, target market, special features. Give a mark out of 10 to each. This could be laid out as a chart. I Students could then be given a framework in which to write a specification and work on a range of possible design solutions. These could be sketched and modelled in scrap materials.

final outcomes could be one or several of the following:

I A presentation, full-colour drawing of the final design. I A three-dimensional model of the final design. I A (scaled down) three-dimensional completed chair which incorporates a range of materials and processes and which demonstrates a variety of skills. They could be constructed by hand and could include elements made using CAM. They should be for a specific function. They could be for a specific user group. I Extension tasks could include developing their designs to appeal to a consumer in 2020.

Students should then evaluate their work.

Page 29 3.GRAPHICS, TEXTILES, RESISTANT MATERIALS BRIEF DESIGN AND MAKE A RANGE OF SOUVENIRS FOR THE ‘FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN 2006’.

research I Study the objects on display in the 1950s ‘Designing for Modern Consumers’ part of the exhibition. Look particularly at the work that shows the development of the logo for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Draw the logo and annotate with notes about colours used, lettering style, shapes, symbols etc. Is this a successful logo? Think about what it was trying to achieve. Record ideas. Draw three souvenirs that were sold during the Festival of Britain. Annotate each one: what is this used for? What is it made out of? How is the logo incorporated/ adapted in each one? Is it unusual? Who would buy this? How much for? I Look at a range of well-known logos. Why do companies use them? How do they work? Which ones are most successful? Why? I Analyse a range of souvenirs that are sold in a variety of places. Compare and analyse three of these in terms of cost, size, target market, function, materials, logos. What motivates people to buy souvenirs? (affordable, gift, reminder, useful, attractive, special, supporting the place visited?)

Students could then be given a framework in which to write a specification and work on a range of possible design solutions. These could be sketched and modelled in scrap materials.

final outcomes could be one or several of the following:

I A presentation, full-colour drawing of the final range of products. I A rough, three-dimensional mock-up of the range. I A completed range of products incorporating the developed logo. These could be made in any material from card and paper to textiles, metals or plastics. I Extension tasks could include designing a poster to promote the ‘Festival of Britain 2006’.

Students should then evaluate their work.

Page 30 KEY STAGE 4 CLASSROOM FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES The suggestions listed below are intended to give ideas for potential projects that can be run at school after you’ve visited the Designing Modern Britain exhibition. These may be developed into major, term-length projects or used, in part, as short focused tasks to reinforce a specific key area.

1.GRAPHICS I situation A major record label is planning to re-release a popular hit from the 1970s. It will be released on vinyl and is intended to be sold as a special collector’s edition. The company want the design of the cover to appeal to the modern market whilst also reflecting its link to the 70s.

brief DESIGN AND MAKE AN ALBUM COVER

research I Study the album cover designs in the museum. Sketch those that most appeal to you and think why this is. Annotate thoughts about use of typography, imagery, materials, manufacturing processes, colour, layout etc. What is the design trying to achieve? How does it make you feel? Is it shocking? Exciting? Weird? Bleak? Does it reflect the time in which it was produced? Try to explain your thoughts. I Use a variety of sources to find out about 1970s popular culture. Famous people; popular bands; fashions and trends; colours, patterns, typefaces that were in vogue. Compare a 70s album cover to a contemporary one. Study and record the ways in which they differ. I Look at examples of collector’s or limited edition releases. Note special features, materials used, tricks used to increase sales. Collect information about manufacturing processes you could use to produce a modern album cover. Focus on innovative processes that could increase the appeal of a design and attract more consumers. Collect data such as standard sizes of albums, printed information/ regulations etc.

Students should then write a specification closely reflecting what they have learned from their research and produce a wide range of possible design solutions.

final outcomes could be one or several of the following:

I A presentation, full-colour drawing of the final design. I A 3D album cover made in card (full-size or scaled down). The nets for these could be calculated and cut by hand or CADCAM. Graphic elements can be produced by hand, computer or a combination of both. You may include cut-outs, moving parts, 3D elements, cardboard engineering (or modelling), unusual use of materials or processes. I Extension tasks could include designing a point-of-sale display for the product: designing additional products to support it, for example T-shirts, mugs; designing promotional materials such as posters, flyers etc.

Students should then evaluate work against the criteria noted in their specifications.

Page 31 2.RESISTANT MATERIALS

situation I The conversion of commercial buildings into domestic living spaces was first undertaken in London during the 1970s in redundant riverside warehouses. As growing numbers of people require live/work homes, with flexible, open- plan spaces, this has become one of the main forms of inner-city housing development. Designers are needing to produce seating solutions to cater for contemporary living.

brief DESIGN AND MAKE A CHAIR FOR A MODERN HOME

research I Study the diverse range of chairs on display in the museum. Sketch those that most appeal to you and think about why this is. Annotate your drawings with notes about aesthetics, function, target market, materials, manufacturing processes, ergonomics and comfort. What is successful about each of these designs? What makes it different to other chairs? Record your thoughts. Use a variety of sources to find out about ‘modern homes’. What rooms do they contain? I How is the space used? How has the way we use our homes changed? What makes a home ‘modern’? (consider live/work, open-plan, limited space, sustainable living). I Consider all the specific uses of chairs in the modern home. Collect and record information. (Uses include chairs for the kitchen, computer, breakfast bar stool, living room, TV, computer games etc.) I Focus on one type of chair. Collect images. Compare and analyse at least two chairs in your selected group. I Collect information about current manufacturing processes that could be used in the production of a chair. Consider the range of materials available. Which are most suitable, sustainable, affordable etc. I Consider who your target market will be. How old are they? What is their lifestyle? What do they do in the day/evening? How much money might they spend on furniture for their home? Collect anthropometric data for your intended group of users.

Students should then write a specification closely reflecting what they have learned from their research, and produce a wide range of possible design solutions that may be sketched and/or modelled in scrap materials.

final outcomes could be one or several of the following:

I A presentation, full-colour drawing of the final design. I A three-dimensional model of the final design. I A (scaled-down) 3D chair using a range of materials and processes and demonstrating a variety of skills. They may be made by hand and could include elements made using CAM, and for a specific function and user group. They could be sculptural, multi-functional, made from recycled materials/ found objects, flat pack or collapsible, futuristic etc. I Extension tasks could include developing their designs to appeal to a consumer in 2020: modifying the design so it could be manufactured more economically (perhaps through adapting the materials, the size, shape and/or number of components used).

Students should then evaluate their work against the criteria noted in their specifications.

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