Matthew Shlian's paper engineering

Matthew Shlian is an artist who works with paper. His attitude to creativity is really interesting. He has also managed to create a life for himself which allows him to continue to make art in his studio. He is inspired by the desire to continue experimenting with paper engineering, to test the limits of what is possible. He uses any technology available to him. I love what he says about the process of making something. He failed maths and geometry in school. He relies on imagining forms and testing the possibilities of his material in his hands. If he can see it and feel it he knows he can make it but says that if he knew exactly what the work was going to look like before it was completed he would not bother making it. In other words, the element of risk is all important and the process of solving problems is what motivates him to continue to create.

The 50 Things Every Graphic Designer Should Know

In the context of our revision of the Manifesto for a Creative Tallis, this advice for graphic designers (recommended by Billy) might be really useful. As well as some great advice for anyone hoping to be creative, like No. 34 above about the value of limitations, the addition of fantastic little line drawings really brings the ideas to life.

Thanks for the recommendation Billy.

Michael Wolff discusses visual literacy

What makes a good designer? What is visual literacy? What habits of mind are useful in the world of visual design?

Michael Wolff is a designer who values his creative muscles - curiosity, appreciation and imagination. As the man says, "Seeing is a muscular exercise".

Wall graphics for the new school

I've been playing with a new thinking tool today called Cognition. It's an application that you can download free online and is designed to equip the user with a set of thinking tools called Cogs. On Friday I discovered that we have about six weeks to come up with some design ideas for the interior wall graphics for the new school. I decided to use Cognition to help me think through the issues. I chose the '17 must ask questions for planning successful projects' Cog. The above image shows you what the interface looks like. Once you have identified your project, the Cog presents you with a series of questions to prompt your thinking. You can find both the questions and my responses below (the final mindmap is exported as an .html file which can then be read in a word processing programme.)

Although I might have been able to think this through without the help of Cognition, the sequence of questions was really helpful in supporting the logic of my thinking process and causing me to reflect on the most significant information needed to make the project a success. I now have a clear plan of attack and know what issues need resolving before the project can proceed.

I'm going to try the Edward de Bono 'Six Thinking Hats' Cog next time. There are a number of free Cogs and more that can be downloaded for a small cost from the website.

17 Must Ask Questions for Planning Successful Projects
Plan for Success

What's the name of your project? : Wall graphics for the new school

How would you describe Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Decorative and educational resources to enhance learning

What are your goals and objectives for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : To stimulate learners. To represent our specialisms. To surprise and delight. To provoke thought.

Who will benefit from Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Teachers, Students, Parents, Members of the local community

What products, if any, will you be creating for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Vinyl text/graphics Textured wallpaper

What services, if any, will you be creating for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : N/A

What methods will you use for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Employ a graphic designer

What kind of schedule do you anticipate for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Six weeks approx.

What partners or collaborators will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Convene a design group (teachers, students, parents, member of SLT) Collaborate with Modulex and the architect

What specific information or advice will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Go-ahead from SLT. A clear brief (who will create this?) Authority to make decisions

What special systems or equipment will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Design meetings. Time. A means to share ideas (Facebook?)

What special tools or templates will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Exemplars from other schools/public spaces (e.g. cultural institutions)

How will you evaluate the success of Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : The community enjoys and is stimulated by the finished designs. They don't exceed the budget

Who needs to review and approve decisions for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Not sure?

How might Wall graphics for the new school evolve over time?
Your thought : Need to check lifecycle plan. How often can the graphics be replaced/renewed?

For Wall graphics for the new school who will be responsible for what?
Your thought : Design: design group, SLT, architect, Modulex Upkeep: FM contractor

What risks should you plan to manage for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Overspend. Insufficient time for design process. Lack of community support

What open issues remain for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Who creates brief? Who has veto over decision-making? Who will be the designer? How much can we spend on design development?

More ideas for wall graphics

Here are a few more great images from the Blik website featuring projects they have completed using vinyl stickers. I really like the variety of approaches, the use of abstract forms, typography, children's drawings and sophisticated digital artwork. I'm keen to employ a range of designs in the new school building; images that reward repeat viewings. What do you think?

This kind of treatment might look great in the new café where there is a long unbroken surface running the length of the dining area.

Text obviously gives us lots of scope. There could be quotations from students, teachers and members of the local community or famous artists, dramatists, musicians, mathematicians, scientists, authors etc.

I like the idea of a graphic that incorporates real work by our students. We would obviously need to start collecting this in a meaningful way for inclusion at a later date. This could be really motivating for existing students.

I love these big, overlapping abstract forms. These shapes could refer to lots of different areas of the curriculum but not in a literal way.

My partner has just completed a project in a primary school where students' poetry has been transferred to wall spaces around the building. I like the way these words overlap and jostle for attention.

Wall Graphics

Following on from my last post about the interior design of the new school, here are some images taken from the Blik website. These are custom vinyl transfers for large spaces and demonstrate how exciting and flexible this process can be. I'm still a bit concerned about durability compared with painted walls, but I'd be interested in knowing what you think of this as an approach.

A Halloween themed ePortfolio

Nice work Mr Wallis. Even the Voki has been redesigned complete with dangling spider and spooky message. Very clever!

Creative thinking t-shirt

We didn't get a massive response last time to the call for creative learning t-shirt slogans so here's another chance to throw your hat into the ring. This design comes courtesy of those clever folk at Threadless.

New Look

I was getting a bit bored with the standard Blogger template we were using so I've taken the liberty of opting for a bit of a re-design. There are a dizzying variety of styles to choose from. I did a simple web search and discovered hundreds of free downloadable templates. Once the zip file has been downloaded and expanded to reveal the xml file, it's simply a matter of uploading it to your blog on the Layout page. You lose your widgets in the process, but it hasn't taken me too long to move things around a bit and re-establish what was there before (almost). I chose a template that suggested ideas scribbled on the back of an envelope (thanks for the prompt Mr Hawes). I also like the suggestion of something handmade. The heading area does take up rather a lot of screen space and you may find yourself scrolling more than you used to in order to access the posts and links, but I hope you like the new look.

Serious Play

I've just watched a great TED Talk by Stuart Brown on the subject of play and why it's so important for us all to cultivate the art of play throughout our lives. About half way through the talk, he describes his involvement in a project at Stanford University called the d.school. This is a school of design which includes the following in its manifesto:

* Prepare FUTURE INNOVATORS to be breakthrough thinkers & doers
* Use DESIGN THINKING to inspire multidisciplinary teams
* Foster RADICAL COLLABORATION between students, faculty & industry
* Tackle BIG PROJECTS and use prototyping to discover new solutions

It occurred to me that this would make an excellent mission statement for Thomas Tallis School. He then shows a student film based on a design project exploring reasons why meetings are often so boring and suggesting a possible solution. In the spirit of collaboration I have ripped this bit of the talk and re-presented it to you in the above clip. I really like the look of the d.school and wonder if we could borrow any ideas from Stanford in re-thinking our curriculum at Key Stage 3? What if the cross-curricular learning days, for example, were structured around a problem posing and solving task? Students could work in teams, with staff to support them from a range of disciplines, to identify a design challenge and develop creative solutions. What I liked about the most recent day was the spirit of play and discovery that I saw across the school. I think we could all do with a bit more of this.

I know Ms Hawkins is an expert in the creative design process and I wonder if she would be willing to show us a couple of strategies for developing ideas? I may suggest a radical re-think of our Leadership Team meetings based on this film.