proposal (PDF)

commuting meditation

white cube gallery exhibit proposal
graphic design principles
thomas kowalski

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table of contents


brief 5
key research 7
the concept 9
circulation plan 11
elevations 13
components & hierarchy 15
key visuals 17

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the brief
data visualisation
Either openly and actively, or
in subtle, subliminal ways,
the city talks to us. The city
is dense and complex with
many infrastructures and
systems working together. It is
an environment of continuous
negotiation and navigation,
based on codes of behaviour
and basic human laws of
cohabitation. It is a delicate and
dynamic balance relentlessly
adapting and renewing.
Designers have an important role
in the city, when done well their
work is seamless, enhancing
clarity, promoting civility and
engagement. They involve people
and
maintain the open and subliminal
codes of practice and stimulate
the flow of communication.
In recent decades, new areas of
design practice have emerged
combining the standard design
element of form, function, and
meaning with the exchange of
information and even emotion.
New technologies encourage
this dialogue across time and
geographical boundaries.

Through this course you will be
introduced to the fundamentals
of graphic design as a dynamic
means of visual communication
and a major part of our visual
culture. It builds a foundation
in the appreciation of visual
culture. It builds a foundation in
the application of visual design
processes and encourages the
development of compositional
design skills through traditional
and digital image making,
including photography,
printmaking, illustration, the use
of colour, sequential thinking and
visual narrative. In particular, you
will be introduced to the concept
of phytogeography, participatory
observation, data flow, mapping
and information design.

process / documentation
It is important that you develop
your own interpretation of the
space you are in. Document and
describe your sensory reactions,
your cultural reaction and those
of others in your space. You need
to show VISUAL evidence

of how you have explored the
environment around you. Draw
sounds, collect found objects,
watch nature, observe tensions,
movement, flow, hierarchies,
groupings. Describe your
thoughts and feelings. Look for
constraints and similarities. This
project demands field work and
using a sketchbook is a must.

submission
To submit a high quality data
visualisation as a finished
collection of visual works
collected during field work.
There must be a clear design
methodology and data collection
as validated through your
sketchbook. In addition, you
are to submit your design
sketchbooks demonstrating
the development, research and
visual experiments conducted
throughout the GDP course.

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key research

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the concept
After choosing the greenwich
foot tunnel space to observe
and record data, I found that
the commonly used commuter
tunnel shaped into a dead space
of London’s many underground
dwellings. This dead space,
meaning no cell phone service
and relatively quiet atmosphere,
was an empty accumulation of
time that the public unknowingly
created unspoken rules to abide
by, as to how people walked,
or choosing not to interact with
each other.
This lead me into investigating
the numerical data of individuals
method of travel in the tunnel.
Groups walking as well as
individual people walking,
running, and bike riding were all
going at a specific average of
time. To calculate this average,
rather than observing several
different individuals, I looked at
the dimensions and lengths of
the tunnel.

These measurements allowed me
to create a more exact number,
which I then tested various times
with the public. Once this precise
number of average time was
created, I was able to open up
the possibilities to heart rates per
minute, blinks per minute, steps
and pedals through the national
averages of those variables and
their specific actions.
The idea of the space and
visualisation in response to this
data is to reimagine what is
usually a mundane, dark and
eerie space into new meditative
habits. This dead space and
time that commuters, students
and families experience is an
opportunity to reorganize, reflect
and improve the conscious mind.
The averages collected from the
tunnel based on time, speed and
steps are a literal translation into
tonal frequencies,

which viewers can experience
through headphones supplied by
the exhibition space. These tonal
frequencies do not communicate
the action, rather induce and
promote a meditative state
through binaural sound therapy.
Taking the shape of the tunnel,
the visual is a literal translation of
the space reinterpreted as color
therapy. Meditation’s outcomes
can vary with each individual,
relaxation is only one emotion
this can induce, others
may feel a sense of
empowerment or energy.

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circulation plan
white cube space

east e

nteran

ce

west e

nteran

ce

The movement of visitors in the
space will be relatively simple,
as the southwest corner of the
museum has an east and west
entrance to the exhibit. To play
on the idea of commuting habits,
the public will have the choice of
which way the to enter and move
in the space. Mapped in the
mock up to the left the general
pathway will most likely look
like so, but allowing the tunnel
to be half open, gives viewers
a chance to percieve the tunnel
in its conventional way as under
the thames river, but also have
an outside looking in perspective
as they enter the space. Over
time the space will begin to
have its own unknown rule of
the direction of traffic. Based on
convenience and how the public
influences itself.

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915

610

the elevations

610

3353

2743

The tunnel will be approximately
half the size of the entire space,
following the same height
measurements of the foot tunnel at
2743 mm. Left and right projectors
will be ceiling mounted at 610mm
from the height of the ceiling, and
the tunnel projector will sit lower at
915mm. The space itself is 27000
mm by 29000 mm, as we will not
have anything else on the walls,
this will provide adequate space for
visitors to observe and make their
way around the visualisation.

2438

the tunnel will be approximatelty
2743mm high by 13500mm long

2743

29000

27000

27000

13500

29000

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components & hierarchy
alloy tent poles

nylon sheeting
The structure will be developed
using alloy tent poles and weighted
fasteners, which will provide enough
pliability to flex into the shape of
the tunnel, using minimal material.
White nylon will act as the walls of
the tunnel, giving a solidified wall,
but also a light enough material
for the projection to shoot through
the fabric and encapsulate the
viewer entirely. The exhibition
requires the use of 3 high powered
projectors, as well as a variety of
cheap bluetooth headphones,
connected to the audio of the
projection. The visualisation will also
be a material run by the computer
in correspondence. The overall
visual identity of the project is a
simple helvetica neue medium
and thin font pairing, with a black
wheel circle, representational to the
tunnels shape. All lowercase type
and subtle teal color communicate
a simple less bold statement.

helvetica neue medium
helvetica neue thin

helvetica neue medium
helvetica neue thin

visual example

helvetica neue medium
helvetica neue thin

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key visuals

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