Architecture in London- (GRC 10)

London is famously known for its vast architecture types and extremely old and historical buildings. Throughout history, many different civilizations have built structures that have survived to this day and contribute to the awe of the architecture of London and its surrounding cities.

This first picture shows the famous Roman baths in the city of Bath, just outside of London. The Romans were the first "civilized" nation to inhabit the land of what is now England. Their grand architecture was an incredible technological feat accomplished in their day, and it still remains one of the most beautiful and admired building designs today.

This second example shows a house that was built during Shakespeare's era, and was in fact, the cottage of his wife, Anne Hathaway. At this point in history, the architecture had taken a different turn and was designed with fewer stones and columns as in the Roman times, and was built with more materials such as wood.  The design of the buildings such as these had a more homely and cottage-like feel to them as opposed to the grand proclamation of Roman architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last example shown is that of a more modern house that may be commonly seen in London. As you can see, the same style and feel of the Shakespearean buildings are kept, but it is obvious that the style of architecture is more stable, more modern  Brick is used instead of wood, as most buildings in London were made out of stone or brick after the Great Fire of London burned down the wooden architecture.

War Memorials in London- (GRC 9)

 

London, being a city of long historical legacy, has erected various war memorials throughout the vast expanse of its parks and streets. Designing a respectful memorial is not an easy task, and if one goes throughout the city and notices the countless memorials, they will see a vast variety of design choices and styles.


This first picture is an example of a war memorial that was dedicated to soldiers of the first world war. The designer of this memorial decided to create statues of real people, bringing a familiarity aspect to visitors, that they might connect personally to those that this memorial was created for. By making the memorial itself a statue of life-sized soldiers, visitors can hopefully relate to the individual and personal aspects of the effects of war.

This second example shows a very contrasting design choice. This memorial is very simple, adorned only by three flags. The effects of this memorial on viewers seems to be designed to be less focused on the individual, and more tailored towards recognizing the effects of war on a nation and citizens as a whole. The simple stone feature and respectful flags seem to speak to the nation's glory and honor in the midst of war.

Packaging in Harrods- (GRC 8)

 
Harrods is one of the most popular shops in London, as they are infamously known for their expensive and vast range of products.  One of the most interesting things to me when walking through Harrods was how beautifully all their products were packaged and displayed.

One of their products was a tin full of English biscuits, or cookies, as shown below.  From the design of the tin can and the layout of the display, it is obvious that this product is targeting London tourists.  The bright colors of the Union Jack arranged together screams London.  The simplicity of this design is what makes it look clean and attractive to the eye, causing it to be a perfectly ideal souvenir for a tourist to bring home to remember their London visit.

This second example is another package of cookies found at Harrods, however, the design of the packaging is obviously quite different.  The name of the product is not easy to see from a distance, however, what does catch the eye is the bright color of the box and the shiny accents of the metallic print.  The gorgeous design is what causes customers to come closer to the product to get a better glimpse of what it is.  Even if you weren't a huge fan of ginger hunks, you might be tempted to purchase this treat just from the stunning package design!

Wayfinding Signage- (GRC 7)

As an extremely busy tourist city, London has countless examples of various wayfinding signage.  In order for visitors and locals to know where they are and where they need to be, signage designers need to be especially aware of the layout of their wayfinding posts.  However, the location of the signage is just as important as the design.  A sign can be wonderfully and beautifully created, but if its not placed in a location that allows people to see it, it won't be the least bit effective.

This first example of wayfinding signage in London is a common street sign that one would find in Kensington area.  However, as you can see, the design of the sign is not ideal for such a popular tourist area.  The small font size makes it difficult to read, and the location can be extremely hard to find since it is posted on the side of a building instead of the street itself.

This second example, however, is a much more effective design.  Although the font may still be a bit small, the choice of using a bright yellow color makes this post easy to spot from a distance.  The location of this sign also allows people to quickly and easily see whether or not they are going in the right direction.  The contrast of the white letters on a black background help this sign in being even more effective and easy to read.

Postcard Design (GRC 6)

When you travel to any vacation destination around the world, what's one of the first things you think to send your friends back home?  That's right- a postcard bragging about all the cool places you went to!  Well, in London, there are countless designs of some classic and unconventional postcards for all the tourists to chose from.

 

 
 

This is an example of a classic postcard.  The clean, visible image depicts a scene that is very "London-esque", with the changing of the royal guards at Buckingham Palace.  And just in case one was unaware of the famous site and guard uniforms, the location is clearly written at the bottom of the card.  Receiving this postcard from a friend across the sea would be certain to give a definitive London feel that could not be mistaken.

 

This second example is a cut out of Prince Charles' face.  Although this, too, is an unmistakingly British, the design of this card is more comedic than the classic example above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last example is a more artistic take on the classic postcard, as it presents a more vintage-like design.  The colors and iconic images on this card give it that familiar London feel, but in a more distant way than the classic first example above.

 

Supermarket Signage (GRC 5)

Signage is everywhere in large cities, and particularly in London!  Incredible signage designs can be found for restaurants, shops, flower markets, and product labels. When I walked into Whole Foods on High Street Kensington, they had countless different designs for their advertisements and food aisles.
 
 
This first sign uses a modern font style and a simple design layout and background. The white letters on the brown surface create a clean, contrasting appeal, perfectly complemented by the thin white lined border with subtle corner details.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




 
This second sign is similar in color simplicity, but is much busier when it comes to fonts and the use of space. All the fonts are sans serif, but the combination of all caps, italics, and different font sizes causes a jumbled look. This sign is obviously directing customers down a tea aisle, however, because of all the noise created by the many different typography styles it is not an easy, quick read.
 



This last sign goes back to a simple typographic style, but also incorporates contrast within the typography by combining a sans serif all caps with a script font.  This contrast is also complemented by the contrast of colors- the light blue with the yellow detail.  Interestingly, the designers have picked this color coordination to match the product that they are advertising right below the sign, drawing the customers' eyes and attention to their display.

 

 
 

Shoreditch Flower Market (GRC 4)

 

Intentional Arrangements

Last Sunday morning, some friends and I went to check out the flower market in Shoreditch, London.  The flower arrangements were simply awe-inspiring! I don't think I've ever seen so many gorgeous flowers in one place before.  Even though it was raining quite hard, we were able to get a few stunning photos and stand in awe with the many other buzzing customers.  Looking at the various arrangements, it was interesting to see how each seller organized their flower stand.  Some sellers set up a variety of different types of flowers and colors in one fantastical rainbow, like the photo shown to the left.

Others, however, decided to organize their flowers in a more systematic arrangement- by both color and type.  In doing this, some of the sellers were able to produce incredible displays, like the ombre one shown here.















It was very interesting to see which displays were more attractive than others.  All of the flowers were gorgeous, but the way the sellers arranged them to the public eye definitely affected how long a person would linger at the stand.  I noticed that all the most attractive displays had some aspect of intentional arrangement to them- whether that included contrast, repetition, or a combination of the two!