The Dot Group

This is one of the best things I’ve been involved with in a while.

The Dot group is a collaboration of designers, artists and makers who all come from different disciplines and courses within the University of Ulster School of Art & Design. The group was initiated by visiting professor Paul Turnbull from Turnbull Prints Ltd, and his statement that “pooling different thinking & combining different skills leads to a richer product experience”. I couldn’t agree more. With the help of Trish Belford, lecturer on the MA Multidisciplinary Design program and cofounder of Tactility Factory, different practitioners were chosen to represent “The Dot Group”. The name originates from the possibility of what can become of something minute, conceptual and singular, a starting point as such, and making collaborative decisions on how to evolve and progress those concepts and ideas. The prime focus of the group was to create a handful of textile collections featuring cushions, wall hangings, throws etc… I was chosen to represent the visual communication discipline.

My inclusion with the group stemmed from a workshop that I, and some of my fellow Vis-commers took part in, called ‘The Dot Project’, suggested by Trish, and supervised by Christine Blaney, my Illustration, and Animation/Multimedia tutor. The aim of the session was to explore the visual representation and abstraction of the Dot. We had fun using different techniques and mediums, and it was generally nice to relax and be messy in the midst of what was for me, quite a Mac heavy semester. From there, I was then suggested as a potential participant for The Dot Group.

For the first handful of meetings, my involvement in the group centered around CAD based processes, and how the work of the other members could be deconstructed, modified and repeated using different techniques using design software, as well as being part of the thinking process in general, helping to gather interesting and inspirational material to draw ideas from. As the semester went on, I found that I couldn’t give as much of my time to the group as I’d have liked to, due to my commitment to my work on the Vis-com course, so my participation was limited, however Trish kept me up to date with the goings on of the group.

Towards the end of the semester as the products and collections were being finalised I resumed my role within the group to create the branding and promotional material for the proposed commercial exhibition, in the shop window of Still Interiors in Belfast. The purpose of the display is not only to exhibit and hopefully sell the work of each practitioner, but also to help the store boost its sales of Kartell chairs. Each collection is paired with a chair, and each chair is then ‘dressed’ with the products that the group created. I proposed print media in the form of small cards outlining the aims of the group and Still’s involvement, and a vinyl graphic that would be applied directly onto the shop window.

When creating the branding for the Dot Group, I considered the importance of retaining the essence of Paul’s initial statement and the purpose of the group, which I felt would compliment the many avenues of abstraction that the Dot has gone through in each collection. In short, I wanted to stay true to the Dot. The beautiful products that the group has created have been expertly handmade, and exhibit a wealth of cherished, traditional techniques married with contemporary design.

In order to maximize the presence of both of these qualities, I decided on a clean typographic approach, teaming the modern polish of Futura with the sophisticated and beautifully crafted Bauer Bodoni. For the main title and the caption below, which essentially makes up the logo, I used Futura Std Light, and altered it to create a face more befitting the brand. I rounded the uppercase alphabet, applying semi-circles to the ends of each glyph, along with minor width adjustments to give a more rounded, dot-like feel.

The ‘the‘ lead-in has been set in Bodoni and is intended to denote the traditional skills that underpin the creation of the collections. Within the ‘DOT GROUP’, I placed a grey circle to add an element of depth and to symbolise our ‘pool’ of different disciplines. During any branding exercise I will always try to inject appropriate symbolism in a purposefully non-obvious and simplified form, as I feel it increases its visual currency and IQ. I set the main body of the text in italicised Bodoni, and each section has been separated by a borderline of sequential dots. I then used small vector illustrations of the group’s chosen Kartell chairs, to inform who dressed which chair. Finally, I added another ration of symbolism with the dot-to-dot motif that extends beyond the main body of the graphic. I thought about the group in terms of each member representing a single dot, and how we have joined our thought processes to realise new creative possibilities.

It was really exciting seeing the graphics being applied to the window, and the guys from Signage did a fantastic job dealing with all its intricacies!

Once the graphics were applied it was time to go to work on arranging the display, which is so much harder than it looks. I will see window displays in a whole new light from now on.  Height is an added advantage when doing this and I was put to good use, finding rudimentary ways to suspend wall hangings, printed fabrics and chairs (!), from illusive ceiling hooks and power cable cages, it was all very theatrical, quite hard work, but a lot of fun. Being on the inside of a shop window is a surreal experience and slightly unsettling from an artist’s point of view, because the audience can see the work in progress; you can’t wait until you are happy with everything before unveiling the final piece. It’s easy to set things in a window, the difficult part is understanding how minute details such as the angle of a chair or the arrangement of cushions affects the overall appearance of the display. I drew from what I understood about layout, colour and visual tension in a 2D context, but we very much worked on a trial and error basis and explored all suggested possibilities, which I think was the best way we could’ve approached it. After countless trips back and forth from window to street, I think we nailed it.

From working with the Dot Group I really feel that my whole visual outlook and communicative approach has matured. Truth be told, at first I was a little apprehensive, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being entrusted with the responsibility, and meeting the challenge of creating the visual identity of such a dynamic and talented group of practitioners. It’s been a great confidence boost and has only further intensified my ambition of being involved in the graphic design industry. I’ve also loved learning about the different processes that have gone into creating everything within the collection and I can’t wait to see where I can apply them in future work. I’ve gained a beneficial insight into commercial aspects such as the sale and manufacture of products, which has bolstered my existing respect and enthusiasm for handcrafted products and entrepreneurialism.

The Dot Group are; Paul Turnbull: Turnbull Prints Ltd, Trish Belford: lecturer and cofounder of Tactility Factory, Judith Cassidy: Weaver, Anne Davey Orr: Painter, Andrea Beaumont: Woven Designer, Duncan Neil: Textile Designer, Kerry Brogan: Printed Textile Designer, Caroline Hepburn: Designer, Andrew Shields: Textile Artist, and myself.

Thanks to Maurice and Sharon the owners of Still and to Gary and Mark for all their help in the shop.

The display runs right up to the end of August until the nighttime closing event, which will be held in Still, located at 46 Upper Queen Street. Everyone is welcome to come along and chat to the group members and buy the products. Dates are still to be confirmed. In the meantime, if you’re in town go and have a nosey.

Heather

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