presentation time...

Its been about 2 weeks now since the presentations of the group projects...they seemed to go very well and there was a real mixture of projects, which was extremely interesting.

Presentation 1 - Psychotherapy Consultation Room
The group researched into cognitive therapy rooms for the NHS and their requirements, however following this research the group found the NHS to limiting so looked into designing for the private sector with scope to develop the design in the future for the NHS. Throughout the presentation, the group's focus for the space was the user; the client. The design for the consultation room would evoke a homely/cosy feel, to put the client at ease. The design features a SMART window, which can alter the atmosphere of the room, a back-lit floral patterned wall and hidden storage behind the wall panels to create a clutter free environment. A creative but not intrusive design that fitted the needs of the client and the psychotherapist.

As a group, I felt they researched and presented their design and findings really well however I did feel the verbal presentation did let them down, which could have been easily resolved through practice. This was mentioned during post-presentation discussions and the group did admit that rehearsals of the presentation did not happen. Overall, I enjoyed the presentation and thought that the group used their individual design strengths to great effect.

Presentation 2 - Audi Car Seat
This was a very well researched and sleek presentation with the group discovering a possible gap in the market for the expansion of the Audi car seat. By creating a agency name, the group presented a concept for a new brand of Audi car seats that would be aimed towards buyers of the Audi TT, specifically young professionals. The concept would be to take the work of prolific artists and create bespoke/customized car seats in a complementary material. The idea would offer a further sense of exclusivity to an already exclusive brand. During the presentation the group covered all the areas required by a company, in terms of marketing strategy, design concept and legal concerns.

It was an extremely impressive presentation, which had been clearly well researched and thought out. The use of the group's individual strengths was evident throughout as each group member had been allocated a specific area within the project to work on.

Presentation 3 - Willow Dome Project
This was a different style of presentation to the previous ones...This group were proposing a Public Art workshop session and had researched into how this might be put into practice. As a result the presentation focused on the different areas of a project that needed to be completed in the lead up to running the workshop including where to apply for funding, the design of the workshop and how it would work, where the workshop would take place, liaisons with local schools and the community and deciding on a date for the workshop.

The project itself sounded really exciting as it involved using space within Huddersfield Town Centre normally left vacant to create an event where children and the local community could participate in learning new skills and arts. I found it very encouraging that the group are actually planning to follow this project through providing they obtain funding as it shows that student projects can benefit a wider audience and are not just for university purposes.

Presentation 4 - Public Art Installation "Public Art is Worthless..."
Well this was our group presentation on our project. As a group we had decided to compose a video of the day when we undertook the public art installation as we felt it best described the day and the type of feedback we received from the general public. We also had our completed sculpture in which we had permanently written the comments from the day onto it.

We chose to describe the project to the group before showing the video, outlining our design process and thoughts, management tools and conclusions from the project, however with hindsight I do think we perhaps should have used visuals to support our commentary as it may have been hard for those watching the presentation to understand the project.

We did receive good feedback following the video, with a few asking if we would be carrying out the project as originally planned. At the moment, there is no plan to, however the foundations are there if any of the group do decide to take the project on in the future.

Presentation 5 - Recycling Cardboard
This group were very concerned with the amount of cardboard that was being wasted each year, especially by large corporate companies who use cardboard as a packaging material. The had researched into the various uses of cardboard already in circulation and were amazed by what had already been achieved...cardboard has already been used to construct cars, children's toys, wardrobes and chairs. Among these they featured a flexible chair made from layers of cardboard of the same shape, pulled out in a concertina fashion to create seating. It also was interesting to learn that cardboard can be recycled up to 5 times before the fibres completely disintegrate which suggests more needs to be done to re-use the recycled cardboard already circulation.

The specific group proposal was aimed towards Ikea boxes, in which their flat packed products are transported. The group came up with an idea to use the cardboard boxes to create extra furniture for the buyer; "Buy a chair and get a free table". The free gifts would be related toward the item of bought furniture and would depend on the size of the cardboard box. In theory it seems like an very exciting idea, one which I could see Ikea being interested in, however the logistics of convincing consumers to create these items from the boxes would have to be considered. This was discussed during the presentation, and perforated outlines of the free items was suggested.