Flowers: A Compilation

I'll start off this blog post apologizing for all the scrolling you'll have to do for this post, but I've been compiling pictures for my last post for awhile so there are a lot of them. Flowers are important part of design and particularly architecture. Although they are probably one of the first things I notice about any establishment, I think for many people they go largely unnoticed. Flowers are an important part of design, however. They are especially important in a city like London, where bringing nature to the city is crucial for creating a livable environment. Flower truly do require design in order to integrate them into their environment properly. 

This wall of flowers was a work of art in Copenhagen. Right by the famous Little Mermaid Statue, these flowers did not blend with their environment but were a statement in themselves.

There were many different flowers in the Tivoli, but all of them matched the feel of the exhibit in which they were displayed. These were long stemmed and matched the whimsical, fairy-like atmosphere of their location in the park.

In a relatively ill-lit, unadorned section of Copenhagen, a cluster of brightly colored flowers by the train station can make all the difference.

These hydrangeas (my favorite!) at the Victoria and Albert museum were stunning and seasonal. They not only show that it is summertime in the many pictures that will be taken there, but echo the famous patterns and textiles the V&A is famous for.

It would be very difficult to find an old-fashioned pub in England that did not have hanging flower pots like this one in Stratford-upon-Avon. Hanging flower pots are much like gold-writing in that they indicate you have come across a British pub.

In Bath, we saw a great deal of flower boxes. In a city that is made up of mostly tan buildings, these bring a little color and life into the city.

A flower box on a window to the Roman Baths. (That's the abbey in the background).

Flowers can also be designed to blend in with their natural environment. The flowers in the Buckingham Palace gardens were all in white. This did not detract from the vast expanse of green in the gardens like brightly colored flowers would have. This creates an image of a more traditional English landscape.

There is even an element of design on how you display flowers for selling! At the Columbia Road Flower Market, this vendor makes an eye catching display using a gradient of of Pink Hydrangeas. 

Brighton and Vintage Typography

This Saturday, a group of us went on a return visit to Brighton. While walking around, I couldn't help but notice all the beautiful typography surrounding us. Particularly in the lanes, the type had a vintage, old-timey feel. There were a lot of decorative, script, and art nouveau (which we learned about on our Type Safari) typefaces that particularly stood out. I noticed that none of the buildings in this section of town had very edgy, modern font but instead were all very cohesive.

This cafe utilized a script typeface, next to a shop that combined modern and script as well. 

This display used a combination of oldstyle, modern, and script.

This sign utilized an art nouvea typeface.

This decorative font was very similar to one we saw on Type Safari!

Copenhagen Architecture on the Waterfront

Like I mentioned in my previous post, a group of us took a weekend trip to Copenhagen these past few days. While I was taking some of my many tours around the city, I fell in love with the city’s architecture. Copenhagen is famous for its colorful buildings in the wharf, but the same style of building is echoed throughout the entire city on the waterfront. All the colors of the buildings are unique to one another, yet very cohesive. They sport mostly primary colors in reds, yellows, and blues, which as we recently learned, is a very successful color combination. They also are similar in height, approximately 4-5 stories high. The appearance of the buildings is rather simple, but the combination and cohesiveness of them really makes the city look special. 

Signage in Copenhagen

On a weekend trip to Copenhagen, I was able to view some pretty effective signage while I was in the city. On Saturday, our group did a lot of site-seeing and I noticed the effectiveness of the information being provided for everyone to view. On palace grounds, signs would always have something written and then have a little crown above the script to indicate that it was royal property. At the Little Mermaid Statue, right before you walk down the steps to get a picture of the mermaid, a sign in three different languages explains exactly what the statue is of, as well as the historical significance. At the Tivoli Gardens, the signage was beautiful and very complementary to the unique, elaborate feel of the park. It flowed well with the design of the park: eye-catching, unique, and whimsical. I realized on this trip how much signage is overlooked, and how nice it is when a sign is eye-catching, matches its surroundings, and is useful!

Ascot

Last Friday our class went to Ascot, and it has been my favorite field trip so far! I loved getting to see all the crazy hats and all the people dressed up. We had tickets for the Grandstand section of course (the lawn right by the tracks for those who don't know) so we got to get a very close view of the horses as they raced by. I was not expecting to be as excited about the races as I was! It was so fun to watch. I also picked the winning horse both times I bet! Asyad and Khomino beat the odds against them and I won 37 pounds after only betting 3! Overall it was a great day. 

My winnings! I'm sure the Brits were weirded out by how excited I was about this.

One of the horses!

The Design Museum

This past Tuesday, our class visited the Design Museum to look at this year's Design of the Year. The winner this year was a design called "Microchips lined with human cells." Though fascinating and very relevant to my future career in biological sciences, I unfortunately was unable to read more about this design due to time constraints during our visit. However, I did get to read about a couple of designs that really caught my eye. The first was a type shoe that molds to your feet and also contains a layer of amoeba cells that form a sort second skin for your feet. Amoeba cells are unicellular organism that form colonies that allow the individual cells to act as one individual body. This makes amoeba cells very reactive to the environment and can change their conformations very quickly. The protocells created for this shoe become a semi-living object that are highly adaptive and responsive. The shoes could reconfigure instantaneously and offer more support under high impact circumstances. The second design that really caught my eye was a space suit that was designed to be much thinner than any space suit that had been created before. Along the outside of the suit, instead of just protecting the wearer from the elements of space, the material mimicked the actions of myofibril and actin proteins (which make up muscle fibers). The fibers in the suit are able to contract as the wearer moves his own muscles, which allows the wearer to potentially have more contractile force. Both of these designs were amazing examples that combined the world of design with the world of biology, which was very near and dear to my heart as a biology major!

Here is the actual amoeba shoe!

A picture of the shoe in action.

Here is a picture of the space suit with the material made up of fibers.

Way Finding in Hyde Park

Way finding is one of those things that you don't realize is as important as it is until you no longer have it available. Where would we be if we didn't have signs that told us where to go and where to find things? I rely heavily on way finding signs here in London. In fact, I'm sure I would probably be lost right this moment if the tube map didn't have street directions, or if the bus routes indicated important monuments. Well, I still always get lost but signage certainly helps! During a stroll around Hyde Park, I noticed some excellent signs all over the place that helped orient you in the right direction. The park covers 350 acres and it is quite easy to get disoriented in a park of that size. Here are a few examples of way finding I found:

This sign points to the direction of all the nearby tube stations, the restrooms, restaurants, and nearby streets. How convenient!

At first I didn't realize this was a way finding sign until I look closely. The arrow of the suns all have a description of what's ahead of where they are pointing. This doubles as art and a convenient way to navigate the park!

A close up of one of the arrows from the picture above.

A man hole that also doubled as another piece of way finding.  (Sorry the picture is difficult to read!)

Vintage Travel Poster

For my Graphics Communication Class, we were able to make vintage posters from our trip so far. Here's mine I made from a picture I took on our day trip to Winchester!

Brighton

Yesterday, a few of us went to Brighton for our celebration of the Fourth of July! Brighton is so beautiful and it was a perfect day. The town is on the beach and the water is a perfect aquamarine color. We took a walk along the famous boardwalk, explored the lanes (a series of small back streets full of adorable shops), and spent some time soaking up the sun on the famous Brighton beach chairs. 

Chalk Writing

Something I've noticed that is pretty common in London and all over England are signs written with chalk. In pubs in particular it seems to be the primary method of advertising for smaller stores and businesses. All the writing features many different fonts, and a maximum of two other colors besides white. They feature mostly modern and sans serif fonts. For my example, I took a few pictures of the chalk signs at the Turf Tavern in Oxford. They had many different signs all over their patio seating area and all of them featured decorative fonts with a centered alignment. I think the signs give the pubs a small town, old time feel and match the pub atmosphere perfectly! 

 

Chalk isn't limited to just pubs, I've also seen some pretty cool chalk artwork out on the streets! 

Found this one in Picadilly Circus in London!

Nick was in the process of creating some beautiful art in Brighton.

Oxford

On Friday, our class took a trip to Oxford! Our professor, John Makey, gave us a tour of all the sights. It was absolutely perfect weather and we got to explore all over the town. Fun fact, Oxford itself is not a college but a town made up of about 14 different colleges. We got to explore a couple of them and they were absolutely beautiful. We climbed the cathedral which gave spectacular 360 deg views over the whole town. Later, we explored shops all over town and ate lunch at a pub where C.S. Lewis used to dine! Overall, a great day, and I even got to pick up an Oxford sweatshirt (apparently they don't wear university attire like we do in the states, but one can pretend right?).

Had to get one corny phone booth picture.

Notting Hill

I've been to Notting Hill a few times since I've arrived in London, and I think it might be one of my favorite ares of the cities. Portobella Market is held there every Saturday and it's a wonderful place to shop and browse over antiques and vintage clothes. Be prepared for some large crowds though! Last Monday our class visited the Museum of Brands in Notting Hill where we got to look at thousands of vintage posters and packages (I have attached a picture of one of the vintage posters) and do a fun project where we designed a cereal box for a certain era. Afterwards, a few of us stopped at the Notting Hill Bookshop, featured in the film Notting Hill!

Fine China: Dolce and Gabbana

London being such a large city of tea-drinkers, I've come across a lot of beautiful china in stores, markets, and restaurants here. I always find myself gravitating towards the teacups and other dishes painted with only deep blue over their brighter, more colorful counterparts. I find the simplicity of the coloring and the intricacy of the design to be a beautiful combination. After spending over three hours roaming around Harrods today, I realized that Dolce and Gabbana shares my love of the style. Here I have included a picture of a beautiful urn painted in the style to compare with their beautiful new clothing collection. The white clothing sport a similar floral design. Some of the clothes are designed in such a way that they look like tiles pieced together, while others are decorated with intricate designs reminiscent of antique teacups. If you look closely at the picture of the entire collection, you can even see the mannequin on the far right has a blue china urn on the front of the dress. According to the Dolce and Gabbana website, the collection is inspired by the Mediterranean majolica ceramics. The blue is intended to transport you to the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean sea. Though the resemblance between the ceramics and the printed fabrics is not subtle, I think Dolce and Gabbana did a wonderful job with their design. The prints do the beauty of the ceramics justice in a unique way. I spotted the design not only in the women's department but also in the accessories, children, and even the baby departments! 

An urn from the Harrods Home Department.

A quick look at the Dolce and Gabbana collection in the Women's Department.

A close up of a dress from the collection.

A purse from the collection in the Accessories Department.

This is probably the most expensive onesie I've ever seen, but isn't the print beautiful?