Drawing Conclusions
We always aim to be creative with the way we present back to our clients. Others might zig, whilst we zag. Working with the Royal College of Art over the last ten years has given us multiple opportunities to experiment with different visual styles. Here's where it all started...
When we were first chosen to work with the RCA in partnership with AECOM, we were tasked to analyse the scale, shape and size of their famous Darwin building - the very beating heart of the College.
The Idea
Back in the heady days of Adobe Flash (🥲) we often produced animated presentations - a pleasantly unexpected surprise for our audience. It was a fantastic interactive tool for visually demonstrating space, and one we used with great gusto.
For the RCA we created a kind of 'digital sketchbook' to help tell the story of our building analysis. We felt this chimed well with the culture of the institute.
Subconsciously, perhaps, this style was the continuation of our love for marrying art and design, analogue and digital - the embodiment of "precisely human" - a mantra we still follow to this day. It wasn't our first time creating something 'handmade' but was one of the most enjoyable.
With multiple layers, complete with imperfections and virtual over-prints we were able to visually mimc the layers of visual patina built up over the years.
Visual Sketches
This "carefully crafted" approach was particularly successful when producing vision imagery to help communicate the vision for the overall scheme. Layers of 3D art, sketch effects and photography were married together to create something which was less a literal representation of space - more an embodiment of the vibe of the place.
Often, details are taken too literally and the vision of the design gets lost in the weeds. Photorealistic renders absolutely have their place, but in this instance, a more human approach was far more appropriate.
Making a connection with our audience has always been key - knowing how to communicate something is often more key than the content itself - finding the right vehicle for engagement goes a long way towards building a meaningful connection with our audience.
Adobe Flash may be long since gone, but the legacy of using alternative approaches to preset our work is still as relevant as ever.
Robin
