more balloons....

Since balloons are well and truly here there and everywhere, I thought they deserved another post. Here's a few more for the collection.

Concept 1: FMC space

FMC Space is a concept that will take the exhibition space out of the Bonington building and into a pop up shop. The idea is to look at inspirational retail spaces and utilise their display techniques to display the students' work.

Looking at the above image you can see an example of how the pop up shop could possibly look, but instead of displaying clothing it will be students' work.
It is vital for the colour palette to be kept simple as the displays themselves may be quite busy so this will minimise confusion.

An example of how students' work may be displayed is shown below. The Prada market has inspired a market stall area where all the reports are laid out. Students who are interested in styling will be given the opportunity to style outfits that will be hanging. Taking inspiration from the Parisian store LE66 it would be interesting to create some form of mechanical rail with blown up pages from the reports moving round.

Again with the limited colour palette students would be asked to produce promotional material that represents them, however they will be offered a limited colour palette and certain layout restrictions. This will create a strong impression of FMC as a whole as well as allowing students to portray themselves.

In summary FMC Space gives us an opportunity to take the show to a new space. By using display ideas from famous retail spaces such as Dover Street Market, Colette, and Nike Town the work will be displayed in an innovative and relevant manner.

Concept 2: FMC Ideas

FMC Ideas looks at Fashion Marketing and Communication as a course where ideas come to life. It celebrates the thought processes and ideas behind both the individuals work and the group work produced on the course. The logo is personal, playful almost representing a thought bubble.

This image above is of an installation designed by Sarah Billinberger. It utilises objects to represent the woman’s thoughts and interests.

Taking inspiration from this image the concept of creating a giant three dimensional mind map will be utilised to represent each member of the course individually and how they connect to each other through interests, work, aspirations etc.


Below is an example of such an installation.

Members of the course will be photographed with an object in front of their face, possibly with a quote on, representing a thought bubble. These images will be used for profiles and placed around the exhibition.

Balloons are a key element to this concept. They will be used as a representation of each individuals thoughts. Some ideas for this are the possibility of filling a room with balloons above head height and on the end of each balloon is a business card. Balloons are something that we definitely want to utilise as this will be not only the last ever Fashion Marketing and Communication degree show but also a celebration of 10 years since the course was founded.

These business cards were found at the D&AD. The idea would be to create an over all coherent image that can be used by each course member but that allows them to put there own stamp as well. Again showing the individual and the group work that happens on FMC.

A promotional tool that will be used are thought bubble whiteboards. These would be placed around uni with a pen allowing people to leave comments and doodle and thoughts they are having at the time.

To summarise FMC Ideas will be looking at FMC as an ideas generator. By using mind maps, balloons, and other visual methods we hope to strongly represent each member of the course and their ideas.

Concept 3: FMC Project

This premise of this concept looks at us, the new generation of FMC students, as the future of marketing. This doesn't necessarily mean having a futuristic aesthetic, but more tackling future issues within marketing and the fashion industry in general, such as technology advances and ethical practises. The logo we have designed remains simple, clean cut and sophisticated.

Digital interaction is a strong developing trend within exhibition design that we would love to include. This image shows Footfalls exhibiton in Tokyo whereby visitors interact with falling virtual balls. Showstudio is another example of an inspiring interactive exhibition.

Another way we could introduce interaction into our exhibiton is through something like this 'Pixel It' poster. Vistors can open or shut the small windows to change the appearance of the poster; this could be an interesting way to display the students' business cards behind each flap. The pixel theme works well with the focus on technology.

Graphs have been an apparent trend throughout our visual research. A large scale line graph could be used in this way to display the favourite brands that everyone shares using quotes to demonstrate our knowledge about successful branding.

Pie charts could also be used really effectively to depict all the students key skills and attributes, displaying the chart over each person's face.

An appropriate way of displaying everybody's work could be through large-scale projection on to walls. These projections could include blown-up pages of reports, photographs and graphic work. We really liked this image of somebody standing in front of a projection. This could be an interesting way to photograph each student in front of an example of their work.

We are really keen to use lots of multi-media, video and projection. Some ideas for videos include getting students to hold up boards with quotes about themselves and their aspirations. We are also really keen to re-create a video like 'Fifty People, One Question' and ask all FMC students their opinions on future issues and trends in marketing.

An example of how we could promote the exhibition would be inspired by the Salvation Army's 'This Ad Costs Nothing' campaign. This could be really effective around uni, and perhaps using the paper bags in Bonington Cafe. This cost and material free method relates to the future issue of ethical marketing.

In summary, this concept focuses on the future of marketing; using interactive multi-media, projections and visual themes such as graphs and pixels.

The future is bright, the future is light...

Interesting to look at the work of David Ward, who has created an art installation in the form of a virtual ice-skating rink at p3, Marlyebone Road. The vast gallery floor has been transformed into a gigantic animation that traces the movements of figure skaters. Future Laboratory commented that 'Lighting is increasingly being used in more innovative ways to enhance everyday environments, from retail interiors to public spaces. The future is bright, the future is light.'

We are very interested in exploring the potential that artistic lighting can offer for our exhibition, hopefully using it to great effect to create a professional and dynamic environment.

Limited Locations

I saw this on the trend watching website and liked the idea of a brand creating a limited location to sell something special and desirable just in one place.

Burberry have adapted this trend to their own brand by creating 'Blue Label', which is a line of Burberry stores exclusive to Japan that features a more fitted, sassier version of Burberry styles.

SOME INTERESTING PROMOTIONAL OBJECTS: