V&A Museum

1. Critique the logo

On a personal level, I really like the Victoria & Albert logo. I think that the serif font is very classic, elegant and, yet, creative. The blending of the "A" and the "&" symbol brings the V and A even closer together, and as a fan of the film The Young Victoria, I appreciate the legacy of the love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The closer the V and A, the better! 

I think that the logo matched the elegant and large building, and the overall energy of the museum quite well. The galleries and collections displayed traditional types of artifacts in traditional ways, therefore, the museum energy felt comfortably quiet and accessible, just like its logo. All over the museum, you could see people sitting around drawing pictures of sculptures and artifacts and that added to the feeling that this was a place of appreciation for different types of art. Therefore, the overall essence of the museum seemed to be a quiet and calm area to appreciate the wonders of the world presented in traditional and classic displays.

 

2. Cast Courts

My immediate impression upon walking into the Cast Courts was a feeling of "Wow." I looked up to the ceiling immediately to see how far up some of the pillars went. I quickly looked all over the room and I felt astounded, amazed, overwhelmed and dumbfounded. I wondered to myself "How in the heck did they transport these casts in here?" (Many of them were very large pieces!)

I think that one of the educational purposes of the cast collection for visitors to the museum is to expose them to the various sculptures and monuments from different countries and different time periods. A second reason could be that compiling them in close proximity to one another allows for comparing and contrasting between various pieces that would otherwise never be found in one place at the same time. This allows room for studying technique and detailing.

3. Isotype

 Yes, I think that the icons in the Isotype exhibition have greater personality than the international system of signs.Usually, international signs are in black only. One specific isotype I found was color-coded and I found that the color was extremely noticeable in distinguishing one isotype from another. In addition, drawing a few simple lines on an isotype's clothing was able to distinguish and personalize that isotype even more so that its occupation was more clear. In this way, each isotype had more personality and more dimension than the regular and plain black figures used to depict bathrooms.

This method of using the image and minimal text (rather than just text exclusively) communicates to a broader range of individuals because all you have to do is look at the isotype and you can draw conclusions even if you don't understand the words accompanying the isotype. You see a female figure and a baby and you can assume that it has something to do with childbirth or childcare. The image is cross-cultural, whereas language is not necessarily so.

4. Pattern

Islamic Middle East Collection                                                            Ironwork Collection

The table on the left from the Islamic Middle East Collection is a colorful piece with a symmetrical design with a repetition in shapes and color. In fact, if you were to cut the table in half in any direction, the other side would be a mirror image. There is a lot of detail and energy in this pattern, similar to that of the piece I chose from the Ironwork Collection. 

The piece from the Ironwork Collection is larger, but it's color is limited to black and it's repetition of design varies. It is not a mirror reflection of itself, but seems to have one design with leaves and swirls of iron, which is then mirror reflected in the middle section and then back to its original design on the side. In this way, there is repetition, but it is an asymmetrical repetition and it works. This iron piece also has a lot of energy and an uplifting mood. It seems like it is not still, but continuously swirling especially with the leaves, which look like they could swirl one way or another at any moment in time. 

Ultimately, both pieces showcase an organic type of design and repetition considering that both have leaves as a central piece of design. The table has more flowers in its design, but the gate has vines which extend to hold leaves throughout the design. It is a whimsical piece whereas the table is a more stable piece of work because of its symmetrical repetition.

5. Underground

The logo for the Underground is more simple than the logo for the Madison Metro and it is better for it. The bright red circle with the blue rectangle in the middle clearly identifies what the logo is representing and it is easily identifiable when located at tube stations and on maps. The Madison Metro logo is more ambiguous in regards to what exactly it is representing. Instead of clearly stating "Madison Metro," it has a big white "M" and Metro underneath. Even with three colors, this logo does not stand out at all and anyone looking at it would have no idea what it is supposed to represent. Your eyes can completely gloss over the Madison Metro logo. There is nothing eye-catching about this logo. As a user of the Madison Metro, I can say that this logo is on all of the bus stops but it is usually very small (2x2 inches?) and nondescript.

 

6. Object of appreciation

Name: Dondolante Serena

Date: 2000

Artist: Toots Zynsky

Origin: Providence, Rhode Island, USA

This is my favorite object from the V&A Museum. Keep in mind, we were on a very short trip so I only got to see a small amount of the objects in the museum. This piece caught my eye from afar and I made the mental note to backtrack and find it after our little tour had ended. I would return to this object for greater contemplation because I would like to figure out how it was made. It may be difficult to see in the pictures, but it is pure glass and yet it looks like it is made out of thread. The colors are gorgeous. I love rainbow colors and I think that this glass object captured all of the colors of the rainbow beautifully. If I were to be able to create my fantasy under-the-sea world, I would create plants that looked like this! The waviness of the object makes it look as if it is rippling. The effect of seeing it in person is just amazing. The colors and the crafting of the thread look is so beautiful, it is like a painting. 

Science Museum Blog Post

1. Critique the logo

The logo of the Science Museum relates very well to the subject matter of its museum, which is obviously, science! It looks very futuristic and Star Trek-like, which makes its connotative affiliation with science more obvious. Although it takes more than one quick glance to figure out what exactly the brand is representing, if you pay attention to the font and follow the letters, it leads you to de-code and figure out what exactly you are looking at. As far as age appropriateness, I believe that children who are still struggling with reading and writing may find this logo difficult and intimidating. Since a target audience for the museum is presumably school-aged children, this logo is not as friendly to the eyes and brain for younger children. Adults, however, would probably get a kick out of decoding the words "science museum," in such an artistic and interesting font. 

On a side note, the strictly horizontal and vertical lines are reflected throughout the museum in designs on the wall and displays so there is continuity of the brand throughout the museum and its logo.

2. Navigation

As someone who appreciates very clear and clean directions, I felt lost at times inside the Science Museum. I think this was due to how dark the interior lighting was. Some exhibitions had very clear labels (see below) and some did not.

This picture below was taken in the stairwell, during which time I was lost. It was not very helpful considering the computer that was supposed to function alongside of it was not functioning. I found these types of glow in the dark maps in every stairwell, but I was still lost and confused, which added to my frustration in navigating around the museum.

The Science Museum allowed for several paths, which was good and bad. It was bad because we took one route, hoping to end up at the Plastics Exhibition. We searched for it for a very long time and it wasn't until we completely backtracked to where we had started that we found the stairs leading up one level to the Plastics Exhibition. The good thing about allowing for several paths is that someone could presumably pick certain things and stations that they want to explore and skip all of the other stuff in between because it can get overwhelming really fast if you stop at every single section.

The map was so colorful and so legible that I thought I would love it. However, as I mentioned before, the lighting inside of the museum was usually dark, even the stairwells, so it was very difficult to see the map! If there had been adequate lighting in the stairwell, the map would have been a superb map to use to navigate the museum. However, as it was, as I was moving and on my way to a different exhibition, it was difficult to figure out where exactly I was in relation to the map.

3. Shop / Cafe

The shop and cafe extended the brand in a really smart way. First off, the designs of the cafe and shop continued the consistency of vertical and horizontal lines and the font from the logo.

(This picture below is taken from outside of the cafe on the first floor.)

(This picture is taken of another cafe we found on the 1st floor. Its deep blue color continues the consistency of the blue in the logo even though it has a different font. The regular logo can still be seen on the podium on the right.)

The cafes and shops extend the brand of the museum because of the continuity of the design of the logo is still present in its exterior designs and on its products. The cafes use similar design choices while the shop uses the font and the content of the museum to push certain products. Some products such as legos or model spaceships reinforce an interest in "the sciences," whereas other products simply advertise the museum itself with its cool logo. The labeling of the shop (pictured below) also continues the labeling design choice of the logo font and some of the other exhibitions. Just like all of the interactive stations located throughout the museum, this label very smartly invites you to be interactive once more and buy products that allow you to continue to be scientific and learn outside of the museum. It's a brilliant advertising strategy.

4. Display cases

The display cases throughout the museum varied depending on where they were located and even then, how items were displayed were very different depending on whether or not the item in question needed protection or was a functional tool for teaching. 

(This display board was covered in a sheet of glass or plastic and you could touch the vibrant colors.)

 (This display was completely shielded in glass and it makes sense because this looks like the kind of thing that children and adults could possibly break if they messed around with it.)

 (These cars being displayed on the wall keeps people from touching them and also saves space in the room. Double score!)

 (This learning station had very obvious openings with computers screens that invited you to approach and learn about various things such as your feelings. The lighted up lettering drew your eye to the content of the station. )

 (This display basically invited you to go up to it and touch it! The idea of displaying an exhibition's name on the product of which all its contents are is ingenious! The white font was really striking on the red plastic material. Once you got in, it was less possible to touch the items on display, but the red plastic "curtains" were tangible throughout the exhibit.)

5. Exhibits

My favorite exhibit was the Plasticity exhibit. The entrance is right above, and as I said, the lettering of the exhibit right on plastic curtains was ingenious. I loved it! Throughout the exhibit, these red curtains maintained the boundaries of the exhibit without "trapping" you in like most rooms because you could literally walk through and out of the exhibit if you wanted to. 

Also, because of the red curtains, some items were displayed on the ceiling, which added a unique feel to the exhibit and to me, as the museum go-er. It felt incredibly different, visually and mentally. It challenged you to be observant and appreciate its difference. 

This exhibition was the most memorable for me because it was really innovative in how it chose to display and label its objects. It made a somewhat boring subject into a fantasy land where you wanted to learn about plastics! That to me means that the goal of the exhibit was achieved!

6. Facts

Truth be told, I did not love the Science Museum as much as I thought I would because I was not in the mood to disseminate how a museum is designed and participate as a museum goer. If I had been able to just enjoy it as a museum goer, I might have been more game to actually sit down at the various learning stations and learned something. I tinkered with a lot of the learning stations...but I avoided actually learning the science-based content it was teaching. Therefore, I left the Science Museum not a whole lot smarter in science than when I walked in. 

I did learn how to critically assess how a museum is presented and represented through its logo and color and interior designs. This first time experience has dramatically changed the way I experience museums.