Final Statement

REVIEW OF FINAL MAJOR PROJECT (FMP)

Student Name: Freya Salisbury         

                                                                                 Pathway: 3D Pathway

Final Major Project Title: Rio Olympics 2016 

In the final Foundation project I have designed and manufactured a 3D medal and Olympic Flame Cauldron sculpture to symbolise Rio Olympic Games 2016. The main requirements of the medal design were clarity and choice of visual components. It was observed that Nike the Greek Goddess of victory featured on medals from the last 3 Olympics, so she was included on these designs.  The Rio 2016 font by Dalton Magg inspired the design on the medal; the letters are created to look as if they are drawn swiftly suggesting the movement of athletes. The stages of initial rough ideas through to final medals shows that some of the early design elements remain. This is seen in the retaining of the Olympic rings and Christ the Redeemer.  Method and material progression meant that the medals have required some rethinking. A gilded medal showed failings in the application of real gold, silver and bronze leaf due to the porous nature of plywood and difficulty pre-sealing the surface - and losing fine medal detail in the process.

From the very beginning with the project proposal the final outcome is very different to that which I imagined, and I feel the models now serve as a symbol of Brazil, reflecting a hint their culture. Some effort went in to incorporating the appropriate typography into the design, and the Rio 2016 font gives an informal laid back feel echoing the lifestyle of Brazil.

The other product designed and manufactured for the final project was the Olympic Flame Cauldron. In the words of Pier De Coubertin “The Olympics is not just about winning - but about taking part”, and this quote epitomises my design ethos on this project to involve and impress people.  Unlike the torch relay where people are involved by selection or watching from the side-lines, this cauldron design allows the stadium crowds to participate by entering the sculpture providing a profound and memorable experience.  The cauldron is double insulated with safe access for any visitors, and creates an unforgettable experience once inside. The flame is shot from the base through the funnel into the sky continuously for 2 weeks of highly competitive sport. 

During the research into this project I considered and understood the power the Olympics has on a country and its people.  A trip to the London 2012 Park gave an insight into how that area has transformed for the better due to the profile of the games.  A trip to Berlin allowed a visit to the 1936 Olympic fascist stadium. The historical context that surrounded those games still impacts on us today. This visit was vital and encouraged me to think more widely and to be more inclusive in my designs. Keeping an on-line blog has allowed me to present my research and designs to others in a more professional manner, and feedback is often gained through this medium by peers and tutors. The amount of time spent researching both written and on-line media has helped me realise the depth of study needed for a project of this magnitude.

This project has a seven week duration and therefore talking through and discussing ideas is a necessary element.  Geoff Henman gave me advice for the design of the Olympic cauldron; he mentioned layering using acrylic to create rounded seating - widening at the top and have the flame in the middle.  This was useful information as never before has such great access been granted allowing people to walk within this iconic sculpture.

Anna also gave advice on the medal designs and insisted that I look back at past medals to reference the changing styles and imagery. From my peers the most important feedback received was praise on the amount of testing and different methods used during my project. For example the use of rapid prototyping, laser cutting, gilding and spray painting. These all show versatility and experimental design to reach the best outcome possible within the brief.

The stages of initial rough ideas through to final medals demonstrates that some of the early design elements remain. The project enabled exploration of ideas and processes from initial ideas to Adobe software and 3D printing.  Technical drawing and exhibiting the idea to its full potential in scale and the environment in which it belongs.  To improve the overall process I would aim to begin the drawing stages earlier and  develop these sketches earlier. 

The learning curve of improvement would include taking an idea and developing it to a reasonable conclusion  before moving on to an alternative design.  With this in mind then continuing to research into the contextual background of products and their meaning, and designing with the client/project objective in mind. 

FINAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Authors own - final piece 

Authors own

Authors own - final model

Final model Authors own 

Authors own 

The funnel for the flame and the building of the Cauldron

Taken by me- spray painting

 The idea of having the glass funnel is that its encapsulates the flame inside, the glass is double insulated meaning the heat cant escape. Spray paint was the best option to coat the glass to look like a flame, yellow paint was going to be applied but this looked tacky. The bronze and silver combined worked with the colour of the cauldron.

Spray painting - authors own 

I got feedback from Geoff he jokingly said take visit to the pound store to find some electronic candles to put inside, but the problem with that is the model is stuck down to the board and I cant get into the glass funnel without breaking it.  The intention is to stick this down to the board with glue to keep it stable.






Building the low stadium seating. 
The Olympics being a worldwide event needs to incorporate for all of society including the disabled and my seating is made for them.  On-line I saw ways of making gradual seating, meaning the material is cut but 5mm smaller each time to create a slight step.  MFD was the cheapest material in B&Q so it was perfect for this as its not that important its just an aesthetic to the design.  Glue was the next step, dotting the glue around the wood and using a clamp to secure them.

Taken by me Hacksaw and MDF
Even though the model was complete it didn't look finished,  I had seen other student architecture models so taking some inspiration from them made some raised seating. I used the length of the board and dew a curve I then applied this to MDF. 4 of these were made and glued together . lastly blue paint was used as it went nicely with the bronze colour of the model. 

Authors own  Glueing 

Analysis and Evaluation 

The whole point of using the glass funnel was to replicate what the flame is secured in. The idea is to have the flame inside the funnel, and for it to shoot up into the sky above the cauldron and the audience. It will be a spectacular icon for 2 weeks of sport.  Research suggested that previous Olympic Cauldron designs hadn't incorporated the idea of being inside the flame, obviously double insulation will protect the people, but the concept of being able to walk around it in a safe proximity. My design is the first of its kind for that reason. It also links well with the quote pier De Coubertain said "its not all about winning but taking part",  and my design allows those to be part of the games even if they didn't see the torch relay. 

The funnel is made of thick glass that I found in a charity shop, just because of its height it was a perfect replica of what could take form if the design was used for the Olympics. The next stage was spray painting it, with glass its fairly easy and sticks well, but it can look tacky, so colour consideration was key. Yellow and orange to represent the "flame" was initially the first brain wave, but I wanted sophisticated over tacky. Gold and silver streaks were done instead. 

Spray Painting the Medals

Authors own - spray painted medal

 Spray Painting 

Spray painting was my second option after trying out Gold leaf, what I learnt during the process was gold leaf only works when a material is non porous. What happened to me was the leaf was soaked up by the Plywood and with that all the important detail. 

The detail is the medals best quality so keeping this was a must.

Spray painting was easy but long winded in the fact lots of coats need to be done to get a nice matt finish. By having a matt finish it secures a smooth texture without covering the detail of engraving. 

The bronze is the most aesthetically pleasing due to its tint and reflection when you turn it. 

How many coats?

5/ 6 on each medal back and front

The project began with comparisons between previous medals and logos, and consideration of the necessary elements to show off the Brazil games in Rio 2016.

The requirements to design the medals visual clarity of components were most important.  It was observed that Nike the Greek goddess featured on medals from the last 3 Olympics, so she was included in my designs.

Spray painted medal - authors own 

 The Rio 2016 font by Dalton Magg inspired the design on my medal; the letters are created to look like they were drawn in a fast and furious movement ‘suggesting athletes in action.

How did I do it?

I used a spinner so I sprayed and turned the medal to make sure every surface and bit of the medal got an even spray.

Analysis

What do you think was successful about your image?

The medals are truly linked to the lifestyle people in Rio have I tried to redesign them to be a more modern design.  I have used historical influences such as the goddess Nike who personified victory. Christ the Redeemer is another icon I have used on my medal, religion and faith all play a major role in their society.
That I have tried a number of materials and paints and Gold leaf to test out what's on the market to get the best result. I have found solutions when faced with a difficulty and this is all great design development.

What did you find easy?Spray painting was simple but just a waiting game and layering the paint to get a smooth even finish.

What did you find hard?
I was concious that I had only laser cut one final version of the medal each and that if I messed up I wouldn't have the time to cut others. The laser took one and a half hours to cut each one.

Manufacture - Final Olympic Cauldron

Authors own - trying to bend them around household items

Authors own - 

 At this point still having the idea of using a geodesic dome was pretty clear but when manufacture started I soon discovered making a cylinder shape was far harder than I first thought.  Several tests were done around different household items such as bins, bowls etc but the shape designed  was impossible to shape around them.  I did try and glue gun to see what happens around a cylinder shaped object, but because plywood doesn't bend this was a major problem. From then on the idea had to change if it was going to work.

Triangle Idea 

The next idea I had was to create a triangle at 90 degrees out of the pieces gluing them together and then securing them at the tip. And this is what I did.
Below is the making process in pictures

The triangles were joined 4 on the bottom row, 3, 2 then 1. I glued them at the shoulder joint, the joints were actually stronger than I thought

Authors own- putting them into the correct design ready to glue

I made 4 in total then joined them at 90 degrees

 I tested quit a few glues from my local Hobby craft but the glue kept coming out too quickly making it hard to glue accurately.  

This is a major close up of one of the joints, by joining at the shoulder the glue had the best chance of drying. 

Authors own - the assembled triangle

Authors own - another assembled picture

Authors own - the colour looked old and worn due to the laser cutter burning the edges

Authors own me holding the glue

Authors own 

This is the final build the joints worked and all it needed was the glue unpicking, the colour actually looked great to me because where the laser cutter burnt the edges it makes it look aged.
The funnel is the section I'm currently still building at the moment

Analysis 

What was successful about the make?

The 90 degrees I thought wasn't going to work because of the shape of the parts i was attaching together I thought they would be too vulnerable break, but this was the opposite, glue gunning was solid and worked a treat. Another successful thing was that sometimes just making is the best way forward I obviously did drawings but I enjoyed making it slightly different to the initial ideas.

CONTEXT OF THE OLYMPIC CAULDRON 

When designing this to make it special and to stand out what the flame enables has to be much bigger than what's already been and gone. My design plan is to make sure the people can walk round the flame and be inside it and this will give everyone the chance to be a part of the flame and the Olympics. Rather like the torch replay mine will give everyone a chance to be close to the Olympic flame.  The flame is double insulated so when walking round the heat is not  noticeable to human skin. 

Authors own - The three completed files back and front

Olympic medals

Authors own Final design - the Front

- Authors own the back of the medal 

The changes to the medals have actually been quite substantial and to be honest they look far more sophisticated and modern and really more in touch with what Brazil holds dearly. Looking into the country's heritage and icons made me design this in this fashion, yet at the same time I have kept of the really old design. The Olympic rings I was told my Geoff, Will, Anna, and Levi look great and once cut out like this will make a huge impact.

Nike is a goddess who personified victory, speed and success both in battle and peaceful competition. And this is exactly what the Olympic movement is all about, coming together in competitive spirit but working as one.

Another reason she is on the final design is every games so far including 2008, 2012 and 2014 she is featured and this is obviously a statement.

The Roman lettering is anther one I started to explore probably far to late but it worked so I'm happy, the numerals obviously represent each game. To me they fit as the games have hundreds of years of history and having something old and vintage is current to that.

Authors own...the front of the medal - close up

The background?This is seen in my research but what I found out was the typography for the 2016 Rio games was inspired my kinetic movement done my Brazilian athletes. This is is one seriously delightful font, designed by the prestigious Dalton Maag, for the Rio 2016 Olympics. What truly amazes me is how bloody hard it has to be has to be create a totally unique, yet stunningly beautiful, brush script style font, and Dalton Maag have utterly blitzed that challenge.

Magg quotes " took one look at this and instantly fell in love with it’s flowing curvy shape whilst having it’s own unique style, and let’s not forget to mention aspects of the fonts’ lettering having been inspired from real world geographical forms, and physical objects". When looking at many fonts from past Olympics they do tend to represent the host nation, but Magg has done this so well and its now an iconic font for the games. The letter B represents Brazil and I thought this would look great engraved and so it does, it has come out better than I previously thought it would.

The Stunning Rio 2016™ Olympic Font Design by Dalton Maag!

- Authors own Me holding one - this is before I laser cut them smaller

The back of the medal- wrong scale medal before laser cutting the final one

Analysis

what do you think was successful about your work and why is this?

From the start I knew I wanted the medal to incorporate aspects of historical and religious connotations like Gods and Goddesses and me being able to use Illustrator well to create them as vectors was easy. Taking inspiration from previous games and then applying them to mine was key for me to make a great looking medal that I think athletes would be proud receiving them.

Due to deep research the typography that had already been done was a great hand as Magg's font was pure and fluid and really represented athletes movement and real life in Brazil. Taking a font and incorporating it into my design was pure genius and it now relates perfectly to the font the existing logo etc.

What aspect of your work were you not happy with and why ?
The time it needed I found hard to give, the file on 2D design and Illustrator wasn't easy to do, as there were many layers ans at some points I struggled with the layering, but once that was done the laser cutter is capable of cutting it. For example I had to make sure the background of the B's was behind the God statue, so individually move each letter B to avoid the laser cutter etching onto the icon. But I got through this and its complete now and look fab.

What did you find challenging?
The amount of times I had to adapt the files, this had to of taken 2 weeks it was a lengthy process, it was because each bit on the medal had its own layer and the layers can be mixed up so trying to separate them so they don't overlap.  Another challenge was testing the engraving, on illustrator you just change the line thickness but 2D differs to that, so it took me a while to decide on how deep the engrave should be to look good under golf leaf.

What tasks did you find easy?
Not much was simple but a good challenge at that

What I learnt for next time?
For next time to look into the past and research them deeply in order to know what pattern had been reoccurring and what hasn't.

Golf Leaf-

Authors own - Before the Gilding process. 

This is the start of my Gold leafing my Olympic medal, the first stage has to be done well otherwise the gold wont settle and it will sink in and this is what I don't want to happen. If it happens I will spray paint them.

How to Gild steps 1 -3 



Step 1:  Prepare work area: Cover working surfaces and floor areas with drop cloths or newspaper. Use low-tack painters tape to mask any areas not to be gilded. Lightly sand the surface if necessary with 220 grit sandpaper to remove any blemishes.
Step 2: Prime surface:  Remove sanding dust with a tack cloth and apply a quality primer like Burnish Sealer. This primer-sealer has been specially formulated for gilding processes and is available in 3 colour tones - Red, Grey and Ochre. Burnish Sealer produces a high quality, smooth surface for gilding. Ochre, red or grey can produce fault hiding bases or colour enhancing undertones.

Step 3: Apply 'bole' color: This base colour is also referred to as the 'Bole' colour. Traditionally, bole was made from clay. Today paint is typically substituted.

Development

 Development of the Olympic Cauldron

what the abstract pieces mean ?

They represent lots of principles the Olympics stand for being: Cohesion, spirit, equality, the future, dynamic, respect and skill. Pier De Coubertin said the games aren't about winning but taking part and I wanted this abstract detail to showcase this. 

Stages in making

1. I put them into groups of 4 and 3 the group of 4 was for the bottom layer and the group of 3 was the second layer.
2. A glue gun was used to stick each individual piece together at the base
3. I tried to make the glue unconscious as possible to the eye
4. A circular base I made was glued to a piece of foam board to support the structure
5. I glued the row of 3 to the base, did this 5 times
6. I then glued the row of 3 the same way to create the top

Authors own - all the pieces in line in the correct order of assembly

Authors own - before Glueing the other 2 surfaces

Authors own 

Authors own  I had to use a base just as extra support.

Authors own  the first half fabricated together 

Authors own - before building higer

Authors own - birds eye view

 Analysis 

What aspect of your work were you not so happy with ?

My design is fun and creative but the pieces don't have much surface area to physically join them via, they are curved which makes joining really tricky, what I've come up with is joining them by the hip ad this still isn't 100%. 

What worked well?

The shape made was Thomas Heatherwick like due to it having a message, the message being respect for one another and cohesion of people to work together and to compete together as one.

What could be improved next time?

The shape is far too limp I will have to alter that before I make the real thing.

CAD FOR THE OLYMPIC MEDALS IN PROGRESS 

Authors own - finished 3D design file showing the RED cut lines and the BLUE engrave lines 

This is the final CAD drawing, the whole process was fairly lengthy this was mainly because the Rio tm font is not available for use so I had to redraw the B shape and copy and paste it into the design. When engraving the B pattern it needed to be thick enough to when spray painted or gilded it still shows, the line thickness of the blue was 1/2 .  This is the same for the lettering "Rio2016" this was my best copy of the font.

Authors own- This is a zoomed in picture and it really show the detail I added to this medal

The picture shows the level of intricate detail planned out to precision to make sure it fits perfectly inside the perimeter of the circle. The layers are also evident here, the Rings are layered over the statue, to do this I made sure the laser cut out the rings, I then glued them back in to solve this problem.

Authors own, showing back and front 

Sporting events are often numbered using Roman numerals. The Athens Olympics in 2004, the 28th games in modern times, were called the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, showing that it is the 28th games of the modern era since the first in 1896. The 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy will be the XX Winter Games; they began in 1924 and were in the same year as the Summer games until 1992. Beijing will be the XXIX Olympiad in 2008 and the 2012 Games won by London will be the XXX Olympiad. When counting Olympic Games the ones cancelled during war in 1916, 1940, and 1944 are included.

Authors own this stage was putting the lettering behind the imagery 

 This picture above shows the struggle of getting the letter B to fit inside the perimeter of the circle this meant one by one moving and shuffling the letters inside.

It wasn't as easy as copy or paste each on the outside was individually turned to fit. The next stage was to make sure there were no letters inside the shape of Christ, deleting one by one cleared this out of the image. The finished product is shown 2 pictures above.