Category Archives: Design & Technology

Database Trial – Birkhäuser Building Types Online

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Architects, artists and building engineers may find our latest database trial of great interest to them.

The database Building Types Online draws on the expertise and the high international standing of Birkhäuser and comprises the knowledge and content of selected Birkhäuser manuals in typological order. The approx. 850 case studies are documented with texts by authors who are experts in their fields and with approx. 5000 architectural drawings of high quality as well as 2000 photographs of the buildings.

Using a systematic and analytical search and browse structure that allows all kinds of combinations, the database provides solutions for numerous design tasks in study and practice. This tool will facilitate research on building typology and architectural design assignments.

Thematic articles provide background information on individual building types or explain specific aspects such as lighting, acoustics, urban considerations, access types or planning processes. The users, be they in academia, architectural practice or students, will be offered a comprehensive online resource on building types based on seminal buildings of the past 30 years. Housing as one of the most frequent design tasks forms a large focus of the database.

To begin searching go to www.degruyter.com/db/bdt – access is via IP address and the trial runs to 31st July 2017.

A user guide is available at: https://www.degruyter.com/staticfiles/pdfs/User_Guide_Building_Types_Online_EN.pdf

We welcome feedback – good or bad – on this trial, please contact Steve Corn s.c.corn@lboro.ac.uk with your comments.

Postgrad Arts Degree Show 2016

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postgrad art showThe annual Postgraduate Arts Degree Show 2016 will open with a Private View on Wednesday 21st September, 5-7pm, and will be open to the public Thursday 22nd-Saturday 24th September, 10am-5pm, in the Fine Art Building at Loughborough University.

On display will be the final degree projects of the students on two of our MA creative arts courses: 2D and 3D Visualisation (Graphic Design and Visualisation from 2016 onwards) and Art and Design (Studio Practice).

The Degree Show is an opportunity for students to showcase their skill, vision and ingenuity, all of which are enhanced by the level of sophistication that results from exploring a discipline in greater depth.

Students on both courses are encouraged to develop their own visual language, and to express this through traditional and contemporary media. At the heart of these courses is an emphasis on experimenting with materials, processes and techniques, and on refining individual skills and practice. The Degree Show is one of several opportunities for students to develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to pursue a career in the creative industries.

For further information, visit the link below:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/aed/pg-taught/postgraduate-arts-degree-show/postgraduate-arts-degree-show-2016/

Loughborough Design School Degree Show

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design schoolThe Loughborough Design School will be holding its annual Degree Show this month in the School’s exhibition space.

The event is an opportunity to see the final year project work from the School’s Industrial Design & Technology BA, Product Design & Technology BSc, Ergonomics (Human Factors Design) BSc and Design Ergonomics BSc students who will graduate this summer.

The show starts on Friday 10th June and runs until Tuesday 14th June and is open 10am – 4pm daily. Entrance is free.

Loughborough Arts Degree Show 2016

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arts degree showAs Art & Design at Loughborough continues to excel, having been ranked 2nd in the UK (Complete University Guide 2017) and 40th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2016), there is now more reason than ever to visit this inspiring annual event.

Loughborough Art students have a strong tradition of challenging convention and this year promises to be no exception, with a range of imaginative, adventurous and thought-provoking work on display. Represented will be final-year work from the following courses

  • Fine Art
  • Graphic Communication
  • 3D Design New Practice
  • Textiles: Innovation
  • Design Foundation Studies

The exhibition will be on display at the Edward Barnsley Building from 4th – 12th June, 10am to 5pm daily. Entrance is free.

Calling All Ergonomics Students!

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ergonomicsIf you need to find articles on universal design, assistive technology, cognitive ergonomics, user experience, driver vehicle ergonomics, health and safety, sporting equipment and lots, lots more – try Ergonomics Abstracts.

With nearly 200,000 online records covering more than 25 years of ergonomics research it also includes trade magazines for the latest trends, as well as books chapters and conference proceedings.

You can find Ergonomics Abstracts from the link in the Design School Subject Guide – http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/subjectguides/design/– or from the Select Databases tab in Library Catalogue Plus http://lcp.lboro.ac.uk/

Or just ask your Academic Librarian – http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/contact/academiclibrarians –  for more information.

Database Trial – American Consumer Culture

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barbieThis month we’re trialling a fascinating historical resource that may be of great interest to marketing students and those interested in the often weird & wonderful world of American advertising.

American Consumer Culture: Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965 provides a unique insight into the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century through access to the market research reports and supporting documents of Ernest Dichter; the era’s foremost consumer analyst and market research pioneer.

The collection is a treasure trove of information on some of America’s best known brands, containing thousands of reports commissioned by advertising agencies and global businesses in a booming era for consumerism, ‘Madison Avenue’ advertising and global brands on consumer goods ranging from tobacco and broadcasting to cars and hotels.

Immensely influential, Dichter’s Freud-inspired studies put the consumer “on the couch” and emphasised the unconscious motives behind consumer behaviour. The Institute of Motivational Research employed trained social scientists and used established methodologies to conduct psychological research. Dichter’s career reached its peak after Vance Packard’s bestselling exposé The Hidden Persuaders (1957) presented Dichter as a mastermind manipulator who could exploit the emotions of consumers for the benefit of any advertising agency or big brand.

The work of Dichter and his Institute for Motivational Research provided the building blocks for many of the great campaigns of advertising’s golden age – including Exxon’s famous “put a tiger in your tank” campaign and the slogan “bet you can’t just eat one” for Frito-Lays – as well as facilitating the successful introduction of Mattel’s Barbie Doll (pictured above from their archive).

This collection will provide researchers of consumer culture, business, advertising, marketing and psychology with a wealth of documentation. The wide variety of industries featured will allow for diverse – and multilateral – approaches from a range of academic disciplines.

To begin searching please go to: www.consumerculture.amdigital.co.uk – access is via IP address and the trial runs to 1st February 2016.

Please note that PDF download options are not available during trials.

We welcome feedback – good or bad – on this trial, please contact Steve Corn with your comments.

Arts Postgraduate Degree Show

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Loughborough University’s School of the Arts, English and Drama will be holding their annual Postgraduate Degree Show down in the Fine Art Building this weekend, from Thursday 17th September to Sunday 20th September, 10am – 5pm.

Every year the School’s Postgraduate Taught students produce unique pieces of modern and contemporary work, comprising Fine art, Wearable Poster, Ceramics, Packaging design, Product and Urban Design, Animation, Graphic Communication and Illustration. The culmination of a year long artistic journey encompassing ethical and environmental concerns, the students’ creations are enriched by their own visual cultures and imaginations.

The work on display showcases the students’ artistic journey towards a Masters in Studio Ceramics: Methodologies and Practice, Art and Design (Studio Practice), and 2D and 3D Visualisation.

Admittance is free.

Loughborough Design School Show

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design schoolLoughborough’s Design School will be opening its doors on Friday to an exhibition of some of this year’s work.

This event sees all of the School’s finalist undergraduate students come together to exhibit their final projects. On show will be a range of prototype designs, project abstracts and information about the students and their individual projects. It is also a fantastic opportunity to meet the students face to face and gain an understanding of their inspiration, ideas and innovations.

This year the show will feature work from all of the undergraduate finalists for the very first time, including Design Ergonomics and Ergonomics (Human Factors Design) students.

The event is open to the public from the 12th – 15th June, with a free schools event planned for the 12th June and a business day planned for the 16th June. Tickets are not required for public sessions, but booking is necessary for the schools event and business day. Visit this link to find out more.

https://blog.lboro.ac.uk/design-school-show/about/

Eden Flix Presents 'Future By Design'

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eden flix

Next Wednesday afternoon (14th May) in the Cope Auditorium at 3pm Eden Flix is hosting a free showing of Academy Award nominated director William Gazecki’s acclaimed 2006 documentary Future By Design.

Future By Design shares the life and far-reaching vision of Jacque Fresco, considered by many to be a modern day Da Vinci. Peer to Einstein and Buckminster Fuller, Jacque is a self-taught futurist who describes himself most often as a “generalist” or multi-disciplinarian – a student of many inter-related fields.

Eden Flix are a series of highly acclaimed, thought-provoking and inspirational documentaries on issues related to engineering, design and social consciousness.

All staff and students at Loughborough are freely welcome to attend, though booking is necessary. To do that, follow this link.

Eden Flix Presents 'Objectified'

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eden flix

Next Wednesday afternoon (26th February) at 3pm in the Cope Auditorium Eden Flix is presenting a free showing of Gary Hustwit’s acclaimed 2009 documentary Objectified.

Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the designers who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability.  Through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential product designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?

Eden Flix are a series of highly acclaimed, thought-provoking and inspirational documentaries on issues related to engineering, design and social consciousness. All staff and students at Loughborough are welcome to attend.