St Fagans: Research trip day one
- Jacqs Scourfield
- Oct 4, 2018
- 2 min read
Over the past two days as part of my third year studies, our course stepped out of the studio and headed down to St Fagan’s for an inspirational research visit. After hearing the exciting news of a live brief we will be set by St. Fagan’s in just a few weeks time, the visit allowed us a valuable chance to research and discover more about our client as well as fundamentally allowing us to gather a wealth of primary resources; photographs and drawings to provide the foundations of the brief we will shortly start.
The museum is expansive, home to around 40 historical buildings from different decades, providing plenty of inspiration to be discovered. As the day began we were tasked with the challenge of discovering a location of specific interest to us and to record it through photography and a variety of drawing techniques. Throughout the day I became specifically inspired by the row of cottages, exploring and drawing the silhouettes of the architecture, the objects/artefacts within the interiors, and hidden patterns within rust and overlooked surfaces.
By the end of the day I narrowed my interest down to the mantelpiece scenes of the cottages. For me, the composition of the objects and their variations in forms and silhouettes, displayed on the mantelpiece intrigued me.
The live brief will end with an exhibition at the museum. As a maker this will provide me with a fundamental opportunity to gain more experience in both working with an organisation on a design brief, and exhibiting my work in both a public exhibition and gallery setting. As our first day of the research trip came to a close it gave me an opportunity to reflect on how integral research trips are to a design project and process. Throughout my studies central to set briefs and self-written projects have always been a generous quantity of opportunities for research visits both locally and further afield. This is essential to generate rich imagery and resources to aid a design process. Research trips to specific locations allow strong and relevant ideas tailored towards my clientele, which is an essential task and one I will continue to enjoy carrying out throughout my studies and future career, which I hope to gain within the design industry.
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