The END!

This is my final entry in the blog. Although my entries have been rather erratic, nevertheless, I have found it a useful way of pacing my work and expressing my ideas on paper like this has helped my design thought process. This year has been very hectic but gratifying as well because of the success I have had with my product.

Referencing

Having completed the main body of the dissertation, I checked out the more technical side of it i.e. the referencing and bibliography which I did by using the "Harvard Method". There was some point at one time whether we should use the APA or the Harvard system but it was finally agreed to be the Harvard. I carefully checked all my footnotes, which numbered 12 in the end with all the other quotes to make sure they were properly referenced. I also referenced all my interview transcripts and various pictures I had used to show how my board looked in a classroom. I then put all my references into a bibliography which also contained other books which I had read but not used.

The Conclusion

Finally I did a brief conclusion setting out my concept followed by the Methodology of how I achieved my concept quoting the various interviews etc and what I had actually constructed. I then spoke about the total agreement and support for the project that I had received from all the stake-holders, particularly, from the teacher who had carried out the test for a week. I finished off with some ideas I was toying with to extend my project into a complete educational tool, for example, "Early Numbers", "Early Letters", "Early Colours" etc.

Discussion on Findings

Moving from the findings to the discussion of findings I wrote comparing the answers I received from the teachers and the various experts, discussing how they influenced me and, in some cases, how their answers confirmed what I already believed to be true, for example, how important colour was for my signs. I also compared some of the information I received with quotations I had received from the books I had read in the Literature Review. It was encouraging that I was able to compare present day thinking on the influence there had been in the past. A good example was John Dewey's "Pedagogic Creed" which stated that "Life in school should represent life outside the school". This was an interesting theory on which to hang my ideas of the use of signs and symbols in school.

Comparison of answers

After I had completed a breakdown and comparison of answers from the teachers, I turned to the interviewees and moving from paragraph to paragraph as I had done with the questionnaire, compared the answers from the various experts as I did with the teachers. I quoted answers directly from the transcripts and put references next to their names referring the reader to the relevant appendix where the transcript is. I wrote a whole paragraph giving the synopsis of my interview with the teacher who carried out the test.

Layout of the chapters

Having decided on the main lay-out of the two chapters, I began to complete each section starting with the questionnaires and extracting quotations from the various teachers to complete the section. For example, "The importance of colour" was the first heading. All 22 teachers agreed it was important and then I quoted for example, one teacher commented colour "gives and insight to their emotional and psychological state". I did this throughout the various sections, at all times referring the reader to the relevant appendix e.g. (appendix 1.1). I did this throughout both chapters.

Setting out the Findings/ Discussion of Findings

I laid out the chapter of the Finding by, first of all, tackling the questionnaire and then moving on to the interview but I decided to, basically, use some of the questions in the questionnaire making their subject the heading for the section and keeping them through the interviews and also the discussion of the findings so that suitable comments and comparisons would be easy to make. The main general headings were:

The importance of colour

Response to stimuli such as pictures or shapes

Use of signs and symbols in class

I added for the interviewees to extract more technical information:

The psychological and emotional development of children

Continuing Findings

I continued considering what I should put in my findings chapter. Having explained the responses to the questions from the teachers at the two schools, I began to look at how I could discuss the advice I received from the interviews I had carried out in early March and mid-April when I interviewed the teacher who had actually carried out the field test. She was very encouraging. She and the children had enjoyed using the system and she was keen for it to be introduced into all the schools. I transcribed all the interviews I have recorded and have the transcriptions in the appendices as appendix 2.1 - 2.6.

Questionnaire

First I looked at the questionnaire. Ultimately I passed out 30 questionnaires to the two schools and was pleased to receive back 22 well-thought out and encouraging responses. These I tabulated and put the results in the appendices. First appendix 1 was a copy of the questionnaire I sent out and I followed this with appendices chart 1 - 8 which gave the results of the questionnaire using pie charts and bar graphs according to the information supplied.

In the text of the chapter I have explained the reasons for the questions and the teachers response to it. In a number of cases I have given direct quotes from some of the questionnaires. All the teachers thought my idea was very good and one or two actually wished me good luck if I went ahead with the project.

Time to write the Findings

After writing the Methodology and carrying out the various interviews I had had to do, I began considering the findings section of the dissertation i.e. what sort of information I had received from the interviews and questionnaires which I conducted.

Constructing the Final Piece

The signs were designed on A4 paper in the form of a square with the corners rounded so that, if the child picked one up he/she would not hurt themselves. They were then cut into shape and glued to foam board. On the reverse I placed a piece of "Velcro" which would then adhere to the main board which would be placed at the front of the class. The teacher can then attach the sign to the board at will, if necessary, taking it off the board to hold it up to emphasise a point.

The special needs signs I made slightly smaller and laminated them so that they would not be damaged if a child got hold of one.

I will be doing a test run for a prototype of the final piece from 6 - 14 April with a teacher from St Clara's school and then doing a follow- up interview with her to find out how she and the children got on. I am keeping my fingers crossed but am quietly hopeful all will be well.

Finally I have come up with a name for the product "Early Signs" and am toying with the idea of extending my designs to "Early Letters" and, possibly, "Early Numbers" if the present project comes off .

Designing the Final Piece

Having gathered all the information and comments from the interviews that I could and sifted through them to take out the main points, I sat down and began to design my signs. There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting down in front of the computer and beginning to design some new concept or other. I had already filled a sketchbook with possible designs and had a pretty good idea what I was going to do. The plan was to keep the signs simple but colourful and eye-catching.

I designed 22 signs- 10 were mild commands like "put your hand up", "keep in line", "no talking" and the other 12 were indicating which lesson was about to take place. These signs were designed to be placed on a board in front of the class so the teacher could indicate the point she wanted to make, either the lesson they were about to have or a particular command she wanted to make.

I also designed a further 10 signs for the special needs children. They were slightly different in colour and size as they were designed to be placed on the desk of the child by the special needs teacher. The teacher I interviewed was very helpful and told me which colours to use etc.

Interviews

I interviewed them all over a period of a week in early March. What they had to say was both informative and gratifying. They were all very enthusiastic about the project. In fact, the psychologist even went as far as to suggest it might be presented to the Education Board later in the year.

I had taken great care to prepare the questions I was going to ask each of them, varying them slightly according to their expertise. Taking the advice of Cohen & Manion (1998) I used mainly open - ended questions as they give the interviewees the opportunity to express their opinions and feelings freely.

I also consulted Corrie & Zaklukiewicz (1985) about the use of tape recorders and took the advice of Horalambos & Holborn (1995) on the usefulness of semi-structured interviews. ( full transcripts of the interviews will appear in the appendices of the dissertation).

Personal Interviews

Questionnaires were useful but I thought I needed to support these with more detailed information.  I decided , therefore, to do a series of personal interviews with a variety of experts. 

I thought four interviews should be enough, provided I selected the best people.  I chose:

A. An experienced teacher from St. Joseph School

B. The headmistress of one of the schools

C. A special needs from St. Joseph School

D. A Child Psychologist

First Questionnaire

I then constructed a questionnaire, asking a mix of questions on things that would need to be taken into account when designing the signs.  (See copy of questionnaire and covering letter below.) 

I sent out 15 questionnaires to each school and received back completed 20 in all. This gave me some very useful information (See my comment on the Findings later).  My plan is to send a further questionnaire to the same schools, with pictures of my signs, to see what they think of my final piece later.

Methodology

Qualitative dissertation

While I was completing the Introduction and the Literature Review, I was also considering how to collect all the data to show that, not only would my signage work, but that the teachers, headmistresses etc. who would have to implement the system were generally in agreement with it. 

I decided that, as the whole concept and the final piece were fairly technical, I should aim at a qualitative, rather than quantitative, dissertation. This was because qualitative data, in comparison with quantitative data, is seen as richer and having greater depth due to the substantial amount of the detail.  Qualitative research is considered as more vital and more likely to present a truer picture of reality i.e. the way of life, experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of the participants.  Haralambos & Holborn (1995).

I chose two primary schools:

1. St.Joseph Primary School, Sliema (Church School)
2. St. Clara College, Pembroke Primary School (Government School)

I spoke to the two headmistresses in early January and they readily agreed that I could send a questionnaire to their teachers to find out their views on what colour, shapes etc. my signs should be.

How I would set out the methodology?

In the second part, I explained that the methodology will be to design around 20 cards, picturing a number of requests for the students to respond to.   I planned to send out two sets of questionnaires to teachers at two selected primary schools to elicit information from them on colours, shapes etc. of the signs to help me to design them.  A second questionnaire will also be sent after the cards were designed to obtain some feedback on whether they thought they would work. 

I would also be doing some personal interviews with a teacher, a special needs teacher, a headmistress and a child psychologist to receive more in depth information before starting the designing.

Introduction

The Set Up

Having completed the Literature Review, I began thinking what I was going to say in the " Introduction". To complete this I split it, basically, into two sections as I did with the Literature Review:

1. The early use of signs which are introduced at an early age to children

2. The methodology of the dissertation.

In the first part I explained how, from an early age, children are introduced to signs and symbols, first, by their parents and, later, by their teachers, using Flash cards, pictures etc. I explained that my plan was to help primary school teachers manage their classes with the aid of a series of picture cards, which could be held up or pointed to if they were hanging on a board in lieu of having to give verbal commands. This would save time and the children would enjoy seeing and responding to the cards.

Child Psychology

Another book I found very useful, when studying child psychology, was:

"The development of Visual Perception" by Richard Rosinski - His ideas were good as he argues that visual perception is one of the best ways of acquiring and developing knowledge. He also talks about the early life of children and one useful quotation I got from him talking about colours and shapes was:

"... studies clearly show that infants are able to discriminate and recognise."

To finish off the last paragraph or two of the literature review, I discovered some of the works of John Dewey, a philosopher of education who dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works still carry great weight in the educational world of today. He believed that life in school should be related to life outside. One useful quote I have from him is:

"I believe that the school must represent present life".

As well as the books I have mentioned here, I have consulted several others, the titles of which can be seen in the bibliography.



Early childhood books

I then turned my attention to the educational side of the studies which is, of course, as important, if not more important, than the signs and symbols studies I had already done. I found there was a vast array of books going back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries to chose from on all aspects of education.

I was interested in the early primary years and, in part, the years leading up to this from, say, infancy up to around 7 or 8 years old. I started with:

"A Primer of Infant Development" by T.G.R. Bower - I found she was a foremost authority on the early development of children while they were babies and how they responded to pictures, colours, etc.

I got a couple of useful quotations from this book and found it to be a very useful book to begin delving into the subject.

Books about the technical side of signs

I then moved on to a set of more technical books, which I knew would help me decide on what colours and shapes etc, the signs I was planning needed to be.

"Colour" by Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris - This gave me some very useful information about what colours represented such as red for danger, love etc, green for the environment and much other information, which I found. I also got one useful quotation:

"Colour is perhaps the first element that we register when we view something for the first time."

I followed my reading of the book about "colour" with one about "shapes" with the same authors.

"Image" by Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris - This gave me a lot of information about the power the shape of a sign can have for example, in traffic signage a prohibition is in the shape of a triangle, while simply giving information takes the form of a circle or rectangle. These were the main books I read about signs and symbols but I also read other books about visual communication:

"See what I mean, an introduction to visual communication" by John Morgan & Peter Wetton.

"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Signs and Symbols" by Mark O'Connell and Raje Airey to name but two for a full list see the upcoming bibliography in my thesis.

History of pictograms

I finished off my historical studies of visual communication with a look at another important book in the history of graphic design:

"Marks of Excellence" by Per Mullerop - This gave me a very good quote on early graphic design by talking about the development of the rebus:

"Rebuses - Images that can be read as words or letters - embrace the linguistic and pictorial functions of trademarks. The image of the eye is one of the most effective of these puns."

This helps to put the use of pictograms which is basically what my signs for the children will be, into an historical perspective.

What book to read first

I thought it was best if I, first of all, looked into what I knew best i.e. signs and symbols. I had spent the previous year doing a study on these and already had an idea of one or two books I can start with the first of which is:

Megg's History of Graphic Design by Phil B.Meggs & Alston W.Purvis - This is a very important book, giving a comprehensive look at the history of signs and symbols starting with examples like cave paintings in earliest times to how signs developed through the centuries with examples like Heraldry, watermarks etc. I obtained one very good quotation from this which set the tone of the piece:

"This was not the beginning of art as we know it. Rather it was the dawning of visual communication because these early pictures were made for survival and for utilitarian and ritualistic purposes"

How to begin

Once I had agreed a title with my tutor and the concept I wanted to pursue was firmly fixed in my mind, I knew I would then have to prove it would work. This could be done by consulting in books and journals what the experts might think about the idea.

I decided to split my study of the books I would read into two groups:

1.      Those concerned with the use of signs and symbols, their historical reference, use of colour, shapes etc.

2.      Those concerned with education, particularly, those involved with the child's psychology of young children, how they responded to colours, pictures etc.

Literature review

From time and memorial signs and symbols have played and integral part in the life of human beings. Early cave paintings of primitive people were used to depict their way of life and is the main recordings of what it was like to live in those days. (Meggs and Purvis 2006) put it into its basic form:

"This was not the beginning of art as we know it. Rather, it was the dawning of visual communications, because these early pictures were made for survival and for utilitarian and ritualistic purposes."

In other words, if comparison is made to modern times, traffic signage, for example, is part of one's way of life today. It not only helps to keep traffic flowing but to save lives as well by introducing a set of rules of how to use the roads safely.

Both of these examples can come under the heading of visual communication. There are no written words, only what the eye sees and the brain, at the same time, interprets. The dictionary (Collins 1979) defines "communication" as "The act or an instants of communicating; the imparting or exchange of information, ideas and feelings." When this is interpreted into visual communication it is by definition the imparting of information, ideas and feelings by using the eyes.

Return to ancient history, early language such as Egyptian Hieroglyphics was developed through the use of pictures or "pictograms" as they are called today, which were given ideas by their shape and design. These are still in use today as signs in airports, railway stations and many other places. This also led onto the "rebus" which was a system of using pictures for sounds to write the word required. The rebus became famous when Paul Rand (1914-1996) a well known American graphic designer adapted it to developed his famous logo for "IBM" in 1981.

"Rebuses - images that can be read as words or letters embrace the linguistic and pictorial functions of trademarks. The image of the eye is one of the most effect of these visual puns."

(Per Mollerup 1997)

Trademarks and logos are a very important means of identification in modern life, particularly of companies in business, this is an extension of the very earliest development of the trademark, which was thought to be designed by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 2900 B.C.

"Mesopotamian cylinder seals provided a forgery - proof method of sealing documents and proving their authenticity." 

(Meggs and Purvis 2006) 

They were used for over 3000 years. It can be seen therefore, that signs and symbols have slowly evolved over thousands of years.

There are other signs which have had a profound effect on the way people feel. The Swastika, for example, to many religions such as the Hindus, Buddhism and Taoism is a symbol of fertility and good fortune. However, this change dramatically when it was adopted by the Nazi party in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s and became a symbol of fear a dread. The cross to has had many different identities over the centuries. (information supplied by O'Connell and Airey 2005 "The illustrated encyclopedia of signs and symbols").

Another important aspect of signs and symbols is how they are effected by their shape and colour. In particular, different colours can invoke different feelings and emotions. Red, for example, as the colour of blood is associated with blood. In Paleolithic times red ochre was ground into powder and was thought to have been endowed with life-giving powers and later in Anglo-Saxon times red was believed to protect against evil. In modern times, red is today linked with loved, for example, a single red rose given to your partner is a symbol of undying love in today's society. However, red is also associated with danger. A "red alert" for example, is a high state of alert in political and security terms. The red light on a traffic symbol is a sign its necessary to stop otherwise there might be danger. Green, on the other hand, represents nature, plant life and new awakenings. In political terms it is a recognition that the environment must be protected. The green party is the one that opposes to much building in the country side and wishes to protect the air, water etc from too much pollution. Other colours such as blue and yellow have other properties that are important and have to be taken into account when planning any new signs and symbols.