OUGD504 - Initial Concepts Mindmap

Initial Concepts based on Research

The main concepts include (* indicates further explored ideas):

* Focus on Geographic Area

This idea would use the geographic area, where the different locations are, as a main focus for the design. Many of the places are near the beach or along the Sheikh Zayed Road both of which run parallel to one another. Two lines following the shape of the road and beach would be used as a minimalist representation of the geographic area. These lines would start on the front cover then wrap around the covers front and back then into the book itself. Points of significance along the road or beach would be pointed out then the rest of the page would have imagery and text to describe the activities within that place. By using the two lines as a basis for the design it takes the viewer on a literal journey along the two paths / area. Currently the locations given on the road have been more towards the city whereas the beach destinations are further along the coast in Dubai, so it has been considered that perhaps the road could start on the front moving right over the cover into the book, whilst the beach goes left over the back cover and into the back of the book. This would mean the road would be from the front to middle whilst the beach would be from back to middle. Rather than being a traditional map the design could be in a concertina style which would expand to show the wider route.


*Further exploration of concept

The front cover of the book could feature the lines that will be within the book creating a minimalist design that would look both modern and elegant. The lines would wrap around the back and front of the book into the pages taking the reader on two journeys, with each location marked along the way . Enlarging the scale of the map will spread the distance and places out further providing more room for content. However the increase in scale of the line would mean that the road would fall off the page if kept at the actual scaled distance between them. These would have to be brought closer to both fit on the page or the book could be elongated to compensate for the increased scale and to maintain the accuracy of the distance between them. Positioning the locations geographically as they occur means that there would be large gaps between places, so perhaps the line could be stopped and resumed when necessary. All of the points along the road fall below the line so if the line is at the bottom of the book there will not be enough space to accurately position the points in their location. Instead the points could be put on roughly the turning that needs to be take to get to the location.

- Dubai is a country of extremes

Within research it was found that Dubai has some of the largest buildings, is very hot, has wildly contrasting landscapes (urban vs desert) and is record breaking. To reflect this it was considered that the book could be tall and thin to reflect the record breaking heights of the building. Playing with the concept of urban vs desert it was considered that the paper stock could reflect this, with smooth glossy paper to reflect the modern buildings and more textured gritty paper to reflect the sand. Through layout it was considered that the idea of extremes could be shown by having large images and small writing to create contrast and scale.

* Dubai's rapid expansion

The idea of expansion could be reflected through the combination of maps from early, present and future developments in Dubai. By layering these together to create a map would show the stages of Dubai's quick growth from a small town to a large modern city. The maps could be colour coded to show the progression of the area. The map itself would be square with early Dubai placed centrally so when folded out the rest of Dubai would be seen. The map would have numbers on it to locate each of the places to visit which would then be explored in the book itself. Combining a mixture of large and small images would create the impression of enlarging from one to the next.

*Further exploration of the concept 

The fold out map would show Dubai's growth through past, present and future developments . The map would explore the concept of expansion within Dubai as it is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The design would aim to explore and show how it has expanded and where it is expanding. It has been considered that the full grid systems within each sector could be used as a way of positioning elements on the map. The number would be placed in the exact spot of the place whilst, the roads would act as a grid for text to fill. Playing with the size of elements could also explore the concept of expansion with small numbers, larger text boxes and full bleed images or vise versa creating expansion from one element to the next.

In a different format a large map could be used of the whole of Dubai with squares showing different areas within the city. This would act as a contents from which sections would be enlarged / expanded further on other pages to show an area. These area maps would be again expanded to show each individual place on a small map in relation to its surroundings. Each place would have a small map to go alongside imagery and text, allowing exact location to be seen. Colour coding the different areas would make it easier to see the link between activities and places that are near each other.  

- Tradition is combined into modern life 

In research it was found that although very futuristic and forward thinking, Dubai still has many traditions that it continues with. Taking inspiration from 'A Decade in Dubai' it was considered that perhaps elements from traditions could be overlaid onto the modern imagery of the city creating a blend of both. Within 'A Decade in Dubai' the patterns were glossy and quite subtle, using this concept it was considered that the tradition imagery could be faded to make it less obvious, creating the effect that although overshadowed by the progressive and futuristic, the traditions are still there within the city. Although there are plenty of visuals for traditions actual imagery for the traditional elements needs more thought before continuing with this idea.

*Dubai's architecture 

The architecture of the city often takes inspiration from traditions and things within the landscape. It was considered that the shapes of the buildings could be used as a concept for the book. By refining the shapes down to be basic and more geometric forms it was thought that these could be used for text boxes over full bleed images. It was however thought that these may be to obviously recognisable if put over individual pages , so perhaps laying the shape over a double spread would further abstract and obscure their forms whilst still mimicking the architecture. Using the skyline of the city as a grid for text would indicate where the text would be placed depending on which location it was talking about e.g. if the page was on the Burj Khalifa then the text would be put within this part of the skyline. The order of the content within the book could follow the order of the skyline.

*Further exploration of concept

By making the text boxes the shape of the building then the written comments will literally be on the place as well as figuratively. It has also been considered that the text for the activity could be positioned in relation to the height of the structure being talked about and put over a full bleed image to create a subtle inclusion of text. The pages of the book could also become the shapes of the architecture but abstracted.

Possible Colour Sources 

- Research into oil found that their are different colour variants depending on where the oil is sourced, with oil from the UAE being an amber colour.
- Bank notes
- Gold is widely traded within Dubai
- The landscape provides a variety of earthy tones from the desert and beaches as well as tropical blues etc from the coast
- The clothing worn by Emirati's contains black, white and red
- Dubai's flag uses white and red