OUGD603 - Brief 7 - Build a home for Wildlife - Evaluation against the brief and Project Evaluation

Evaluations against the brief 

A series of bird boxes was created as wildlife habitats for birds within the garden. The designs feature patterns based on the bark of different trees to create the concept of the bird box being a tree trunk. The concept aims to reflect a sense of a birds natural breeding habitat in the hollows of trees.

The design is appropriate for the needs of birds as different sized entrance holes have been used in each of the boxes allowing different types of birds to be catered for within the series. The design doesn’t use any bright colours so won’t attract predators. Thick 15mm plywood has been used to make the boxes meaning the birds will be insulated inside. Glue was  used to join the panels however this is not accessible to the birds and no paint was used in the design making them safe for birds. A hole has been put in the back of the bird boxes so that they can be hung from a wall, tree or fence post away from predators, whilst the lid closes shut so that nothing can get into the bird boxes.

Plywood used to make the bird boxes was sourced from the university however it cannot be a 100% guaranteed that this is from sustainable sources. If the design was made commercially FSC certified wood would be used so it was renewable.

 They can be hung from different places (e.g. a tree, fence or wall) within the garden making them suitable for a range of different sized spaces and are easily moved by unscrewing them from the surface.

The designs will withstand different weather conditions. The use of thick wood means they won’t warp over time. The lid of the design has an overhang so the rain runs off  the top, sheltering the bird box from the elements more and therefore preserving it for longer. The engraved designs won’t wear off as paint would, instead they will weather and look more natural over time creating a longer lasting and more durable design. 

The outcomes are suitable for 25 - 50 year olds as they have a simple and elegant aesthetic and natural colour palette which will fit in with a variety of gardens and spaces. By using more than one of the boxes within the garden people will be able to attract different types of birds (25mm blue, coal and marsh tits, 32mm house sparrows and nuthatches, 44mm starlings) or a particular type of bird can be encouraged depending on the users preference.

The bark patterns are simple and refined creating a contemporary aesthetic. The designs take the forms from the bark and emphasise these in a minimal way. The use of varying line widths within the designs reflects darker areas within the original bark patterns, whilst in the final patterns a sense of depth is created.

Using only portions of the pattern for each side of the bird boxes creates and abstracted design which makes the viewer question what they are based on, making them a talking point within the garden. The contrast created between the etching if the design and the lighter plywood allows the designs to stand out making them a feature of the garden. However this still has a natural aesthetic through the use of natural materials and tones within the design making the bird boxes compliment a garden environment but also contrast against it.

Potentially if the design were to be commercially produced the designs might have to be painted or screen printed onto the wood as the rastering process on the laser cutter was quite time consuming. Alternatively they could be marketed as a limited edition / luxury bird box range and still use the same process.

Project Evaluation

For the final outcome I was able to take inspiration from natural forms and I enjoyed collecting the primary research for this product which included photographing trees and creating tree rubbings.After developing some of my initial ideas it was found that quite a few of the processes that I wanted to try were not possible either because of maintenance on machines or because of the timescale it would take to create the pieces and the difficulty of what I was hoping to do, which was a little frustrating. In hindsight this project could have been started a little earlier as this would have given me more time to try out these processes, however the outcome that was produced I think still meets the brief effectively. Originally I wanted to make the bird boxes out of FSC materials however this cannot be guaranteed within the university so a compromise had to be made. Many of my ideas initially were very product design and material orientated so I had to relate this back to some graphical element, however I think the design has managed to combine my interest in making whilst still having an element of graphic design through the application of pattern. This was the first brief where I had tried applying designs to a three dimensional product and it was interesting considering how a design could work across a product. If I was to do the brief again I probably wouldn't raster the design onto the bird boxes as the process is quite time consuming and wouldn't be very effective if a batch of the designs were to be made. Working in a series was also something that I have done for the first time and I think I have managed to create a consistency across the three designs.