Week 12: Visual Presentations

Arch 100b 2013 Spring

Course Arch 100b
Date 2013/04/26
Learning Objectives In this session, we'll be discussing how to create clear, cohesive visual presentations for project reviews. We'll focus on how to develop a narrative for a project through different modes of representation and the combination of a variety of images to describe a project. After reviewing some successful presentations, we'll diagram out individual student project presentations for final reviews.
Agenda
  • Visual Presentation Examples
  • Keys to Good Presentations
  • Review Last Week's Assignment
  • Board Layout Exercise
Uses Tool(s)

Visual Presentations

Examples and Inspiration


Tips for Presenting

Communication and Speaking to Your Audience
Speak clearly and loudly, with special attention to the audience. Make eye contact and interact with your jury. Take short moments to pause so that the audience can reflect on what you've said.
Using Clear Language
If you can't explain your project with simple language and rely on jargon, you'll be defending your words more than your project.
Talk About What's There
When speaking about your project, every new thought should have an image or model that represents that idea. If you don't have that image or model, speak in terms of the things that are in front of your jury, not to things they can't see or understand.
Building the Narrative
Your project tells a story. Use your words and images to tell it clearly, to build an atmosphere and bring your jury into the project.
Visual Language
Keep a level of consistency across your presentation in visual style. Each image should look like it came form the same designer and represents the same project.

Today's Exercise: Laying Out a Board Diagram

Today's exercise is a bit different from our normal format. You should have a set of drawings (or placeholder images, if you do not have those drawings readily available) at 1/4th of the scale that they will be produced at for final review and a roll of trace paper. With these miniature versions of our drawings, we'll visually lay out our boards as a large composition.

Diagramming the Drawings

Begin by taking each drawing or image and overlaying a sheet of trace paper. Using a pen or pencil, sketch the most important lines and shapes of that image onto the trace paper, with careful attention to the positive and negative space relationship of the drawing to its canvas. Repeat this step for all drawings until you have a completed set sketched out onto individual sheets of trace paper.

Compose the Layout

Use the sketches to compose a layout by creating a sequence of the images to present a narrative that explains the project. While composing the layout, think about what is most important to convey about your project and which images or drawings would best describe it. If you find that you are unable to describe an idea about the project given the sketches you've created, write down that concept - you've discovered a new drawing or image that you need to create later.

Pinup Your Composition

Pin your composed layout onto the wall for discussion and give a brief description of your project. As you describe your project, make sure to point to the sketches on the wall as if you were presenting them in their final form. We'll then critique the layout and determine if any new drawings or images may be necessary to present your project clearly.

Take Notes, Make Changes

With the feedback you're given from the quick pinup, make any changes you need to the layout. If you have new drawings that you need to add, begin sketching your ideas of how that drawing may look. Once you've made those changes take your new layout and, with a larger sheet of trace paper, sketch out your entire board composition onto that single sheet. This will be your guide for finalizing your presentation boards and layout.