TEAM MEETING

In January the Newtopia team met in at All Saints Library to discuss the session plan, risk assessment and poster design. Part of the session planning process included organising the weeks of the Events 2020 into two parts: one week exhibition design competition and the other week
assembly and curation of the exhibit. The outputs that we produce, such as posters, audio/visual content and booklets to promote the event, are opportunities to learn and build on graphic skills such as (but not limited to):

- InDesign
- Illustrator
- Photoshop
- Premiere Pro
- Book Binding (with an induction at MMU)
- Poster Printing
- Graphic Design

All of these skills will come with support through workshops, inductions, lectures and, of course, practice!

ANNOUNCEMENT: WORKSHOP

SAVE THE DATE:

WHO? Sam Heitzman
WHEN? 04.05.20
WHAT? A/V Workshop

We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting an A/V Workshop on the 4th May to learn all about how to use Adobe Premiere Pro for editing audio and visual content. Sam Heitzman, a technical officer at MMU, will be able to guide us through the best tips & tricks to make our work stand out!

This workshop will give us the tools to use Premiere Pro, a programme that is hands-on and gives us the freedom to create unique transitions, text and titles. Sam's expertise will be invaluable to those interested in curating the audio/visual aspect of the NEWTOPIA project!

This workshop will be one out of a series all focused on enhancing our design skills in different fields, whether through platforms such as InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop or Premiere Pro. Look out for future posts about these workshops!

The A/V team is located on the 1st floor of Chatham Building at MMU.

THE MODERNIST: SPATIAL LAYOUT

In January the team visited the Modernist, located on Port Street in the Northern Quarter. We were able to get an initial plan of the space and even noticed that an outdoor courtyard could be used for the official event!

The front of the Modernist is both a shop selling their own products and books, as well as exhibition space along the walls and even some of the tables. Towards the back of the Modernist is an exhibition space with three blank walls and space for a television. What's exciting about the Modernist was that it didn't have a vast amount of wall space which would mean that our design would have to think about how visitors and viewers would experience the different themes and ideas which we are presenting.

Though there is an upstairs office and lounge area, we discussed accessibility and decided that the lower level had enough room for all of our models, posters and brochures. All in all, it's the perfect backdrop to some captivating graphics and intricate models!

DIGITAL PROGRAMMES

The digital programmes we would be using fall into three categories: Adobe graphic design applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, Adobe video-editing application Premiere Pro and 3D modelling software such as SketchUp and AutoCAD. These will be the essential tools that we will need to curate the exhibition space and create some exciting graphics!

Part of the Newtopia session plan includes workshops in order to improve our graphic design skills, become inducted into workshop spaces such as the printing room and learn about audio and visual editing software. These workshops will support and inspire everyone and include guest visitors mentioned in previous blog posts.