Cotham School and Mark Billington and Paul Tomlinson

Duration: 3 days
Teacher: Gwyneth Littlejohn
Students: Year 9

Mark Billington and Paul Tomlinson are both from interior design and space-planning consultancy Design at Work.

Activity

After a presenting a 150-image slideshow for inspiration, Mark and Paul asked the students in groups to make a space that triggered a particular emotion, using only plywood, string, gaffer tape, wallpaper paste, newspapers and paint.

On the first day the pupils worked within their groups to produce their initial designs. On the second they made their spaces. The group using the emotion ‘authority’ used words and signs, while ‘tranquillity’ used stars and blue paint and the ‘joy’ group used balloons.

The winning team – ‘tranquillity’ – won a box of chocolates and the pod was donated to the staffroom with an explanation of the project.

Feedback

Designer

‘This is a difficult project normally given to degree-level students,’ said Mark. ‘I am impressed with the way the students responded to the design brief, their speed at getting down to the task and the success of the outcomes. The students really exceeded all expectations.’

Teacher

‘The students had the opportunity to work alongside professional designers and to experiment with design and materials in an innovative way not normally possible when working to national curriculum and exam board criteria,’ said Gwyneth.

Students

‘It gave us a chance to work with professional designers and to see the sort of work they do and how they plan and organise design projects,’ said Paddy.

‘It was much more practical than most D&T lessons,’ added Alex. ‘We learnt how to use different shapes and structures to evoke different feelings and we now have a greater awareness of how much planning and organisation goes into designing.’