Airbus Collaboration
For our final self-directed module of my second year, we had the option of writing our own brief or completing a brief that was a collaboration between our course and Airbus. I chose to challenge myself and complete the Airbus brief because it is something completely different from what I would normally design.
The design team at Airbus were due to visit us to present the brief but instead, we did this over a Skype call due to COVID-19.
Due to Coronavirus, we had to complete our second year from home with online lessons, which ultimately tested our ability to work independently and control our own timetable. I adapted quite well to this environment and I am happy with how my project ended despite not being able to create work that I had thought about at the beginning of the module.
Project Brief:
Students have 3 months to create a unique and welcoming:
First Class Seat and Cabin and First Class Lounge & High Spec. Premium Economy Seat and Cabin
This project will show sustainability, eco-efficiency, a unique brand philosophy
Students shall be inspired by leading technologies and innovation, both of which are closely linked to the Airbus brand.
Your project will include 4 axes :
- Relaxing, fresh, spacious and comfortable zone
- Living space covering services and connectivity
- Beautifully designed, contemporary, space and features
- An inspiring space with a seamless blend of appearance and functionality
Life-cycle approach: monitor and minimise impact
A genuine concern for health, authenticity and provenance
Create an inspiring logo for a unique brand
Promote responsible business practices:
- Safety and well-being of passengers
- Improve the quality of the environment
Mid project check:
- Research and first concepts, definition of work flow
- Create a story board showing materials and vision
- Views and perspectives of project, colour renderings
- Drawings
- Description of materials and processes
Final deliverable:
- Presentation with written argumentation
- Advertising poster
- Logo
- A 2 slide Executive summary
The brief was adjusted to fit our new lifestyle of working from home. At the end of the day, the Airbus team just wanted us to have fun and create an exciting, fresh design.
Above you can see two concepts boards that I created. The first one is designed to reflect the shapes and. the general feel I wanted to create with my design. The second concept board is much more emotive and is about capturing the feeling of calmness, comfort and intrigue. I wanted my colour palette to bring warmth and comfort to what is ordinarily a very cold and uncomfortable place but also keep in line with Airbus general branding.
Below is my material board that contains all the primary fabrics, finishings and accessories for my project. I wanted to pick fabrics that are sustainable or eco-friendly but also fit regulations required for an aircraft. I made the images different sizes to reflect how much of each fabric would be found in the aircraft. I think my colour scheme is more exciting and comforting than what you would usually find in an aircraft and I think it ties in the companies branding as well.
Above are the final technical drawings for my first class and premium economy designs. You can see my general arrangements, bespoke seating, elevations and cross-sections. All of these drawings were compiled into a construction pack which allows all appropriate members involved in the build to find the information that they need.
You can see I mocked up my designs on Google Sketch-Up and then created a small animation to go with it.
For the other half of this project, we had to create our own branding to match our designs. I chose to create an airline company which was designed as a sub-company for Airbus. I created on Photoshop a selection of promotional materials including a logo and billboard.
