Using creativity to help raise a £17k fundraising target and transform a tired science department into a space that inspires
The Big Banchory Theory is a new initiative taken by Banchory Academy that tests the hypothesis that an improvement to a student’s surroundings will lead to an increased desire to learn.
Hypothesis. TBBT is as much an experiment as a laboratory assignment. It tests the hypothesis that an improvement to a student’s surroundings will lead to an increased desire to learn. This experiment is large in its ambitions, with hopes of being applicable to any school or department.
Experimentation. The first stage of this experiment was to concoct a fun brand, online and offline content and mockup designs to help reach a £17,000 milestone. The online side of the project involved the students wherever possible (see above), and eventually became part of the on-going life of the department.
Conclusion 1: The Building Blocks of Life. The first completed wall aimed to communicate the importance of DNA to all living things throughout history and how it is the key building block to all life. The client was keen that the wall murals did not feel like a textbook in any way (there's enough of those in the classrooms) - instead it needed to promote wonder. As the main biology wall that features in the space, it was also essential that the wall look and feel alive in some way, which led to an illustrative approach.
Man or Mushroom? In addition to this overarching story, students were also encouraged to find out whether Jeff (seen in the image above) is a 'man or mushroom' by looking through part of his genetic code.
Conclusion 2: The Energy Pipeline. The second completed wall focuses on energy and just a few of the many ways that it is captured for electrical power. This was communicated through a pipe infographic that illustrates the flow of energy with different symbols and pictograms.
The surface meanwhile, was a neat opportunity to highlight the many possibilities of typography. It was important that this wall wasn't overshadowed by the first and both function to highlight multiple different facets of design as well as science. Sponsors of the project were also worked into a recommended glass staircase that now adorns the space.