P6 Mauk | Julie Silverman

I think it's very evident that he started out as a graphic designer, particularly in his philosophy (online and from the visit) of being all about the message/story of the exhibit. We can talk about materials and lighting until our faces turn blue, but if there's no cohesive idea/content, then there really is nothing. This is crucial for us, particularly with so many people involved. The theme and ideas and various attached concepts must be articulated very clearly, and we must periodically put all our work up to evaluation on whether it meets those goals. Simply doing stuff for the "cool" factor rather than designing to a message is a great way to have a disjointed mess of an exhibit.

Project 6 Mauk Design - Tiffanie Yip

The Mauk Design field trip was a good experience for me because I was actually inside a design studio. I like how the studio was set up with the windows on top because it was really bright with sunlight shining in. It was cool seeing the sketches of the McDonalds exhibits and the final picture of that huge hamburger. I was amazed when I heard that it only took two people to work on the McDonalds exhibit. I thought it was really interesting learning about who designed the logo for the Pluto’s Restaurant and also Charles Swab’s wine labels. When he told us how he designed the Pluto’s logo, I was really impressed it was done by the line tool. I also liked the many different win labels that were displayed on the bottle in different colors and fonts. I had a good time at the Mauk Design.

Project 6 - Mauk Feild Trip /// Sean Fridman

I enjoyed our trip to Mauk design. Seeing an actual exhibit design firm and talking to an actual exhibit designer, perhaps not surprisingly, gave me a greater understanding of exhibit design. One thing I came away with from the trip was an improved understanding of budget. Learning that Mauk can use $50,000 in a space considerably smaller than ours made clear to me the necessity of utilizing clever thriftiness in creating Stream. Also, it sort of levelled my imagination closer to reality in regards to a truer appreciation of our budget and what can and cannot be done therein.

It was interesting to see the abundance of sketch models lying around the Mauk office. This helped me understand the importance of concrete visualization. No matter how sound a concept is in your head, you can’t know exactly how it stands up to the complications of reality without seeing it in reality.

Additionally, I like Mauk’s focus on motion. Designers are often focused on XYZ and forget that there are other, highly effective dimensions that they can incorporate into their designs. I think the use of motion is a great idea for Stream.

Having said that, I would also like to assert that Mitchell Mauk is a funny guy. He’s all designy looking and funny and whatnot. Cool guy.

Project 6: Field trip to Mauk Design

During a recent field trip to the Mauk Design, an exhibit design mainly for trade shows, we were able to have an inside look. We were able to study exhibit designs, the process and ideas were they are derived from. During the trip we saw small paper dioramas of present and past exhibits. Along the walls we were able to view printed pictures of past exhibits like the McDonalds and the employee rewards and success exhibits. Also we saw a small preview of an upcoming airport terminal; the host also showed several ideas that worked and did not worked.

project 6

PROJECT 6: Mauk Field Trip

DAI 524

Jesselyn Hernandez

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Mauk Design field trip was an informative experience that allowed us to understand the concept of preparing for various exhibits. Some main points that Mitchell Mauk focused were on time management, materials, and concept. 

Mitchell explains that every assignment takes a lot of time planning and prototyping. For instance, Mauk Design had a visual communication project for a modern fresh recently completed airport. Within this project some requirements were vital factors toward functionality. Overall this project took them a lot of re-assembling and re-structuring, as well as a whole year of stress and tension.

At the end of the day you were able to get a general idea of the development, procedures, and course of action that one would have to take to design an exhibit. 

Project 6, Mauk Design

     Last visit at Mauk Design was quit an experience. The small office with big projects got my attention. The owner, Mitchell Mauk, gave good presentation about some of his past and ongoing projects in exhibition, graphics, products and even logo design. he told us about his opinion that a good designer has to be able to design anything, and that's what I believe too.

     In my opinion, Mauk design is the place that brilliant ideas meet the most effective solutions and bring the big projects to the end. Since my emphasis is exhibition designing, this visit was really inspiring for me. Everything from sketch models to pictures and models of finished projects were exciting. The project that got my attention was the MacDonald's innovation exhibit in its worldwide convention. The dazzling idea of using inexpensive and simple materials to make that huge and beautiful exhibition, was admiring. It also taught me that with smart use of materials and budget, you could come up with the finest design that can compete with the best of its own kind. 

Project 6: Paul Carlson -- Mauk Design

The class trip to Mauk Design was enlightening and informative. As Mitchell Mauk mentioned, all exhibits should tell a story; we need to figure out what the story of Stream is, and how best to package/convey that. Another thing he mentioned that I thought worth taking note of was the fact that the only truly green/sustainable exhibit design is one that uses less, not more; also, if it can be re-used, so much the better. This is something I believe strongly in, in making (at least some components of) Stream re-usable. I also particularly appreciated his suggestion for making exhibits dynamic by incorporating movement, whether actual (as in the case of the Reynolds Composites bicycle wheel display) or illusionary (as in the case of projectors mated with Gobos).

project 6 Leo Zhao

“Good designers are able to design anything”

When I first went inside the Mauk design, I was impressed by the number of awards this design firm had won. It was really a good experience to hear Mitchell’s presentation about his works and his design philosophy. The most memorable line he said was that “Good designers are able to design anything.” Design is about problem solving. Each time a client brings a project to them, they consider it as a new problem needs to be solved. For us, our biggest problem is how to use the weird space in Jack Adams hall. I really like his idea about create some kind of motion and don't use all the space in an exhibition. Stream has its own motion and I think if we can cooperate this kind of streaming motion into our design, it will lead to a great flow.

Project 6, Mauk Design

Visiting Mauk design opened my eyes about the shear scale of being able to design a full exhibit at industry standard. The examples showed to us were extremely worth considering all the different aspects of exhibition design. 

One thing which surprised me was the size of the design team at Mauk. Considering the size of projects and the size of the clientèle their team is extremely small, So with the amount of man power and “cheap” labour as Mitchell put it we should be able produce a show to be proud of. The work shown to us highlighted the need for sketch models and strong graphics. It was interesting that he said that he used to do the graphics for some companies then designed the exhibit. This process is very much like how we are doing this exhibit. Starting from scratch and coming up with the whole concept. 

I was impressed with the amount of reference material they had, with regards to both magazine articles and material samples. Mauk seemed to be subscribing to all the major design magazines both here in America and also in Europe.

Project 6/Mauk Design/Steve Belale

Last week's visit to the Mauk Design Studio was an enlightening experience. The therapeutic rainy weather outside added to the good vibe. It was inspirational and also great to see how a once graphic designer blossomed his career into an award winning, world renowned exhibit designer. The conference room was littered with dozens of awards, too many for a table to hold. Some were just being used as paper weights on the center table. Ridiculous. Also the magnitude of his projects were equally intense.

Design is about solving problems, whether graphic, product or exhibit. This is what we most focus on, solving the problem of putting together the annual DAI show with a limited amount of resources. I really liked his thrifty exhibits that used mylar with lights and also the walls made out of textile materials with holes cut in them to allow viewing through the other side. Also the spiral exhibit of the tiles was inspiring as well as the one for the airlines with hundreds of photos hung from the ceiling.

Project 6 - Mauk Design - Noriko Matsuba

When we visited Mauk Design last Tuesday, we entered as a class full of eager yet unsure and perhaps intimidated student designers seeking direction and guidance in this new and exciting field of design. When we left the office, I felt a more positive and confident energy from the class as a whole.

Mitchell Mauk gave us helpful insight in working with a limited budget and awkward exhibit space like considering hanging things from the ceiling, directing people’s movement by obscuring just 10% of the view and being green by using less materials rather than using lots of green materials. I also found it beneficial to see the layout and environment that these designers work within.