NEWGRANGE THROUGH
THE PASSAGEWAY
Tunnel Book
Every year around the 21st of December the winter solstice occurs. To represent this special event, I designed a souvenir gift tunnel book that allows the reader to interact with the story, both in day and night time. The details in the passageway become more visible once it’s dark. Glow-in-the-dark paint represents the sun’s illumination of the passageway. The story is told narratively and visually.
Project Specs
I undertook this project in my undergrad course (Visual Communication - Design). It was completed over the course of 3 months for my final year project. I was inspired to choose Newgrange as it is a very historical and important monument in Ireland.
Tunnel Book
Tunnel books are made up of a series of pages that are held together by folded strips of paper on each side. In fact, the sides of a tunnel book might make you think of an accordion. The overall effect of a tunnel book is to create the illusion of depth and perspective. (Wonderopolis)
The User
This special souvenir was designed for tourists and the general public.
Research
Newgrange History
Newgrange in Co. Meath, Ireland was constructed over 5000 years ago (3200 BC) during the Neolithic period which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. It consists of a large circular mound with a stone passageway and chamber inside. People worshipped here and buried the dead.
It is particularly known for the illumination of its passageway and chamber at the Winter solstice (19th-23rd December). It is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and longest night.
Newgrange Now
Newgrange is a very popular destination for tourists and is unique among historic sites. The illumination by the sun at the winter solstice is what makes it particularly special. Every year a lottery takes place to allow visitors inside the chamber to experience this unique phenomenon.
Design Strategy
The strategy of the project was to create a special piece which gives the user the impression of looking down the chamber and also presenting the story of Newgrange.
Moodboard
Prototypes
This project became very complex and many changes were made from paper weight, size, cutting techniques, design to the story of the design. The design was made in Illustrator then printed out as layers on different sheets. The shape was then cut out with a scalpel and put together using an accordion-type paper fold.
Design Process
First sketches of the book
The front 3 layers tell a story of how Newgrange was built. The other layers show the tunnel.
Tunnel layers made in Illustrator. 14 layers in total.
I experimented with different coloured papers. I used a scalpel and ruler to cut it all.
One of the first prototypes.
One of the final prototypes.
Cut Outs
The story of Newgrange is visually presented through the medium of a tunnel book. My main aim was to show how Newgrange was built in the first 4 layers and then showing the tunnel inside. The images below show the design in which the layers were presented.
1. The natives using boats to transfer materials
across the river Boyne.
2. The workers had to carry the stones from as
far away as Greystones.
3. Farming.
4. Newgrange monument
5. Stone with megalithic art.
6. From here on is the tunnel
6
5
4
3
2
1
Final Thoughts
From doing this project I learned that creating multiple prototypes of different materials and designs helped progress to the final design. Using a combination of the computer and paper cutting techniques made the process a lot faster as I was able to tweak the design in Illustrator then print it out to cut.
I had to create many prototypes (8 in total) to get the design right. During the process of the project, there were design challenges, such as the paper quality; hand-cutting everything was the biggest issue. This wouldn't be practical if this was produced in bulk.
The design approach I took was to show the story in a clear but detailed way. I wanted the overall style to be clean showing the necessary detail while also telling the story.
