Rebecca Quinn (She/Her)
I’m Rebecca Quinn, an Interior Designer from Belfast who is now based in Glasgow. I have always focused on the user journey throughout a space looking at the stops they will take. With storytelling in the foundations of my design I’m able to create a community within the built environment for users. Since my time in GSA I have explored bringing through branding and marketing of an idea into my designs with shapes, colours and textiles. I have learnt it is a passion of mine to bring a concept to life through the interiors allowing a user to create a narrative in the space.
This year I created ‘Move’ which is a brand that focuses on users exploring a new city, it is a fresh playful space for tourists and people new to Glasgow. The key elements in this concept is exploration, learning and socialising which have been clearly designed as stops through the space. Its brand stands out with patterns and shapes, carefully chosen to create a feeling of fun, excitement and comfort for the user. Below is highlights of my work and attached explaining in more depth the design process is my portfolio, I hope you enjoy the read!
About
I wanted to create a brand that helped people explore new cities, and to design a more comfortable friendly space than what is currently out there for tourists. I was influenced about my own experience when I’ve travelled to new cities in the past and thought would could have made my journey in these places easier? Move is a space that hosts tours around the city, gives users a chance to learn about stories of Glasgow, join in on workshops/events hosted by locals and giving the possibility to meet new people.
My aim is make Move’s motto ‘Smiles made world-wide’ and to create a community of people excited to explore new cities. For the future hopefully move will be placed in many cities throughout the world, allowing a community to be formed. I want this concept to be a friend for people, to feel comfortable walking into this space knowing they will leave happy.
The location of my site is 83-85 Buchanan Street, which is listed as a Category B, designed by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia. This central location was key for my concept as it had to be easily accessible for tourists when they arrive in Glasgow, not too hard to find! The building has two entrances, one on Buchanan Street which will be used as the main public entrance and the other entrance on Mitchell Lane that will be used for the coming and going of tours.
Design
In the space I have designed each area in the building to have its own atmosphere with a mix of textiles and furnishings, allowing a narrative through the area. Each floor has details of Glasgow design throughout the years, allowing the style to become distinctive to Glasgow. I want the design to come across as playful, fun and comfortable for the audience using it!
Each floor has a key element as the main theme, so when the user walks first walks into the space on the ground floor, exploration is the theme. The user is welcomed with a help desk area if they need to ask a question about Move or not sure where to go, and beside is a coffee stand available for takeaway for users in the waiting area. The area toward the second entrance is mainly for the bike tours, allowing space for them to enter and exit, come up from the basement and for a check-in station. I have created a mezzanine level in the space to allow more space for users to wait and chill out. For the first floor I have brought in social areas for users to meet new people, socialisation being the theme. There is going to be a café towards Buchanan Street on this floor and a gift shop on the other, which will have works from local artists and designers and a potential workshop station. Learning will be brought to key on the second floor the main area being a showcase of Glasgow’s history, stories of people from and learn where to go and visit in Glasgow. This is will allow a chance for users to read up about Glasgow, have a chance to book day trips, tickets and travel, and an area to sit back and relax. The top floor will be used as an event space allowing workshops and exhibitions to take place, and being available to rent out to companies or locals in Glasgow. Lastly, the basement level has been designed as a back office for the company, staff break room and toilets will also be placed on this floor, and to have storage for the bikes plus suitcase storage. Below is the visuals of the space showing the user’s journey on each floor – I hope you enjoy!