Commissioned by the Scottish Executive via Sensation Science Centre, Aim were invited to develop a touring exhibition for Polar Year to highlight the on-going global problem of CO2 emissions and the inherent greenhouse issue. Aim provided several services including project management, interpretive planning, image sourcing and liaison with BAS and NHM, CGI works, interior design, lighting design and graphic design. The exhibition provided a source of support income for our client’s organization, with regular enquiries to hire the exhibition from other organizations. This was made possible by an innovative ‘knockdown and crating’ design for touring.

Aim completed phase one works for single malt whisky specialists Tullibardine in 2015 including a £1.8M refurbishment of the distillery bonds, offices and lab spaces increasing the distillery maturation bond capacity by 300% and production line bottling and packaging by 90%. Brand development and distillery impact were a key development to increasing the market share of the product and to consolidate the Tullibardine brand within the craft whisky market.

Aim commenced phase II works for a new £1M visitor experience to complete the upgrade of existing visitor facilities and the distillery site overall. The project includes a new whisky trail throughout the distillery, specialist tasting rooms, a cafe, offices and merchandising area. Product display was a crucial and sensitive element of the concept proposal. Dark oak finishes and greys integrate with the core branding with subtle gold high lighting to interlace the brand and link the full product range.

Aim were commissioned by TAQA Europe to design a new exhibition area at Aberdeen Maritime Museum to demonstrate the mechanics and robust material nature of oil platforms and their operation.The stage set replicated an oil rig landing platform with a panoramic backdrop of the North Sea. The entire space is theatrically illuminated with motion activated, low-energy LED lighting controlled via a central communication room.Aim procured the entire installation including creative direction of narratives, photography, 3D modeling, animation and CGI, graphic design, production, final assembly, and installation. The project was delivered on-time and on-budget, ahead of the Offshore Europe trade fair in Aberdeen.

Alongside the traditional architectural services provided, Aim were commissioned to develop Foxlake Adventures’ branding to support their new wakeboarding and water activities experience at Dundee’s City Quay. A screen of charred black timber arranged as a sinusoidal wave references the building’s setting in the water, the historic HMS Unicorn, and other elements of the immediate built environment. At the same time, the frontage provides a strong backdrop for the large FOXLAKE logo, creating a bold sense of place and a lasting impression.

Further developments, to be completed in phase II, will enhance the water-side of the facility using nautically inspired dazzle camouflage to break up the mass of the buildings and further enhance the striking aesthetic which has already been established.

Aim Design were invited to provide design services for the delivery of a new geology exhibition at Edinburgh’s Our Dynamic Earth. The exhibition theme was a celebration of late 19th and early 20th century geologists fondly renamed as ‘geology timelords’. Holographic Timelords emerge from lava backdrops to introduce the visitor to our early understanding of our earths crust and the forces that formed mountains and valleys. A digital wall timeline takes the visitor through the forming of the earth crusts and the shifting of tectonic plates ending with the familiar continents of today, their rock formations, origins and anticipated movements in the future.

Visitors are invited to beat the clock by moving tectonic plates and matching historical periods over the last 4.5Billion years. Lava interactive floor holograms create hopscotch or ‘hotscorch’ challenges challenging visitors to quickly skip across broken lava flows. A suspended globe provides further information on our climate and a time-lift takes you backwards to the next gallery of the exhibition experience. A range of digital interactive experiences are complimented with physical rock backdrops, movie walls and engaging narratives to excite the and inform visitors before they head onto the next stage in the story line.

Aim were commissioned by the Scottish Government to develop a touring exhibition for the Year of Homecoming in Scotland celebrating great Scottish scientific minds. The project included a national poster campaign, a flexible exhibition and presentation space, and an interactive online hub linking the four Scottish centres of science education – Glasgow Science Centre, Our Dynamic Earth Edinburgh, Dundee Science Centre Dundee & Aberdeen Science Centre.

Aim’s services included: project management, CGI works, interior design, lighting design, interpretive planning, image research & sourcing, graphic design and web design/engineering. The touring ‘atom’ stageset is a ‘knock down & crating’ solution to simplify relocation. The set doubled as a presentation and exhibition space, providing invited scientists with a number of options for Public Engagement activities.

To celebrate their 50 year Anniversary, Glaxo Smith Kline Montrose commissioned an exhibition celebrating the pharmaceutical achievements of GSK Montrose over the last half decade and incorporated the progressive development of the site over this period. Substantial Interpretive Planning was required to structure the complex timeline, inclusive of inter-departmental liaison and archive research. Aim project managed the entire process from concept to completion, closely controlling the works to remain consistent with the high level of safety and welfare practiced at GSK.

The timeline captures 50 years of the site’s development including personnel numbers employed and site managers. The pinnacles are illuminated internally and faced with chromatic film. Each pinnacle contains information on the site skills and product production. Other elements included a showcase containing safety and environmental achievement awards, as well as promotional movie and movie wall.

Created on behalf of Scottish Enterprise by Aim, District 10 is an initial stepping stone incubator building towards realising a larger creative district village. The design comprises an office space aimed at creative media companies, and constructed from shipping containers in line with the modular construction ethos developed for District 10.

The brand name conveys cargo, transport or modular construction likened to a crating stamp. Externally, the building’s brand aesthetic origins link to the 1990s game Tetris. Each elevation is a game screen with pixelated shapes. This pixelation is carried through internally and on all branding and marketing material.

The spaces within the building have been designed to retain the industrial aesthetic of the containers, whilst creating a vibrant space that is comfortable and practical for users. Bold pixelated colour and pattern are used in communal areas to create a strong visual identity and unmistakable character for the building throughout.

The design intent of Dundee Science Centre’s permanent exhibition “Secret Sight & Your Brilliant Mind” was to engage creatively with tactility, lighting, movement, and sound, focusing especially on special needs clients’ experience. The result is an environment that successfully integrates interactive exhibits into an overall aesthetic that excites and inspires visitors as they use all of their senses to explore.

The entire exhibition was digitally modeled and animated as part of the design process to allow the client a clear understanding of the project’s progress and assist the design team in seamlessly integrating all parts of the exhibition.

The project has received a number of awards, including an FX award for interiors, Dundee Institute of Architects Award, and several science education sector awards.

Created on behalf of Dundee Institute of Architects by Aim, Community Unity consisted of a gallery brochure and touring exhibition celebrating the achievements of community led Architectural initiatives throughout the Dundee Institute of Architects Chapter. The gallery brochure was circulated throughout Scotland as part of Scotland’s Festival of Architecture. The exhibition toured throughout Angus, Perth & Kinross, Fife and Tayside and was designed to collapse and crate simply and quickly between venues. An on-line version of the exhibition concluded the commission.