I always liked this yellow staircase at Slussen. It´s got such a
Yellow Brick Road feel to it. It takes you from the bus and train
terminal at the bottom floor to Gula Gången (the Yellow Walkway), which
in turn leads you towards Gamla stan (Old town) or the city buses above
ground.
This sketch is quite simplified. I left a lot of things out, such as
people, lighting ramps (I decided to go for the fluorescent tubes
only), some buses in the background, the bread seller right next to me.
I had to stand up while drawing, and my back doesn´t quite agree with
that for a longer period of time, which is why I decided to hurry up and
not include everything.
Probably because of this simplification, I had one of those moments
when drawing actually opens my eyes to things I don´t really see
otherwise. See those yellow tiles on the pillar? I have passed this
place a million times, but I never noticed that they are shaped like an
upwards arrow, playing with the function and colour of the stairs. It is
such an obvious design feature when you look at it like this, but I
doubt that many people see it in their day-to-day commuting. The upper
part of the arrow is almost covered by the lighting ramps, and the
general dirty and stressed atmosphere of this place doesn´t really
encourage the curious eye looking for nice design.
