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Description
Technically speaking, this piece represents a bit of quick throwaway practice of some new Adobe Illustrator techniques in preparation for a major project. Nonetheless, it still turned out well.

(Download the PDF version for full resolution)

Obviously, this is not the Doctor's battered old Type 40's control room of any period.

Rather, this plan is intended to represent a look back toward the glory days of the Time Lords, when they still sent expeditions out to the far corners of the universe, and were establishing a name for themselves. TARDIS design like this was probably long past-tense before the Doctor was even born 900+ years ago.

The real challenge for this project was to avoid Star Trek layout conventions — not an easy thing to do while still attempting to suggest functionality.

The key lay in recognizing that a TARDIS technically has no fore or aft, or even a clear directional orientation — eliminating any reason to mimic a conventional, linear set-up of bridge or cockpit stations — and there was no reason to accommodate the naval and aerospace underpinning of most sci-fi starship operations, allowing me to completely rethink how the command crew would interact with and within the space.

Likewise it helped to deliberately incorporate an air of architectural grandeur suitable to the play of pomp and ceremony, arranging things for maximum drama, even at the expense of efficiency.

And all the while, I was attempting to keep some of the key design cues established by the multitudinous control rooms (and glimpses of Gallifrey) featured on Doctor Who over the decades.

I do believe I have succeeded.

(And I suspect that a given TARDIS' Chief Historian had a more common title in the vernacular of that august age — peers and crewman alike would simply call him, "The Doctor"...)

A reworked version of this plan is featured
in the Golden Age TARDIS Poster:

____________________
"Doctor Who" and related materials are Registered Trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation

Description
Technically speaking, this piece represents a bit of quick throwaway practice of some new Adobe Illustrator techniques in preparation for a major project. Nonetheless, it still turned out well.

(Download the PDF version for full resolution)

Obviously, this is not the Doctor's battered old Type 40's control room of any period.

Rather, this plan is intended to represent a look back toward the glory days of the Time Lords, when they still sent expeditions out to the far corners of the universe, and were establishing a name for themselves. TARDIS design like this was probably long past-tense before the Doctor was even born 900+ years ago.

The real challenge for this project was to avoid Star Trek layout conventions — not an easy thing to do while still attempting to suggest functionality.

The key lay in recognizing that a TARDIS technically has no fore or aft, or even a clear directional orientation — eliminating any reason to mimic a conventional, linear set-up of bridge or cockpit stations — and there was no reason to accommodate the naval and aerospace underpinning of most sci-fi starship operations, allowing me to completely rethink how the command crew would interact with and within the space.

Likewise it helped to deliberately incorporate an air of architectural grandeur suitable to the play of pomp and ceremony, arranging things for maximum drama, even at the expense of efficiency.

And all the while, I was attempting to keep some of the key design cues established by the multitudinous control rooms (and glimpses of Gallifrey) featured on Doctor Who over the decades.

I do believe I have succeeded.

(And I suspect that a given TARDIS' Chief Historian had a more common title in the vernacular of that august age — peers and crewman alike would simply call him, "The Doctor"...)

A reworked version of this plan is featured
in the Golden Age TARDIS Poster:

____________________
"Doctor Who" and related materials are Registered Trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation