Phase 1 - Week Four
Week Four
To start this week, I finished off the draft proposal that I started last week. This is the word version so its clear and easy to read but I then took it into in design to make it clean and clear for the submission which can be seen here: https://indd.adobe.com/view/fa57e1f7-254a-4c57-85bb-3594e31b2e51
For the rest of this week, I wanted to look at different groups and areas that I could find to interview as well as creating a project plan.
What experts can I connect with?
After completing the project proposal for this week, I wanted to also dive into researching different people that I could interview and connect with as part of my project. Using this as a process that will allow me to come back and potentially use some of the artists and designers that I find.
Whilst I was visiting creative spaces in a previous week, In God’s House Tower which is run by ‘a space arts’. I asked about whether they run workshops and events for creatives in which they responded yes which I was shocked by. The person on reception gave me an email address for the lady who runs the events at the space, since there is no time like the present, I sent her an email to find out more information.
After this, I wanted to research more around the creatives that are within studio spaces that are also run by a space arts, this is located at arches studios in Southampton.
They have a range of artists and designers that I could interview - Including Nathan evens who is currently the illustrator that is running the designs for the City of Culture bid. An example of his work can be seen above which is located in Southamptons Centre. I feel he would hold valuable information on the questions and the topic that I am researching. There are a range of people I could interview through that website so it’s important to remember.
I think there might also be something in interviewing the people that won the £500 bursary from an internal competition run by the city of culture for young people of Southampton - https://southampton2025.co.uk/this-is-our-southampton/our-time/ Through this I feel there are 3 people that might be appropriate to interview.
I feel there might also be something in researching and finding information about other creative communities in other cities that might give me experts to connect with that aren’t located within my direct city. As well as this finding an expert on the creative communities from one of the case studies that I have already researched.
Project Plan
From the project proposal, I also realised that I didn’t yet have a project plan that felt intact. From the last module the project plan really helped me to have the key questions and areas to research at the forefront that kept me focussed on the task and project in hand. From the resource that I looked into last week; Creating the perfect design brief by Peter Phillips. I used this resource again as the basis for creating aims using the double diamond approach.
Project Objectives:
· Explore the relationship between communities and Southampton city.
· Discover the current artists and designers that call Southampton their home.
· Define what a creative community would mean to those within Southampton.
Create a design that creates a bond across the creative community.
· Develop a written research based report where I will go further into the findings of my primary and secondary research.
Strategies:
Explore the relationship between communities and Southampton city.
Research the communities that are in and around Southampton
Define their needs and desires within the community
Research how people understand Southampton
Define the audience
·Discover the current artists and designers that call Southampton their home.
Research current artists and designers
Define what they need and want within the community
Research the current creative communities
Define whats working and could be improved
Define what a creative community would mean to those within Southampton.
Explore different outcomes that the creative community need.
Develop an outcome that shows of the local creatives within Southampton and connects them.
Develop an outcome that could be applied to other cities
Create a design that creates a bond across the creative community.
Define a concept that works for the whole community
Develop a written research based report where I will go further into the findings of my primary and secondary research.
Obstacles:
Many of my obstacles from the previous module still remain relevant within this module so I have copied this from the previous as It is relevant:
ecision Making
What will happen if the obstacle remains?
This could mean delays within the project but also stop me from moving forward.
Can this obstacle be eliminated? How?
Making sure that my project is well researched and all the options are available so I am able to make decisions clearly.
How much time and effort is it worth to overcome this obstacle?
It is worth putting a little bit of time just so I make sure that I don’t fall behind.
What help could i get from others?
Ideas Wall and tutors as well as friends and family.
How do I get that help?
Making to post on the ideas wall and to gain feedback from my peers as well as gaining feedback from tutors which will allow me to make decisions.
Procrastination
What will happen if the obstacle remains
This would allow me to fall behind in the project which could have negative effects.
Can this obstacle be eliminated? How?
making sure that I make a plan of what to do and achieve each day.
How much time and effort is it worth to overcome this obstacle?
It is worth taking a small amount of time to over come this.
What help could i get from others?
Encouragement
How do I get that help?
Making sure to engage with my peers would encourage me to get on with the work.
Fear of Failing
What will happen if the obstacle remains
This combined with the procrastination could make me not complete the project that is necessary.
Can this obstacle be eliminated? How?
This fear will probably remain but I can work on making sure that I plan and engage,
How much time and effort is it worth to overcome this obstacle?
A little bit of time to make sure that I keep self belief up
What help could i get from others?
Feedback
How do I get that help?
Making sure that I keep on track and ask for feedback week to week.
Environmental Obstacles
Lack of Time
What will happen if the obstacle remains
If not properly planned , then this could allow me with short periods of time to complete the work
Can this obstacle be eliminated? How?
Making sure that I plan well and complete what needs to be completed within allotted time.
How much time and effort is it worth to overcome this obstacle?
It is worth taking the time to plan to overcome this.
What help could i get from others and How could i get that help?
Taking note and talking to others about how they are planning their time.
Audience Research
What will happen if the obstacle remains?
This could mean that my project is not as directly researched as it needs to be.
Can this obstacle be eliminated? How?
This means I need to work hard on getting first hand and second hand audience researched.
How much time and effort is it worth to overcome this obstacle?
I feel it is worth taking time to make sure that I get the correct research and audience analysis that is needed.
What help could i get from others? How do I get that help?
Talking to others about their audience research and making sure that I could potentially join forces with others in ways to receive it.
Lack of Resource
What will happen if the obstacle remains?
This could effect the final outcome of my project.
Can this obstacle be eliminated? How?
There is no real way to avoid this but I could play to my strengths and make sure that the project is relevant.
How much time and effort is it worth to overcome this obstacle?
It is not worth spending that much time but making sure that I plan Initially.
What help could i get from others? How do I get that help?
Potentially talking about the strengths and how I can worth on those to achieve the project.
Although this isn’t a timeline project plan, I feel it will help me to keep on track with the subject. These may change as my topic develops and moves forward within the upcoming weeks.
Peer to Peer
Within the peer to peer this week, Ingrid reminded me, when talking through my project, of a case study: Ladies, Wine & Design. I had completely forgotten about this as I initially touched on it modules ago, I am glad I was reminded and I feel it is a great resource!
Whilst exploring the resource online, I found that they had a female creative community for Southampton, which i was instantly shocked about! When exploring the instagram page where they advertise a lot of the events:
One of the main places that they do advertise the events is somewhere called ‘Network eagle lab’. Which after doing some more research is advertised as a co-working space that supports businesses in Southampton.https://labs.uk.barclays/locations/southampton
Ladies, Wine and Design seems to have a good presence in Southampton which has come as a shocking surprise. It seems to be run by one graphic designer that works within Southampton, which could also be interesting to interview her to get her opinion of Ladies Wine and design.
Ladies, Wine and Design made me start to think about online creative communities - Although not directly relevant to the creative community within Southampton, they might have a range of different users that might be interesting to have an understanding of:
https://www.creativebloq.com/features/8-online-meetups-that-are-helping-the-creative-community
Within the above article, it talks about the virtual communities that were created through Lockdown. All of the communities that are mentioned are for like-minded people to get supports, advice and encouragement that is able to help them through crisis. The one that stuck out for me was Just Us Collective, which was created as a non-profit community for illustrators and designers, to encourage networking and collaboration. It seems a lot of good has come of the platform, including a collaboration between Dave Bain and David J Mcmillian to create a illstrutative mural in Bristol which can be seen below:
They worked with the local community in order to get the mural in the right place with the right design. I feel this is an inspirational outcome from a virtual community platform. This led me to thinking about other creative communities that took place as inspiration during the lockdown.
Within the above article, one of the quotes that stood out for me was the following;
“I didnt know how a virtual community could help you feel happier and more creative in harsh moments. I felt my chest opening to the world and my community”
- Maria Mylona, Athens.
It goes on to talk about Mylona’s outcomes and she created a series of three postcards that represented her home city and her own connections to it. The programmed that is talked about within the article “played an important role in keeping people connected, inspired and creatively motivated during an ineffably difficult time. Yet one of its key missions was also to teach creative skills to help us all in rebuilding a new and better post-pandemic world. Looking ahead to the future, this notion of community is perhaps the most important legacy that New World could ever hope to have – reminding us all that there is such a thing as a global creative community and that it is supportive and strong”.
This article showed that creatives thrive in an environment that is supporting of those that are like minded to them. Needing people to understand what they are going through and the processes that allow them to be able to achieve an outcome in a new light. I am glad that I have seen some different examples of virtual communities and how positively they impacted people within the lockdowns, but how does this now relate to post lockdown world?
This led me to finding the Design Community Hub which launched in an attempt to help young designers and those who were affected by the pandemic.
https://www.designweek.co.uk/design-community-hub/
The above article talks about the in’s and outs of the design community hub and the need for a platform like this one. Callum Lumsden feels passionately about the platform helping those designers that have been affected negatively and says, ““Without new blood, our industry can’t exist,” Lumsden says. “Design relies on fresh creativity to add to the mix.””
The platform offers help on portfolios and sharing experience for the new designers that are in need of support. I feel this is a great platform that allows for a great outcomes and for the graduates to feel like they are heading in the right direction towards a job.
When looking at other community projects, I came across this case study that looked at creating something called the “Museum of Us”, although not directly connected to the creative community, its creation was from creative collaboration. Fieldwork Facilty and New London artictecture, came together in Old Kent Road area in a refurbished shop, to “transformed into a "positive and democratic space to enable conversations and engagement on the long-term plans for the area".
The projects identity was created through a simple sticker that was used as the main communications but also allowed it to be a celebration of inclusivity. There was also an array of portraits that were commissioned for people that lived around the Old Kent Road. They held a range of activities within the space that celebrated the history but also it was used to launch a new community space 231 Old Kent Road.
I love the use and the simplicity of the project that allowed them to record information about the locals that lived there. I also like that it was a project that was based on a curtain location and allowed the community to have an opinion on what was going to happen next.
This led me to thinking about other culture community projects that were happening, I found that London actually do a borough of culture instead of a city of culture each year. In 2021, this was Lewisham and they had a plan to allow for the expanse of their creative community.
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/2-8-march-2020/lewisham-borough-of-culture/
I also found an article on what Lewisham will be doing as part of London’s Borough of Culture in 2021, which was taken on as part of 2022. As part of the bid, the borough would receive 1m worth of funding. The bid on behalf of lewisham looked at a colourful identity reflecting the ‘vibrant culture clash’, designer Jamie Paton talks about the identity, “Having lived and worked there I knew that conventional colours just wouldn’t reflect the diversity or the atmosphere.” “The overall brand had to feel like it came from the community, expressed by a collage of ‘home-made’ patterns, overlaid graphics, and spontaneous-feeling illustrations,” Paton adds.”
The article also talks about how the creative community has always been in Lewisham and how it has always been strong within the area. Later on in the article, Lewisham Mayor Damien Egan talks about focussing on the community side and working together with other communities, “I think the challenge, as with London, is how the council and the creative industry work together? You really need to put actions in place to make sure you’re protecting those industries.”.
It makes me happy to read about how money is being put into creative industries in order to change the lives of those that live around the city. But I guess there is also this connection of making sure that there is team work and a collaboration part of the connections that need to also be taken into consideration. I particularly like the explanation of the identity for the lewisham bid and one I would love to come back too explore further.
Coventry City of CULTURE 2021
Having explored the borough of culture, this led me to asking about the changes that were made to coventry city of culture 2021.
https://www.coventry.ac.uk/the-university/city-of-culture/community-projects/
From the above website, it is clear that Coventry have put on a lot of events that look at tackling different things as well as partnering with the university. One of the projects that I found was Coventry creates which is a digital exhibition of creative work by local artists, each piece is an interpretation of academic research from the university. The questions range from the pandemic and lockdown to other interesting topics. I explored some of the collaboration project, I was particularly taken by two different topics ‘Lost Museums’ and ‘Art and the urban commons’.
Lost museums:
https://coventrycreates.co.uk/project/lost-museums/
The outcome of lost museums, was a poem that was read by the artist John Bernard. It was also collaboration between a videographer and creative producers. Bernard talks about the topic as the following; “Growing up in a city which houses two incredible museums that have been a huge part of many people’s childhood experience, it was strange to think that this service was not readily available for everyone. What this collaboration has done for me is it has opened my eyes to an area that I would not have focussed on if it were not for this project.”
I admire the collaboration and work that was done through this project and I like that it talks about the issues that are local to the community, which the city of culture has really done to try and connect through within different sectors but also potentially different parts of the city that may have never connected previously which has led to a very moving outcome.
Art and the urban commons:
https://coventrycreates.co.uk/project/art-and-the-urban-commons/
Imagining the city as a space for social change was the focus of this research area. There are two outcomes to this project, The first is a moving image where Duncan Whitely collaborated with a musician and composer. The second half is Partisan Social club who produced a poster which outlines a 5 point plan to addressing things within an urban space. Both are very different outcomes so cant be compared but again addressing another issue within the city and seeing how the creatives can see a solution or highlight the solution.
Doing this research about the City of Culture - Coventry, I am impressed with what they have done to make changes within the city which includes the above project that shows the creative and community collaboration that happens throughout. Before researching to find they do in-fact make changes, I felt that Southampton were being a bit ‘ show off ‘ with their bid and making the city look cleaner and better but actually it’s all just so they can use the money to make the positive changes in the city. The above project has also shown how to create awareness around the current creative community that does clearly exist within coventry and I would admire to see something similar placed within Southampton.
Yuri Suzuki
Suzuki caught my attend in the last project in relation to another one of his projects. I find him an interesting designer through his designs around sound.
Within the talk, Suzuki talks about how he partnered with Pentagram but he was struggling to describe his work. One publication previously described his work as an ‘indescribable UFO’, he finally categorised his work as Sound Design. He describes an exhibition and the importance of sound within our community, with a particular focus on how music can effect the psychological and different behaviour. I love the way that he took any piece of furniture and changed it into something that children can use and explore, really focussing on the importance of the sounds.
Weekly reflection
Context - argument - What works what doesn’t work
This week was really insightful to continue researching different community and creative base projects that involved the local community. It’s given an insight into the creative communities that do exist and are doing things to make sure that they are connected. On reflection of this, It has made me consider my topic and how I might rephrase it to focus on another part of the creative community that more likely showcases it instead of designs it which I will continue to explore next week.
Next week I need to be more structured on what I need to achieve within the week and focus on the new tasks that need to be achieved within the next phase of the project. This week helped to outline the project plan as to speak and I will feel more focussed again when I have a tutorial next week to double check i am on the right path.
References
Alagiah, M. (n.d.). New World: How creativity has helped us connect with a global community. [online] www.itsnicethat.com. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/new-world-today-at-apple-how-creativity-has-helped-us-connect-with-a-global-community-280421
Andrew (2017). Arches Studios. [online] a space arts. Available at: https://aspacearts.org.uk/studios/arches-studios
Barclays Eagle Labs. (n.d.). Network Eagle Lab. [online] Available at: https://labs.uk.barclays/locations/southampton
coventrycreates.co.uk. (n.d.). Lost Museums? [online] Available at: https://coventrycreates.co.uk/project/lost-museums/
Evans, N. (n.d.). You Never Know What’s Around The Corner. [online] Nathan Evans Illustration. Available at: https://n-evans.com/projects/you-never-know-whats-around-the-corner/
Its Nice that (n.d.). Nicer Tuesdays: Yuri Suzuki. www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3GkRKnmAxA
JustUsCollective (n.d.). Mural Painting with Dave Bain. [online] The Just Us Collective. Available at: https://justuscollective.com/mural-painting-with-dave-bain
Mallalieu, A. (2019). Fieldwork Facility helps to create the Museum of Us to bring a London community together. [online] Creative Boom. Available at: https://www.creativeboom.com/news/fieldwork-facility-helps-to-create-the-museum-of-us-to-bring-a-london-community-together/
May, T. (2020). 8 online meetups that are helping the creative community. [online] Creative Bloq. Available at: https://www.creativebloq.com/features/8-online-meetups-that-are-helping-the-creative-community.
SCOC. (n.d.). Our Time. [online] Available at: https://southampton2025.co.uk/this-is-our-southampton/our-time/
Walsh (n.d.). Ladies, Wine & Design. [online] Ladies, Wine & Design. Available at: https://ladieswinedesign.com/.
Walsh (n.d.). Login • Instagram. [online] www.instagram.com. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/lwd_soton/
Wong, H. (2020). What does Lewisham’s Borough of Culture win mean for its creative scene? [online] Design Week. Available at: https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/2-8-march-2020/lewisham-borough-of-culture/
Wong, H. (2021). Design Community Hub launches to “keep the industry alive.” [online] Design Week. Available at: https://www.designweek.co.uk/design-community-hub/
www.coventry.ac.uk. (n.d.). Community Projects. [online] Available at: https://www.coventry.ac.uk/the-university/city-of-culture/community-projects/
Things to remember
In this phase of the course we expect you to lead on the requirements of your final project. The phase objectives set are a guide, to help you build confidence and the strength to drive your own project. We want to see a clear project structure and a demonstration of the skills you have developed through modules 1-4.
What is your research question?
How might I…?
Who is this for?
What ethical considerations might I have to make?
What experts can I connect with?