A post explaining the progress of my project so far, important research points and thoughts about further research and developments
Below is the current structure of my MA project from the developments of DESM14, developing in DESM15 .
(A larger version of this can be found under the project map tab on my main blog)
Overall Thoughts
>Within this module I have started to further develop my methodology focusing on areas such as the Walter and Edith Hub space, in which there are a set of tools to be used by members of the community.
>I have successfully developed the WeType TTF font and the printing pack to go alongside this to use in workshops and have created postcard using this font, Community Is.. that can then be edited for different forms of community and purposes, but still keep the strong aesthetic and branding.
>I wanted to develop a series of small projects to test the tools and look at how different forms of community would participate and have differing needs. I have successfully been able to contact and develop 3 strong small projects, which all sit in different forms of community.
-School - Allotment project
-Independent High Street - Sunshine CoOperative Project
-Public Park - Backhouse Park Project
>I have made a strong start on all of these projects and will develop these further, with planned and agreed dates/events in the next module.
Project Talking Points
>The small projects took a lot of work to bring together, I felt a little lost off again with lockdowns and changes in how we could interact with groups but I was really pleased that I got in contact with Sunshine CoOperative, a new zero waste store in Sunderland. We are planning on running a workshop in the space soon and I was also able to make strong contacts with Backhouse Park through this meeting too, because of the owners links to the park.
>After the meeting it felt like the missing links to what I had been working towards within the hub were falling into place, there were now spaces that I could apply my design work aesthetic to and really helped to be able to then see how the tools could be used.
>The Backhouse park event went really well, and another is now planned for the end of March 2022. This event will as I planned be more around exploring the local space and getting to know areas of the park that participants may have missed, and also connecting with the volunteers and users of the space.
>These links show the prep and highlights of the Christmas event..
>The aesthetic of my project and work is also really coming together. I always wanted each small project to have its own look, but for the Hub to have a strong aesthetic which could be edited with colour for example.
I made this print,
>When I was waiting to use the Riso printer, and feeling a little behind on my job list. It stands out so much from my other project work and does not sit aesthetically alongside other prints. >Although it was disappointing to print something I could not use, it was very reassuring to have made this and realise that the branding and visuals of my project work was really coming together and looking very coherent.
>Print wise, Ive had quite a bit of fun..
WeType screen printed poster..
Community IS answer WeType poster..
Community Is Riso Postcard..
School allotment Riso poster..
Backhouse Park Riso worksheet..
WeType Pring Blocks..
Research
>Again as with the last module, online talks have been very helpful because of lockdown. Talks that I may not have usually been able to attend. Poster House, Adobe Max and especially the Sage conference have been really helpful..
>I have been reading a lot more, the essay helped with this again and I have definitely found the area of participatory design especially interesting, it is an area I wish to look into more for the next module. I'm still super fan-girling Ruben Pater, his new book Caps Lock has been really helpful and was also great for quotes for my essay..
>My small local protest zine is still in the making, its still really fun to keep an eye out for these local small forms of protest and activism.
>Ive had some thoughts about how this will look when it is printed and Ive added this with the new photos Ive found this module to the list of local protests, on the link below..
End Thoughts
>I think the project has developed a lot from the last module. The tools are starting to really sit well and be of great use as a starting point for connections. The small projects sit so well alongside each other, they all have a few different threads of activity yet all show community in such different forms. My essay research was also helpful to think about any biases I had with who I was contacting, making sure I wasn't curating the workshops and outcomes to how I wanted them to work and to really respect the individuals and make my project as unbiased and open to the most amount of participation possible.
-The tools are developing really well and the postcards are very helpful as a professional conversation starter to interact with new participants and start new connections.
-I'm really pleased with the diversity of the small projects and how each one reflects different forms of community.
-Im really happy with the projects, prints and aesthetic I have developed and Im looking forward to pushing these further and creating digitally printed booklet at the very end, to collate all of the projects.
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