As our team have learnt to trust one another and navigate the complexities of brain storming ideas when online, we have developed a proposal for the project that we all agree echoes our values whilst addressing the demands of the module brief.

Writing the group brief (see blog post 3) proved to be invaluable as an exercise to verbalise our ideas in a formal way.  This process also encouraged me to acquire and communicate advanced understanding of client partnerships, stake-holder and user group interests through research activities that I conducted to unearth data and facts to support the main themes. 

Stakeholder 1; Graduates and independent creatives

Our project will provide opportunities for graduates and other independent creatives.  We posed the question; ‘How do we create accessible opportunities for smaller and independent creatives to gain exposure for their work, make new connections with like-minded creatives and clients amidst muddled government policies that create barriers to success?’

Stakeholder 2; Councils and landlords with empty retail spaces

As we explored our hometowns, cities and the universities local of Huddersfield to identify key challenges within these communities, we were struck by the volume of empty retail spaces.  A consequence of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis that has seen many Highstreet stores such as Debenhams, T.M Lewin and M&Co cease trading (Philips & Baker, 2023). Thought; How do we reuse and repurpose empty or abandoned spaces?  What is the British Highstreet if not a retail space? 

Stakeholder 3; Communities and local people

Another issue that was repeatedly raised in our group conversations was the increase in isolated people, loneliness and a decline in wellbeing following the COVID pandemic and ongoing global challenges. Thought; How do we break down boundaries to reach and build up communities and improving emotional wellbeing?

To try and formulate a connection between the three key stakeholders and develop a solution that would meet the needs of them all, we began early discussions of our project concept, ‘UnBoxt’.  We were familiar with the work of the ‘Temporary Contemporary’ initiative in The Piazza Centre, Huddersfield (University of Huddersfield, 2023).  A partnership project of Queensgate Market, Kirklees Council and the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield .  Its ambition to engage communities in creative activity resonated with us and the stakeholders were similar to those outlined above. We could see the potential in initiatives such as these and made reference to this project as a starting point to formulate our own solutions.

Despite making ground in formulating our project in group meetings, I still felt that I needed to articulate the concept further to be entirely sure that this idea had longevity and was the right direction for us.  I began doodling in my notebook in an attempt to visualise the spoken words in our meetings (figure 1 and 2).

These preliminary sketches proved invaluable in enabling me to fully understand the concept and they evolved into a digital ‘info-graphic’ that proved to be an ideal tool to express the jumbled thoughts I had in my mind!  Its’ creation highlighted to me that we were on the right track and that the UnBoxt idea was valid and targeted towards our key stakeholders (figure 3).

Next Steps;

• Now that we have formulated the project ‘UnBoxt’, what is my creative contribution? How will I be sure that whatever I produce shows relevant awareness of creative innovation processes and techniques appropriate to creative pattern cutting, including different types of creative methodologies?
• Consider a way in which I can contribute creatively to the team, yet be developing the skills I require to realise my ambitions in my Final Major Project in the final module of the MA.

References;

Philips, L., & Baker, H. (2023). Full list of UK shops that went bust in 2022. Business Live, Jan, https://doi.org/https://www.business-live.co.uk/retail-consumer/here-retailers-gone-bust-2022-23592469

University of Huddersfield. (2023). Temporary Contemporary. Research.Hud. https://research.hud.ac.uk/art-design/temporarycontemporary/