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Entering into partnerships, whether to access technology, expertise or simply utilise spare capacity, has become more common. Supermarket chain Wm Morrison increased its home delivery capacity using Deliveroo, while convenience store chain Costcutter teamed up with catering giant Compass to open stores in hospitals.
Five Ways Coronavirus will Change British Retail by Jonathan Eley for the Financial Times (May 2020)
Unlikely partnerships really excite me as a designer. Hopefully it won't be long before we can replicate such ingenious collaborations across a wide variety of industries, but with a means to a less serious and more joyous end.
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Above link refers to a Ted Talk by Mary Portas from December 2019"As we move away from a time of rabid consumerism and ‘peak stuff,’ Mary believes we are entering a new type of economy. One built on kindness and a Triple Bottom Line: people, planet and profit - in that order. And business who organise themselves around this kinder way of behaving, will be the ones that win."
- Taken from the summary provided to TED by TEDxLondonWomen
Really key quote that I took from this Ted Talk -
“Instead of us mindlessly buying from and being sold to, we are moving into buying into; into businesses and brands that share our values.”
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An amazing example of how a renowned creative is having to adapt to the current restrictions!
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Taken from a report presented by OxChain - a project that responds to problems identified within UK based charity Oxfam.
http://oxchain.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Workbook-Two-OxChain.pdf
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Roy Lichtenstein
What better way to convey glamour, drama and narrative than with the well renowned style of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein?!
With the 1950s came colour, excitement, freedom, money, television, and Pop art. Pop art was more than an art movement, it was a new perspective; a life style. It was bright, objective and glamorous.
Pop arts close association with advertising, in addition to its relevant and relatable nature, could offer firm foundations for communication and I wish to harness this power in my window display. Lichtenstein’s style was an obvious choice to use when telling a story - it’s bold and recognisable character is perfect for a display that may be examined at length by some, yet only glanced at by others.
Sources:
Great Modern Artists A to Z by Andy Tuohy with Christopher Masters (Book)
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-year-that-was-1953/
https://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162807890/one-dot-at-a-time-lichtenstein-made-art-pop (Image source)
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The Portas Review: An independent review into the future of our high streets - By Mary Portas (2011)
“My vision for the future of high streets is of multifunctional and social places which offer a clear and compelling purpose and experience that’s not available elsewhere, and which meets the interests and needs of the local people. We need to start a conversation about what we need and want our high streets to be. To put the heart back into our high streets, inspire that connection between local people and their home town, and instill pride in belonging to a unique place.” - Reimagining our high streets (page 44)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6292/2081646.pdf
Having spent some time with the store I feel that Sue Ryder’s unique selling point, amongst the many charity shops of Harborne, is that it actually ticks so many of these boxes already (if on a small scale).
Whilst this is definitely not to the standard that Portas suggests, the store is already used by regulars as a social space; it clearly knows the interests and needs of its locals and offers a unique connection between its staff and the community.
I can see great potential in playing to these strengths. For example: perhaps the shop is used after hours as a meeting place for a book club? They already have many sofas and chairs. This could be at a small fee for the use of the space and books could be available to buy from the store. The book club members are then likely to donate their finished books back after they’ve read them.
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The last Primark store shut its doors on 22 March: without an online presence, since then it has sold nothing
Cat Rutter Pooley for the Financial Times 2020
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The above collage shows some of the research from the beginning of my project with the Sue Ryder Charity Store. Whilst it was necessary and interesting to learn about the charity, its background and values, when considering the visual merchandising of the store the information didn’t seem... relevant.
Tracey, the store manager, made it clear to me that people are not necessarily interested in the cause itself, but rather whether they'll find a nice top for a great price. She even said that a Sue Ryder narrative based window display would be very unpopular.
So if people aren't so interested in the charity bit and this is, to most people, just another retail store, why is it not treated like one? Why don’t they have visual merchandisers? Why do they seem to be left behind and not move with the times? Why don’t they have a successful online presence?
The most unusual thing is that the Sue Ryder Vintage and Retro Stores seem to be managed completely separately - as a successful retail business that doesn’t lack in the areas listed above.
I hope that by the end of this project I will be able to clearly advise how the standard Sue Ryder stores might follow a more successful process that brings them up to date and in line with other retailers.
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Canada’s leading luxury retailer, Holt Renfrew, offering some gorgeously simple inspiration on how to overcome the problem of lifeless mannequins.
Image Source: http://thebwd.com/animal-heads-at-holt-renfrew-style-resolutions-window-displays/
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Inspiring Ways Creative Practitioners are Coping With Changes Due to Covid-19 (part two)
Dutch studio, Shift Architecture Urbanism, normally commissioned for the design and realisation of homes and public spaces such as museums, has found themselves surplus to requirement during lockdown.
However, they have not allowed this to stop them from producing innovative and contemporary designs. In response to the situation we are facing with Covid-19, Shift have developed a model for the safe distribution of fresh food produce, allowing public markets to continue in a revised format helping relieve some of the pressure on supermarkets.
Whilst the project, named Hyperlocal Micro Markets, still holds a research status, it has been designed in a way that means realisation can be “fast and easy” with “standard products for traffic and crowd control that each municipality has in stock” (Shift 2020).
Shift have seen the rise of new issues with these uncertain times and have adapted their usual methods and processes so that they may use their talents and recourses to offer solutions. They are quickly producing sustainable design that is carefully considered, relevant and appropriate and this will allow them to continue to be successful.
This kind of adaptability and reform could definitely be taken into consideration within my own project. How might charity shops change once allowed to open again? Is there something they could do differently that would allow them to cope better if something similar happened in the future?
Sources (and interesting reads):
https://www.shift-au.com/projects/hyperlocal-micromarket/
https://www.dezeen.com/2020/04/03/shift-architecture-urbanism-designs-social-distancing-into-the-food-market/
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Inspiring Ways Creative Practitioners are Coping With Changes Due to Covid-19 (part one)
As I have been struggling to self motivate, stuck inside with no creatives or new environments to bounce off of, I decided to come back to my blog with some inspiring bits and pieces to get going again.
Using an app called ‘Acapella’ that allows you to overlay and synchronise multiple video clips, the lead singer of Bombay Bicycle Club has been reproducing his band’s songs all by himself. Where the songs would usually require many instruments and the other three band members, Jack Steadman is managing just fine all alone in the safety of his home!
It’s really interesting to see how people are turning to different technologies and the lo-fi materials to allow them to continue with creative output. I wonder how many will discover new and exciting processes or methods to inspire them for future creations?
Image source: https://www.instagram.com/bombayinsta/
Link to video: (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hUExuB3xd/)
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Something familiar becomes something extraordinary when it gains this status of being a specimen
Mark Dion 2017
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Mark Dion
Since the early 1990s, Mark Dion has generated a multidisciplinary practice that centres around exploring the representation of nature. He asks: “How do we protect, preserve and display the natural world” (Dion 2017) and discusses how we define objects of nature.
The exhibition of his work replicates methods of ‘wunderkammer’, attempting to slow the audience down and rewarding those who take the time to look deeply and carefully.
I love that Dion chooses art galleries for the exhibition of his work. In an interview (2018) he explains that art galleries allow for interpretation, criticism and opinion, in contrast with science museums where the questions are both asked and answered. He wants audiences to engage with the work and to be interested more than anything else.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBYfv0Fb7IA&feature=emb_title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csrD3hO3XG4
(Image) https://hammer.ucla.edu/take-it-or-leave-it/art/the-department-of-marine-animal-identification-of-the-city-of-new-york-chinatown-division
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Joseph Cornell
First explored in the late 1920s, Joseph Cornell’s Shadow Boxes are fascinating miniature worlds that allude to the notion of a widely travelled and extremely cultured creator. Each box evokes a different atmosphere suggesting a visual interpretation of a poetic and otherworldly narrative.
Yet the surprising reality was that Cornell was known as a recluse who rarely left New York State. His collections contain found objects and antiques as well as products found simply in dime and bric-a-brac stores. The power that he holds to offer such beauty and complexity to the simplest of objects is extremely inspiring.
It would seem that placing the simplest of objects into an exhibit style context increases their value by an impressive amount. For Cornell to then so carefully compose a beautiful juxtaposition of colours, textures and subjects, it’s no wonder that our minds jump to lavish interpretations and far fetched narratives.
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[Exhibition designers] harness the powerful interpretive potential of space to deliver narratives to human beings, who are 'hardwired' to receive messages through this medium.
What is Exhibition Design? by Lorenc, Skolnick and Berger
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Communicating the Correct Message
The above photograph shows an extract from Theatre and Performance Design: A Reader in Scenography by J, Collins and A, Nisbet (page 328).
Following the study of this extract, I began to think about a number of things when approaching my personal major project:
1) It’s extremely important to understand your audience before you decide what visuals you are going to present to them. What is their culture? What is their language (linguistically, visually or otherwise)? How are they similar/different to the surrounding communities? what motivates them?
2) What message am I looking to communicate with my window display? Who am I talking to? This will be closely related to the above question of what motivates my audience - Is it the bargains to be found? Or is it the sustainability surrounding reuse goods?
3) What existing message is being communicated and should I be playing to the advantages of it (if it has any) or is it a negative communication that needs to be fought against?
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Cabinets of Curiosities - ‘Wunderkammer’
With classic examples having initially emerged in the 16th century, cabinets of curiosities were rooms packed full with objects of wonder. These notable collections, owned by any who could afford them, were a display of travel, knowledge and wealth. They are said to be the earliest form of museums.
Similar, smaller scale collections were produced in the early 17th century. These were literal cabinets filled with ornaments and treasures displayed in such a way so that they could attempt to reflect the entire cosmos.
From my research I found that cabinets of curiosities, in all their various forms, are coming back into fashion. This can be seen with the reorganisation of museum exhibits that are looking to change the audience’s perspective by having them consider the objects in a new scene or context. I see now that I unconsciously mimicked the concept of ‘wunderkammer’ when designing for the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the V&A - using a common theme that offered a collection of objects from various archives a place in a new narrative.
Personally I feel that this is an extremely successful method of exhibition due to the element of discovery and the intimacy that this offers the audience. Each viewer will have a unique relationship with the work depending on what they are immediately drawn to, what they discover and how they interpret the object within the given context.
INSPIRATION: Symmetry. Notion of travel. Narrative. Juxtapositions of colours and textures. Composition
Source: https://medium.com/@lubar/cabinets-of-curiosity-a134f65c115a
Image: http://www.essentialhome.eu/inspirations/styles/classic/kunstkammer-house-london/
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