Secret Leeds

Week 1

Brief: Create three design direction boards showing research based on our rationale.
1. Problem 2. Evidence 3. We Intend To...

Rationale
Group Members - Claudia, Chloe, Liv, Ryan, Sadie & Simon
Problem - What surprises can you find in Leeds?
Evidence - Our collective of photography and group statement evidences this
We Intend To - Discover, explore and record the surprises of Leeds

Week One Progress Crit

We presented our three design direction boards to the rest of the groups. Our ideas were generally well liked, as it is a strange but interesting idea, which not many people will know about. Yet, it has been done before in London, so we know the idea definitely works. With our secret Leeds tea party we will be adding our own twists. The advice we were given was to make sure we had a strong identity which would show throughout all of our signage, and to make sure that all designs stood out.

Final Design Direction Boards
For our final presentation, we re-created the design direction boards with more relevant information now that we understood our problem better, and also because some aspects had changed slightly.

Problem

Evidence

What We Did

Week 2 - Final Pieces

Final Map

Computer Screen Shot

Actual Folded Map

Final Poster

Computer Screen Shot

Tea Tray

Photographs of our tea tray we made for our presentation. We created a tray liner as well as belly bands for napkins and a blanket, to go with our map and poster.

Photograph of material in surroundings
We took photographs of the final pieces in the Cool Beans coffee shop.

Feedback from Tutor

It seems like a good idea, which was well presented, but still does not completely make sense. It would be better if as a group you decided where the poster would be placed to gain publicity. The map would work better with more information about the picnic, and to only include the relevant areas. The products should be photographed in context, and if an actually tea party could be held this would really make this a live brief. It would be good to gather the reactions of those attending the picnic. 

Self Evaluation

What problem did you identify?

We identified that in Leeds there are lots of events aimed at students but hardly anything for residents such as families and couples. This can be seen on our problem design direction board, which is filled with flyer's and pages from guide books all aimed at students. Another aspect of the problem is that there aren't many lesser known places in Leeds, as people tend to stick to going to the places and events that are well known and heavily publicised.

What evidence did you find to support your decisions?
For the problem design direction board, we gathered the guide books and flyers we had collected from the tourist information office, freshers fayres and around college. Nearly all of this was advertising places that were already known, as well as mostly being directed at young students. Our evidence to support our decision that there are not many lesser known places in Leeds came from our idea to create a Face book group called 'Secret Leeds'. We invited residents of Leeds to join, and asked them all to tell us of any hidden places they knew, yet with about 20 people joining, we only got three replies. We took this to be evidence that people just do not know about secret places in Leeds. This evidence proves that their is an audience and a gap in the market for our idea.

What methods did you use to gather your evidence and what forms did it take?

To gather evidence we used a few different methods of research. We created the Face book group to find out about lesser known places in Leeds. We questioned our classmates about their favourite and lesser known places in Leeds. We also did Internet research, looking at Leeds city guides and the existing Secret Leeds website.

What methods of research did you find useful and why?

I found questioning people useful as this is how we came to find out about St Georges field. This type of research is primary meaning that it is more relevant to us, as we have completed it for a specific need.

How did these inform your response to the problem?

It was through another group member questioning someone that they found out about St Georges field which became the basis for the idea for our brief.

What research could you have carried out that would have proved more useful?

Primary quantitative research would have been useful. Maybe a questionnaire, or some proof that St George's field is quiet, e.g. counting how many people came through in 1 hour at lunch time.

5 things that I have learnt about the design process:

I have learnt that making mistakes does not mean the end of a project but to keep going and learn from them. This leads on to my next point that making mistakes and the wrong decisions is actually useful, as you almost always end up with a better idea. I have learnt that its important to be able to back yourself up with research so you know there is definitely a market for what you are trying to create. I have learnt how it is useful to have both primary and secondary research to aid development. I have learnt not to go along with the first idea I have, even if I think it would be successful. When working in a group, people are sure to have different opinions over different designs so this meant that we didn't go with the first idea, but developed it until we were all satisfied.

5 things I would do differently next time:

I think I have done more primary research than on any other brief yet I still think I could have done more now I know how useful and important it is. I think hearing opinions from my target audience would have been useful. We did do both primary and secondary qualitative research but I think much more could have been done. Next time I think it would be useful to plan what research I would do and why, and if working as a group, to try to make sure all members contributed equally.

Group Evaluation
This is the evaluation we filled in together, having to define our roles and rate each group member.