Material exploration.

We also got the materials we will be working with this week and more information for the brief "the Rooftop Project." There is some really interesting stuff that I think will be exciting to work with and as a group we got stuck into playing to get a feel of what we could do.

One of the inspirer series talks that we all found really inspiring was Susie Macmurrays. I found her use and transformation of everyday objects particularly interesting. The innovative manipulation of materials is a way of working we will explore in this unit.

http://www.susie-macmurray.co.uk

week 3_

This Tuesdays session began with each group presenting their manifestos. It was interesting to hear everyones ideas and see how each group had approached the task.

Our groups presentation was a bit of a disaster though. I think we misinterpreted the brief in that we didn't prepare a verbal presentation. Our manifesto was in a poster format and our expectation was that this could simply be viewed by our peers and tutors.
The result was then that our presentation was rather awkward which was picked up on by the tutors, who gave us constructive criticism on how to improve. In hindsight it would have been more impactful to read out our manifesto, maybe taking it in turns or even making a recording of it to play. It could have been like a mantra or chant even. Kate and Mark pointed out that this would have fitted with the powerful statements and instructions that our manifesto contains.
What we did take from the experience though was that it sparked new ideas for the project. Kate picked out a particular line from our manifesto: "Undermine the authority of an established system" as a particularly interesting statement. We thought about playing on the idea of awkwardness and creating fun and subversive works that force the user to act in an awkward or odd way.

It also brought me back to the idea of built in conformity in design, from the talk by Nick Hall. I thought about the different spaces in Manchester that are designed to make you conform in some way.

(benches in the corn exchange_anti skateboarding design, also prevents the homeless sleeping on them)

And thought about how we could counter this with the roof top; creating objects or spaces that allow for as much flexibility and creativity as possible.

We had a group discussion about what direction we wanted to take the project in and came up with the name Awkward Rooftop. Molly set up an instagram page for us to use to document the progress of the project which I think was a really good idea to bring us together as a strong collective and begin to create an aesthetic style.

https://instagram.com/awkward_rooftop/

week 2_ Manifestos

Manifesto_ A declaration of intentions, principles, objectives or motive.

This has been the focus of the week, to create our own manifestos. Initially this seemed quite challenging but it has been good to think about why, where i'm going and what I want to say or achieve in relation to designing and making. Setting out a manifesto or mission statement is something I will continue to do with future projects.

We split into groups of different themes so that we are working with like minded people.
The group I am in is the "Sustainabiltiy/ Upycling" group and we decided to base our manifesto around the keywords: Upcycling/ Sustainability/ Repair/ Materials and Process.

As a group we found out and looked though various manifestos and writings that we found inspiring; picking out ideas relating to our chosen themes. We then distilled these and pieced them together into our own mission statement. We decided on a poster style format of short, instruction- like statements which we can use as a guide for rest of the project.
It has been good to collaborate as we pooled our resources and could bounce ideas off one another to form a collective, agreed approach.

It has felt strange to not begin with the usual process of drawing and researching a theme/concept but it is exciting and fresh and has opened up new ways of working to me. I am now looking forward to getting making and handling materials next week, to spark more ideas.

We also set up a collaborative pinterest board to start sharing ideas and creating a body of research.

https://uk.pinterest.com/chloebeecham/rooftop-thinking/

The Connect Forum

Last Wednesday (11th) I went to a series of talks on Sustainable fashion hosted by the Hollings faculty, which was part of an international project to educate on sustainability in fashion. It was a really inspiring and insightful day; sustainable and ethical fashion is a subject I have been interested in for a while and I think I can bring a lot of what I learnt from the day into my work.

There were talks from key figures working in sustainable fashion and from the researchers/ lecturers and students from each university. There were a couple of points that really captivated me and I feel are relevant to this project. 

Orsola De Castro gave a brilliant talk about her label 'From Somewhere' and talked passionately about the need for up- cycling in design. Describing up-cycling as a design solution, Orsola highlighted the need to value the skills and materials we are using. As a designer Orsola uses factory waste (fabrics that haven't even been used at all!) in her collections, creating in response to what is available.

http://fromsomewhere.co.uk

This is what I will be doing in the rooftop project and the talk made me excited to get started.

Nick Hall, a lecturer from MMU gave an interesting talk about consumption in the UK.
What he discussed that I found really thought provoking was how conformity is built into design. He explained that all the spaces in the city are connected with consumption, there are very few 'free spaces' anymore. For example the benches in Picadilly gardens have built in anti- skating features to prevent people from using the space in a recreational way.
This idea made me think about the rooftop space and how it could be a kind of sanctuary from the rest of the city and feature design to counter conformity.

https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/hollings/events/mmu-connect.php

Unit X_ REINVENT_REINTERPRET_REMAKE

We started the project with an 'Un- conference' in which we discussed the question:

What is design?

It has been an interesting way to start a project, to think more conceptually and broadly. We mind- mapped different ideas about what design means.

There were lots of different ideas raised and certain key themes seemed to re-occour:

Future proofing_ planning and considering future needs_ design is forward thinking

Purposeful creative problem solving

the Everyday/Everything is designed

Creativity and Innovation

Design can be about can be self expression or to make a statement

It should be playful always

The design could be an experience or event

This last one particularly made me think differently about what design is or how it fits into our lives.

The Un-conference gave a lot of food for thought for the rest of the week in which I attended several of the 'Inspirer Series' talks to begin generating ideas.

"Look at what's going on in the margins, that's where the future is happening."

Dave Haslam gave a great talk on the underground and marginal cultures in Manchester; the importance of DIY and the creativity and imagination that comes from this. This made me think about looking to the city: the hidden corners and alternative viewpoints for inspiration.