The aim was to discuss themes that we were attracted to, in order to find common ground that we can develop the design festival from.
In the previous tutorial we had discussed transport, which had sparked conversation about cycling, and encouraging people to be Eco-friendly, and nature had been a prominent factor in our discussion.
We discussed what a design festival actually is, and whether or not we can change the visitors expectation of the design festival.
We really liked the idea of carrying the design festival on, so that it wasn't just one event, but you can keep adding to it after wards.
We thought this could be possible through social media and by holding competitions, etc.
By having an online presence we also thought that this would allow people to know what was happening at the event, even if they couldn't make it.
We also thought that this would be a good way for visitors to interact with the design festival, as they could take photos of themselves participating and add them to an online collage of contributions.
We then went onto discuss how we can make the design festival personal to the visitors.
The idea of tickets to the event was an interesting topic as, as some people in the group said they would be happy with a virtual ticket, whilst others said that they like the idea of having something that they can hold. A real ticket can also be used as memorabilia of the design festival.
We liked the idea of creating something small that visitors can take home with them like a pet plant or a small visitors pack.
We liked the concept of small changes going towards a big change
Nature was again a prominent theme in the discussion.
We talked about how there is a lack of greenery in the city, and how it is ironic that people dig out weeds from an urban environment but don't replace them with anything else.
We said they they might as well keep the weeds, so that at least something is growing.
We also talked about the weeds being relentless and growing in bizarre places.
Noticing the unnoticed :)
Where the event would take place was also on everyone's mind.
There are a lot of places in Manchester that are unused, where buildings have been knocked down and nothing erected in its place.
We decided that we would go out and photograph these places, to get more of an idea of what was realistically possible, and also to start noticing the unnoticed around Manchester.
I decided to do this on my own, because I thought that if the group went out together then it would take a lot longer, than if we went out separately or in smaller groups. I also thought that I might notice something different to what others noticed and vice versa.
There is a patch of land on Whitworth street that looks very abandoned. There are weeds growing amongst the cracks in the cement, and there are no immediate plans for the land to be developed. I thought that this would be a good area to host part of the event, as it it close to parking and access to it is easy. Being close to the city centre makes it quite appealing and it is a large area of land.
I thought of the idea of having the design festival, or part of it, in a car park. I'm not too sure how viable the idea would be, as it would be taking up space people need to park in in order to visit the festival. This could be a catch twenty two situation.
They are all over the place though!
With this car park, I thought it was interesting that there are trees surrounding it. This then got me noticing how green Manchester actually is. Considering it is a very built up area, there seems to be greenery almost everywhere you look.
mini garden
The idea of part of the design festival actually inside unused buildings would be quite interesting, because it would show that these buildings can be used for something, instead of being left to rot.
At this stage I think it's important to remember that we are pitching to the council at the end of the project, and I don't think they would be very happy if we said that they weren't doing a good job with making Manchester green, because they are.
