Filed under: Red Jotter Work, service design | Tags: creativity, innovation, jobs, scotland
So me and the team over at Snook are looking for people of all shapes and size to make a big impact! Download the juicy details here
Filed under: service design
Writing about my journey to The Death Festival has led me to making new connections and meeting some brilliant people. This morning was no exception. I met a lady called Mary McDonough-Clark who has worked as a speech and language therapist and a writer for the past 8 years. She has been working to improve end of life/palliative care within the NHS and outside of it. Mary writes with patients and families and about them, and then uses these stories to train staff and demystify the dying process.
Listening to Mary’s story really struck a chord with me – ultimately she has embarked upon this journey with a designers mindset, focused on the goal to embed herself inside nursing homes. She wanted to be a familiar face and someone everyone trusted. She talked about using “emotional touchpoints” and mapping the journey of patients – using photography and creative stimulus.
A big part of Snook’s mission is to embed design inside organisations and this means breaking down hierarchies and barriers – this is exactly what Mary did by inviting everyone involved in the caring process to call her in when patients needed her. This resulted in cooks and cleaning ladies sharing their insights with her – people who are told they are not qualified to take part in crucial decisions or have opinions around patients care were the ones with simple, powerful insights that led to solutions. If a patient stops eating the chef is the first one to notice it as he sees the plates coming back full. Cleaning ladies notice nuances in change of routine and behaviour the way staff often don’t because they are immersed in delivering and the day-to-day functioning of a care home.
It is clear that discovering what decisions and choices people in care are making is difficult when they can’t communicate very well. This is why the journey of care must include families and everyone who cares for that person. The physical architecture of a nursing home also plays a big part in the caring process. Of course, they can often feel like warehouses yet that one sole room that service users are often bound to is their home. We must never forget this.
One of Mary’s first ventures when she goes into a home is to encourage the nurses to feed each other. Nurses who feed patients on a daily basis are forced to experience what that feels like first hand. Powerful stuff. In some cases, Mary also encouraged patients to feed the nurses. After thinking about this I start to wonder why is this not normal procedure – we are asking policy makers who make impactful decisions on homelessness to sleep rough. This is the same thing.
It is clear we need a critical mass in this space. There is so much brilliant work happening but it seems to be disjointed and there is little consistency of user-centeredness. With so many different organisations involved it seems we need to re-group to re-connect with the fact they all share the same value system. Do we need to gather stories of why everyone got into this work in the first place because that is where the over lap is? Everyone calls it something different and it comes from different budgets and it’s not obvious. This has to change.
I also wanted to share the work of Jessica Charlesworth, the brains behind MeMo. Cloaked in the fictional identity of the MeMo Organization, Jessica presents a cabinet of curious objects and stories that explores a range of poetic practices and attitudes towards death and mourning. The Latin phrase memento mori,meaning “remember you will die”, denotes objects which remind us of our mortality. What alternative Memento Mori rituals might be created in light of current developments in technology, philosophy and science?
MeMo is a research-based initiative that recognizes the way cultural shifts have created new relations toward death and experiences of finality. Such change opens the door to more personal, relevant and contemporary experiences of death. I’m looking forward to talking to Jess about her work and hopefully joining some dots and making a plan.
If you want to get in touch with me to talk more email lauren (at) wearesnook (dot) com
Filed under: bigsociety, design studies, design thinking, made me think, master of design, people I like, reading and writing, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
This weekend I travelled down to London to be part of a festival at the South Bank Centre.
“This festival celebrates something we all have in common. Death is a subject we are fascinated by and fearful of; it is a favourite topic of all arts and all societies find rituals to deal with it. But most of us ordinary mortals find discussing it quite tricky – even though the more information we have about it, the easier it is to face. This weekend is not about morbidity, sentimentality or sensationalism. In fact it’s a weekend full of delight and humour. It’s about hearing the powerful stories and surprising facts from people who have had to sort out practically and emotionally how to face up to the greatest and most challenging of all certainties.”
Jude Kelly, OBE, Southbank Centre Artistic Director
Where to begin? I was utterly fascinated by every single person in the audience. I sat in audiences made up of every age, race and character. But why a death festival? Lemn Sissay, Associate Artist at the South Bank Centre, started to answer that question for me by reciting some of his poems. Invisible Kisses raised enormous applause and was the one that really touched me. He asked all of us why we don’t celebrate crying and where do we go to cry? Jude Kelly set the tone of the weekend by sharing the loss of her son to cot death, her openess was admirable and I really believed her when she talked about why she wanted to curate a festival of death in the first place.
What’s the one thing you’ll do before you die? People shared their new year’s resolutions, pledges and life-long dreams on a giant chalkboard as part of an on-going international project by artist Candy Chang. This was so simple yet so effective. I loved coming in on the Sunday to see it blank again and watch it filling up over the day. I was amazed by the range of statements on it – everything from ‘become a farmer’ to ‘loose weight’. This is a classic example of a what Snook call “generative design techniques” that are used to connect, innovate, make, tell and share. Generative tools must be useful and usable for all types of people and it doesn’t get much simpler than a blackboard. Tools like this provide a design language for everyone, designers as well as non-designers, to provoke imagination, stimulate ideas and stir emotions and Candy Chang is superb at creating them on a large scale.
Sam Winston created a pop-up registry office, commemorating the quarter of a million people who are born and die in the space of 12 hours around the world. I drew circles to represent my loved ones and register their names in writing. The reason this worked so well was the fact that unlike the blackboard it didn’t really have any emotions attached to it. I read a whole wall of names, but they were just names with no messages or personal anecdotes and that made it work. I liked that they focused on birth as well as death. Although projects similar to this sometimes feel a little self indulgent this one felt it was in the right place at the right time.
I went along to a death cafe, described as a “good old heart to heart and a nice slice of cake”. By a chance twitter meeting I discovered one of the girls who was sitting across wrote a detailed post about the experience ( we were advised the session was confidential but the post does give you a feel for what it was like ) I was intrigued by the funeral director who spends his time taking photographs of funeral shop fronts as they are so out-dated and in-humane. I think the concept of death cafe is brilliant and the idea of a pop up death cafe lends itself well to Start Up Street Stirling.
“Overall, the discussion was disjointed yet eye-opening. Even with my limited experience of death and loss I found it fascinating. Understandably, I don’t think it’s a subject most people want to dwell on all the time and I can imagine people thinking that it’s a strange way to spend an afternoon. However, in a forum such as this and made cheerier with tea and cake, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be more open and progressive about discussing a universal subject which remains something of a taboo in our society. Death Cafe has plans to branch out from their Hackney home and encourages people to hold their own meetings. So if you ever get the opportunity to attend one of these dark tea parties, I urge you to give it a try. You’ll be almost guaranteed to meet a weird and wonderful selection of people and it’ll certainly give you food for thought.”
‘Gone but not erased: Digital Death’ was led by PhD student Stacey Pitsillides, she talked to us about what happens to our data after we die. She is also involved in Digital Death Days - which I’m interested in too. I must admit I was disappointed in this session as a lot of questions were posed but no answers or alternative solutions were shown. I follow Stacey online and didn’t discover anything I didn’t know already but I think the questions she is asking are highly relevant. For example, do I need a will for my digital self ? Will all funeral homes follow the example of Conley Funeral Homes in Ireland who live stream funerals for relatives who can’t be there in person? Of course my data is part of my digital personality so I wonder how my family and ( offline ) friends would know who I love and respect in my online world? In the past when someone died their relatives sort out their home and all their belongings, now the same thing has to happen to our laptops and our i-phones? It’s a fascinating area and it looks like the place to be connected to around all this stuff is Digital Beyond . I wonder if Facebook and Twitter are thinking about formulating death policies?
Meghan O’Rourke talked to an audience about her memoir ‘The Long Goodbye’ which is a profound exploration of the nature of grieving. She wrote the book after her mother died from cancer at 55. I am in awe of her story and her openness. She talked about grief in a way I have never read about or heard before – so real and raw. The reality is that we don’t know how to behave when someone dies – no-one shows us or tells us – it is the one experience that unifies us and such an opportunity for connection – is a sympathy card the best we can do? Meghan talked about the work of Kevin Young and shared beautiful snippets of poetry that helped her face her grief. Isn’t it curious that our society is somewhat comfortable with mass grieving for people we don’t personally know but we find it so difficult to be open with bereaved people we do know. Meghan introduced me to the concept of anticipatory grief – something that happens when you are told a loved one only as a certain time to live. This also happens when loved ones are diagnosed with long term conditions as their families grieve the person they were before the disease.
Over one million people die by suicide every year, and there are an estimated 15 to 20 million attempted suicides every year worldwide. I went along to “Suicide – not waving or drowning” to listen to a panel of experts talk about the causes of suicide, the effects of suicide spots on local communities and how different cultures and religions view suicide. Film maker Jez Lewis showed us his film ‘Shed your tears and walk away’ and I was shocked to learn that the police and the NHS boycotted the showing of the film in the local area. I have read about the idea of suicide becoming infectious in The Tipping Point but watching this video reinforced the fact that the more people you know who have committed suicide the more it becomes an option – it becomes the norm. Statistics really matter when it comes to suicide mainly because they don’t reflect the truth – five people on Jez’s street had committed suicide yet the statictis didn’t show anything abnormal. Also, statistics don’t break down suicide by race or ethnicity which is important when 75% of those who commit suicide are men. The language around suicide is also topical because people find the word ‘committed’ offensive.
Rosetta Life presented a series of short films made with people with life-threatening illnesses about the things that matter most ; stories of cancer, self discovery and truth that go to the heart of pallIative care. They showed a wonderful film of a lady dancing with the hands of a man with a neurological disease. He told the camera “Movement keeps me in relationship” – there was something so powerful about these films around the intimacy of touch. It seems at the end of your life touch becomes a clinical thing but touch is so important. Touch and intimacy in health is an area I want to know more about as I think it could add so much value yet we shy away from it – even when we are healthy! I am looking forward to the book Cassie Robinson is curating,due to be published in Spring of this year, with 14 authors, discussing the practice and experience of intimacy and vulnerability in different aspects of our lives, and how empathy scales in public services. Death is surely one of the most intimate experiences and yet often happens in a clinical situation. We were shown an incredible film commissioned by Labour peer and political strategist Lord Philip Gould, who died in November 2011. There was a part of me that watched this thinking of the people who could never afford to have a film made or a story written about them before they die – yet so many probably could if they were shown how easy it was using flip cams, wordpress and the like.
This event was most definitely one of a kind. I met some fantastic people such as Dr John Troy from the Centre of Death and Society at The University of Bath , chaps from the service Tell Us Once, ladies from The Samaritans and the folks from Dying Matters. It was great to meet people who were enthusiastic and keen to listen to my ideas and share their stories and experiences.
I can’t wait to see what The SouthBank Centre are going to do next in the space and I really hope they step up to the mark in terms of doing something really worthwhile and meaningful. Jude Kelly shared a little of the feedback she had got so far – next time people want to talk about survivors guilt and accidental murder ( of course the latter evoked a reaction ) maybe by then someone will have developed a ‘Kill My Facebook’ app or death will have become a disease that is curable.
To give you an insight into the scale of the conversation, here are some figures from #deathfest.
“500 tweets generated 829,478 impressions, reaching an audience of 143,340 followers within the past 24 hours”
I can say with absolute confidence the Death Festival has made me think differently and taught me things about the world and myself. Now I feel it is my responsibility to share my experience with all of you and I want you all to ask yourself two questions:
1: What do you want done with your body when you die?
2: Have you told your next of kin?
Asking these questions can open us up to really human and loving conversation.
Snook are working with Cassie Robinson to determine how we go about making a difference in this space. This weekend’s conversations confirmed our thoughts around the massive need for people-centered thinking around end of life services. There are several areas in particular such as the transition between paediatric to adult care, the learning about death in education and the absolute basic need for practical information. There are also issues and problems around the role of intimacy in health and and how services are joined up, after all there is no shared languages or rituals. And of course it isn’t all about services or design, but the fundamental human nature of it and how we share that as a culture, letting go and making room for new.
The one theme that cropped up time and time again for me over this weekend was storytelling. The anecdotes tell the truth in suicide – statistics and numbers don’t tell the truth because we learn through stories. Every single thing death throws at you there is a story somewhere proving you can do it. There are stories about making or doing – where a 93 year old train driver tells you his life lesson is to fight for what you believe in.
We need to find a relaxed way to talk about the things that unite us. What about the relationship the media has with death? The way the Hebden Bridge suicides were reported was simple not acceptable! Designers might not think of themselves as a storytellers, but in many ways, they are. The success of a designers work is dependent upon how well we tell the story and narrative of our process to the world and this is just one example of where I think the skills of designers link up with this space. Are death services seen as public services? it would appear the answer is no – they are seen has either charitable or money-making with little in between.
Do you know people doing good work in this space? Do you have a story you would like to share? Do you want to join us in looking at death with curiosity? Send me an email at lauren (at) wearesnook (dot) com
Filed under: design thinking, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design
A little sign of why things have been so quiet on redjotter – Snook is hiring! We are working on some great projects and growing our team! Find out more and share with your talented friends.
Filed under: service design
I was delighted to be invited to Women in Scotland: from austerity to ambition. Rather than write a post, I have captured all my notes and thinkings in this drawing ( you can click and zoom in to have a proper peek )
Craft has been on my mind lately and I was particularly inspired by the physical ‘Tapestry of Ambition’ … I think it’s so important to have something physical to represent ideas and thoughts. The way we all huddled round itching to make our mark on the tapestry was simply brilliant and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product!
I like my patch :) It was clear from the delegate list that all the women attending have a voice in their own spehere and this day intended to make that voice bigger. I didn’t necessarily leave feeling my voice was bigger but I did leave with a sense of new listeners and new directions for my voice to travel in!
The hashtag for the event was #52percent because that’s the number of females in the Scottish population. It was shame there were so few tweeters but hats off to all the women who signed up and gave it a shot!
I’d like to say a warm thank you to Tari Lang for inviting me and for all her support and enthusiasm. Looking forward to seeing you all next year!
Filed under: design studies, design thinking, made me think, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
This is Edit for the 10th time around, but the for the first time in the beautiful and mysterious area of Røros. It is an old mining town so the theme of ‘Digging’ fits very well.
This conference was originally a computer conference for designers and illustrators, it has gradually changed over the years. Today, the conference aims to increase the understanding of visual communications and the role it plays in society. I am excited these guys are keen to explore Service Design at such an event.
Keetra Dean Dixon was first up, she calls herself an Experiential Choreographer and is the brains behind the fabulous hugging wall which I have experienced as a hugger and a huggee. Keetra challenges herself with ‘one-a-day’ projects which is something I attempted many times at University but never seemed to have the discipline for. I like the idea of pushing yourself to make something in 24hours and then share it. Listening to Keetra reminds me very much of my ambitions when I was at high school – I wanted to design products that would bring surprise and delight to people’s everyday. I must be honest and say that now I find this kind of work fairly self-indulgent. But it works and it’s beautiful and there will always be a place for it.
Marius Arnesen then talked about his journey of making a documentary about the Norwegian Army in Afghanistan. His talk was mainly made up of film footage and I will be honest and say it was very scary and shook me up a little. I am grateful for his bravery to show such footage to an audience mainly made up of traditional designers.
He talked about the reality of war. The fact is it’s not all action – it’s 99% eating, sleeping and waiting. I sensed from the audience that the link between this talk and design wasn’t clear. For me, the way Marius talked about going into this situation and having to become friends with the soldiers first echoed the way we design. It’s about real human to human trust and Maurice’s job is to get close to people.
Robert L. Peters shared many quotes that inspire him. One that stuck with me was the fact that 85% of what we know today comes through our eyes. For me, this reinforces the reality that designers see the world differently and can make thoughts, ideas and visions visible. I would have liked to see examples of what Robert has achieved by following quotes such as ‘think sideways’ and ‘aim high’ and I must be honest and say that I don’t think design is responsible for ‘creating the future world our children will live in’ . I think design is part of the solution, but many other fields and disciplines have a role to play.
It was then my turn to take to the stage and I have never before received such a spectacular introduction. Check out the video below starring Bård Brænde.
I talked about Snook and our vision for transforming the way public services are designed and delivered in Scotland. From conversations I’ve had with the organisers I know that socially motivated Service Design is very new in Norway . Thank you to everyone who talked to me afterwards and shared their inspirations and ideas with me following my talk.
Filed under: service design
13 teams: 67 students: 1 Snook: 1 day
What is it like to attend a school without teachers? Instead of being told what to do and how to do it, at Hyper Island students experience, experiment and find their own answers. Emphasis is on learning by doing and trial and error. The facts speak for themselves:
98% of Hyper Island graduates find a job within the industry after graduation!
60% of Hyper Island students get a job in the industry before they graduate!
Most of these guys come from background of advertising, business and graphic design. We kicked off with an introduction to Service Design from Snook’s point of view and then quickly launched into collecting all the bad service experiences the students have had. This is an exercise I do often and I’ve never experienced students finding it so hard before – they are all content and satisfied with the services they receive! After a little probing, they began to explore experiences very close to home like the virtual learning environment they use at Hyper Island and the Systembolaget ; a service that aims to minimize alcohol-related problems by selling alcohol in a responsible way, without profit motive.
The teams then tackled journey mapping one of these bad service experiences.
It was interesting to see how the different teams tackled ‘mapping the emotions’ with some groups choosing to wait until the very end to go back and add emotions. The last action of taking a red pen and joining up the emotions through the whole journey sparked solutions and ideas off instantly!
Thinking about design and public services is a new thing for these guys so the journey maps helped make that connection! I then introduced “Our Future Public Services – being a Service Designer”
The teams spent time designing their own bespoke generative tools to take out into communities to talk to people about the service they had journey mapped. They were really excited to get the chance to outside the walls of Hyper Island and really engage with the public.
For me, the interesting part of this was how the teams decided what questions to ask. Pushing the students to be very open was important so people would give feedback honestly. Some started with a very specific list of questions but then realised the open ended statements were less complex and intimidating.
After lunch and time in the communities the teams came back together and shared what they discovered. This team had journey mapped a poor experience at the job centre. They found it hard to get people to talk and felt uneasy about talking to staff in the job centre. The team found this process invaluable because it really challenged the assumptions they had made about how the public feel about AMS.
This team is exploring relationships and trust within student from lots of different departments in Universities. They began thinking this was something more security guards could solve but in talking to students and staff around the campus they realised it was an issue around culture, behaviour and attitude. They created tools for students to quantify trust levels.
This team is re-designing the Swedish recycling system. They discovered that the Swedish public were very reluctant to say anything negative about the services as recycling is globally a ‘good thing’. They realised that implications around recycling for land lords and business men were important and this was an audience they hadn’t considered before venturing out into the streets.
This team is tackling the problems of renting an apartment in Sweden. They were overwhelmed by the number of people who had negative experiences to share and realised this is definitely a big issue for Swedes. They sensed a feeling of hopelessness in everyone they talked to and it really enthused them to think of solutions!
This team ventured out very dissatisfied with the SJ rail service in Sweden to discover that the public were actually quite happy with it!
This team was tackling the problems the snow causes for the citizens of Sweden. Talking to the public showed them that the problems are much worse for older people and that young people are keen to help make the situation better.
This team are re-designing SCAS; their virtual student learning environment. They realised that the community behind the platform is much more important than the functions of the platform itself.
This team are also tackling SCAS and created an experience prototype by filming someone using it and talking out loud. They found out that the number of clicks is the one thing that people would change.
This group were re-designing the experience of flying RyanAir and they focused on people’s emotions. They quickly realised that people are quite satisfied with the RyanAir service because ‘ you get what you pay for’ this was a big surprise for the team and they now realise how important it is to challenge assumptions during the design process.
Applying for visas is something many of these students have had to do and they are not happy with the service! In talking to the public this team were energised by the reality that actually a visa plays a massive role in your life can influence what direction your life takes so it should work well!
This team want to improve the experience of voting. Talking to the public was a challenge for them as they quickly understood that many people just ‘don’t care’. They now know that no matter what they design, making it relevant is the most important thing.
The team re-designing Systembolaget sparked an interesting debate because there is stark contract in opinion between local students and international students.
Last but not least, one team is focusing on the problems around all of the transportations systems being in swedish. These guys interviewed some travellers by filming and it was really effective.
What a day! It was tough to keep such a big group on track but I managed :) and the teams produced brilliant insights in such a short time! The idea of applying design to public services is something that is new for them and it has been amazing to watch their mindset shift towards this way of doing things. I can’t help but notice the stark difference in how Swedes feel about their public services compared to the Scots. I was talking about this to the students and heard the word ‘Jantelagen’ for the first time, it is something very Scandinavian.
The result of it is that the idea of the public sharing ideas and feedback is something that may not go down so well with Scandinavian people because of ‘Jantelagen’. I was very curious and their english translation was ‘don’t stand out of the crowd’ so I looked it up:
Jantelagen comes from the Danish Janteloven – in the imaginary small town of Jante there is an informal, oppressive law that forbids anyone from standing out from the crowd:
The ten rules state:
- Don’t think you’re anything special.
- Don’t think you’re as good as us.
- Don’t think you’re smarter than us.
- Don’t convince yourself that you’re better than us.
- Don’t think you know more than us.
- Don’t think you are more important than us.
- Don’t think you are good at anything.
- Don’t laugh at us.
- Don’t think anyone cares about you.
- Don’t think you can teach us anything.
WOW! That would not go down well in the UK and it has challenged me around some of the Service Design approaches of discovering what the public really think. Lot’s to think about! Onwards and upwards to developing ideas during Day 2. Massive thank you to all the students for their energy and ideas! You’ve made me feel very welcome!
Filed under: service design
This week I will be presenting at Edit 2011 , labelled as ‘Norway’s biggest design conference’ in Røros on the 21st – 23rd of October 2011.
I have never been to Norway before so I’m really looking forward. If you are near Røros on those dates and want to say hello give me a tweet!
You can follow the tweets of the event here! Big thank you to Tom and Torgeir for inviting me and organising my travels to Norway.
Filed under: service design
Hyper Island has been described as a “Digital Harvard” and guess what?! I am flying there on Monday! I am super excited to have been invited as I have admired Hyper Island’s approach for a long time and I am fascinated yet still very curious as to how it all works ( and I have never been to Sweden before )
I am going to spend two days with sixty design students from international backgrounds and a wide range of disciplines, who are embarking up a six week course on “User Experience and Interaction Design”
My two days with the students will be focused on guiding them through the design process, focusing on the research phase in relation to designing public services for the future of Sweden. I will be introducing them to different tools and techniques from service design. Check out the videos below to get a flavour of what I will be working with…
From what I have seen many of the students tweet so we will be using the hashtag #PSDhyperisland ( public service design hyperisland )
I arrive on the 17th and then fly to Norway on the 20th so if you are in Stockholm and want to say hello give me a tweet!
Filed under: service design
…to my little brother, the best brother one could possibly ask for. You’re simply amazing and this post is dedicated to you.
Tonight you are going on an adventure, an adventure so full of opportunity and unknowns I’ll bet it feels scary. You are leaving on a jet plane to go to Germany, arriving to a new life and a new job as a medical physicist. Wow.
I’m so proud of you for making this moment the opportunity that it is. I *think* you might be a grown up now so please remember to set your alarm clock, pack your frisbee and always carry a plectrum.
Up and at ‘em bud. Love your big sister x
Filed under: service design
Last month I took to the stage at Craftscotland’s first conference, Craft Connected to talk to over 70 makers about why I believe Service Design matters to them. Here’s my story…
To put it simply, Service Designers make stuff – we make ideas real. But we do this in a way that is extremely focused on experience – this is the main reason I think Service Design and Craft have a lot to learn from one another.
We make stuff with people rather then for them. And because users / buyers / customers are at the very heart of everything we do, 90% of the time we are making other peoples ideas real rather than our own. We’re really good at putting ourselves in other peoples shoes – we making a living out of empathy! When you combine that with the design process and the making behind our craft you can help big, messy complex services like the NHS improve the service they deliver.
Service Designers don’t design whole services – that would be impossible – our role is to facilitate, inspire, make things real and inspire creativity in other people. That’s why I truly believe the role of a designer is completely changing and moving away from being in the studio to being out there in the world – in your communities helping people imagine solutions.
When YOU as makers look in the mirror do you see someone that offers a service? A service that has been beautifully and brilliantly designed? A service that considers all the touchpoints? The experience of buying the output of your craft?
I don’t think many people in the craft industry do. We don’t usually think about craft as a service. I 100% believe there is a hidden service in every craft. I want us to think about how we can make that work – how we can identify that and bring it to the surface.
Basically, I believe if you are maker you are providing a service.
And it would seem I’m not the only one, Emma from the Collins Gallery reminded us that many of the craft she sells is handed over to a paying customer with no boxes and no label. Just like Mary Portas says in her letter to the UK Handmade Industry - you need to think about the customer experience. You need to think about how you sell what you do, your website, your business card, your business model and YOU because you are the maker and it is ultimately YOU that you are selling. These are tough times and as Mary rightly says you are competing against the luxury goods industry. This is about YOU and the service you offer as a maker!
Always remember, only you have a personal connection to your craft and thats really powerful! Where did you learn your skills? Where did you study? How did you develop your own style? Tell these stories!
You have a distinct technique, skills, a way of thinking and seeing the world that is completely unique to you. This means only you can change the way the rest of the world perceives craft.
I have ideas around how to unlock the hidden service that is inside your craft…the tools that service designers use can help you design a first class service around your craft. For example, use journey mapping to visualise how people buy your product, use personas to understand how different people will perceive your work. But before you do anything else - buy this book.
Snook designed these little post cards for the audience and we have had some interesting results:
And last but not least, be proud to be a maker! Be proud to be a maker in Scotland – make your own future and find the secret service in your craft.
I had a brilliant day at the conference and designing my presentation really made me think. It reminded me that I am a maker and I should never forget that I was trained for four years in making models, sketching and building prototypes of everything from coat hangers and lamp shades. Thank you to everyone who tweeted and asked questions, and special thanks to those of you who sent me personal feedback – you really made me smile…
“I found your presentation so very interesting and it has given me so much to think about. I’m in the midst of re-working my website, new logo, new packaging, looking at new markets etc , but what you said has also made me look at myself more as an ambassador and a persona for the business – thank-you.”
“I would like to thank you for delivering such a thought provoking talk – and just as importantly making us laugh – at last weekend’s Craft Connected Conference. You have now converted me to reading your blog. I was so impressed with your enthusiasm and practicality – combined in such a unique way. We also use lots of Lego at work; in fact that is what we brought back as the staff present instead of the usual sweets and biscuits from a recent trip to Denmark.Keep wearing the tartan tights – great idea!” Mary, Co-chair of Craft Scotland
You can read more about the day from the folks at Craft Scotland here:
“Emma Walker, craftscotland CEO, kicked off proceedings with a clear message that well worn craft debates were off the table for the day.
Professor Mike Press ably took the helm as Chair, steering delegates into exploring how craft is connected: connected internationally, connected culturally, connected with industry and new audience, with public services, community initiatives and the wider society.
Garth Johnson travelled from California to speak to the assembled. His blog Extreme Craft is ‘a compendium of craft masquerading as art, art masquerading as craft’. It was along these themes that Garth broadened the audience’s minds to the full spectrum of craft. Garth passionately called everyone to action ‘I want everyone to become a craft activist’ – are you ready to join him?
Tom Hopkins Gibson spoke about his professional journey as a maker. He highlighted the importance of connecting and reinvesting in the local community, as well as the difficulties of balancing success, citing the old adage ‘be careful what you wish for’.
Practical presentations followed from Rebecca Davis, Audience Development Officer at craftscotland and Laura Hamilton, Curator at the Collins Gallery and the conference partner. Rebecca spoke about how to connect with craftscotland. Laura Hamilton gave some sage advice on how to connect with curators, highlighting issues such installation and packaging. Her key points were to ensure effective communication and clarity from the outset.
The afternoon’s provocations explored craft’s role in community engagement. Josiah Lockhart, General Manager of the Grassmarket Community Project engaged all with how his project utilises craft to empower individuals. Muriel Murray, from Castletown Heritage Society, spoke about how they use craft to engage the community in preserving their heritage and the transference of skills.
After the selection of inspiring presentations and a rousing call to action from Mike on the impetus behind the Craft Manifesto and The Change Makers, the room locked into discussion and debate on the areas that should be included within the Manifesto. If you would like to contribute ideas or vote on proposal’s for the Craft Manifesto please visit the Making Manifesto site or request to join the Change Makers facebook group.
You can read Mike’s reflection’s from Craft Connected on his blog and see a selection of Snook and craftscotland’s photos from the day on Flickr.“
At the start of the year ( through the phenomenon that is Global Service Jam ) I met an awesome lady called Kirsty Burnham. This week has been a rollercoaster of happenings for Kirsty – who is the founder of SoLoCo!!
I was at the recent launch of Scottish based project - the first ever dedicated crowdfunding website for the Third Sector – and its founders want it to revolutionise how projects are funded in the UK.
“We believe SoLoCo can help revolutionise the future of funding in the UK. We want to make it easier to raise funds, and in time make it easier for organisations to be become less reliant on the ‘traditional’ funding bodies. We also want to help improve the visibility of our communities and all the amazing work happening on the ground every day. Crowdfunding has already made a huge difference to the arts, music and even, Obama’s political campaign – now we want it to change communities.”
The SoLoCo launch comes as the Third Sector faces an increasingly tough financial climate, battling reduced income from statutory funding against increased demand for services in some areas.
Six projects across Scotland have already signed up on the SoLoCo website to crowdfund for donations, worth a total value of £124,976. These include:
// The launch of a new Scottish online newspaper, the scottishtimes.com
// Scotland’s first Digital FABlab based at Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture,The Lighthouse, Glasgow
// Renovation of Glencanisp Walled Garden by The Assynt Foundation to create a local enterprise
// Crowdfunding for audio-visual equipment for the hugely successful Youth Football Scotland project
// A multimedia project at Duns Youth Centre in the Borders, to help young people develop skills in film-making & radio production
// A community café Punjab’n De Rasoi in Leith, Edinburgh is crowdfunding to employ its long time volunteer chefs and waitresses.
“The ‘virtual doors’ are now open for projects across the UK to start their own crowdfunding campaign through the SoLoCo site, giving them access directly to the public, a wider network than they have already, and without having to organise any sponsorship activities.
Our project base is across Scotland at present but our doors are very much open to projects across the UK.”
The idea is that a project uploads its crowdfunding campaigns to the SoLoCo website in a few easy steps. They then have 60 days in which to fundraise, with a heavy focus on social media. Projects reaching their target keep all the money, while those who don’t, keep the money raised and can use it to apply for match funding.
Successful crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter in America have seen hundreds of thousands raised for arts projects. Obama used crowdfunding to contribute to his election campaign. And a most recently in the UK, Brewdog, successfully launched its second Equity for Punks crowdfunding campaign, after the first one proved such a success…I am watching this space!
Massive congratulations to Kirsty and her team and three cheers for ThirdSectorLab and Crancomms who have been working their magic behind the scenes!
Filed under: people I like, reading and writing, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
The idea for Community Lover’s Guide to the Universe was conceived in Rotterdam in April 2011 by Tessy Britton and Maurice Specht.
Following the fantastic response to the collaborative book Hand Made (40,000 online readers), which was published in Autumn 2010, the idea evolved that they might be able to start producing local versions of Hand Made.
Since announcing the project in June 2011 the team have 20 confirmed voluntary editors and another 10 or so in discussion. Their ambition is to publish about 50 editions in the next 12 months!
Tessy explains:
A few weeks ago Maurice Specht turned to me on the way to Schiphol airport and said ‘So when are we going to bring out a Hand Made for Rotterdam?’.
What a brilliant suggestion!
Since then the idea has really taken off with 12 community enthusiasts already volunteering to edit special local editions – collectively now called the Community Lover’s Guide To The Universe. Since we brought out Hand Made last August the number of people-led projects has continued to grow and we wanted to explore both the common themes, but also the unique cultural ideas and interpretations from all parts of the world.
We also wanted to start to show how places that are buzzing with community activity and projects are amazing places to live, increasingly more amazing than places with cool architecture or luxury shops. Community brings places alive, gives us new and interesting ways to contribute and connect … and there are signs already that people are finding places that have this creativity and excitement going on highly desirable.
Community can’t be mass produced and it can’t be ‘delivered’. But in rising numbers there are a lot of very excitable people just getting on and making and shaping their local communities for themselves. This series of books will create the opportunity for them to tell their stories, which in turn we hope will encourage other people to put aside any hesitations they might have and get more involved in their neighbourhoods.
So I have a brilliant excuse to get oot and aboot in Glasgae and meet all you community evangelists and capture your stories. Who should I talk to? Where should I go? Who do you think should be in the Community Lover’s Guide to Glasgow?
Filed under: made me think, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
Andrea Peach, a lecturer and craft historian at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, is writing an academic paper entitled “Contemporary Craft and the Commodification of National Identity in Scotland after 1970“. Her research is mostly based on craft and craft policy in the 1970s, but she is trying to draw some contemporary parallels. Andrea was in the audience at my recent keynote at Craft Connected where there was a little burst of chatter in the audience about how creative Scots use their Scottish identity as part of thier brand. James Donald and I were eager to let the audience know that we are both very proud of our roots and see travelling away from home as a great excuse to show off our tartan. This snap ( although slightly resembling a girl band album cover – not intentional ;) below was taken by Adam Lawrence in Berlin and Snook are very proud of it!
“It was also interesting to note at a recent Craftscotland conference, titled Craft Connected that contemporary makers were not ashamed to rely on Scottish tropes to generate interest. James Donald, a weaver and one the makers who will be represented at the Craftscotland launch in America, said that he always wears his kilt when promoting his work abroad, and Lauren Currie, Director of the Scottish service design consultancy Snook , said that she is happy to wear her tartan tights when promoting Scottish design.”
Andrea has asked to interview me about the relationship between my work and the notions of ‘Scottishness’ and frankly I can’t wait!
Oh, and here is a translation of the title: “Here’s tae us ; wha’s like us? dam few – and they’re a’ deid! ” = “Here’s to us! Who is as good as us? Damn few and they are all dead”
What are the connections between your roots and your work? and thank you to the beautiful blog that is Scouts Honor for the photograph.
Filed under: made me think, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design
Three years ago today I was teaching first year design students at The University of Dundee. Those students are now going into fourth year. I am delighted that many of them have kept in touch and one young lady, Fiona Harper, popped into Snook for lunch this week to pick our brains about her dissertation topic: empathy!
Fiona would like to know about he best example of empathy tools you have used or seen? Fiona is keen to talk to non-designers too so all of you reading who work in governments, schools and charities – tell Fi what you think!
