This week we want you to identify a theme or issue that relates to your locality* and present your findings on the Ideas Wall, prior to the design phase.

1. Research and discover issues that relate to your locality* and post them on the Ideas Wall. REVISED: Direct engagement is encouraged, to identify potential issues, although we understand this is unlikely in the current situation. Show evidence of reaching out, by conducting an email or letter, although we appreciate you may not get a reply. 

2. Distill your research to identify one issue you would like to resolve and reveal through a visual outcome.

3. Write a short 200-word project brief that reports on the issue to be solved.

4. Design and produce a visual summary to contextualise your issue and project brief. Your summary can be a digital, print or moving image, but it must be succinct, to enable third party viewers to quickly understand the requirements, needs and challenges.

*Your locality can be broad and refer to your street, district, town, area, county or region.   

Bridge the gap of making real-life connections with coworkers while working from home. People are working from home all around the globe at the moment but this is something that is commonplace and has highlighted faults in the system. For this brief, I want to propose a method for both continuing and forming relationships with coworkers for businesses that have staff that work from home. This could be a proposal for a new digital tool, a new way of using tools that we already have, a campaign to encourage informal communication or another method to encourage healthy relationships.

https://sashamitchelll.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/research-and-reveal-develop-key-finding-analysis-and-objectives/

I would like to explore what could be done locally to tackle this issue – are there other ways the shelters can fundraise and ensure that their animals get visibility so that when the situation is resolved, there will be families waiting to adopt the animals. 

Below is a screenshot from a local shelter’s Facebook page – this is just one of many who I am sure are all facing similar issues. 

One thing I was thinking about is that the library produces a lot of designed materials (both physically & digitally) and if those materials are well designed, then the various users of the library will benefit. However, there are various individuals and teams producing materials (all doing things slightly differently) but within the small team I am work in, there are three of us doing an increasing amount of design work. None of us are trained (despite me doing this course) and one thing I wonder about is if what if we were all to leave? 

Given that ‘design’ in the library is simply an addition to library assistant duties, whoever replaced us would have to start from scratch so would it be possible to create a design toolkit to teach new staff. We have a collection of resources but there is no imperative for anyone to use them, could there be a solution that takes people through various stages of design, explaining why certain things need to be considered? A solution that people would actually enjoy using – those people who are already involved in design might even use it to hone their skills?

I put together a survey to send round colleagues to get a rough idea of their thoughts /approaches to design, so I will see where that leads to.

• split parent families not being able to see their kids in person

• keeping your distance while shopping which elongates the process and means being outside and at risk for longer

• schools using different online educational platforms for work to do at home

• schools supplying food vouchers for those who would usually have free school meals but that opposes self-isolation rules 

Basing a project on the global pandemic and issues based around it seems like too much of an obvious path to go down for this week but there seem to be a lot of opportunities for problem solving. 

 

One of the biggest issues that I have seen in my area over the last week or so is people not being able to collect their prescribed medication because of several reasons: 

• the pharmacy can’t find it

• people don’t want to queue for too long

• it’s too busy and easier to come back later

• people have been out and panic bought all of the medication so none is available

 

So I think my main idea for this week will be to come up with an app or online solution that will help people to be able to get their medication on time, without risk, and without worrying that there won’t be any left. There are already online solutions that doctor surgeries operate that allow you to order your medication online, but I am unsure how well these work as I haven’t been signed up to use it. 

 

Although this solution has been done before, yet the problem of getting medication is still an issue, it makes me wonder how well these solutions actually work. That will be the challenge for me, to make it better than other solutions that are already out there.

I don't like the thought of being knocked off my bike commuting to work.

Cycle lanes…

My idea is to look at that state of cycle lanes in town, perhaps one place in particular on my way to work where I dice with death every morning, and look into ways to improve how they can be seen and understood - by cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.

Taking that point onboard and the daily exercise, could they be combined?

If you’re out walking, take a bag to collect anything you might see. Always wear gloves obviously.

To visualise it it could be an online campaign shared socially to all the local Facebook groups.

Get the family involved. Get kids to design posters then get their parents to share the pictures on their Facebook walls, then they get shared, and then maybe other towns pick up on the idea and they start doing it.

Potentially reaching a national audience and ultimately doing good in many ways.

- Litter picking

- Exercise (locally)

- Fresh air

- Cleaner looking town

There a a few small parks but nothing great. A few people mentioned about getting a splash area built in one of the big open parks. 

Not sure how this one could be made into a piece of service design tho?

Thought are most welcome.

There are a few small boxing/self defence classes etc like most towns but no one main building for swimming and gym etc.

It would be an epic project to try and get the council to build something for Bolsover, many have tried for years.

But on the flip side there would be massive advantages to solve some issues - general fitness, obesity, mental health and could be a community space.

Someone did mention they had been somewhere and the local community co-owned the facility. Local businesses sponsored a brick which helped with running costs etc. There was even a volunteer ran cafe.

Our main walking/biking trail is called Stockley Trail. It seems to connect to smaller routes that go one way away from our town but not the other way where there are trails that then link up to go on for miles and miles and miles (you get the picture).

Most of the trails around here are old railway lines. There is an old line there, but no-one has done anything with it?

This would be a campaign to raise funds to build the connecting line.

Visually it could be done on multiple levels. Posters (locally), online social media groups, crowdfunding page, dedicated website for updates, door to door petitions, national lottery funding etc

Given the timeliness of the current social impact of COVID19 on the city of San Francisco, I chose to focus my project on loneliness. It also provides an opportunity for me to reflect on my own experiences stemming from the pandemic and feel like I am making a contribution to society as a result.

You create see my full project brief on my blog.