On Friday 18th October, 21 Masters students from Duncan of Jordanstone Art School had their first taster of the beautiful sights and sounds of Pitlochry – their project site for the next four weeks.
The students were asked to explore their role as ‘designers’ and what they could contribute to the ‘Creative Care and Support’ project. Some of their responses included:
- problem solving
- making lives better
- driving participation
- making and testing stuff
- starting from someone else’s shoes
- getting things wrong, and learning from it
We agreed that the fundamental building blocks of design that the students would bring to the project were that they would try to
- Look at the world in different ways
- Make quick prototypes so that they; and the people involved in the project, could manage the risks associated with doing something differently and
- Use their visualization skills to make ideas visible and tangible.
This is particularly important for the first stage of the project where the students will be gathering insights about gaps and opportunities for creative care and support services in Pitlochry.
For their first task, the students were invited to speak to local people (and tourists) in Pitlochry. True to the ‘quick and dirty’ design method – this would not be a robust piece of research – but it would give the students the experience of talking first hand to local people and asking them their thoughts on what it is like to live in the area.
This simple task allowed the students to consider their technique in engaging with a diverse group of people. The students reflected that the following types of approaches helped them to get good responses from people:
- Asking open questions at first then funnelling down
- Being respectful of people’s time and willingness to participate
- Smiling – brining some unexpected laughs to a person’s day
- Building relationships
- Give information about the project
- Encouraging without cajoling!
After hearing more about the project, and being introduced to a wide variety of resources relating to Reshaping Care for Older People, many of the students were keen to get started! They offered their thanks, in particular, to Fiona (PKVAS) and Rikke (IRISS) for arranging a jam-packed schedule for the next week. Watch this space for updates.
The consensus amongst the group was clear – Pitlochry: a good place to be for their first ‘live’ project!
– Lisa.