Transcript for interim presentation:
Pike
Tim: Again very
clearly spoken. The slides were easy to read, I could see the connectivity
between what you were saying and what I was looking at. I liked the look of the
historical overview but it was factually heavy, and you need to think so what?
If you are going to break up the history according to this report its probably
more important to break that up in terms of consumer psychology rather than
actual design facts. If your saying in the 30’s people bought like this, relate
it to the subject. Ask yourself; have I
made this bespoke to this project?
Georgina: I think
we just wanted to show off what we had done
Tim:
·
Well it’s not easy to do but having done it,
show why you have. If in all of that time, you think throughout history there
was a moment when the pattern book was in sync with the rest of the world and
it was this moment. I don’t know the
answer to that but think; before the technological revolution, when taste was
at a particular point, what they thought of interior design, when did that all
collide and start to taper off? Make it project specific
·
In terms of trend adoption, if you’re going to
show that, put all the players on it, it felt a bit token. It’s a great piece
of artwork but it felt a bit patchy
·
Landmarks: I thought that was really interesting
and worth more investigation
·
The consumer section had lot of worthwhile
observations there, I was just a bit confused as to how you put that forward.
You had 4 different consumers, all of whom were titled in different ways; this
person was the mix and match consumer which relates to their relationship with
design and then the young couple which relates to their age and this lot called
nothing. If you are going to categorize, use language. You could use those
titles in any report.
Georgina: They
were more under the ikea bracket and it does need more thought
Tim:
·
That was a bit confusing for me, if you are
going to break consumers down in terms of that you need to use it as a case
study. ‘Here are some key consumers of ikea’ and in which case their names need
to sound ikea-ish. And if they are a broader association with the consumer
associated with this project; the young couple, the family, the more
conservative, the more knowledgably (which still hold water when you open it up
to the whole project) but it needs to be more advanced. And obviously when you
do a mood board in a few months’ time for your presentation you won’t have a
strip colour palette will you?
·
You also mentioned why people are buying ikea
and you said quality, I really don’t think that is the reason, its accessible
etc.
·
I really liked your breakdown of all the people
you have managed to reach, I thought that was one of the most impressive parts
of your work. Like the fact you started with the textile designer themselves
but think its worth noting calling them that instead of just designer cause
that could mean the interior designer. The interior designers provide a really
good array of different behaviours and I think that re-categorization which you
noticed coming up a lot is a really interesting pointer to behaviour. If those
books provide a function but not in the way that they arrive then I think
that’s very interesting.
·
Funny how when you came to Zoffany when they
said the books tell our story. They somehow think there are lots of subliminal
messages in their faux leather etc.
John: Liz Cann is
one of the ones reluctant to change so that’s quite revealing in the context of
all her peers
Tim: It’s true
that they really would like a book that will support the narrative of that
collection that somehow gives the consumer some insight into the book but they
don’t. Did you challenge her on that? That’s what you want to know, am I
missing something? You can’t walk away from a research session thinking there’s
a big question mark about how their seeing it and how we are. That’s the point
of research, trying to understand if your being naïve and vague. I know it’s
hard, they are giving you their time but think Rottweiler, and this is not a
time to be shy and polite. You’re going to spend the rest of your lives trying
to get people to do things that they don’t want to do, you have to be a bit
persuasive.
Catherine: On
that point, we have had really good replies from people on this project
compared to any others.
John: Why are
they interested then?
Catherine: I
think because they didn’t think there was a problem but when we mentioned it
they sort of realised. When we spoke to
retailers of trade they were concerned interior designers weren’t buying the
books they were ordering the samples, they weren’t making any money.
Tim:
·
Yes, I think there were lots of interesting
things that came up from that and it comes up that there is a disconnect
between their perception of the use of their books and yours and you have to
unpack it.
·
I liked what you were saying about the
retailers. You made the point that people want to see, feel and smell them but
they also want to hear them. I mean these fabrics make a noise, they love
hearing the swish of a curtain. Be truly multi-sensory about it. I have a
fascination about fashion history and the fact there was a time when the
anticipation of someone arriving is because you can hear their dress before
they walk into the room. Sound has an impact on fabric.
·
You then went on to the consumer; them being
competent or not etc., again we need a lot more psychology to this. Are there
people that have the skills but are not transferring them? There are people who
are incredibly fashion savvy and I never understand how that doesn’t leak into
their homes. They know about colour, proportion, pattern and trend but they
don’t understand interiors and you think it’s only made up of those things. It’s
finding that point; are they universally under-confident or is there something
about interiors that terrifies them. You
can dress by being clever with your money and you can do the same with your
room.
John: Its more
permanent I suppose, you change what you wear everyday but you do your room
every few years.
Tim:
·
Yes, well you’ve hit the nail on the head there,
I mean you rehearse what you wear every day; you make mistakes a couple of
times a week. But you don’t change your room everyday so in some sense in seems
like a bigger gesture. Its worth unpacking a bit really.
·
Your out of sector section was really strong.
The bullet points were easy to read and the examples like the food one about
seducing a consumer and travel and fashion were really good. I liked that you
didn’t just pick amazing things that are happening; you were looking at how
they could translate.
·
Just be careful about white text against yellow.
·
You mentioned briefly about telling a story but
think in the last 10 years, fashion has really understood everything that goes
on in the studio, has a value to the consumer as well. So if you think if
someone works in Topshop and is doing a mood board, it can go on the website.
They have understood that all this information they are finding now has
secondary value to their consumer. Look at this because the consumer has an
appetite for this.
Georgina: Some of
the designers we spoke to had done this, they would have a picture about where
they got their inspiration from but were mainly saying that they convey this to
the customer when they speak to them instead.
Tim: So I think
that works, you can create that fantasy and romance for a consumer but I think
it is a visual language.
Georgina: They do
have them in the brochures but why are these not in the book
Tim: And why is
it written?
Georgina: And not
many people actually pick up the brochures so I think it’s a bit wasted.
Tim:
·
I think what the next generation is saying is: ‘I
don’t want that in a paragraph’, your used to being able to go online and
finding inspiration on Pinterest etc. We have moved from blogs to Instagram. We
don’t want to annotate everything written, we want to visualise it. Fashion
brands have understood that and are giving you all this information on these
platforms.
·
Overall, good presentation, I thought
re-categorization is a really good idea to follow. When we had a conversation
with the last group, we identified that the books have a really important
function. Tit’s not instead of, it’s as well as. If you fundamentally get to a
point where you’re saying that an ideal book is a one that every customer can
re-design it to their needs. If the book is metamorphic and can truly meet the
needs of every consumer (a competent one and one that is less competent, mixy
matchy etc.), then we have a book that falls apart don’t we. A book that can be
re-ordered, like how your designers are doing it, if you take that to that end,
what would that cost? If you had one with screws where you could take things
out and your left with how you want to see those fabrics and every book is able
to be bespoke to that conversation. You may think that is a bit extreme and
that the answer lies a little further down the line but what are the
consequences of this, what’s the cost etc. If designers bought into those they
could reconfigure them according to their clients so I thought that was a
really good point.
John: I think it
was extremely strong, particular rich in content and substance. The interviews
you had looked really useful and my only question is where next?
Beth: I think we
need to develop our consumers more.
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