Masters students design against crime

Graffiti, the vandalisation of street furniture and other problems related to anti-social behaviour are issues that designers all over the world are currently engaging with, under the mantle of 'Design Against Crime'. This year's Masters students in the School of Design at DJCAD have also been applying their skills to these problems, in a collaborative project with Tayside Police.

Course Director Marlene Ivey and Lecturer Louise Valentine joined forces with local police to come up with a project brief. Working in two teams, the students were challenged with the task of applying design solutions to the problems associated with anti-social behaviour, in particular the problem of young people either taking over public spaces such as bus shelters, or just hanging about on the streets.

A workshop facilitated by the police and interviews with residents in the local areas of Kirkton and Ardler provided the students with a deeper understanding of the issues that had to be considered, from both the potential user and the police perspective. Using this knowledge, together with their design skills, the students came up with designs for an 'on street social space' suitable for young people.

Having already received positive responses to their ideas, the groups will now present their final designs to representatives of Tayside Police. With such encouraging feedback, it is also possible that funding may be made available to follow through on their designs, by building and locating them in the sites they were actually conceived for.

Louise said, "This project has been a huge success. The Police appreciate that designers are idea generators and have a clear understanding of the value of design in problem solving scenarios. They are really impressed with the ideas that the students came up with."