15 September 2011

DJCAD researchers take 'BESPOKE' project to V&A

The result of an innovative design and journalism project which involved researchers from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) will go on show at the V&A in London this week.

Housed at the V&A Museum between September 17th and 23rd as part of the London Design Festival, 'BESPOKE' - a multi-partner collaboration between a community in Preston and journalism, social science and design researchers - will explore how a new method of 'Insight Journalism' can be used for social innovation and engagement.

The exhibition shows how grass-roots communities can express themselves and ensure that their voices are incorporated into innovative designs that further communication, democracy and information access.

The collection includes:

• the Digital Buskers, which are digitally enabled statues that celebrate and promote local hip-hop music producers Dub P and Shaks
• Viewpoint, a digital product that collects community points of view in response to questions posed by their councillors
• Wayfinder, a digital signpost that displays community events and turns to point where the events are happening
• the Talking Memory Box, a crafted device that allows people to record stories and associate them with physical artefacts

Jon Rogers, Senior Lecturer in Product Design at the University of Dundee, said, 'All of these design prototypes show how a future could look if we engaged with our communities better. It is the first test and the first showcase of how Insight Journalism, a radically new method of community engagement, has been researched, implemented and tested. While we present a method that has led to a collection of community design responses, we think this has potential for any responsive way of working with people.'

The BESPOKE project has been funded by the RCUK as part of the Digital Economy Programme and is a collaborative project between five UK research institutions with Paul Egglestone (University of Central Lancaster), David Frohlich (The Digital World Research Centre, University of Surrey), Justin Marshall (Autonomatic, University College Falmouth), Patrick Olivier (Culture Lab, Newcastle University) and Jon Rogers (University of Dundee).

Justin Marshall, Associate Professor of Digital Craft at University College Falmouth, said, 'For me this project has opened up an exciting new space. A space where the digital capabilities for creating individualised products and services have been re-orientated away from the burgeoning market for unique personalised goods, towards crafting responses to wider, and I would argue, more important community focused issues.'

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
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University of Dundee
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E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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