A Boeing 727 Hotel Suite

Below is a link to a recent news article I read about a Boeing 727 being turned in to a 'luxurious new hotel suite' in Costa Rica. http://uk.travel.yahoo.com/p-promo-3311477 I personally think the hotel is not only ridiculous but also very ugly. I can see that it is a recycled plane that was otherwise going to be scrapped but surely it is now an eyesore, which simply attracts people due to its unusual appearance? The article reads ‘Jutting out from a hillside, the Boeing offers views of the ocean and the jungle from balconies built on each wing’. Why put something so ugly in a beautiful setting, I think a luxurious property, which was eco-friendly and blended in to the natural environment would have been a lot more tasteful.

Up my street

In a recent lecture www.upmystreet.co.uk was mentioned to us as a means of locating and targeting a certain group of people. I decided to use the website to have a look at the street I will be living on from July. I was interested in the accuracy of the website as I know having spoken to the landlord that the occupants of the street is relatively mixed. Only 30% of the street can be occupied by students (I think this is due to HMO licensing), I also know that our neighbors consist of a family with two young children on one side and on the other side is an old lady, who is perhaps in her 80’s.

The information below written in black is taken directly from www.upmystreet.co.uk and the blue text is my own comments.

Family income	Medium
Interest in current affairs	High
Housing - with mortgage	Low
Educated - to degree level	High
Couples with children	Low
Have satellite TV	Low
I think that housing with a mortgage will be low as much of the property I imagine will be rented, the rent is also relatively cheap which would perhaps suggest that many people are not that wealthy and hence cannot afford satellite TV? I am unsure as to how many families with children there are on the street although I know in some of the gardens there were swings etc which would suggest that quite a few families may live on the street so perhaps that is not so accurate.

• Often, many of the people who live in this sort of postcode will be cosmopolitan sharers or students living in flats. I think this is true although much of this street is actually terraced houses rather than flats.
• University towns such as Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh are the main geographical locations for these types, which are also found in places such as Brighton, Plymouth and Dundee.
• These are cosmopolitan areas of shared flats and bed-sits. Households tend to be young single people renting small one or two bedroom flats, which may be purpose built or converted. Again the street I will be living on consists mainly of terraced houses, similar to mine with a front and rear garden as well as parking. I think they are all also at least 3-bedroom properties and some of the larger properties may even have 4 or 5 bedrooms. I’m not sure that they were specially built for students or even converted to suit students. To me our house appears like any other house, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large lounge and kitchen??
• Around a third are student households. I think this will be correct 30% are occupied by students/could be.
• This is a fast changing environment with a high turnover of occupancy. I think this is likely to be very accurate as families are likely to look for larger properties as their children grow up and also students will move if they find a property which is better value for money, they are also likely to move once they graduate.
• Living close to places of work and study, travel is mainly by foot or public transport. Relatively few of these people own a car. 
This is quite true, the old lady who lives next door to us is likely to walk or use public transport. Students are also likely to walk in to town/university as the property is well situated. However I think most people will have a car or at least 1 car per property. This is because although parking is only on one side of the street the street is always lined with cars and a lot of the properties also have cars parked in their drive. This year I may bring my car to uni and my flat mate will definitely be using hers. This is because it makes food shopping easier, you don’t need to carry heavy bags or pay for delivery. The cinema, ice skating and other out of town amenities are also more easily accessible. A well as this traveling home is more convenient and you have more freedom.
• Although many cannot afford to purchase a PC, this is the computer literate generation. They use the Internet through college or work to make various purchases and book holidays. These people have plans and aspirations. They wish to embrace the latest technology - digital cameras, DVD players and so on - but don’t yet have the financial means to do so. The more prudent plan to pay off their debts. I imagine this is very true, however I do think the majority of students do own a laptop/PC. I sort of see my laptop as an every day essential that I couldn’t live without!
• Their phone bills are large and their credit card limits low. 

Lifestyles are active, socially and physically. Exercise, dance and sport are popular. This could be true, I play hockey and squash, I also swim and go to the gym regularly. I also intend to bring my bike up in the summer, however I do know a lot of people who don’t do any exercise other than walking around town now that they are at uni.
• They frequent coffee shops and in the evenings go the theatre, cinema or clubbing.
• More relaxing moments are spent listening to music or reading books and magazines.
• Some will eat healthy foods and take vitamin supplements, but many choose to eat fast foods and take-aways for convenience. 
I think this is true, however I think fast foods, although popular are only consumed when students have the money to buy them, most people tend to cook and live on own-brand produce. I also think most families will try to encourage healthy eating and perhaps only have fast foods as a treat or occasionally and I doubt the elderly residents of the street will eat much fast food at all.
• These people are interested in current affairs.
• While news may be followed online, they are also readers of The Guardian, Observer, Independent and The Times.

I think much of this information is quite useful although obviously not everything would apply to every property and its occupants. I can see how the information could be very useful not only to help you decide whether a street is suitable to live on but it could also be used to locate people interested in sport or people who frequently use coffee shops or public transport fro example. You would then know the areas to target if you wanted to carry out a questionnaire or send out information to a specific group of people.

Assignment 4: Interviews Activity 4C

Discussion and notes

I have learnt that this is a very valuable method of getting people to talk to you about all sorts of things, from their family and friends, to hobbies, likes and dislikes. As it was only semi-structured the interview seemed quite informal and relaxed which I think put people at ease and allowed them to talk freely. I found that after the interview all the notes I had taken were quite useless as I can still remember virtually everything that was discussed during the interview which surprises me greatly. I think this is because I found what people told me genuinely very interesting.

After the interviews I met up with people who had looked at the same topic using a slightly different series of questions but had similarly not directly approached the question ‘ What object do you treasure the most’. Below is a list of similarities and differences we discovered.

Similarities

• People tend to hold on to things with sentimental value, which perhaps have no physical use such as old gig tickets, photographs, stones and shells, letters and old teddies. People keep them because they associate the object with fond memories. It was noticed that no one spoke of objects they had kept which reminded them of times of sadness. Even objects that had been passed down from deceased relatives remind them of kind, loving, generous people. This is probably because most people don’t want to be reminded of things, which upset them and generally make them unhappy, it is also said that sometimes when people are affected by something severely traumatic they can block out whole parts of their lives? Is getting rid of things that make us unhappy similar to blocking out bad memories?
• Most people tended to feel sentimental objects were more precious that material objects such as laptops and I-pods, although this does tend to differ slightly depending on a persons background.
• It can be assumed that to most people something you work hard for or save up for a long time to purchase such as a laptop is more precious than one given to you?
• But items such as jewellery are more precious if they are sentimental and have memories attached, for example when they are given as a gift or passed down in a family.
• Often things with great sentimental value are useless and worthless such as old wristbands, photos and tickets.
• A person’s most treasured object is likely to change over time for example your favourite toy when you were younger is unlikely to be your favourite object now.

Differences

• Not everyone has sentimental gifts and items passed down in the family to treasure.
• Not everyone has fond childhood memories wish they wish to be reminded of with old photographs, letters notes etc.
• Perhaps therefore differences in a person’s background/upbringing/family/friends/childhood can cause differences in what a person treasures and why they treasure it?
• What is important to one person is unlikely to be important to another as everyone enjoys different things and is likely to associate different things with different people and places. Therefore hobbies can cause differences in what a person treasures. For example, gig tickets and wristbands are only going to be precious to people who enjoy festivals and music. Old ballet shoes are only going to be precious to dancers or those who have attached sentimental value to the shoes.
• Some people are more materialistic that others, some people would rather have close friends and family over designer labels.
• Some people are also hoarders where as other people tend to be very minimalist and would discard old magazines, tickets and ornaments as soon as possible. Therefore differences in character and personality could also affect what different people treasure.

Assignment 4: Interviews Activity 4B

Conduct the interviews

After mind mapping the topic I decided the best way to approach the interviews was to jot down a few questions, a question to start with and some questions I could refer to during the interview. This is what I wrote down:

What sort of things do you keep that you don’t really need or use?

Do these things have memories attached to them? What are these memories?

Are these things actually useful? Do you use them often?

Did you buy them yourself or was it given to you?

Are the items expensive/luxury/designer/one off?

Is it something you can’t live without?

Are your items with sentimental value more precious than those, which were expensive?

If I were to destroy all your possessions and you could keep one thing what would it be?

Would you say this is your most treasured item?

I tried to keep all of my questions as open as possible, and tried not to guide anyone in a particular direction. I also tended to ask them questions, which helped me to understand their responses or gain more background information about them. I interviewed 4 people, 3 female and 1 male aged between 19 and 21 but I have chosen only to write about the interviews of the first 3 people as I feel this allowed me to obtain enough information. When I began interviewing the first person I intended it to be a trial run or pilot experiment but as it went better than I expected I decided to use the results I obtained.

I began by asking the first person ‘What sort of things do you keep that you don’t really need or use?’ The response was quite slow and she obviously had to think about the question and although it was perhaps a little awkward at first, as I did not really know her, she soon began to come up with answers. ‘Lots of shoes, I don’t wear. Random kitchen stuff, like utensils I was given to bring to uni, things like photos and pictures and letters. Things with memories attached… oh and teddies that sit on my windowsill.’ I then went on to ask her what she had that she wouldn’t get rid of and why? She replied with photos because they remind her of family and friends and past experiences in her life. They all document times and people she doesn’t want to forget. I was just about to move on to another question when she also added that she would also never part with her jewellery. When asked she explained that this was because much of it was expensive whether bought by herself or given to her by family and friends. Much of it also had many memories and stories attached which she briefly told me about. I asked her if there was any piece of jewellery in particular that meant a lot to her and she told me that the real pearl necklace her parents gave to her for her 18^th birthday was her most precious piece of jewellery because not only was it very expensive but it also had sentimental value. It was a gift for her 18^th and she has since worn it to a wedding, some 21^st birthdays and other such important occasions. She also went on to tell some others stories related to the necklace. Next I asked her if there was any other object that was as precious to her? And she was unable to think of anything. So I concluded with ‘would you say this is your most treasured object’ and she told me it was. The interview only took about 15 minutes and I learnt a great about her. For example I now know some of the things she likes and what is important to her. I also know about people in her family, some of her friends both past and present and events she has attended in the past few years.

I took a similar approach when interviewing the second person. I learnt that she has lots of clothes, CD’s, handwritten notes from friends, photos and homemade cards that she has but doesn’t really use. She also told me a of a rock she has kept for about 4-5years that she found with a friend, there is no point to the rock and It has no use, its not even very attractive. I think she kept it as it reminds her of her friend and a particular day out, that she probably enjoyed as she laughed when she told me about it. The rock is probably a sort of souvenir, something to remember the day by. As the interview progressed she relaxed more and began to tell me things in greater depth. I learnt that she tries to hang on to her childhood memories and had a big box of photos with her at uni as well as other things like hair clips and letters from when she was little. She also has a lot of expensive jewellery which she hardly wears as she is scared it will get lost. As we began to talk more about jewellery I think she started to consider what she said more carefully and her voice was quieter. I think this is perhaps because the object she kept referring back to was very personal and perhaps upset her as it was given to her when her grandma died only a year or so ago. The object she told me about was a charm bracelet given to her when her grandma passed away. Each charm on the bracelet represented a year that her grandparents were married, as her grandad used to give her grandma a charm every year on their wedding anniversary. This bracelet is that important to the person I interviewed that she doesn’t use the bracelet or even have it with her at uni. It is in a box beside her bed at home. I feel quite overwhelmed at this story as I was surprised that the person I interviewed was happy to tell me about something so important to her and she was able to speak openly about her grandparents who she obviously cared a great deal for. I didn’t think someone who barely knew me would be open to tell me about someone she had lost and a treasured object that was so special to her. It was slightly awkward for me, I didn’t know quite how to react having never lost someone close to me. However I thought best not to ask too many questions just to let her talk, which was very useful and interesting.

The next interview I carried out was slightly different. The same approach didn’t work, I had to ask more questions to be able to relate to her answers. When asked ‘What sort of things do you keep that you don’t really need or use?’ she took a long time to come up with anything and then said that she has a few posters, wrist bands and tickets from gigs but that’s about it. She told me that she has very few material possessions compared to an average person. Her wardrobe is only half full, she only has shoes she wears and she doesn’t wear jewellery! At this point I was quite lost. She also has nothing to remind her of her childhood and nothing passed down from a relative or given to her by a family member. She has also never been given anything by a boyfriend and could think of no memorable gift given by school friends, which puzzled me a lot. When I asked her about school I came to learn that she has been bullied at school, which could explain why she didn’t mention photos, or anything associated with friends. I also asked about her family which I found out is very small, she only knows her mum, granda and her uncle. Her gran died a long time ago and she has never known anyone else. I then went back to ask further about her tickets and wristbands and discovered her love for music and festivals, especially T in the Park, which was common ground and we discussed at length. After this we discussed technology she has an old MP3 player and a laptop, which she bought herself. Again I found out this was perhaps due to having a small family, she has been working since 14 and buying all her own things since 15-16. In conclusion there are two things, which this person treasures, and that is her laptop, which she bought herself. She said that she cannot live without the internet which she relies on for music, to communicate with people and to play games and watch tv. The other thing she treasures is her T in the Park wristbands one of which she has not removed since summer 2008, which are of great sentimental value.

Just out of interest I also tested out the theory that if you go straight in with the question you want to be answered won’t get the response you need or want. The other night when I was sat in the kitchen with my flat mate I simply said if you had to pick something, what object do you treasure the most and why? She replied after a moments thought with ‘…I can’t think of anything. There is nothing in particular really.’

Assignment 4: Interviews Activity 4A Mindmap

Assignment 4: Interviews Activity 4A

Choose a topic

For this assignment we were asked to interact directly with people in the form of semi-structured interviews. First of all we had to choose a topic to investigate. Myself and two others chose the topic ‘What object do people treasure the most and why?’ We began by mind mapping this. In a separate post is the mind map which shows some of our initial thoughts and some of the points that I have expanded upon.

Ugly Beautiful

For my next project the title i have selected is ‘Ugly Beautiful’. For inspiration I intend to look at the ‘ugly’ architecture (tower blocks, derelict buildings etc) and the run down unpleasant areas of Dundee. I aim to combine this with ‘beautiful’ florals and intricate patterns. This will be largely inspired by the Botanic Gardens in Dundee and Edinburgh. For further inspiration I will look at the work of current designers and artists. I intend to research in to those who primarily work with collage or who are known for their linear drawings or mark making techniques. This is because I would like to gain more experience of working with collage as I have only had the chance to touch on this in recent weeks. I also think collage will be a useful technique for combining a range of ideas and materials within my work.

I will use as much of my own primary source drawn research as possible and I will also incorporate photography, as this is a useful method to record information. I expect to take time concentrating on the composition of my work. I feel it will be necessary to consider the dull tones of the urban environment and also the vibrant colours derived from nature as colour could play a significant part in determining if something is ‘ugly’ or beautiful’. I will also think about the proportion and combinations of colour used within my work.

I plan to produce a series of collages, which combine a range of linear, structured drawings with organic shapes. This will incorporate a wide range of materials I may consider materials such as pen and ink, charcoal, gouache, pastels and chalks. I also intend to experiment with a variety of collage papers (decorative, textured, painted papers, photographs etc). Layering materials that vary in opacity may also be interesting. If time allows I also hope to develop my work in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

So far I have been out and taken a few photos of some ‘ugly’ architecture and unpleasant areas of the city. I also researched in to artists whose drawing or collage has inspired me. Below are some of the photographs I have taken so far:

Stripes from the Sea: Development and Conclusion

Before drawing everything together i spent a week developing my 'Stripes from the Sea' fashion forecasting project work in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I tried to transform my work in to inspired source drawings, i also learnt how to put some of my fabric samples in context using Photoshop. This was not quite as successful as i had of hoped although it was still a useful learning experience. The week after this i presented my work based on 'Stripes from the Sea' to a small group of colleagues including my tutor. The experience was very useful as not only did we get the chance to speak in-front of a group of people but we also received useful feedback. Below are images showing some aspects of the presentation boards I created.

The feedback i received was mainly positive, although in the future i think i need to 'de-clutter' my presentation boards and work harder on putting my samples in to context. Overall I enjoyed the project and found it was useful for me to experiment with such a muted colour palette as I am a fan of vivid clashing colours and this tends to reflect in my work. For my next project i get to decide the brief and i intend to do something fun and colorful which incorporates a lot of source drawing.

The Homebase Advert

I thought I would just quickly blog about the current home base advert, I like it for two reasons. 1. It’s colourful and I love bright colourful things and 2. Its filmed in the train station I pass through on my way home and where I get off to visit my dad.

I remember calling my mum a while back and saying ‘mum…. why are there sofas in the train station and carpets and lots of gardeners and why are there flowers everywhere’ I think initially my mum thought I was quite crazy she then suggested that ‘perhaps royalty or someone important is visiting, perhaps its for publicity’. I think the advert is fun and it completely transformed the space available, unfortunately i think the station is now back to normal. Dull, dingy, grey and unwelcoming, despite a Facebook group protesting to keep the station how it was decorated for the advert. Below is the advert i am talking about:

Perhaps in the future artists and designers could permanently transform bus stations, train stations and other public spaces to make them more fun, interesting and inviting?

Assignment 3: Design Safari (Further Analysis)

As suggested in a recent seminar I have thought again about the recent trip I had to bingo and discussed it with those I went with. This is because I felt we should have gone in to greater depth about the characters we observed, the location in which we observed people and also what they were wearing and why. We should perhaps of considered peoples backgrounds and ‘stories’ in greater detail. After the seminar I realized that I still need to think more, ask myself more questions and consider things in greater depth rather than simply looking at something. By thinking and observing more I think I could of learnt more from the experience. Knowing what questions to ask myself as well as others and how to ask them could be very useful in the future for me as a Textile Designer.

In the second discussion about our trip to bingo we thought about the layout of the building, the people who we observed and their behavior in greater depth. As it was mentioned in a previous blog the bingo hall is split up in to brightly colored zones, perhaps to keep people cheerful or optimistic when they are not so lucky? The zoning perhaps also allows the staff to easily identify the location of customers when the bingo hall is very busy, for example when taking drinks or prize money to customers. The large screens primarily aid the bingo players to keep up with the game as the last number called is displayed, this could also be in place to allow deaf people to participate? The screens also allow people to check the prize money they could receive and which game is being played. This service not only aids the public but also could reduce the number of staff needed, therefore cutting costs. Another point I didn’t previously mention is that the arcade machines were cleverly situated between the desks at the main entrance and the bingo hall, therefore customers pass the arcade machines on their way to and from the bingo hall as well as when they go for a cigarette which for many smokers tended to be in every break.

I also mentioned that most people were dressed in casual clothes, however I never really questioned why. I think people didn’t dress up because they didn’t go to bingo really to meet anyone new so therefore they weren’t trying to impress anyone and weren’t expected to look nice as would be expected if you went out to a restaurant or a club for example. I also doubt many people would be going anywhere after the bingo I think most people will simply go out to the bingo then straight home after as food and drink facilities are available in the bingo hall. I think people also tended to spread out rather than sit closely together in groups, as they appreciated their personal space and were not too concerned about meeting or chatting to people but instead came to play a game, they wanted to concentrate on what they were doing and perhaps also on winning? I sort of got the impression that some people only came to play the game, as if it was sort of a bad habit or addiction. They seemed rather antisocial, and snapped at others. For example I previously blogged that ‘a middle aged lady who puzzled me a bit was someone who was sat close to us with her friend. The lady seemed to get very agitated when she didn’t win and also agitated at her friend who she seemed to be new to the game and so was asking for help. When she did win she simply called out house and received her money, she didn’t seem happy or excited as I would of expected’ I think this is perhaps because really bingo didn’t make her very happy. I think it was simply something she had got in to the habit of playing and had nothing better to do with her time. On the other hand perhaps this was the only time she got out of the house or may be she was just in a bad mood or unhappy about something else on that particular day. Perhaps she preferred to be on her own than with a friend? There are lots of suggestions I could make about my experience at bingo, although I will never really know. From my observations I think It is true to say have numerous unanswered questions and assumptions that may or may not be correct.

Katie Eary

Katie Eary is a designer I recently came across when reading about London Fashion Week, I decided to blog about her, as she is a very inspirational menswear designer who graduated in 2008. Her work is new, interesting and very unusual. I could imagine Lady Gaga being a fan of Katie Eary’s pieces as much of her work is very eccentric. As Katie Eary is only in her mid 20’s it is exciting to see where she is today…could this be me or one of my friends in a few years time?! I also came across the following interview from 2008, which may be of interest: http://www.dazeddigital.com/article/1428/1/Fashions_New_Optimism_Katie_Eary

Below are some images of Katie Eary’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection.

Lecture 4: The Disneyfication of Culture

A recent lecture by Hamid van Koten looked at Disneyfication and Disneyization. In general I found the background behind the creation of Disney very interesting. I also learnt that there is a Disney cruise ship and a town in Florida built by Disney called Celebration. If you live in Celebration you cannot have a camper van, you have to paint your house only one of the colours from the set colour palette, your lawn has to be kept at a specific length and you can only hang your washing out in your back garden on certain days of the week.

Below: The Disney cruise ship and an aerial view of Celebration, Florida

Disneyfication describes a global phenomenon that affects a whole range of things from retail to entertainment and travel. Disneyization refers to structural changes in society as exemplified by principles associated with the Disney themeparks.

The 5 principles are:

Merchandising: Branded souvenirs, gifts, toys, games etc (Mickey Mouse monopoly)

Theme: Importing ‘else-where’ and ‘else-when’ looks

Performative labour: Staff convey emotions as part of a job. For example set vocabulary has to be used by the staff at Disneyland The staff are also known as ‘cast members’, this seems a bit strange, being paid to behave in a specific manner.

Control + Surveillance: Applies to people, products and environments

Hybrid consumption: Bringing together retail and leisure

The main part of the lecture focused on the Disney movies and the hidden meanings behind some of the aspects of the films for example it was suggested that perhaps the movies are sexist as female characters are continuously rescued by a male characters for example in Sleeping Beauty. In this film Aurora is rescued by Prince Philip, he breaks the spell with a kiss. Again in Snow White and Cinderella, the male character rescues the female character. The women are to some extent portrayed to be quite pathetic and dependant on male characters. This could be interpreted to be sexist however I certainly don’t think it is offensive to women and I think it is simply a theme that is present in many films whether Disney created them or not.

The appearance of the leading female characters was also discussed, the women all have big breasts and a small waist and that this could have a negative affect on children who aspire to look like this when they are older. Similar to Barbie this unrealistic image of ‘beauty’ could add greater pressure to ‘how women should look’. I think how the women in the films look will have little affect on children watching them. I think its not until children get older that they start to want to look a certain way, I think this is more likely to be because of celebrities, models etc which are beautiful, successful and wealthy than films they watch as children.

Another film, which was mentioned, was Beauty and the Beast. Does Beauty and the Beast promote domestic violence? I understand why this could be suggested although I doubt that young children will grow up to be violent as a result of the film, as a child I don’t think I was affected by the film and I don’t think I would even of thought of such implications of Disney movies had they not been highlighted to me in this lecture. I can see the concerns that some people may have however I think children are more likely to be violent or alcoholics for example if their parents are, rather than as a cause of watching a Disney movie.

After the lecture I watched Bambi with my flat mate and was surprised that even though I have never watched the film in a very very long time I could of said most of the words before they were spoken, so may be the film is more influential than I think since it is actually a lot more memorable than I realized. Despite all the negative aspects of Disney that were highlighted in the lecture in Bambi children are encouraged to eat their greens, "Eating greens is a special treat, It makes long ears and great big feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat" and it is also said that ‘if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all’ which teaches against bullying. Bambi is also told to respect his elders as they are very old and wise. On the other hand the female characters definitely chase the male characters and seem much more confident than the males. Feline the female deer, the female skunk and rabbit all blush, preen, giggle and flutter their eyelashes. The female characters to some extent appear to be over sexualized and quite pathetic. How the characters are portrayed are perhaps unrealistic and could potentially be offensive to some people if interpreted in a particular manner but I doubt children see this when they watch the films or are influenced by the negative hidden meanings within the films.

Assignment 3: Design Safari

Bingo!

As I had never played bingo before I decided to go to last week to a local bingo hall, with 2 other design students and my flat mate in order to carry out observational research. I looked at social grouping, the space people occupied, the ‘type of people’ there, services and noted many other relevant observations.

Initial observations

• Chatter during the intervals
• Quite silent during the game, few people saying I need only one number or I need 2, quiet, almost whispered comments were made.
• Groans when someone else won the game
• No one really seemed to notice us, but we were the only group of four people our age. Easily the youngest group in the room.
• Felt quite out of place.
• We were quite unsure of ourselves, not sure quite what to do, how to act, how to play etc
• Bright, garish decoration/furnishings.
• Green, blue and red coloured seating zones.
• Various seating levels. Balcony, the area under the balcony, main floor etc
• Lots of elderly people, 80/20 female/male split

Services

• Notes were changed for coins at the tables so people could play the electronic table top interval computerised games
• Table service
• Help when needed
• There was place to park mobility scooters.
• After registering we were given ‘New to the Game’ booklets then told how and where to purchase our ticket books. Next a member of staff showed us around. We then chose where we wanted to sit and the member of staff briefly explained how to play and what order the tickets would be played in. We were then reassured if we had any problems plenty of staff would be on hand to help. The interval games were not explained to us, however we quickly worked this out by ourselves.

Social Grouping and the space people occupied.

• Many of the players were quite elderly. Perhaps because it’s quite an expensive activity. Can be enjoyed by the less mobile? Social activity?
• A few middle aged players, normally 2 women together.
• There were both elderly male and female players but in general more of the players were female.
• There were some single players, mostly elderly men on their own. Perhaps live alone?
• Young players seemed to be with mums/grandparents. Perhaps keeping a family member company?
• Casual dress, most people were quite scruffy.
• A lot of people seemed to go for a cigarette in the intervals if they were not playing the interval games.
• Few people seemed to use the bar or food facilities. Some people had a jug of beer on their table. Promotion/don’t need to leave the game can stay seated for a reasonable length of time.
• People seemed to be spread out as far as possible, even groups of 3-4 people were spread over two tables side by side, which would seat 8 people. People seemed to like to spread their tickets out, may help them to concentrate? Like to have their own space rather than cramped up? Little time for conversation between games.

Actions

An elderly lady who was sat a couple of tables away on her own, but perhaps knew the man and lady at the neighbouring table caught my attention. As she had everything laid out neatly around her, tickets in front of her, an assortment of pens on her right, her coat folded on the seat opposite her and her handbag placed on top. In the middle of the table facing her was sat a little teddy, perhaps a dog. Good luck teddy?

A middle aged lady who puzzled me a bit was someone who was sat close to us with her friend. The lady seemed to get very agitated when she didn’t win and also agitated at her friend who she seemed to be new to the game and so was asking for help. When she did win she simply called out house and received her money, she didn’t seem happy or excited as I would of expected.

The experience was interesting and i think i will take more mental notes of peoples behaviour in the future. I could also see how such observations could be used in design. For example how could bingo ticket sales be increased? Why not advertise to younger people, student nights? And how about more incentives for men to play? Food and drink sales i think would increase if there was waiter service.