Other visual delight Type

We created a visual representation of the main factors and sectors we came across in our research and explored individually: environment, economy, technology and education. It also summarises our goal of creating a connected High Street, and the steps we took to achieve this goal.

Imagining Other visual delight Community Connection Doughnut Economics Fairness Future Industry Learning Material Past Play Regenerative Sustainable Technology Waste

ERA X Posters

Diagram Other visual delight Biodiversity Change Climate Creatures Industry Learning Material Nature Past People Plantlife Water

My purpose of my Gift to Dudley High Street is to encourage the users to become involved in the changes that occur in a place they use. The aim is to gain feedback from the users of the game to inform any progress made, this way, the focus of regeneration can come from the users themselves, becoming a collective collaboration. Through the users interacting with each other on the High Street using this game, the presence of users can be recognised, reminding the people of a sense of community to promote and celebrate going forward.

Model Other visual delight Abundance Actions Community Connection Creativity Curiosity Future Gift Invitations Kindness Making People Play Potential

My gift was created to highlight the importance of connections to Dudley high street through the use of transportation which is key to encouraging people to come and use the high street. The jigsaw shows a map of Dudley with the different types of transport and was made from paper and card.

Other visual delight Access Connection Gift Kindness Making Material People Transport Vehicle

This gift was created to highlight different points in the social spaces on the high street. Aspects that we can improve on and celebrate. One point found was to incorporate more green spaces to improve health and wellbeing. The other to celebrate the textures and embossings in Dudley’s early ironworking. These ornaments were created by melting sweets and printing patterns onto them.

Model Other visual delight Text Thought Aesthetic Beauty Colour Craft Creativity Difference Food Gift Identity Industry Making Material Nature Opportunity Past Pattern Plantlife Potential

A cardboard box that when opened shows mirrors in all internal faces reflecting a web made with strings that represents Dudley as a complex system of interconnected elements. The Dudley High street has lack in colour, public spaces, and green areas, reflecting the local population that is experiencing deprivations and vice versa. Making a high street attractive can improve the local population in health, social and economic aspects.

Model Other visual delight Aesthetic Colour Connection Future Gift Health Making Material Nature People Plantlife Potential System

From the research that I collated, I found that the High Street was a very under-valued place that lacked both colour and nature. Therefore, the origami plant holder was a gift designed to bring natural elements such as flowers to the High Street, which could be taken home by the public.

Collage Model Other visual delight Colour Creativity Gift Homes Making Nature Plantlife

After investigating the history, heritage, culture and institutions of Dudley and its High street, I made a kaleidoscope gift based around the themes ‘overlooked’, ‘resilience’ and ‘layered’. Although sight is the most immediate sense in which many people engage with their surroundings, it’s not until you look beneath the surface and start to see things from a new perspective that you fully appreciate what is there and the potential beyond. I wanted people to engage with my gift, have fun and evoke a sense of nostalgia, whilst also using it as a way to look forward to what the High Street could be, all the while embodying the CoLab Dudley principle of allowing this object to be a co-op piece. The gift relates to the people and allows for each user to interpret and express their own thoughts.

Model Other visual delight Community Culture Expression Familiar Future Gift Hiding Layer Memory Overlooked Past People Play Potential Resilient

This gift aims to address the disconnect between Dudley and its industrial history. Once the ‘Capital of the Black Country’ its high street now looks like any other. With the intention of public engagement, this gift could be handed out at CoLab Dudley’s base. Starting from there, people would be able to follow the map and visit the places marked by stars — all of which hold some historical significance whether it be the location of an old factory or school — where one missing puzzle piece may be located. Only after visiting these locations would they be able to complete the puzzle and see the final image of Dudley’s high street.

Collage Model Other visual delight Connection Gift Industry Interacting Invitations Making Missing Past Play