Elisah

Fostering a sense of shared identity by bridging the gap between old residents and new.

The brief is to explore the ways design can leverage and stimulate citizen science led practices for increasing resilience in coastal communities in East wittering.

The objectives of the Grand Challenge centre around the designing engagement through collaborative frameworks, methods and strategies to empower and mobilise local communities (and civil society) in meeting the UN Sustainable Agenda SDG 14 by addressing goals 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 17.

Shared Curiosity

My Role: Service Designer and Researcher

Collaborators: Anna Tsiganchuk (IDE), Mengyao Geng ( Fashion Designer) , Mengyuan Wang (Textile Designer), Millie Thomas (Design Products)

My Responsibilities:

Literature Study

Research Plan

Urban Analysis

User Research

User Research Documentation

Stakeholder Research

Synthesising Research Insights

Project Management

Storytelling

Pitch Deck

Organisations: Royal College of Art and RNLI

Duration: 4 weeks

PROCESS OVERVIEW

Explore & Discover

Desktop Study

Field study

Ethnographic observation

User Research

Understanding East Wittering

Empathise & Identify

Ethnographic observation

User Research

Developing Strategy

Ideate & Develop

Developing Service Idea

Value Proposition

Developing Service concepts

Product Design

Rapid Prototypes

Test & Refine

Script

Pitch Deck

Pitch to Partners

EXPLORE & DISCOVER

> Desktop Research

> Developing Research Guidelines

>1 In-depth Interviews with RNLI Volunteer

Research Methodology

Findings from Discovery Stage:

To understand the local context, we looked at 5 parameters at Micro ( East Wittering) , Meso (Chichester district) and Macro Levels (United Kingdom).

Economy
Environment
Ocean Policies and management services
Infrastructure and transportation
Demographics and Community

This research led us to 3 key assumptions, based on which we developed research guidelines for primary research.

Wittering residents are indifferent to rising sea levels and pollution, or think it is solvable.

Assumption-01

Assumption-02

Limited activities in the community around the ocean.

Limited interventions by stakeholders to support the needs of the oceans and community.

Assumption-03

EMPATHISE & IDENTIFY

Research Methodologies

> Field Study & Ethnographic Observation: Stayed 2 days in East Wittering

> 11 Guerrilla Research Interviews with Residents, Business Owners

Research Findings

Through our research, we identified that the change in work culture in London is resulting in the significant number of young people moving to East Wittering to reduce their cost of living and lead a quiet life, closer to the nature.

This migration is disrupting the quaint coastal community.

Affinity Mapping

Key Inisights:

>Resentment Amidst Development

East Wittering residents want better infrastructure to support the growing demographics.

However, government inaction leaves older residents vulnerable, leading to resentment towards newer residents.

>Battling Misinformation

East Wittering residents seek real-time, credible weather updates during storms as unreliable sources spreading misinformation leads to panic.

>Community Spirit Challenged

East Wittering was a community driven craft based economy, with residents exchanging items found on the shore to creatively repurpose and sell at their independent boutiques.

However, the influx of newcomers has increased in a sense of disconnection

>Inactivity during Non-Tourist season

Residents want a vibrant community year-round, as the surge in vacation home construction results in the town resembling a ghost town in non-tourist months.

How Might We Statement:

HMW

How might we initiate an active engagement between the evolving demographics of East Wittering to enable them leverage community strength and build collective resilience?

IDEATE & DEVELOP

Promoting Community Interaction and Cultivating a Shared Sense of Identity

Our tools of engagement empower the diverse demographics of East Wittering, encouraging collaboration among residents to enhance their community together.

We provide recycled tools, customised activities, and a structural framework for them to engage with, promoting interaction and shared community development.

Value Proposition