OUGD504 - Studio Brief 01 - Research Presentation Feedback

Feedback gained from this research presentation was generally positive, suggesting that the subject matter was interesting and surprising that one small, rural town in the county of Hertfordshire could have so much history. Although many city guidebooks already exist, the subject matter is not necessarily an obvious choice since it is not a major, well-known city. As a result, this makes the guidebook more original and so may appeal to more people.

However, it was considered that the target audience needed refining. The initial target audience for this guidebook had not been homed into a specific age range, however it would have been targeted more towards the older generations of people, of being both tourists and locals, who may have a particular interest in the heritage and history of the town. Based on feedback, it was suggested that the content of the guidebook would be more appealing to those of middle-age, which is considered to be from aged 45 to 65, according to the Oxford Dictionary definition. This specific age range may have more of an interest in the different forms and ideas of urban planning methods, as well as the smaller, more rural towns situated within Britain.

One initial design consideration mentioned within the presentation was to attempt to produce a more contemporary guidebook, which would appeal to the less obvious younger generations of people. Looking at the Wallpaper* and LOST iN city guidebooks as examples and reference material, these both have fairly minimalistic designs. Feedback suggested to try and not make the proposed guidebook too minimal in response to this, but to more carefully consider it's practicality for it's specific target audience.

The town in which the guidebook is going to be produced on originally belonged to a Quaker community, which as a result meant there was a ban on selling alcohol on public premises within the town until 1958 when a referendum lifted the ban. This piece of information was of particular interest to some, something that could be worked with as a theme within the guidebook. The town also has many connections to the Arts and Crafts Movement, for instance through architecture and even methods of teaching. This could also be used as a theme within the guidebook in terms of layout and design; how can this be seen throughout the town, how did it affect the town's development, and how it can now influence future design decisions specific to this project?

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 01 - Target Audience

I have decided to aim my guidebook towards both tourists and local residents of new and old who are particularly interested in the town's history and heritage. This would more likely be aimed at the older generation of adults who may take particular pride in the town that they live in. For this reason, the guidebook would have to take a more practical approach to ensure information is communicated clearly and effectively. This guidebook may also not limited to this specific target audience, it could potentially be of use to those who are generally interested in the history of the town or, for example, students who may need research for an assignment.

- Social reform (Ebenezer Howard)
- Urban town planning
- Industry
- The Arts and Crafts Movement (architecture)

However, it was thought that this target audience may be the obvious choice. For this reason, it has also been considered to produce this guidebook to appeal to other generations of younger people who may not be initially interested in such a topic. Therefore this guidebook would take a more contemporary approach. Wallpaper* and LOST iN city guides were researched in response to this, since these are aimed towards the more creative conscious people. It was found that both these guidebooks included accounts and interviews of local residents and workers of the city, which would help to make the guidebook more relatable to certain audiences. LOST iN city guides also include quirky illustrations alongside these articles, rather than just limiting the book to the use of photography. Both of these design decisions will be considered in the production of my guidebook in order to reach the less obvious target audience.

Page from LOST iN City Guide (London).

Page from LOST iN City Guide (London).

Page from Wallpaper* City Guide (London).

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 01 - Reconsidered Concept Ideas

"Health of the country, Comforts of the town".

My initial idea was to produce a city guidebook on my hometown, Letchworth Garden City. Taking inspiration from research into existing city guidebooks, this would have originally included topics such as food, shopping, places to stay, place of interest, etc. Although the norm for more practical city guidebooks, I felt that to include all of this information the guidebook would have had to be considered very carefully and may have become too bulky with information that may not necessarily be useful, and which could also be found elsewhere. In response to this, it was decided to condense this city guidebook to focus on the history of Letchworth Garden City and particular places of historical interest, rather than the town as a whole.

Tourist Information Centre Leaflet: A Brief History of Letchworth Garden City
1903 - 2003.

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 01 - History of Letchworth Garden City

Letchworth, situated in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, is the world's first Garden City and former civil parish. The land was purchased by Quakers with the initial intention to form a Quaker community before the town was developed to produce a solution to the squalor and poverty of urban life in Britain around the late 19th Century. This development was based on the ideas of social reformer, Ebenezer Howard, published in his 1898 book entitled 'To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform' and later published as 'Garden Cities of To-morrow'.

Ebenezer Howard
Ebenezer Howard advocated the construction of a new kind of town known as 'Garden Cities', which combined the advantages of cities and countryside, aiming to eliminate their disadvantages. The idea was to produce a zone system which separated industrial areas from residential areas with green, open spaces prevailing everywhere. This new development also aimed to produce not only a new form of urban planning but also community management through the introduction of a 'Rate-Rent' system that would finance the Garden City Project, which supplied financing for community services (rates) with a return for those who helped invest in the development of the town (rent). Such ideas were communicated through the diagram of 'The Three Magnets'.

The Three Magnets
The Three Magnets diagram was produced by Howard in order to help summarise the economic, social and political contexts of his vision for the future of British settlement. The diagram consists of three magnets; one lists advantages and disadvantages of city life, one for those of country life, whilst the third combines the advantages of both communicating the proposal of a town-country. The basis of these ideas were to provide a response to the many Victorian workers torn between inner-city slum conditions and the lack of opportunity of more rural settings. Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin were appointed architects of the town. Through the process only one tree was felled in order to demonstrate the principles established by Ebenezer Howard through his three magnets idea, and an area of land was kept devoted to agriculture, which is now known as the first 'Green Belt'. The town was laid out in such a way to also promote these principles.

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 01 - Initial Concept Ideas

SUBJECT MATTER:

City guidebook:
Letchworth Garden City (the world's first garden city).

Chapters and Topics (potential):

• History
• Art, Design and Architecture (arts and crafts movements within the town)
• Nature (walks, trails and wildlife)
• TV and film (popular culture)
• Religion (spirituality and belief in the town)
• Industry
• Town centre, food and shopping.

Layout Ideas:

• Ebenezer Howard's layout for the town (zoning systems)
• "Peaceful path to reform"
• Urban town planning principles
• Three magnets idea
  Split the guidebook into sections based on the three magnets diagram produced by Howard to communicate his ideas for garden cities:
  1. town
  2. country
  3. town-country
• Categorise chapters and topics based on the successes of Howard's proposed plans:
  Based on the three magnets idea which takes advantages and disadvantages of town and country life, combining together to produce a solution to poverty in the Victorian era.

Places of Interest (to photograph):

• The Spirella Building
• Broadway Cinema
• Cloisters
• Howgill's Friends Meeting House
• Public library
• Old town hall
• Kennedy (Broadway) Gardens
• Norton Common Nature Reserve
• UK's first roundabout
• Town sign
• Mrs Howard Memorial Hall (and Oak Tree)
• Three Magnets Pub
• Town centre and shopping
• The Settlement (Formerly The Skittle's Inn)
• Train station.