VERS PROJECT OVERVIEW

This is my personal overview of the entire creative project management brief. I will be reflecting on all parts that I have done, as well as parts where the team have contributed. Please read the other 'student store' blogs for more detail.

Creative process

Initial concepts

I feel as though as soon as I got the brief the ideas that I was having shaped the entirety of the project. My first initial ideas were to create a space that was exciting and energetic and exactly not what the other normal high street shops were doing. Through more thinking and finding inspirations (please see shop inspiration blog) I knew I wanted to tell the story of a creative student, not just the refined, polished end product but the process that entails the development of the ideas and the innovation that gets to that finished product. This was the foundation of which our shop, VERS, was built on with the goal to create a living breathing creative space that acts as not just as shop to sell products but a social hub that hosts residencies, workshops and events.

CREDIT - MINE

At this stage I was extremely happy with where this project was going as I was very much behind the idea and so were my other group members, who both really liked the idea and helped develop the project into what it turned out to be.

Research and development

Knowing that we had a strong concept for our space we had to then design it into a shop format. Through the deeper understanding of the initial idea and conceptualising, we realised we had to make a space that was adaptable and versatile to the residency needs as we knew that an animation workshop would not need the same equipment as an art exhibition. To get more of an idea of how we could do this we visited Shoreditch (please see the Shoreditch blog) where we saw many shops that were there temporarily which gave us a great idea and understanding of what we can do with our space.

This was really positive as we had our ideas of what we wanted to do and what aesthetic we wanted so to have it backed up by the fact that Shoreditch shops were doing the same and doing it on a temporary basis, meaning it was adaptable and interchangeable gave us great confidence in our ideas.

To make sure our space was as versatile as possible, we focused on a centre piece that was just that. We came up with a cube installation that could become many things, from a normal till checkout station to a DJ booth to a work shop space, this would become the vocal point for VERS's interior and that would in turn create the theme for making sure everything in our space has the ability to change and to be tailored if needs be. Installations such as clothing displays that hang by clamps so they aren't permanent and the adjustable shelving units that can be taken down or adapted are also great examples of this.

CREDIT - IZZI

This in turn led us to come up with a name for our shop. Versatility and adaptability were hot on our minds due to those words describing our concept perfectly, so VERS came to mind very quickly. Obviously being short for versatility, it also means 'towards' in French and 'vers' is also in 'university', which, being a name for a university student run shop, fitted absolutely perfectly.

(Please see VERS logo development) At the early stage we wanted to use spray paint to create the logo but it soon moved on to Izzi coming up with a superb typeface which then made the logo. This was a pivotal point in our project as, I, set on using spray paint to push on with the industrial, lo-fi look that we were looking for , soon realised that it constrained what we could do with the image of our branding. We found this out from prototyping on wood and acrylic to mimic what we would do in our shop. We soon found out that it was quite difficult to get the correct look and the more we did it the more we grew to dislike it, which is a positive because we could have not tried it and carried on with it which could have been damaging to VERS overall.

CREDIT - MINE

So having the main interior and exterior aesthetic as well as our our name and logo in place we were set to move on.

From this we then developed mood boards and started working on interior and exterior display visuals. Izzi and I were doing this part as we both have skills in different areas, Izzi being really good at illustration and I being good at photoshop - Which meant we had two nice styles of showing our work (see VERS final PDF for more).

composite image Ollie Hills 2020

CREDIT - IZZI

composite image Ollie Hills 2020

composite image Ollie Hills 2020

Throughout this development stage we were constantly thinking of how we would advertise and market VERS. We knew we had forever changing residencies which come with different workshops and events meaning we couldn't have a set singular advertising campaign. (see final VERS pdf for more detail) After brain storming as a team we came up with 'with VERS', which incorporates the idea of doing different workshops and activities, with VERS. Throughout this project we had the idea of using a square centre piece in the shop that was be able to change and adapt to the residency. This was the inspiration for the branding and the use of a cube format to lay out the 'with VERS'.

CREDIT - IZZI

composite image Ollie Hills 2020

To develop the branding and advertising further we created business cards and posters in the form of receipts. Izzi had the great idea of making business cards out of acrylic which went really nicely with our entire aesthetic and gave VERS a unique way of advertising when it came to sharing our business with the public.

We all took inspiration from existing receipts and felt like it could be developed into something which is really appealing design wise, so I made them into posters, price tags and a hanging installation.

CREDIT - IZZI

CREDIT - MINE

At this stage the work load was getting full on and we were juggling many separate tasks which made it difficult to give your entire creative capacity to one certain aspect of the job. This was why it was so important to meet up as a group and to come up with ideas together. We also knew that we had to do many Project Initiation Documents as well as the creative process so we had to be careful to prioritise tasks.

Izzi and I predominately did the creative side to this brief (as well our parts in the Project Initiation Documents) as we are both really strong at bringing our concepts and ideas to life. This doesn't mean that Daniella cant do it, its just that in a group role, it is important to work with the skillset's that are apparent in the group. In fact letting Izzi and I do the creative work left Daniella more free time to focus on the PID's, which is a great positive as only having around 2 and a half months to complete this project meant time was scarce so dividing tasks up from the get go was definitely beneficial.

Project Initiation Documents (PID's)

This being my first PID's, it was definitely a learning curve. It was extremely interesting to see all the different compartments that are working behind the scenes in a creative project. As this was the first for our group overall we decided to work on it as equally as possible, however due to the creative side of it being a very significant amount of work Daniella took on the majority. I think this is a really good thing as Izzi and I still did documents and helped out on the ones Daniella did but, Daniella, not doing as much as Izzi and I creatively, took charge of the PID's and delivered. Again, this was a team effort and I am really glad at how this group cooperated to get to the final goal as it is very easy to put your preferences in front of the overall objective and say 'I want to do this' or 'I don't want to do that', this didn't happen with us and has led to an extremely strong project.

Scoping document (See scoping document)

My job was to deliver the Scoping document which delivers a strong overview for the project and outlines the perimeters of what will be delivered from the project. It was important for me to give enough information so someone with little or no information could attain an idea of the project, what the point of it is and what will come out at the end.

This came in many forms such as 'In scope' and 'Out of scope' which suggests what can be done with the project initially and what cannot be. An example of this regarding VERS is

'Delivering residencies from past and present alumni throughout the lifetime of the shop which will be created to bring experience for the surrounding area (one every 2 months). Which suggests to the stake holders that VERS can indeed produce this in the time frame and any other restraints such as money or time. This gives the stake holders confidence in the process in which we are embarking on and the reasons for why we have taken certain steps and measures to get to that deliverable - Investing time and resources to make sure the VERS space is adaptable to ensure we can host two separate residencies with different requirements. On the other hand, something that is 'Out of scope' such as

'Going against the manifesto, goals, brand guidelines or anything else that will tarnish the VERS shop.'

Making sure this is laid out extremely clearly to stake holders especially investors and project managers is vital to the success of VERS and the brand integrity as we as a team have spent hours of time creating brand guidelines, missions, visions and goals to make it as transparent as possible to show what we are trying to do at VERS and in fact, for them.

This was an important lesson for me as I had never done 'scoping' before but I was quick to realise the benefits from it when initiating a project in any industry as it gives you the ability to control expectations without saying 'no'. It also benefits the stake holders as they know what they are getting out of the project and what to not expect.

Another way of doing this was to lay out the constraints and dependancies, which tells the stake holders what may limit the project. For example, time, money and staff were the prominent constraints as we do not have limitless recourses thus resulting in time management and opportunity costs when working with only a certain amount of staff, as not everything can be done at once meaning the separate tasks and work packages will take X amount of time (please see WBS document).

Overall I feel as though the Scoping document is strong in the sense of laying out clearly what we can deliver and what we cannot with the recourses available. As well as this it gives a good overview of what to expect from the project which gives clarity to us as a team and the stake holders alike.

Residency document (See residency document)

As I came up with the idea for the residencies I took on the residency document that outlined what and how the residencies will work as well as the financial forecasting for the first 'Up cycling with VERS' residency that will take place.

This document was far easier to accomplish than the scoping document but that does not mean it is any less important. This document is the outline to the success of VERS, telling the project the exact costs, pricings, revenues and profits of the first 2 week residency at VERS. It is clear that the residencies is our main source of profit which is pleasing as it isn't selling just products but in fact selling skills and creativity which is full of positives and possibilities for the future.

For this document I was really happy to deliver the outline for VERS' main selling point as it was me that came up with the idea for it and for it to not only be used and liked by my team and used in our project, but for it to be a big part of our profit forecast gave me huge confidence.

BLOX document (See BLOX document)

Finally, the BLOX document, my favourite document because it certifies the collaboration between VERS and BLOX. This is extremely exciting for me as being part of both know how good this could really be. Being able to utilise BLOX's incredible stock, superb clothing knowledge as well as having access to their already flourishing customer base means only good news for VERS.

In this document I made it clear as to what and who BLOX is, why we will collaborate and the benefits of it all - All being sealed and confirmed by Ed Pratt, the founder of BLOX in a quotation confirming their enthusiasm for working with VERS. The advantage of having BLOX's stock are obvious, the profit and consistent flow of products in and out of VERS will put ease to any worrying stake holder, as I have no doubt, that other student stores will struggle with stock numbers and having continuous, reliable products at a high standard that are made or owned by Kingston University alumni. But what is more exciting is the customer base that comes with BLOX, as, having first hand knowledge of the audience, I know that VERS will be filled from the opening day as having a developed internal brand will help us gain public traction extremely quickly.

This, partnered with our idea of creating a social hub in Kingston revolving around residencies, workshops and events will push VERS further and further and solidify us into the Kingston town centre.

CREDIT - BLOX

FINALLY

I am not sure if you can tell by the way I write and talk about VERS and this project, but I am extremely proud of what we have done as a team and on my own personal level of creating a very solid concept as well as bringing in a strong collaborator to help not only with profit but with stock and our customer base. The VERS team worked exceptionally well together, having a small bit of friction when the stress levels were high will go unnoticed as our project that we have delivered speaks of nothing but professionalism in every sense of the word.

BASECAMP: https://3.basecamp.com/3642213/projects/15835457