To give my thought process a reboot, I revisited my GDE710 presentation to see which areas I wanted to expand on creatively. I decided that my week 6 ‘noticing the ignored’ was an intriguing history lesson about the Martyrs burned at the stake opposite the High Street where I work must be worth a revisit. 

I was sure the rest of the High Street, must also have fascinating stories from the past, so I went to the local museum to see if anything would capture my imagination about any local knowledge. What I did find, was a town trail map. This was last published in 1999 to mark the Millennium (!) but also in the hope that the museum visitors might foster an interest in the historical and architectural heritage of timber-framed buildings. 

Creating a self-initiated design brief for a new town trail in East Grinstead, West Sussex, required careful planning and execution to ensure it was a successful and engaging experience. I broke this down into steps I could follow within the 4-week timeline:

WEEK 1: Research and Initial Planning

1. Define my objectives

   • Outline the specific goals of the town trail. Determine what you want participants to learn or experience during the trail. Is it buildings, architecture, fun facts linked to the martyrs (witches) or something else?

2. Location and content research

   • Research the history and folklore of East Grinstead's High Street, with a focus on ghostly or mysterious stories.

   • Visit local museum, library and tourist office and historical archives to gather information and artifacts related to the town's history.

   • Identify key landmarks and historical sites along High Street that can be incorporated into the trail.

3. Engagement

   • Contact local historians, shopkeepers, storytellers, and residents who may have knowledge or anecdotes related to the town's history. Consider forming a focus group to gather insights - facebook?

WEEK 2: Concept Development and Mood Board

1. Concept Development

   • Based on your research, start developing a concept for the ghostly town trail. Decide on the format (e.g., Map/leaflet type guided tour, self-guided tour, phone/web ap or scan from a QR code), who is this aimed at?

   • Is there a storyline or narrative that ties this together? How can you check on the historical facts and whether they are genuine?

2. Mood Board Creation

   • Develop a mood board as a concept that includes visuals, colour palettes, typography, and design elements that convey the eerie and historical atmosphere. Include building sketches

Week 3: Design and Content Creation

1. Map and Trail Design:

   • Design a map or trail guide that outlines the route and highlights key stops along High Street.

   • Create visual assets, such as illustrations or photographs, that enhance the storytelling aspect of the trail.

2. Content Development:

   • Write engaging and informative content for each stop on the trail, weaving in the ghostly and historical elements. Within my timescale I may only have time to produce a couple of examples and the rest may have to be Lorem Ipsum (!) - check with tutor

   • Consider incorporating multimedia elements, QR codes such as spooky audio recordings, to enhance the experience. (Time permitting)

Week 4: Marketing and Future Expansion

1. Marketing Strategy:

   • How are you going to promote the ghostly town trail to both locals and tourists? This may include social media, local publications, and collaboration with local businesses for promotion.

   • Could I create a landing page dedicated to the trail from the museum website or should I keep this independent? Should the trail be chargeable and how will you purchase tickets from the museum?

2. Testing and Feedback:

   • Before the official launch, conduct test walks with a small group of participants to gather feedback and make any necessary adjustments.

   • Incorporate the insights from your focus group and stakeholders.

3. Documentation and Future Expansion:

   • How am I going to document the entire process, including research findings, design elements, and marketing strategies?

   • Consider how you can expand this concept to other towns with historic High Streets, tailoring the content to each location's unique history and folklore. Is this financially viable and could this concept be sold onto other towns/venues? Could the museum get a grant or lottery funding to cover costs. Who would own the copyright?

If I follow this 4-week strategy, I hopefully will have a well-researched, creatively designed, and effectively marketed town trail. I better get a wiggle on!

Further research: Find your own distinctive style.
‘Paula Scher: MAPS’

Looking at style influences on self-initiated projects I researched ‘design icon’ Paula Scher and her MAPS series, which features 39 paintings of colourful typographic maps, continents, countries, islands, oceans, cities, streets and neighbourhoods in her own distinctive style. I made me realise documenting geographic and historic features can be visually interesting ad can be a captivating way to draw the reader in.