Week 7: Content review – Editing and reflection

Weekly learning objectives

By the end of this week you should be able to:

1. Discover, develop and deploy an appropriate structure for your 3,000-word written article.
2. Analyse and evaluate an appropriate visual direction and form, while developing an editorial document that will appeal to a visually literate audience.
3. Analyse and evaluate the various platforms and advancements in technology that have allowed designers to self publish.
4. Deliver a first draft of your 3,000-word visual culture article.

Week 7: Lecture

Lecture introduction

In last week’s brief we identified how to research a topic that reflects opinion about your locality, for an article aimed at a visual culture audience. This week we will talk to a writer and editor working in the publishing industry, to examine methods used to structure an editorial document.

In this lecture you will watch Susanna Edwards in conversation with Angharad Lewis on how to:

• Generate content for books, magazines and digital platforms;
• Identify the professional standards and processes used by practitioners working within the publishing industry;
• Analyse the various methods and platforms for self-publishing.

After the lecture, take some time to explore the given resources. Make notes and reflect upon these ideas, and use them as a springboard for your own investigations. Use the Ideas Wall freely to discuss, ask questions and share ideas.

Hot Graphics
To
Graphics International
To
Grafik

Title Graphics International didn’t reflect the industry at the time, felt too commercial – not current.

Research: read others, things got sent in, social media (market posts handy?)
She means design research?

Select subject
Structure:

• What’s the context – the kind of publication
• Feature interview or an article on a subject.
• How does other content relate
• What’s the audience

Main things to consider are Context & Audience

Content structure
Interviews shape the article (?)

Advice on a topic:

‘Words before design’

Start – know the theme well and understand your view (could happen in the process)

Drafting – won’t have the final shape on the first draft.

Start in the story
Add any expansions: intro, lead-in
Keep pace
Have a point to build up to
Beginning/middle/end – which is which might need to change.

Tone of voice?

Can evolve as you go along – check it’s consistent.
Could use too may words without realising – stick to the word count

Interviews:

Plan – know what you can about the subject
Know some thing you want to get but ‘go with the flow’

*Listen*

Know when to butt in or guide them to the next question.

Resources

Read | Watch | Listen

1. Lewis, A., (2016) So You Want to Publish a Magazine (Links to an external site.). London: Laurence King

2. Ambrose, G., (2015) The Layout Book (Links to an external site.). London: Bloomsbury

Week 7: Workshop Challenge

The Challenge

This week we want you to write the first draft of your 3,000-word article.

Please remember your article is aimed at a visually literate audience and we want you to consider form, structure, materials and how the medium might impact on the writing itself.

1. Write the first draft of your 3,000 word article, to be saved as a Word or TextEdit document.
2. Curate an A3 inspiration board to present your initial ideas about the design approach, to include examples of materials, format, typography, print / digital production.
3. Save your inspiration board in an interactive PDF format.

Note: All staff will review and feedback on the first draft of your 3,000-word article, before you move into the final stage of production.

????

Chosen topic – Market Hall: A Day in the Life

I’m taking a journalistic approach. I’m going to be to writing a ‘current history’ of life inside the market. There will be an introduction to set the scene and the status of the building – some history but not a history lesson. To record the day-to-day and include reflections and opinions of the people there; traders and any willing customers…

Essay Structures:

Written Structures

Planning:

List of the points to make, research each point, then start to structure it in a way that makes sense.

Structure Points:
Set the scene of the hall, some history (how far to go back?) – show some nostalgia.
– History of any ups and downs, busy -vs- any hard times. Include as part of the initial story then gain evidence or opinions from older traders to comment on those different times.
– Can harder times be linked to social/economical climates?
– Compare 60’s, 70’s, 80’s for ups and downs linked to economy at those times? Any link to popularity of the place.
– Did intro of supermarket chains have an effect?
– Chains tend to be out of town retailers these days, were they ever in the town centre, what effect on the town centre.
– Shrewsbury now full of independents both inside and outside of the hall – any opinions/effects

History refs only posed to longer-term businesses. If new in comparison, how new, what changes have they seen in their time – don’t just focus on very old -vs- very new.

Info from new occupants

– What made them open there?
– Rents
– Location
– Trends

Business model of the Hall
– How/has how the whole place is run changed during current mgmnt
– What did they walk into
– What changed
– How long til changes took effect

Info:
Compare rents over the decades – infographic?

THINGS TO ASK STALLS:

Longer established:
How long there
how has the market changed since you’ve been here?
Biggest change for them
Now popular, was it always
Ever thought it was all over
What brought its new lease of life
What do you think of the different type of businesses popping up, not all what you’d call traditional to a market

Both:
A real pride inside place, where does that come from
Do businesses benefit each other, see a different type of customer based on wider variety of stalls

Newer:
From around here – what do you remember of place while growing up
Why set up in market

THINGS TO ASK MANAGER KATE:

How long there
What did you take on
What brought its new lease of life
Need details of bad times -vs- good times
Pleased with it’s status in town
There seems a new-wave of the type of stalls, was that planned or just how it happened?
What was catalyst for that? (Maybe Birds Nest?)
Late openings, different demographic again?
Do businesses benefit from each other

Any folklore – myths & legends…
Why closed (but not closed) on Mon & Thurs

Technical: Ok to spend the whole day
Ok to photo
Can she notify what I’m doing – remove the surprise
Things from archive

Notes:

Photographic styles

Images: Martin Parr

James Mollison – Where Children Sleep.

https://www.jamesmollison.com/where-children-sleep

Possibility for installations of stories/images around the venue?

Images: RICHARD WOLFSTRöME

Research Interview

Workshop Challenge: Mood board

“Curate an A3 inspiration board to present your initial ideas about the design approach, to include examples of materials, format, typography, print / digital production.”

Wide selection of maybe’s. Picture book or magazine style layout, photo styles…
I’m unsure yet as to what style of layout I’ll go with, if it’s a formal or a strong grid or if it’s more random with heavy type, industrial-ish, to go with the hard work by traders inside. Large photos though…

Heavy influences shown on the board from Matt Willey and Martin Parr.

Download as PDF file

Workshop Challenge: Text

Most of the content for the 3000 words will come from the day being spent recording details from a day spent in the Market Hall – from opening until closing. It will consist of written observations and first-hand information from the traders there; stories and quotes from interviews.

I’ll be taking photos throughout the day to use in the finished document.

The draft below shows the introduction and some details to set the scene.

Download the Word file with margin notes

JOURNALISTIC:

INTRO WITH HISTORY/CONTEXT

A large Victorian market hall was in a poor state of repair and was condemned as unhygienic, dingy and “no longer fit for purpose”. It was the 1960s post-war Britain, the country was looking to a new age.

The Market Hall, with its 240ft clock tower is an indoor market and a ground-floor shopping centre. It was hailed “the most modern building in Shropshire”, and “a prime example of cutting edge modern architecture” when it was officially opened on September 16, 1965.

Developed by the Second Covent Garden Property Company and designed by David du Rieu Aberdeen, a respected architect of his day having designed the former Swiss Centre in Leicester Square, the City offices of the Swiss Bank, the redevelopment of Paddington General Hospital and the City headquarters of the First National City Bank of New York.

The new Market Hall cost £1 million to build. (Today’s comparison?)

The Pevsner Architectural Guide pronounced the new Market Hall ‘a good example of modern architecture’. With modern building materials of concrete, glass and metal being used, Pevsner talks of the “clean lines and simple forms. The town’s timber-framed traditions are evoked – the upper storey is jettied out on a reinforced concrete structure and faced with vertical black fins in an echo of close studding.

“The tall slender red brick clock tower mingles effectively in distant views with the town’s medieval steeples.”

Despite the credentials of its architect the Market Hall’s design was controversial from the start. Its contemporary critics were opposed to the demolition of the old Victorian market hall and predicted the new building would be a ‘white elephant’. The new market stood for progress and the previous ‘Victorian monstrosity’ stood for 96 years.

The building was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire Viscount Bridgeman whilst the Mayor of Shrewsbury Henry Rhodes Beckett, R.A.F. (retired), claimed: “We have erected something I think we can all be proud of”.

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NOW GO INSIDE

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The inside of the Market Hall is two-tier, with permanent stalls around the perimeter of the market floor and gallery and in the centre, the traditional Victorian method of trading on benches was still found to be the best, and this method continued for well over two decades. But around 25 years ago the current canopied stalls replaced the benches, and more permanent market businesses took their places.

Over the years the fortunes of the market have fluctuated.

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(WAITING INFO ON HOW)

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The market was being managed by two sets of agents on behalf of the building’s owner, the Scottish Widows Pension Fund, and both sets seemed to be leaving any duty of management to the other.

In 2006, a vacancy was advertised for a new Facilities Manager. Kate Gittins took over. Kate lived locally and had used and championed the market for more than twenty years so when the job for the manager came up, the stallholders insisted she applied. “When I first started, it was running at about 40% occupancy. There was nothing here [on the gallery], it had the cafe in that corner, the cakes in this, maybe another stall along from there. Nobody knew what was going on, the maintenance men were being given the rents by the stalls, the owners where nowhere to be seen”.

Her vision was to make the Market central to life in the town, to make it so diverse and untraditionally traditional. They now enjoy 100% occupancy, there’s even a waiting list. It’s thanks to some significant turning points over the years, one of them being a champagne bar. That certainly aroused interest. That gave the fishmonger the idea to set up his own seafood bar and so it went on…

Then came the Bird’s Nest Cafe, creating a fabulous seating area out of willow creating a giant nest. Again, this inspired others to follow…

Now more cafés, artisan producers, vintage sellers, quality gift boutiques, artists and craftspeople are all busy alongside the traditional fresh fruit and veg stalls, family butchers, the florist and the baker. People don’t just come to buy goods, it’s a place to meet, a place to hang out. A new Gin bar has added yet another dimension to the place, and given it the confidence to launch a series of regular Late Night openings which have been an overwhelming success, raising the profile and introducing the Market Hall to a whole new audience.

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WORK HOW TO SLIP INTO THE NEXT SECTION?

—-

The day starts at… (In comes the day-in-the-life experience)

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SIGN OFF (To Edit with the above)

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The core offering – the butchers, fruit and veg, florist, baker – all the things that say “market”, hasn’t been forgotten, but it’s what else has been woven into this market that gives it its diversity and vitality.

The overwhelming sentiment for the future again is optimism.

Feedback: Richard Nash

Writing:

Overall, this is the start of a good article. Even though it is crafted ‘parts’ at the moment. There is a strong editorial voice coming through. You also capture the sense of place really well!

This is an interestingly placed topic and content. It might be worthwhile thinking how / where you might locate it. With a mix of architecture, culture, historical context, and alike, I could see this working in different settings. Each would bring a slightly different angle and nuanced tone. You could frame the article as; a Sunday travel supplement, a journal such as Wallpaper (perhaps) or Monocle (Maybe the travel guide…). Think local content but global audience…

Research:

Have a look at seeing if you can speak to Watson and Thornton. I’ve been told they were locally known as ‘the lads’. They were one of the original traders when the market opened.

https://www.watsonandthornton.co.uk/about-us

This form of article has allowed you to combine both your primary and secondary research findings very effectively. This is a strength of the piece.

Download Word file with suggested edits

Reflection

Writing is pretty hard unless you’re in the zone. Getting in the zone when you’re not quite sure what you need to write also pretty hard.

One thing I’ve found is that 3000 words sounds like a lot but isn’t actually as much as I thought, though I’m still quite a way away.

As suggested, I’m going to used the right amount of dummy-text to be able to move on to Week 8.

I’ve also found that getting ethnographic, or first-hand information can cause delays to schedules. As in our Industry Set module where I interviewed members of the Police for their views, you need to fit around their schedules more than your own.