My very own Individual Evaluation Of The Suggestion Tree.

The Suggestion Tree.

'The suggestion Tree' was a project carried out to promote the Creative Spark to the community of Muirhevnamor. The group members consisted of Aidan McCourt, Matthew Macklin and Myself.

Having received the brief it was clear we had to try something different for this project. We had to create an 'artifact'. We wanted to create an object that would perhaps have a lasting impression on the Creative Spark, that in time could become part of the Centre's history. It could perhaps symbolise the ever expanding relationship between the Creative Spark and the local community through its own growth over time. We also wanted the 'artifact' to exist both online and offline, a networked tree.  
When you walk into the Centre you can see the tree as it is planted at the front of the building. When you click onto the 'Sparks official Facebook page you can also see the tree. This link meant that maybe everyone in the community could experience the 'Suggestion Tree' not just the people who visit the building. The online Suggestion Tree was designed by Aidan. Aidan and Matthew also set up the official Creative Spark Vimeo account as they did not have one. The Suggestion tree was then uploaded to the vimeo account.


However it could not be a suggestion tree without the suggestions. It was clear upon meeting with Sarah Daly, Business Development Manager of the Creative Spark, in early October, that the Centre wanted the communities ideas. The reason for this was that they had previously advertised a course that they thought would be of interest to the community. In the end they couldn't get enough people to sign up for the course. However, if the community could perhaps suggest the subject/topics they would like to do, then perhaps this would result in more people enlisting in courses.


We decided the best way to promote the Creative Spark to the community, was through the distribution of promotional cards. If we circulated these cards through the community, they could use the cards to log on to the official Facebook page and suggest an idea or as we like to call it 'Add Your Creative Spark'. Our budget allowed for 200 cards to be printed. I went and got them printed in Devenney's. With the blessing of Sarah and Sophie, we stuck to the official business card design of the Creative Spark in order to make our promotional cards look more official. I designed the promotional cards. This is how they looked.









The Promotional Cards for the Suggestion Tree.



I had also designed alternative concepts just in case the Creative Spark wanted a different design. We were a bit apprehensive about the cards maybe not standing out enough on their own so we came up with a solution. I had previously designed a Facebook banner consistent in design to the promotional cards. The purpose of this was to give the community further indication of what they had to do if they in fact used the cards to click onto the official Creative Spark page.






The Facebook Banner.




It also meant that we could perhaps get suggestions from other people as well as the people that picked up the promotional cards. The Creative Spark had kindly agreed to set the banner as their Cover Photo. We decided to print the Facebook banner on 2 12X18 inch sheets. Half of the banner on one and half on the other. We then joined the 2 sheets together to form the poster. This would mean the cards would stand out more.






Some of the Promotional Cards we distributed in Dunnes.



Matthew had re-scaled the Facebook banner for poster size to ensure the posters were printed to a high res quality. In retrospect the chosen poster size was not a great idea because it was too big to stick up in most shops. We had printed a smaller size just in case but we only printed one of the smaller size posters. If we had of redesigned the posters to perhaps a 10X12 size it would have been small enough to hang up in most shops and cheaper. We distributed the cards to Dunnes Stores, XL, Mace Petrol Station,the Community Centre and of course the Creative Spark. In the end the Community Centre and the Creative Spark were the only ones that put up the posters.






Our smaller sized Poster in the Muirheavnamor Community Centre.




To date, to my knowledge, the Creative Spark has not received any suggestions on their Facebook page which is a little bit disappointing. However, I still cling to the hope that most people that picked up the cards still have them in their wallets and so long as they have them there,  there is always a chance they can make a suggestion to the Creative Spark. I suppose what may be an issue is maybe people don't feel comfortable making a suggestion on the official Facebook page as everybody will be able to see their ideas. It was suggested to us by our Lecturer, Caroline, at the start of the project that we maybe have a suggestion box beside our promotional cards. This was a good idea and something we didn't have time to implement and overlooked in the end. We had strongly considered the idea but we did not want to make our own suggestion boxes as we felt they may look amateur.Our budget did not allow for us to invest in ready made suggestion boxes. 

However, I think it would be a good idea to get members of the community taking part in Creative Spark projects to maybe make suggestion boxes. If members of the community could see that the suggestion box was designed by people they know ranging from young children to senior citizens, it may make the project feel more personal and more local. This could perhaps lead to more suggestions from the community itself.I like to think that our promotional cards informed people about the Creative Spark and that such a building exists within the community. I am adamant that our cards must have led at least one person to the Official Facebook page. So maybe that is a positive.






22nd October 2012, The Day the Suggestion Tree was Born.



It has to be said there were no problems in working with Aidan and Matthew. We worked well together and this created a more relaxed atmosphere that perhaps in turn led to more Creativity. I honestly do believe we had a creative project aswell. The planting of the tree is something that I really enjoyed. We have left the Creative Spark with an 'artifact' at the front of their Centre that will flourish over time and grow even bigger. Sarah has also recently emailed me about using the animated tree on the Official website of the Creative Spark. I left this decision up to Aidan however as he designed the online Suggestion Tree. He kindly agreed and re-animated the tree using some new 'Creative Buzz Words'. It is a credit to him that the 'Spark want to use it on their homepage of the website. The fact that our artifact will now both exist on the official website as well as outside the building can be seen as a success. This was the strongest aspect of our project.





The Creative Spark building is a fitting backdrop for the Suggestion Tree.




I would like to perhaps, in time, present the Creative Spark with a plaque for the tree or perhaps even a framed photo of the planting explaining the trees significance. The photo could be hung on the inside of the building just upon entering. Either way I look forward to viewing the suggestion tree anytime I am passing the building or checking out the website.


Finally I would like to thank the Creative Spark, the Muirhevnamor Community Centre, Dunnes Stores, XL, and Martin O'Brien's group, for organising the Creative Spark exhibition (It was on this Night, 22nd October that we planted the Tree). It was all of the above that enabled our project to grow.

Creative Spark Project Treatment and feedback.

I recently worked on a project to promote the Creative Spark to the local community. Here is the project treatment outlining our aims and objectives. I sent it to the Creative Spark so we could make sure our ideas were as effective as possible.

Creative Spark Project Treatment: The Suggestion Tree.

Group members.

Aidan McCourt, Matthew Macklin, Robin O'Leary.

The concept for our project is to create a digital tree that grows based on the creative ideas of the community. Upon completion of the project we will present the Creative Spark with a small physical tree/plant so that they can watch 'the artefact' grow just as the Centre's creativity develops. The project can essentially be deemed as an interactive suggestion box for the community.

We understand another student group consisting of Martin O'Brien, Richie Hunt and Niamh McHugh are planning to host an event in the Creative Spark on the 22nd of October. We would like to present the physical tree at this event to a leading member of the Creative Spark.

We will use the presentation of the physical tree as a PR opportunity. This may be achieved by photographing the presentation, writing up a press release on the project and circulating it through the local media in the hope it will be published by at least one company.


The aim of the project is to gather a database of the communities ideas. This will be achieved through the distribution of cards throughout the general area of Muirhevnamor. The cards, business sized, will simply display the message, "Add your Creative Spark". The card will also have the Creative Spark logo and Facebook icon with a link to the suggestion page. The idea is that people can then log on to Facebook and using the card go to the creative Spark suggestion page and add their ideas. People will also have the option of writing down their suggestions and placing them in a box in any location that we distribute the cards to.



We will create the suggestion page on Facebook. The page will explain in more detail that the Creative Spark is for the community and how it's their ideas that will help the Centre to grow. The suggestion page will also have a link to the official Creative Spark page, 'creativesparkie'. We will ask the community about their ideas for future projects/ what they'd like to see in the Creative Spark, etc. We will monitor these suggestions and our digital tree will grow based on it. The animation will also be displayed on the Facebook page


When the database of information has been gathered we will take it all into account and design the animation of the tree based on it. The animation will start with our own ideas on creativity and may include some buzz words that we associate with being creative. We will monitor the database of information ourselves and alter the design of the animation for this project.


Our cards will be distributed around the key community hubs of Muirhevnamor. These areas may consist of community Centre's, Pubs, Shops, local businesses. We will distribute between 200-500 cards depending on initial success of the campaign.


Finally we are aware that their is a current tree planting project taking place in the Creative Spark. We have not yet decided on a tree or plant to use for our idea so if you feel their is a specific tree/plant that would tie in with the existing project, then we can incorporate that into our own idea.


If you have any queries or questions about the project we would love to hear from you.


Kind Regards,

Robin O'Leary

Based on this treatment Sarah and Sophie were very co-operative and supportive towards the idea. They offered us access to their official Facebook page rather than having to create our own. They also suggested to maybe add a little more information onto the cards so the concept is clearer for people to grasp. Finally Sophie suggested that we plant either a Ginkgo Biloba Tree or a Handkerchief Tree as they would fit perfectly with the themes of our project. Both trees were beautiful in appearance but in the end we decided to go for the Ginkgo Biloba Tree simply because it was easier and cheaper to source.

The next step was to implement our Campaign.