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.