a pop-up
kit
1.
The space was missing a sense of place and identity, and it certainly didn’t feel like an environment for creativity and collaboration.
In the Fall of 2010, Pratt Institute began the first year
of its MFA program in Communications Design and
we were four of its inaugural students. As in any MFA
program, we were confronted with the rigor of studio
classes, the sometimes-overwhelming workload, and
the challenge of figuring out where we stand in the
world of design. In addition to these academic and
existential challenges, the physical location of the
program was in flux. As MFA students, we were going
to be given individual studio workspace, a computer
lab and printing facilities and a large classroom for
lectures and critiques. But it wasn’t until a few weeks
after the beginning of the semester that the program
officially moved into the new Pratt studios at 123 West 18th Street.
While the move was met with gratitude and relief,
it also opened up a new set of problems. The space’s
white walls and anonymous look felt more isolating
than inviting, and the overall studio layout was
awkward. The main space was large and open, but
there were no focal intersection points that serve
as natural gathering spaces. Two windowless rooms
were designated as student lounges, but they were
too small, clumsy, and out-of-the-way to function as
water-cooler areas. Students ate at their desks; the
kitchen was a blank wasteland where only a tiny water
machine lived and humans rarely visited. Event posters
were scattered haphazardly throughout the space, each
one dwarfed by the immense blank wall it was pinned
to. There was no centralized place to eat, to gather, to
lounge, to “not work.” In short, the space was missing a
sense of place and identity, and it certainly didn’t feel
like an environment for creativity and collaboration.
In response to these observations (and as part of
our Transformation Design studio course), we came
up with two ideas for solutions that could encourage
community-building, cooperation and sharing,
and help give each student a sense of ownership of
the studio space. Utilizing both the main room of
the studios, where classes are held, and any of the
smaller rooms in the studio space, we aimed to set
up a Workshop Series and a Rotating Pop-Up Space.
Our goal for both of these projects was to provide a
sustainable model and a few test cases, so that after
an introductory period, the projects could continue on
with new organizers and participants.
1. Workshop Series: We would invite varied guests or
knowledgeable students to come into the studio space
and teach short workshops on skills or ideas that will
help students’ overall well-being, such as meditation,
yoga or cooking.
2. Rotating Pop-Up Space: We would designate a
pop-up space within the studio space and open it up
to all students as a free area where they could create a
project, store or experience for the studio community.
The pop-ups would rotate on an as-needed basis to
give more students the chance to participate.
After deciding to move forward with both ideas,
we spent an afternoon brainstorming ideas for
health-related experts and began putting together
a schedule of events and lists of responsibilities for
each of us. As we started organizing and planning, we
realized that the Workshop Series felt like too much work for too little pay-off—and, more importantly, it
was completely unsustainable. If the four of us were
balking at the hours and energy required to make the
series work, there was no way another student was
going to produce a workshop after we were gone. We decided instead to focus our efforts entirely on the
Pop-Up Space.
If the pop-up space could work in a room with such extreme limitations, it would be a perfect test case.
We contacted Jeff Bellantoni, Chair of the Graduate
Communications Design Program (and our go-to for
questions about the new studio space), about the use of
a small room that was currently designated as a lounge.
The room had a large, floor-to-ceiling window onto
the rest of the studio space, which we felt would allow
the projects inside the space greater visibility. We
were given permission to use the space, but due to
building regulations, we could not use any pushpins,
nails or any adhesives other than artists’ tape on the
walls. We could move the leather couches and book-
shelf that were in the space at the time, but we had to
move them back in after the events had ended. Despite
these constraints, we moved forward with our project.
If the pop-up space could work in a room with such
extreme limitations, it would be a perfect test case for
pop-up spaces in other contexts.
2.
We came up with a name and a modular identity that would reflect the range and flexibility of the space.
Every design student knows that the first thing a
project needs is a logo. We came up with a name,
BIG + little: a pop-up space, and a modular identity
that would reflect the range and flexibility of the
space. To launch the space, we knew that we would
need more than a few scattered posters. Making
students aware that BIG + little existed was only one
part of the process. We also needed to show them the
variety of projects the space could host, and give them
memorable examples of projects that engaged the
studio community.
We decided to announce BIG + little’s birth with neon
fliers on each student’s desk, an email to the entire
Pratt GradComD student body, and a blitz of events
the first week of the launch. We posted a calendar
inside the room with the days of our own events filled
in and hoped that during the course of our blitz,
students would feel inspired to sign up for days to
host their own projects.
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During our first week, we presented a student-
produced installation piece, a Pratt-branded tote
bag customization workshop, a DIY aura coloring
book station, and a day when we filled the room with
balloons and candy. Each project was specifically
designed to engage with the studio community:
students proudly hung their customized tote bags
at their desks and more than one impromptu photo
project was born in the balloon room. By the end
of the blitz, four students had signed up to present
projects, one even spanning the course of a week.
Perhaps the most exciting part of watching BIG + little
take flight was the fact that every one of the projects
other students produced in the space reached out to
the studio community. Whether it was a jewelry-
making table, plans for a knitting club or an interactive
installation that helped students motivate each other
with notes of inspiration, the events were even more
directly about creating community than we had
planned. It felt like our idea landed with both feet.
documentation
Do-It-Yourself Aura Coloring Day
Rebecca Wiener
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 10am - 6pm
Using pages and labeled crayons I made for my DIY Aura Coloring Book for Visual Language, I set up a
DIY aura coloring station in the pop-up space. All day long, students came in to color how they were feeling.
By the end of the day, the space had a wall full of vastly different interpretations on aura coloring. Some people
remarked that it was relaxing to color and they had a nice mini-break. And passers-by smiled when they saw
the collection of colored pages.
This event was really easy for me to produce because I already had the materials and activity idea from a
previous project for a class. And it actually helped me think about that project in some new ways.
3.
We want to continue to give our peers the chance to hold their own events.
As the two weeks of our BIG+little project come
to a close, we want to make sure the pop-up space
can survive after we have moved on to the next assign-
ment. There has been considerable interest from the
Pratt studio community, especially after seeing the
myriad events that have been held in the space already,
and we want to continue to give our peers the chance
to hold their own events. To that end, we have decided
to keep the calendar up in the space, rotating it out
for a new one every month, and we will remain as
contacts for anyone who wants to host a new event
for the remainder of the Fall 2010 semester.
In the past two weeks, photos of BIG + little have
popped up on Facebook. We were delighted to see that
the space was taking on a life on the Internet and we
discussed creating a Facebook page for the space. But
while it would certainly allow for increased publicity
of events, giving BIG + little real estate online goes
against the concept of the space: to bring the Pratt
community together in the studio, not on the Internet.
We decided against creating a page at this time, but it
could be a more useful option in the future if enough
participants were interested in keeping an accessible
record of events and photos.
So what happens to BIG + little next semester or
after we’ve graduated? Taking our own process into
account and considering the specific needs of the Pratt
West 18th Street studio community, we’ve come up
with a list of steps for anyone who wants to continue
the life of the BIG+little: a pop-up space.
For the maintenance of BIG + little at Pratt, we
suggest the following options:
1. The project will be adopted by the Communications
Committee, who will act as contact for anyone who has
questions about the space.
2. The documentation folder will be kept in the
Communications Design office, so that anyone who
wants to set up a new event may access the materials
themselves.
3. The Lab Monitors already working in the studio space
will keep the documentation materials, and they will act
as contact for anyone who wants to set up a new event
in the space.
While it is essential to the original aim of the project
that BIG + little live on at Pratt, we hope that we have
successfully created a pop-up space template that
can used in other locations in need of community-building. Schools of all levels could benefit from
pop-up spaces for student projects. But the corporate office environment feels like a natural next step for
this project. Even though the corporate and business
world is moving towards collaboration and group
work, too often offices are still cold, isolating and not
conducive to communication. The introduction of
a pop-up space in such an environment could help
employees feel connected to each other, to the
space and to the company, and give them a sense of
ownership and individuality within their workplace.
To this end, we created a list of ingredients required
for anyone to create their own pop-up space.
Too often offices are still cold, isolating and not conducive to communication.
1. Space.BIG+little requires space. We recommend it be installed in a room of its own, preferably one in a high-traffic, high-visibility location.
2. Permission.Equally important is permission to set up the space. Installing BIG+little is not just about giving space a new life; it is about energizing a community and encouraging individuals to spend time with each other outside of their routines. In high-stress work environments, a space like BIG+little might be welcome, but if the culture of the community does not allow for time spent at will, the project will fail. We believe that BIG+little would be successful in corporate environments that allow for creativity and flexibility, but it would also function well in academic settings, and possibly private spaces as well.
3. Initiators and Authority.BIG+little requires a minimum of two people to set it up: one Initiator or Organizer, who is responsible for bringing the project into the space, and one Authority, whose job is to say yes to every-thing. We see the Initiator as someone who brings this new idea into an established but community-lacking setting. The Initiator needs to be prepared to produce a week or two of events in the space to show the larger community how it can function. The Authority as someone who is integral to the established community but who has an interest in encouraging the project to be set up, such as an office manager or group leader. For our test case, the four of us acted as Initiator, and Jeff Bellantoni acted as Authority.
Ingredients for a Pop-Up Space
4. Documentation and Organization Forms.This folder includes a number of sheets to be used to establish any proper space as a BIG+little pop-up space. Blank copies of these sheets (calendar sheets, documentation forms) should be kept in the pop-up space for ease of access. Calendar sheets should be marked with the month and days and pinned (or taped) up in the pop-up space for participants to use as a sign-up sheet. All participants who hold an event are required to fill out a documentation form upon completion of their event. The completed forms should be placed in a separate folder in the space so that potential participants can see what has been done in the space so far.
5. Signage and Promotional Materials.We recommend that signage and promotional materials be created with the BIG+little logo provided on the CD in this kit. The identity is purposefully modular; we encourage you to create your own circle sizes and organization of information. The space should be marked with these circles to designate it as a special space, but the circles may also be used as flyers, posters, or in any other way deemed appropriate for promotion. We recommend they be printed on white or neon paper.
6. Culture and Environment.It is very important that BIG+little be established in a location where it is allowed to function as a respite from day-to-day activities. This means not only that managers (or others who have authority in their respective environments) allow their employees (or students, etc.) to spend time in the pop-up space during normal hours, but also that there is a desire within the environment for a greater sense of community. But whatever the environment, BIG+little is a simple low maintence way to invite personal investment and ownership in a space and thus, a community.
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