Claire Hall

Client Workshop - For part of my design research project, I co-ran a workshop at a Staggerin' fancy dress branch with a fellow classmate, who owns the Staggerin' business. We used different design tools to get the groups' imaginations going, which led to a successful brainstorming session for Staggerin' guerrilla campaigns.

Guerrilla Design for SMEs - For part of my masters course in Design and Branding Strategy, I completed a design research project where the objective was to cover new ground within the design and branding industry. The scope and focus of the research is explained below. 99.9% of businesses in the UK are small to medium sized enterprises. Differentiation is vital in order for survival, especially in today’s economic climate. Competing on price is rapidly growing out of fashion, whereas competing on USP is now the popular and more sensible approach to attract consumers. However, with the need to market and gain publicity, these businesses face high expenditure on advertising costs. This project is developed a framework for identifying efficient, imaginative, cost-effective methods to promote SME businesses through innovative guerrilla design. It is aptly named for its similar approach to guerrilla warfare by using unconventional and unexpected tactics for outwitting the opposition. Guerrilla design for branding, marketing and advertising activities enhances two-way communication between business and consumer due to its emotional and/or interactive nature. There are no boundaries, making it cheap, quick and easy to implement.

'Ring and Trident' Framework - The trident is a weapon, a weapon relates to war. The trident is associated to the guerrilla aspect of the framework for SMEs. The ring represents clarity. It relates to the abundance insights gained through investigating into SME brands by employing the guerrilla approach. The jewel on the ring has a double meaning. First - a jewel on a proper ring is the focus. Second - focus is on the most creative part of the framework, as this is when originality comes out.