Evaluation of Research
My initial research was integral to seeing my project on a deeper level. It has really helped me to narrow down my research and shows what the most important elements for me to consider. Grief is such a vast topic that I really needed to focus my research in order to delve deeper into it. The two main points I took away from my initial research were the ideas as space and storytelling as being important for people processing grief.
Storytelling has come up time and time again as a favoured way for people to process grief. This is really interesting to me because it is so key in making people feel like the person they lost is still here. Also, from my own experience, I know that the chance to tell stories about people diminishes the longer it has been since the loss - people stop asking. I see my role in this project as giving people the chance to talk about people, to tell stories about them and process their grief this way.
Space came up as the other important thing when processing grief, whether that is a space to share the aforementioned stories or space being a constant reminder of someone. For example, Simon Moreton's "Where?" and Peony Gent's "for sarah" both use the concept of space and place to remember their dad and friend respectively. Their exploration of space as a way to process grief is interesting to me and makes me think it shouldn't be a way to process grief only for people who identify as artists or even creatives, it should be more accessible than that.
The combination of space and storytelling excites me and makes me think I can really push this project. This has given me a solid jumping off point with academic papers, research and personal testimonies to back it up so I will continue to design and research with these two key themes in mind. It has also helped me focus my draft treatment which I have written to compliment my findings from research:
I feel like since writing my initial draft treatment my project has come on leaps and bounds. I feel a lot more excited about it now since narrowing down the area of grief I want to look at. The feedback from Celine was vital in helping me achieve this. Here is how I answered this feedback in my redraft -
"some of the terminology remains too broad and vague. It could be beneficial to clarify the following:
« we », « fit in » and « secular times »".
In this revised draft treatment I have changed my research question to talk about how I can update these rituals of grief. I have removed the term fit in as it was redundant. I have also defined secular times within the purpose section providing the evidence that UK is veering towards non-religious practices.
Finding a point of anchor will be key
This made me really think about how I can focus this project. I think through my primary research I have found this anchor point - space and storytelling and by including this in my research question both my research and initial question is anchored in this theme of space and storytelling.
Currently the purpose remains broad and vague. It could beneficial to investigate existing project and research within contemporary design and communication practice.
When I wrote my draft treatment I was not very far into my research. Since then it has progressed and I have included this in the purpose of my project, making it far less vague and using existing projects to anchor it in critical theory. Peony Gent and Simon Moreton were particularly important in this contemporary design research as it showed me how people telling the stories of their own grief through space can help other people process their loss and maybe feel more comfortable to share their experiences.
As mentioned above, the field you are exploring is relatable on a global level. As a result, you have identified a wide audience. Due to the nature of grief, in theory anyone could be your audience. But for your work to communicate efficiently in the context of this project, it could be beneficial to narrow it down.
In my first draft of my treatment I was was far too vague about the audience. In this re-draft I have narrowed it down to include people who are open to telling stories and have an existing interest in exploring grief in this way. I think this helps me picture the audience I will be designing for. It is only a 24 week project so I won't be able to cater to everyone who is grieving as this is far too many people.
This feedback and redraft has been critical in repositioning myself within this project. I can't wait to explore these ideas further and design a solution that answers the question how can I use space and storytelling to transform rituals of grief in the UK for current, more secular times?
Mood board
My next step in my project is to crate a mood board of the things I have seen so far in order to see what it is I am the most interested in and what I would like to research further.
This mood board has shown me how important handwriting and hand drawing is in the research I have conducted. Is this because seeing something more tangible makes it seem more real? Does it make people feel closer to others and share their experience more because it feels like you know more about them? It's an interesting finding and not something I noticed until I put it together in this mood board. It also highlighted the different ways people remember their loved ones and talk about them. From illustration, writing and installations to games, countdown watches and family urns, it really is a wide spectrum of things.
Further Research
The Death Cafe
When reaching out to industry experts I came across The Death Cafe. They describe themselves as:
At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. Our objective is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'.
A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. [1]
It is such an interesting idea that by talking about death more and telling stories, people become more aware of the finite amount of time we have and it might just make us appreciate life more. This links to my previous research that showed telling stories helps people to heal a little - talking to other people with similar interests makes us feel like we are not alone. This is a great example of how workshops can be invaluable in the healing process and it is also extremely successful.
Death Cafes have spread quickly across Europe, North America and Australasia. As of today, we have offered 14412 Death Cafes in 81 countries since September 2011. If 10 people came to each one that would be 144120 participants. We've established both that there are people who are keen to talk about death and that many are passionate enough to organise their own Death Cafe.
It is really interesting to me that it is such a popular thing - people want to talk about this subject that is deemed taboo in UK culture. This will be a really interesting case study for the way my project progresses, it not only shows that storytelling is important around the subject of death and grief but also that people are ready and willing to talk about it.
Tikker
Through a simple calculation and questionnaire you can determine an estimate of your life expectancy. This number is then entered into the Tikker Watch and so begins a countdown of your estimated life expectancy. The purpose is to remind you that time is your most valuable asset and to use it in the best possible way. [2]
I came across Tikker on the Design and Death Competition site. [3] The theory behind it is that if you have the countdown on your wrist you're more likely to live life to the full. At first I didn't like this idea and thought it may increase anxiety however, the more I have assessed the way I think about death the more I realise that it's actually societal influence rather than my own views. I think when you change the way you think about it. -from something scary to something life affirming it changes your whole outlook.
This could be a really interesting way to take the project - thinking not only of ways to deal with grief but possibly coming up with a solution that could include encouraging people to value the time they have. I will need to think this through however as that may be widening the net of my project too much. Either way, this research is valuable because it shows that people are willing and able to think about death in a different way.
Songs for the Soul: A Program to Address a Nurse’s Grief
When caring for patients with cancer, a number of situations arise that cause nurses to grieve. Nurses need time and space to grieve to prevent the untoward effects of cumulative grief. While providing a safe space for nurses to be vulnerable in grief, Songs for the Soul combines the healing effects of expressive writing, storytelling, and music to help nurses address the grief and suffering they experience in their work. The use of storytelling through music portrays an expression of their grief that matches the intensity of their caregiving experience. [4]
I found this journal article from the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. Written by two former nurses, it details their design of a program to address the grief felt by nurses that is not often talked about. The main findings from this were how integral storytelling, writing and music was to help them deal with the grief they feel after losing so many patients.
For six weeks, the group met weekly to participate in an expressive writing workshop. The goal of the workshop was twofold—first, to show them that they can write. Many nurses do not think of themselves as writers. Because of this, they do not use writing as a means to process their work. The second goal was for them to write a story that would be turned into a song by a songwriter. My working hypothesis was that telling their story through music would deepen the nurses’ healing process. [4]
I love the idea that it combines the people going through the grief (nurses) with specialists (musicians) to create songs using the stories told that will hopefully help them heal. This got me thinking about my project and if there is a way I can combine design/art with grieving people in an effort to help them cope with the grief they feel. I don't know yet whether this could be a one one workshop where at they end of it the person receives a storybook of their memories or some other guise is yet to be seen but it's an exciting concept that combines grief, storytelling and design in a beautiful way.
Concept
How can I use space and storytelling to transform rituals of grief in the UK for current, more secular times?
Grief is a void. It is the absence of someone you loved. It can be all consuming with no end in sight. When I lost my Nan last year it felt like I would never be the same again and while that is true if I had different ways to process that grief I may have felt like I got back. tome a little sooner.
The aim of this project is not to make people feel better - I don't think when you lose someone anything can make you feel better. But providing people with more outlets for that grief, and alternative rituals may be key in helping people process their feelings in a different way.
I plan on creating a new ritual based on the concepts of space and storytelling to help people process their feelings and explore their grief in a constructive and creative way. From my research the importance of storytelling, particularly about the person lost, is key to understanding your grief and feeling like the person still has importance in your life. Through design I hope to create a safe and productive space to tell and record these stories as a post-loss ritual.
Definitions
Storytelling - In this context I specifically mean telling stories about people you have lost. The medium of this is yet to be developed but this is the core idea.
I identified five main areas of how people tell stories based on all of my previous research - Verbally, written, illustration, songwriting and through objects. I also broke down these categories into the possible ways this could fit into my project. Obviously this isn't every way but it's certainly a start when coming up with initial ideas for the project. The most interesting to me at the minute are illustration, written and though objects which I think I can explore along with the concept of space.
Space - This can be a physical or an emotional safe space for people to share their stories of people they have lost.
I surprised myself at how many ideas I came up with for the types of spaces we can tell stories in. The main ideas were Emotional space, on stage, exhibition space, with others also sharing stories, one on one and a creative writing space. The ones that I think are the most interesting to me so far are exhibition space, emotional space and with others also sharing stories. I can't wait to get started and come up with some initial ideas!
Initial Ideas - Crazy Eight
Exploration of ideas
My three favourite ideas that I am keen to explore from my crazy eight are the memory map, a one on one with an illustrator and an exhibition of memories.
Memory Map
A tool to help people create maps full of memories of their lost loved one. This could be done from the comfort of their own homes or by going on walks with family members and sharing stories of the person. It could then be collated between a family so you have a large part of a person's life mapped out for people who cared about them to explore.
This could either be done alone or in a workshop environment where people create their own maps of the space they remember the person with the help of an artist or an illustrator. It would be more about the emotional journey that being particularly loyal to the topography and layout of a town or city.
One on One with Illustrator
This would be a one on one workshop where a person going through grief meets with an illustrator to tell stories of their loved one. They write the stories down, talk about their loved on and the illustrator draws accompanying imagery. They can take home the book of memories created with the professional who they have also spent time talking to and telling stories about their loved one.
I like this idea however it could be very expensive for people as it involves one on one time. This could transform into my other idea that involves a self authored book about my nan from me and an accompanying book that someone could fill in about their loved one. Or a group workshop with one professional helping people create these memory books.
Exhibition of memories
I really like the idea of creating a physical space for people's memories. I could make it an interactive exhibition where people add their memories of their loved one to maps. This would enable them to tell stories about them and also read other people's stories about their person.
I think this cold be an interesting way to explore both space and storytelling in relation to grief. It could off people real time updates of people going through similar things and make them feel not alone. There could also be a book accompanying each exhibition with memories from across the world.
It could even be a curated exhibition of artists/illustrators/designers response to grief and personal memories with a section where people can add their own memories to a map.
Summary
I am really pleased with my progression this week. I was really struggling to get going with this project however I feel like persisting with my research and being more disciplined with it really helped. Advice from Ben about if it isn't helpful just stop looking at it really helped me curate the research and really dig to find things that will be useful for my topic. Narrowing it down to space and storytelling helped me dig deeper and find more inspirational research which in turn made coming up with initial ideas easier than I expected!
However, one thing that has become apparent to me is the idea of space possibly isn't the right objective to set. While it is interesting and evidenced in my design research (specifically Sophie Calle) I think I need to return to the foundation of this topic - looking at what religion has that secularists don't. One of the main things that comes to mind is light - it is integral to religious ritual and I think it is something I can harness in my project to create a deeper and more meaningful answer to my question. Going forward light and illustration will. bethe main focus for my development.
References
[1] Death Cafe. (2021). What is Death Cafe?. Available: https://deathcafe.com/what/. Last accessed 16 July 22.
[2] Tikker. (2020). Tikker Watch. Available: https://mytikker.com/collections/tikker/products/tikker. Last accessed 16 July 22.
[3] Design Boom. (2013). Design for Death. Available: https://www.designboom.com/competition/design-for-death/. Last accessed 16 July 22.
[4] Phillips, C.S, Welcer, B. (2017). Songs for the Soul: A Program to Address a Nurse’s Grief. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 21 (2), 145-146.
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