Lesley McCluskey
I’m Lesley McCluskey, a multidisciplinary Designer with experiential design being my main focus. Exploring the sensory and empirical elements of design to improve customer retention.
Considering different types of design practices throughout my time at GSA – research, user experience and service design. My projects are about taking local community action – aiming to change the way in which we experience products, places and environments in order to route towards a more sustainable future.
All-In
All-In is a brand consultancy designed to support
small businesses to collaborate and produce a one-off
experience that can help create community cohesion
as well as build upon the local economy. All-In
comprises of an app which is used to analyse each
companies goals and values, this is then enhanced by
the role of the ‘community curator’ who determines
which stores are paired up. The curator’s guidance
supports each store throughout the design phase to
reciprocally benefit one another.
Every month, two small businesses will design a one
off product, workshop or experience which
consumers can purchase or participate within. By the
continuous monthly themes and experiences,
consumers may begin to attain an element of surprise
once again within the High-street. As a result, the
encouragement of shopping locally will in return help
decrease pollution from transportation, if goods don’t
have to travel as far to reach small businesses and
consumers.
This impact the consultancy could have on the high
street could be immense. By enabling different
communities around Scotland to opt into the service,
this could support clusters of businesses to regain
in-store footfall.
This would completely change consumers
perceptions on not only the high-street but also
smaller stores. By the continuous monthly themes and
experiences, consumers may begin to attain an
element of surprise once again.
Grow
In 2031, our world has changed beyond recognition. With
the increase in urbanisation at its peak to new strict
policies around the environment. Citizens can no longer
achieve basic life milestones for adulthood.
Grow is an app-based service, which fundamentally
guides each citizen through their own path. Each path is
made up of ‘locked’ skills that are only unlocked once the
individual partakes in a community-based activity.
Whether it’s reconstructing a playground to visiting an
elderly home, these activities are an excellent way to bring
about chance on a small, intimate level.
Once each citizen has achieved their goals to Grow’s
standard, the individuals will be eligible to apply for items,
services etc. beyond the necessities of life. By having the
title from Grow, people within the community will
recognise the participants efforts to invest into the
community.
Unintended Consequences
The collaboration resulting in the ‘Unintended Consequences Card Game’ focused on researching a future world centred around environment and care, under the theme of symbiosis. Despite our focus being “environment”, both symbiosis and care necessarily involve two actors, and are an expression of the dynamic between them. This dynamic is at the core of our future world speculation.
Our final output takes the shape of a discursive card game, designed to simulate the interdependencies between people and environment (as represented by the players). The goal of the game is to create a mutually beneficial world, but the prompts contained within it make reaching this goal near impossible. This is not to insinuate that a symbiotic world isn’t possible, but rather a way of illustrating to players how difficult this might be, and prompt reflection on what sacrifices we might or might not be willing to make to create such a world. We can see this card game being used as a teaching tool to introduce the concepts of symbiosis, interdependence, negotiation and trade-offs in sustainability.
