Research Proposal
During Semester 1 I carried out secondary research on 'Connectors in Design' and I would like to explore this topic further. This time I'm planning to use primary research to get a deeper insight into a particular problem I have identified based on two articles I read in the previous semester.
‘Pamela's Place: Power and Negotiation in the Hair Salon’ by Debra Gimlin is based on field research undertaken in a hair salon and highlights the importance of personal, face to face contact with clients to build up a trusting relationship. This type of personal contact provides an opportunity for conversation between two people who may have different opinions. It can help to solve problems the customers may be having and create a new discourse between two people. Conversation can help to personalise the product for the customer making the shopping experience special, unique and creative. This article highlighted the importance of providing a high level of service in a small designer shop.
‘Consumers and Consumption’ by Sharon Zukin and Jennifer Smith Maguire describes a history of globalization and the success of shopping centres. These big, shiny malls create a perfect place for gathering and convert shopping into a social experience. They give the illusion of a wide range although they sell very similar products according to the latest fashion trends. The cheap prices of the goods sold in the big brand stores in these malls are also very appealing to customers. The article describes globalization as a 'political project' and uses advertising as its biggest weapon to sell a massive amount of goods. Magazines and TV adverts tell customers where and what to buy and suggest that shopping centres are the obvious place for customers to buy these goods. This article reinforced my belief that it is very difficult for independent designer shops to compete with the shopping malls and the big brand corporates.
This led me to wonder how could small, independent designer shops become a success story in such a competitive market. My first idea was to combine designer shops with cafés or pubs to make them a place for socializing and gathering as well as purchasing designer goods. I also had an idea of a campaign to popularise these shops. This would involve a big sculpture build up from personal, unique links designed by the small shops. The exhibition would attract a crowd of people and start a conversation between sellers and buyers to discuss problems, share ideas and spread information. To investigate whether independent designer shops can be successful I believe primary research is required by reviewing the perceived needs of shoppers who would normally shop in malls and by finding out if their shopping habits can be altered.
The research method I propose to use is the interview after I have carried out a brainstorming session with fellow design students to prepare appropriate questions. Brainstorming is quick, creative and it always provides plenty of ideas for further investigation.
I find the interview research tool very useful because it's personal, informative and gives me the opportunity to get detailed answers for my questions. I also have the chance to react for to an answer immediately and get the exact information I'm looking for.
Interviews have limitations as well. People can only give opinions based on their own experiences and the local situation could be very different from other locations'. In Dundee there aren’t as many small designer shops as there are in bigger cities and so Dundonians who have not traveled to other cities have limited experience of this type of shops. There is also a limit to the amount people I can interview.
Preparing for the interviews will require a lot of planning, organisation and the process itself is also very time consuming. I still believe this is the best way to investigate this question because of the interactive quality of this design tool. I think talking with 10-15 people for about 15 minutes each would be enough to give me an insight into customers' shopping habits. I intend to find out what might make people shop in designer shops instead of shopping malls and how these shops might become more attractive to customers. I also intend to investigate if people are more likely to use independent designer shops if they feel they would get a better service or are more likely to obtain a unique, handmade, highly crafted product made by an artist. I am also interested in finding out if shoppers would find it more appealing if designer shops are grouped together, like in the same district and it if this grouping gives more of an opportunity of socializing and gathering?
I will select my first interviewees in small shops to find out what makes them chose these shops instead of shopping malls. That would help me to create my exact questions. Then I will search for customers in shopping centres by using ethnography to find the right people to participate in my survey. I'm planning to do it on the weekend because that's when shopping malls are the busiest.
I intend to analyse the results to find out the typical age and gender of the clientele which would most likely shop in designer shops. The interviews would take place in a silent café to create a relaxed conversation. I have to be careful with my questions because I don't want to influence my interviewees. I'd like to get creative ideas how to develop a unique shopping experience in small shops and make them able to compete with big companies. I will carry out the interviews alone because I have a deep insight into the topic and two people asking could be confusing for the participants. Although it would be useful to involve other students to the analysis of findings. More people means more opinions and different standpoints.
The organisation for the interviews including a brainstorming session should be done in three days. To carry out the interviews would take about two weeks and I would leave another week for the analysis of the findings.