FMP PORTFOLIO EGRD3015

Claire Lowe

CONTENTS PAGE FMP Proposal Page 3

How did I start? Page 4

My Home Page 6

News stories Page 10

Squatting Page 12

Research Page 14

Inspiration Page 16

Home photography Page 18

Beginning, Middle and End Page 24

Exteriors Photography Page 30

Campaigns Page 46

My Campaign Page 48

Leaflet Page 52

Flyers Page 58

Website Page 66

Newsletter Page 78

Article Page 80

Bibliography Page 82

Evaluation Page 84

FMP PROPOSAL FIRST PROPOSAL

I am planning to continue along the path of looking at the home. I have already identified a few places and people to research into and I think that

these are good starting places. When thinking about my FMP I am strongly considering using photography as my main media as I think it is my strongest

area. I have also considered using 3D and making things to represent my topic. I could also combine these two processes and experiment with different

mediums. This could be in the form of small books of photographs and findings, an installation piece about the home or collections of items found in

certain rooms.

It is a very open subject at the moment and I think that y investigations into the subject will help me to find smaller pieces of focused information to look

into and explore throughout my FMP. I believe that the topic has many different areas to it and I think it is a big enough subject to be worth

investigating for my FMP. It will take a lot of planning for me to be completely confident in what I want to produce at the end, but researching the topic

thoroughly and carrying on with the experimentations will lead me towards my final outcome. For my FMP I have narrowed down my topic and now

have to think about what I am going to produce.

UPDATED PROPOSAL

In my previous FMP Proposal I had stated that I wanted to look at the idea of the home. This is still true; however I have decided to focus my idea on to

the Great British Property Scandal and the problem of empty homes in the UK. This is a very big issue at the moment and there are a lot of articles in the

news and online. There are also many television programmes focusing on property and homelessness which will be very helpful for my research.

I have decided to start of this project by looking at different news articles. By looking at the media surrounding this topic, it will give me a good idea of

opinions, campaigns and general information. I then want to look at individual charities and campaigns which I could look to for inspiration. I have also

contacted local councils for information which is a good starting point for my project.

Other places which I intend to research would be estate agents, television programmes, reports, news articles, campaigns, charities, housing statistics

etc. I have also started to take photographs of an empty house in order to get started and I intend to carry on researching and producing photographs

of different properties.

START When starting out on my project for my FMP I decided to carry on from last

semester and do spider diagrams relating to topics which I found interesting.

When thinking through these ideas I came across the Great British Property

Scandal being advertised on the Channel 4 website.

The Great British Property Scandal looks at the fact that throughout Britain

there are around 350,000 homes sitting empty while there are millions of

people, including families that are in need of a permanent home.

The campaign looks at bringing the housing issues in Britain to the attention of

the government and other authorities. There have been a few ways in which

the government have tried to help with the campaign but it doesn’t seem to

be enough.

There are ways to follow the progress made by this campaign. On the

Channel 4 website you can sign up to join the campaign to give more power

to ordinary people and communities. It is also possible to follow on Facebook

and Twitter.

THE HOME Home is very important to me. To me home is more of a feeling than a physical

place. It is comfort, safety reassurance, security, love, warmth, family, etc. It’s an

emotion that I think a lot of people will be familiar with.

I believe that on the whole, home is a feeling; however we often have a strong

emotional attachment to a house or place in which we were bought up. My great

grandparents, my grandparents and my mother all have lived in the same house at

some point. My great grandparents gave the house to my grandparents and my

mother was even born in that house and my Nan still lives there to this day. This home

has seen three generations of our family and has a lot of memories for everyone even

including my sister and me.

My mum and dad bought our house in 1988. I was born in 1990 and my sister was

born two years after. We have both lived in this house our entire lives and I personally

have a very strong attachment to this house. Although I think that home is an

emotion, I have an attachment to this particular house as I have grown up here. All of

my memories of childhood centre around the house and therefore feel as if my home

is my house and all the memories I have. One thing for me that always brings up

feelings of home is looking back through family photo albums. Although changes

have been made to the house, I can still remember and recognise it and it brings up

memories.

When researching around the idea of the home, I looked at hat others thought. I

looked at the question ‘What does home mean to you?’. Some of the answers I had

back were:

A place to relax

A place to rest your head

Safety

Where you can be yourself

Comfort

Privacy

A place to forget your problems

Where your family is

Where you grew up

I decided to look back at a few photographs of the different generations of my

family and where they have lived to see if there is still the strong feeling of home I

think our view of the home will be a lot different to someone who has moved house a

few times in their life. Our attachments to our homes have been made stronger by

the fact that it is the only home we have ever known.

The photographs are from my

current home where my sister

and I have lived our entire lives

and my parents have lived for

around 24 years. It is the place

that we have always called

home and that I personally have

a strong connection to. The

photographs show changes that

have been made such as the

garden and converting the front

garden into a driveway.

These are photographs all taken in the same

house In Banstead over many years.

It shows generations of our family all around the

same house which I think shows a sense of

home.

My great grandparents, grandparents and mum

have all lived in this house, and it has held many

family events such as birthdays and Christmas’s.

It is interesting to see how a house changes but

still retains the same memories. The three

children in the top right photograph are my

mum, aunt and uncle as small children in the

garden of the house.

The other children are my cousins who at the

time were young and are now between the

ages of 24-30 years old.

These photographs were taken before I was

born but the home looks nearly exactly the

same as it does now apart from small

renovations. I think that it is nice many members

of our family recognise and feel like this is home.

NEWS I decided to try and find out what stories there had been

about this topic in order to gain a better understanding of

the facts and opinions surrounding empty homes. These

are examples of some of the articles which I found.

The main topics which I noticed reoccurred were

surrounding stamp duty. Stamp duty had been paused for

first time buyers up to the price of £250,000; however this

will be ending on March 25th 2012. Many articles talk

about the rush of property buying in order for first time

buyers to buy before the deadline in order to save money.

SQUATTING There are many controversial topics surrounding housing and empty homes

in the news and online.

Some of these can include the red tape surrounding empty homes,

homelessness, squatting and fluctuations in the housing market. Squatting

is something that comes up quite a lot in the news. From the dictionary the

definition of squatting is ‘to settle on or occupy property, especially

otherwise unoccupied property, without any title, right or payment of rent’.

Although squatting is not illegal it is illegal for squatters to damage

property. The main problems come when the owners or residents of the

home want to move in to their homes. In an article by Tom Whitehead for

the Telegraph he describes the process that owners would have to go

through. He says ‘They must also prove to the courts that they are either a

''displaced residential occupier'' – someone who has returned from holiday

to find squatters in their house – or a ''protected intended occupier'', who is

intending to move into an empty property.’ This can lead to expensive and

long legal battles for the owners.

Squatting in empty homes can also cause problems but many squatters

use this as a political statement. In an article for the Guardian, Mac an

Bháird, talks about homelessness and squatting in Ireland.

"There are thousands homeless in this country with about 2,000 on the

streets of Dublin alone tonight. Yet across the city there are thousands of

flats, apartments, homes lying empty – some could be fit for human

habitation. Our occupation is a way of making a point about the system

we are living under. These properties could lie vacant for up to 10 years or

more – so why not put homeless people into them?"

I think that this a good point and that if these empty homes couldn’t be

bought by individuals or developers, it would be a good opportunity to set

up as homes which could be supported by charities and the government

to get homeless people into accommodation.

These opinions show the different sides to the story and looking at

conflicting campaigns would be useful. This is a Newspaper article from the Evening standard which

promotes the illegalisation of squatting.

This squash campaign and photographs aim to support squatting and inform people

on the consequences that make it illegal will have.

INFO It is hard to find out information about empty homes due the

information not being made public in order to prevent

squatting. However I have found a few websites to look at.

The first website which I came across was the Guardian

Housing Network. Here there are numerous articles and links

to information on empty homes and the bigger picture on

housing in general.

The next was Retro-Tek which is a group which looks to

acquire and renovate empty properties using sustainable

methods. Normally when properties are renovated it is done

with a small budget. Retro-Tek focus on the sustainability of

the houses in order to help the planet and to help potential

buyers with their living costs.

Empty Homes is a charity which brings attention to empty

properties and campaigns in order to make the government

take notice of the housing issues. There are many facts and

statistics which are useful too.

Lastly I have been looking at updates from the Channel 4

Great British Property Scandal webpage. This webpage is

dedicated to bringing the property scandal to people’s

attention. They have also been doing this through television

programmes such as Britain’s empty Homes. This campaign

also has pages on Twitter and Facebook making it easy to

look at recent updates and information.

INSPIRATION

One of my main inspirations for this project was an artist which I came across a few years

ago in Photofusion Gallery in Brixton. The artist named David Creedon had a showing of his

photographic series ‘Ghosts of the faithful departed’ which pictured abandoned houses

throughout Ireland.

I think that the vibrancy of the colours in the photographs contrast really nicely with the

almost dark and sad theme. There’s also a strong religious relation with these photographs

which I think gives them a more emotional attachment with the viewer.

I think the main thing that I want to take away from this series of photographs is the feeling

that they create with in the audience. I also like the way that the photographs tell a story

and can make the audience imagine their own narrative.

HOME This shows the first contact sheet of

photographs which were taken at an

uninhabited house. The house had been

empty for around 2-3 months but still

contained possessions and many

personal belongings.

Walking around the house was quite a

strange experience and almost felt like

an invasion of the owner’s privacy. The

elderly woman who lived here recently

lost her husband and wanted to move to

somewhere smaller.

I think that knowing the story behind the

home makes you have a much more

emotional connection to the

photographs. When flicking through the

photographs I feel a sense of sadness to

see a house which had been loved for so

many years suddenly become empty

and lifeless.

BEGINNING

MIDDLE END

When thinking about homes, like

everything, there is a beginning, middle

and end. The journey that people take

with buying a home, growing into a home,

moving, selling etc. are often life

changing.

From first time buyers, to people searching

for a family home then from people

having to move due to health everyone

has different reasons and requirements in

relation to homes.

The differences would be that first time

buyers would be looking in terms of price

and practicality whereas families or older

generations would look for more of a

feeling of a home.

A home itself can also have a beginning,

middle and end. From being built, to

having different people come and go to

redecoration, maybe being left empty or

in some cases knocked down all houses

will have a life cycle.

In terms of the home which I

photographed, the home is at the end of

its current cycle with the current owner.

Hopefully soon it will be sold and its life

cycle will restart. This is a thought which I

would like to explore through my work.

When thinking about a beginning, middle

and end I started to think about stories

and books. The next few pages show

drawings and small illustrations that are

ideas for book illustrations.

Doing these illustrations

provided me with a

better understanding of

the architecture of

empty properties. I

have found that there

isn’t one type of

property that is typically

left empty and there

are many reasons why

they could be empty.

Part of the mystery of

empty properties is

either being intrigued

by the story or by

finding out interesting

facts about the families

that used to live there.

These illustrations could

potentially accompany

real life stories in a small

publication or book

produced to share the

stories of these empty

homes.

As well as investigating and documenting an

empty home from the inside, I also thought

that it was important to look at the outsides of

empty homes. From my previous photographs I

believe that the inside of a home has a lot

more of an emotional connection as it is a

private space, whereas the outside can give a

more disconnected and isolated feeling.

The inside of a home has personal belongings,

furniture, family photographs etc. which really

shed light on the owner’s personalities. The

inside of a home can also feel as if it contains

a lot of memories. I think that it is easier for

people to see empty homes as just rundown

buildings rather than homes as they are

boarded up almost blocking them from the

outside world altogether.

These following photographs show the outsides

of four different empty homes in my local

area. Their surroundings and look of the homes

in their current state all give them a different

feel which I will explore.

EXTERIORS

BANSTEAD This house is situated in the village of Banstead. It is in a highly

populated residential road where all of the houses are of the

same style. Although this home doesn’t stick out from the

others, it is very noticeable to neighbours and people who

know the area that it is the only empty house in the road.

Although I haven’t been able to discover why it is currently

boarded up, it hasn’t been vandalised, the garden isn’t

overgrown and the house looks well-kept from the outside.

This home has quite a plain exterior and was probably a home

for a family. Although that I still find it sad that homes are sitting

empty I feel quite detached from this property. I think that

because I don’t have any prior knowledge, history or stories of

the building it is hard to feel a connection.

This home is fairly modern and is in a very residential area,

whereas the other homes have been older style properties

and have been situated in secluded, more rural areas.

WOODMANSTERNE This is a 6 bedroom detached home in my home village of Woodmansterne. It is located in the

Great Solom’s Wood which surrounds a great proportion of Woodmansterne. From these

photographs you can see that it is unoccupied and uncared for. The rubbish at the front and

back of the property makes it obvious that this is an empty home. Although the windows and

doors are not boarded and there is easy access to the garden, the house is still rather scary

looking almost as if it has been completely abandoned.

The closest houses to this property are massive detached properties worth well in excess of £1

million. Empty homes have stories of their own, but they also impact on neighbours and the

area, not only looks wise, but they can attract vandalism, graffiti, and in some cases vermin.

I think that looking at a property close to where I live has made me realise that although we can

look at empty homes, people tend to care more if it directly affects them, which although is a

somewhat selfish view, it is a valid cause for concern in many circumstances.

TADWORTH This building is located in Tadworth just off of the main road (A217). I believe

that it used to be one building which has been split into separate houses,

then converted into a restaurant now is left sitting empty.

This building seems to have had many different uses and became empty

after the building was being used as a restaurant. After an inspection, the

restaurant was closed down after discovering that there were no fire exits

on the ground floor, no fire alarms and no emergency lighting. In the last

couple of years, there have been a few planning applications in order to

convert the building to flats, each of these has been rejected as the

building is located in the green belt area.

When looking at buildings like this, it is sad to know that they have been

proposals which have been turned down. It could easily be converted into

flats, as this was its main purpose before the restaurant. Although it is run

down at the moment, there are developers interested who are held back

by the red tape set by the council. It seems strange that they would rather

have it sit empty and being vandalised rather than it be put back into use.

This building is a classic example of how red tape and the long and stressful

procedure of planning permission can hold back buildings from getting

back into use.

KINGSWOOD This detached home is situated in Kingswood Village down a private unmade up road.

Getting to this house was quite a challenge is it is in an area of private roads which are

very narrow. The other houses around this area are very expensive and being on a

private road are well maintained.

This home is situated right at the end of the road and is almost completely hidden by

overgrown trees and hedges. There was rubbish, rubble and piles of building materials all

over the garden. A few of the top windows had cracks in them and the bottom

windows, doors and conservatory were boarded with metal in order to prevent

vandalism to the site.

I think that this house shows that empty homes can be anywhere. Even though this

house is on a private road, it is still very run down and there is a lot of rubbish surrounding

this property.

CAMPAIGNS

In order to progress with my project I decided to look

into using my photographs and drawings to create an

awareness campaign. I wanted to give my project a

context in which it could be viewed by a wider

audience.

Creating my own empty homes awareness campaign

would give me the opportunity to express my opinions

and put my photography to good use at the same time

as making people aware by putting across the facts.

When thinking about campaigns, I think it is important to

see how a successful campaign works. I have put

together a list of important aspects to take into

consideration. These include:

Understand the subject fully

Who else is campaigning in this field

Aims and objectives – broken down into small tasks

Use a SMART approach (Specific, Measurable,

Achievable, Realistic and Time-Specific)

What’s on in the media and news stories

Identify an audience and other members

How to inform people through the campaign

What is the main message of the campaign

Getting people involved

What needs to be invested – time, money etc.

I’m sure that as I look into the idea of the campaign

further I will discover more areas which I need to

consider.

The campaigns to the left are campaigns based around

empty homes, all of which I think I can take something

from. Some use figures to gain attention and create a

shock factor, while others use photographs or logos to

explain the message. I will explore all of these ideas and

combinations of these.

When looking at the points I made on the previous page there are many things to think about when creating a campaign.

Understand the subject fully

In order to understand the subject of empty homes fully I will need to continue to do a lot of research and become aware of

the laws and policies surrounding empty homes. This in itself is quite a large task but is possible with further and deeper

investigation.

Who else is campaigning in this field

When researching empty homes the main campaigners in this field are Channel 4’s Great British Property Scandal, Empty

Homes and No Use Empty. However, unlike in a business, these campaigners are not competition as in most cases all

campaigns are working towards the same outcome.

Aims and objectives – broken down into small tasks

The aims and objectives of my campaign will be to inform people on the figures of empty homes, why it is important to support

an empty homes campaign, what impact the homes have, and what the audience can do to help. Each of these can then be

broken down further into tasks such as creating leaflets, setting up a website etc.

Use a SMART approach (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Specific)

S – The specific goal is to impart information and encourage the audience to join the campaign

M – Make it measurable by setting a schedule and mini-deadlines of when certain tasks are expected to be done

A – Setting small tasks that can be built upon as the campaign grows is a way of making sure this campaign is achievable

R – Make sure that the topic of the campaign is current and that it is a cause which is relevant and important

T – Making the task time-specific means that tracking progress and noting when certain tasks are achieved will make it easier to

keep the campaign on track and make sure it is efficient

What’s on in the media and news stories

Making sure that I know what is going on in the news is important as it can make sure that the topic is current and to check that

information is correct. It will also show progression in the campaign to a wide audience.

CREATING MY

Identify an audience and other members

It is very important to make sure that the campaign is aimed at the correct audience in order to boost its chances of success

and to have a greater effect. They type of audience that this could be specific to would include people on the housing

register, families looking for homes, property developers, and people who are heavily involved in the local communities.

How to inform people through the campaign

As mentioned before, depending on the success of the campaign, will depend on the different means of communication to

the public. In the beginning, lost cost ways of communicating will be a more effective way for a new campaign to start out.

Leaflets, small flyers, talks, and maybe fundraisers are possible ways to start out.

What is the main message of the campaign

Every campaign has to be clear in its intentions and the main message of my campaign will be that empty homes are unused

resource which could be put to better use by converting them into homes. In order to do this we need to cut the red tape

surrounding the rules and regulations of empty homes.

Getting people involved

In order to get people involved the campaign needs to be interesting and make people care about the problems and make

them excited about what could be achieved. It needs to be optimistic, realistic, professional, and make it easy for people to

contribute.

What needs to be invested – time, money etc.

At first it is best to start out by not spending too much until the campaign takes off. Money will need to be invested at certain

points such as leafleting, creating a website etc. As the campaign grows it will demand more human resources and time.

Getting started

To start of the campaign it needs a name and logo. The next steps will be to apply my imagery and research to the campaign

and start out with small tasks such as creating ideas for flyers, leaflets and advertising.

CAMPAIGN

NAME &

LOGO When starting my campaign, I am already aware of

the aims and objectives and therefore think that it is

important to put a name and logo to the campaign in

order to build up the identity.

I think that it is important to create a relevant name

and logo in order for the campaign to become easily

recognisable and build up a good, trustworthy

reputation. This also will help me to start forming the

basis of the campaign and will allow me to start

creating leaflets and flyers etc. in order to advertise

the campaign.

I started by brainstorming around the words empty

home, property, abandoned, etc. I then came to the

word vacant and then vacancy as these homes have

been left empty. I think that the word also brings

feelings of abandonment and relates well to the

campaign.

I think this word relates well to the campaign as it is

about getting empty homes back into use. The homes

are vacant however if they could be put back into

use there would be vacancies.

The font has been created by deconstructing the

letters. I think that this works well for this campaign as

often the houses are dilapidated and need to be

renovated which is reflected in this font choice.

LEAFLET My first idea was to create a leaflet that could be distributed in order to create awareness on the topic of empty homes and encourage the audience

to join the campaign. I wanted to create a small leaflet which would be easy to hand out or put through peoples doors. I wanted to use photographs

which I have taken and use black and white firstly so it would have a dramatic effect and give the photographs a dark feeling and secondly it allows the

leaflets to be produced multiple times at a low cost. I had the idea of creating a row of houses with my photographs so I plan to use a photograph of each home at the bottom of each page of the leaflet

so that as the reader turns the pages they see a continuous line of empty homes. The information about the campaign will be broken down into different

paragraphs and displayed above the photographs.

Front 1 2 3 4 Back

Above is my plan for the leaflet. I decided to make it a rectangular shaped leaflet measuring 20cm x 8cm in order to make it easier to post or hand out.

In my plan I have decide to keep the leaflet relatively short on the page count as the information needs to be concise and to the point to have the

maximum impact to the audience. The next step is to take my plan onto the computer and start to piece together the correct photographs and text.

This is my computer plan for the leaflet. It shows the front and back page with two double spreads in side. Like in my plan, I have created a continuous line of empty homes and will insert text and information into the white spaces created by the photographs. In order to see how it would look I then went on to create a mock up – minus the text. I can then work on figuring out the best information to include in order to make it effective. Afterwards I can also then work on the layout and placement of the text and logo.

I am now going to use my mock up leaflet to plan where to place the text, headings and photographs. I also need to decide what information

to include in order to get the message across to the audience in a short space of time. It needs to be attention grabbing and use facts and

statistics to enhance the strength of the campaign.

Below I have showed certain features which I wish to include in the leaflet. These include the logo of the campaign in order to carry on the

consistent look. I also want to use bolder and larger text in selected areas to make it stand out more than other information. This will give me the

opportunity to get the most important and attention grabbing statistics across. Using bullet points and columns is also another idea to break up

large pieces of text making it easier for people to read. I then thought that it would be a good idea to include a report empty homes form and

include contact details as well as the website address to get the audience to find out more. The opposite page shows the finished leaflet which

can also be viewed at http://issuu.com/clairelowe/docs/empty_homes_leaflet_finished.

Logo Statistics standing out

from text

Bullet points for

easy information

Columns Report empty

homes form

FLYERS When thinking about ways in which to bring

this campaign to more people I decided to

create a series of flyers to accompany the

leaflets. These flyers are of a smaller size and

could be distributed to a wider audience.

I wanted to make a set of 4-6 flyers which

would be in the same design and style as the

leaflet and which could be collected as part

of a set of photographs for the campaign.

I created a front and back layout in order to

insure that they flyers would all be the same

size and to make sure that the backs would

line up properly for double-sided printing.

The front will contain a photograph of an

empty home, and the campaign logo. The

back will be black in order to complement the

dark photographs on the front and will

contain a few key points of information to get

people’s attention and contact information

such as a website address etc. which can

then lead then to find out more and join the

campaign.

The images to the right show the blank designs

for the flyers. I may also decide to create a

colour set as well and compare them in order

to see which one is more effective.

Here I have planned out the flyers without

the logos and writing as an idea of layout. I

have also planned to have the backs of

the flyers black with white writing and have

positioned the sides like this to make it

easier for double-sided printing.

It is important for the flyers to have the logo

as a form of the branding if the campaign

and I need to think carefully about the text

to use on the back. There is a small space

on the back of each flyer so the

information must be precise and to the

point and have as much impact as

possible. One way to do this could be to

use facts and statistics as well as

explanation of the importance of the

campaign.

The next step is to print these out as mock-

ups to see what changes need to be made

before finalising the finished flyer.

I decided to look at some

examples of other property flyers.

These flyers are for estate agents,

advertising there services and

looking for more similar properties

to sell. I think it is also interesting to

look at the language used in these

advertisements.

Although my flyers won’t be

offering a particular or similar

service, I think that they want to

catch attention in a small space.

These flyers use bold colour, large

logo and text, imagery and

contact details. These are some of

the features which I will wish to

include.

These are the four finished

flyers. These photographs show

the four fronts of the flyers

complete with the Vacancy

logo. At the bottom, it shows

the back of each of the flyers

which is black with white text.

The back of each flyer is the

same and contains the logo,

empty home statistics in bold,

and the website address. I

believe that these flyers tie in

well with the leaflets and

convey a strong message

which is needed when trying to

create awareness through

flyers.

The imagery is bold and strong

which can catch people’s

attention and, the logo is

prominent on the front and

back so that it is clear

whichever way it goes through

the letterbox. On the back

there is a small amount of

information and facts in order

to try and create a big impact

in a few short sentences.

These flyers could be targeted

to certain areas where empty

homes are an issue as it would

be something that residents

would be familiar with. This also

gives the opportunity to make

the flyers area specific and

feature images and facts

about certain areas.

These photographs were for

an experiment of the size

and clarity of the flyer to the

audience. They show that,

especially against a white

door, the flyers stand out a

lot. The Vacancy logo is also

clear from the front and

back, depending on which

way it is delivered.

The size of the flyer also

seems to be appropriate for

its purpose. It is a rectangular

shape which works well for

using photographs as the

front. They are printed on

double-sided glossy card

which gives a professional

look and feel to the flyers

and means that they will be

more robust which is good

especially as it will be being

posted.

WEBSITE Creating a website is a really good tool for an awareness campaign as it gives

people who find this subject interesting a place to find out information and stay

up-to-date and in touch. It also allows the opportunity to reach a much wider

audience, whereas the leaflets and flyers could be distributed into smaller

communities. These methods of campaigning then cover a massive range of

people and put across important messages and facts in order to strengthen the

campaign.

When thinking about the website, there are many points to consider which

include:

The main purpose of the website

The message

What information to include

How many pages to include

What pages to include – sectioning the information

Layout and usability of the website

To my right is an initial layout design which I made just to get an idea of where to

start with pages to create, topics to cover and ways to arrange the pages.

I will now go onto refine the layout and look into the information I wish to include

for each page. I will need to do further plans for each individual page.

These are plans for the initial 9 pages

which I indent to create for the

campaign. The 9 pages include:

Home

About

Report

What we do

In your area

Help us out

Blog

Contact

Sign up

Each of these pages will have the

page bar in order to change pages

easily and will contain the

photograph banner at the top in

order to carry on the theme

throughout the leaflets, flyers and

website or any other promotional

pieces I create.

FONT

To follow on the theme from the leaflets and flyers I decided to use

Century Gothic for the main body of the text. I think that this

particular font is clean and easy to read at small sizes which make it

appropriate for all of the pieces I will design. I made the Vacancy

logo by deconstructing each letter with lines and changing it to

black and white.

LAYOUT

Although I didn’t keep to the same layout on each individual page,

I used boxes to outline the text and kept the thickness of the smaller

headers uniform in order to keep a consistent look throughout the

website. The photographs I have used are also the same

photographs that I have used for the leaflets and flyers to keep a

similar look. These photographs can then be updated when the

campaign finds more empty homes.

COLOUR PALETTE

As I had made the decision to use black and white photographs for

my website, I thought it was a good idea to bring in some subtle

colours. I decided on a light khaki and blue colour as I think that

those colours complement each other well. I think that it is also nice

to have subtle colours rather than bright colours just so that the

information and the message stand out. Although this website

currently only consists of nine pages I think that it leaves a lot of

room for expansion in the future and to incorporate more

information and features.

Black

Khaki

Steel Blue

Grey

NEWSLETTER

As well as creating a website for the campaign, I think that it is also

important to keep in touch with the people that join the campaign

to keep their interest and loyalty to the cause. I therefore came to

the decision to create an email attachment which would take the

form of a newsletter which wold include information on the

recipients local area, what progress has been made and what is

planned for the future.

As I wanted to keep the brand of my campaign throughout all of

the pieces I create I decided to use the template of the website for

the newsletter attachment.

These two images show the newsletters which would be sent out via email to people who sign up on the website. This is a good opportunity to get in touch with the target audience of people who have already shown an interest. This can be good for gaining information from the public and generating more interest for the campaign.

The top image shows the newsletter which people would receive just after signing up. This email says thank you to the person for signing up and to let them know what they can expect from future newsletters.

The second image shows the newsletter which they receive each month showing a calendar of events which will be made specific to the postcode that they enter when signing up.

ARTICLE I decided to do an article which could

be featured in local papers, property

magazines and on property websites. It

is an article on behalf of the Vacancy

campaign which is another way in

which to bring this campaign to

people’s attention and to make them

aware of the current housing situation.

The fact that articles can be put into

many different forms such as online or

into magazines meaning that although

they can reach the public, you can

also put the article into more specific

magazines in order to get it seen by

the target audience of developers,

members of housing associations, or

volunteers.

To the right I have made a small plan

of how to layout my article. I wanted

to use columns, my photographs, facts

as well as highlighting Vacancy and

the website.

The opposite page shows my finished

article which looks at the idea of using

empty homes as a solution to the UK’s

housing problems. This article could

then be followed up by more in this

series and could be made to address

new housing issues and progress. There

could also be more specific to local

newspapers when something happens

in a certain area.

WEBSITES

Bentham, M (2011) The Government must act to make squatting illegal: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/the-government-must-act-to-make-squatting-illegal-6441280.html [last accessed 03/05/2012]

Bloomfield, R (2009) An Empty home is ‘the worst neighbour’: http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property_news/news/emptyhomesareworstneighbours.html [Last accessed 23/04/2012]

Channel 4 (from 2011 – present) The Great British Property Scandal: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-british-property-scandal/articles/home/ [Last accessed 03/03/2012]

Creedon, D (2007) Ghosts of the faithful departed: http://www.davidcreedon.com/house/index.html [Last accessed 15/03/2012]

Curtis, P (2011) Empty homes rules tighten ‘to protect civil liberties’: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/06/empty-houses-rule-change?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 [Last accessed 20/04/2012]

Empty Homes (2012) Homes from Empty Homes: http://www.emptyhomes.com [Last accessed 01/05/2012]

Facebook (2012) The Great British Property Scandal: http://www.facebook.com/propertyscandal [Last accessed 03/05/2012]

Fitzmaurice, J (2009) Community groups can reclaim empty houses: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2009/jul/15/community-reclaim-empty-houses [Last accessed 10/04/2012]

The Guardian (2012) Housing Market: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/03/ireland-squatters-occupy-homes-nama [Last accessed 30/04/2012]

The Guardian (2012) Housing Network: http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network [Last accessed 30/04/2012]

The Guardian (2012) Squatting Page: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/squatting [Last accessed 30/04/2012]

Howle, M (2012) Sit-in bid to scupper council house sales: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/london/sitin-bid-to-scupper-council-house-sales-7442603.html [Last accessed 13/02/2012]

Inside housing (2009) Empty Promise Campaign: http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/ihsection4.aspx?navCode=1183 [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

Insley, J (2010) Mortgage benefits cut could lead to thousands being made homeless: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/nov/12/mortgage-benefits-thousands-homeless [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

Kelly, L (2012) Top tips – Empty Homes: http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2012/feb/02/top-tips-empty-homes?newsfeed=true [Last accessed 03/03/2012]

Lea, K (2009) What is a Campaign?: http://klear.wordpress.com/2009/06/ [Last accessed 12/04/2012]

McDonald, H (2012) The Irish squatters taking on empty homes and a bankrupt system: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/03/ireland-squatters-occupy-homes-nama [Last accessed 15/04/2012

Newbold, P (2012) Why many homes are just not worth refurbishing: http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2012/mar/01/empty-homes-insulation-efficiency-work [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

Northern Indymedia (2011) Sleep out against anti-squatting laws: http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/2296 [Last accessed 02/05/2012]

No Use Empty (2005 – present) Kent’s empty property initiative: http://www.no-use-empty.org/ [Last accessed 01/05/2012]

Norwood, G (2011) Compulsory purchase order: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/oct/08/compulsory-purchase-cornwall-empty-homes [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

One housing group (2010) Affordable housing: http://www.onehousinggroup.co.uk [Last accessed 04/04/2012]

Pati, A (2012) Homesteading: http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2012/jan/27/homesteading-takes-off-empty-homes [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

Pepper, J (2012 Carshalton Forge: http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/suttonnews/9467870._Forge_s_history_will_be_washed_away_/?ref=rss [Last accessed 03/03/2012]

Retro-Tek (2011) About Retro-Tek: http://www.retrotek.co.uk/about/ [Last accessed 10/03/2012]

Stunell, A (2012) Communities have a change to revive their neighbourhoods: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/2073183 [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

Squash (2012) Squatters action for secure homes: http://www.squashcampaign.org/ [Last accessed 02/05/2012]

Twitter – The Great British Property Scandal: http://twitter.com/#!/PropertyScandal [Last accessed 03/05/2012]

Whitehead, T (2011) Squatting to be made illegal: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8388795/Squatting-to-be-made-illegal-vows-Clarke.html [Last accessed 15/04/2012]

Zoopla (2012) Property website: http://www.zoopla.co.uk [Last accessed 26/04/2012]

BOOKS

Barnes, M (2006) Twilight: Photography in the magic hour. London: Merrell

Blunt, A, Dowling, R (2006) Home – Key Ideas in Geography. London: Routledge

Creedon, D (2011) Ghosts of the faithful departed. Ireland: The Collins Press

Frost, L (2009) 50 Photo Projects. Devon: David and Charles

Hido, T (2007) House Hunting. Oregon: Nazraeli Press

Kahn, L (2012) Tiny Homes; Simple Shelter. California: Shelter Publications Inc.

Marchand Y, Meffre, R (2010) The Ruins of Detroit. Germany: Steidl

Noble, F, Noble, I (2010) Blanket of Stars: Homeless Women in Santa Monica. Santa Monica: Angel City Press

Payne, C, O.Sacks, D (2009) Asylum. Massachusetts: MIT Press

Wates, N, Wolmar, C. (1981) Squatting: The real Story. USA: Bay Leaf Books

EVALUATION When first starting my project I thought that empty homes would be an interesting topic as it could provide me with the locations and atmospheres that I like

to photograph. I didn’t anticipate how much the project would affect my opinions and views on empty homes which I think will translate to the audience in

order for them to form their own opinions on the subject.

My main aim of this project was for me to create awareness about empty homes and to highlight the potential that they hold using photography. Although

they can be a problem and an eyesore for neighbours the potential for turning these homes into usable housing is something that needs to be looked into

especially considering the housing statistics which I found and showed throughout my project.

By combining my photography with my interest in empty homes and the stories behind them, I wanted to create an awareness campaign in order to bring this

situation to people’s attention. My target audience for this project was anyone with an interest for property development and local communities where

empty homes are situated. As well as providing information, statistics, and facts, I wanted to provide a sense of the emotion and feelings behind these

properties which I think are shown through my photography. I think this is important as the key to a successful project is to gain a connection with the viewer.

I started my project by looking at my own relationship with my home and what I personally consider the word home to mean to me. Although this was much

more of a personal approach I think that this was important to show where my views and opinions come from considering my background. It also shows that a

home is a personal place and everyone’s experiences are going to be different. My home has a big connection to me and my family, which is why I decided

to look into squatting, where the relationship to a property would be very different. This also gave my project an external context and relevance at this time.

Once I had considered all of the information and research up to that point I decided to start photographing inside an empty home. This made the emotional

side of empty properties really shine through over the facts and figures. The story behind why the property was empty was more important and made you see

the home more than just a statistic. When thinking about the story behind this home you could see this as almost a life cycle and this led me to look into the

narrative of my photographs. Another way to show my narrative could be through small illustrations which could accompany a book or publication on real life

stories.

I went on to photograph the exteriors of empty properties to show a different style of photography and to compare the connection we feel from the inside as

well as to see if the exterior photographs carry a different narrative. This is an interesting comparison to make and also led me towards the idea of the

awareness campaign as it would cover everything that I aimed to achieve including sharing stories, facts, statistics and conveying the message that empty

homes are such an unused resource. I then needed ways to spread the campaign to the audience so decided to create mock ups of leaflets, flyers, articles

and a website which would be used if this campaign we to exist.

I thought carefully about what information to include in the leaflets and flyers and think that they were successful in conveying the message to the audience.

If I were to expand upon this project, I would take a more active role in the community by interviewing people and recording their experiences. I would also

want to create an online page, initially in the form of a blog, which could then later expand into the website I designed in order for me to gain more

information and a wider audience. I found it hard to find empty properties due to councils not being able to give out much information. I would have liked to

find more locations to photograph as this could have provided me with a lot more research and material for a possible photo book which is what I would

have eventually liked to produce if I were extending my project. Overall I thought that my project was successful in fulfilling the aims that I set myself and in the

communication of my message to the audience.