Professionalism
An indication of our professionalism was best seen in the
successful interaction between the market place attendees and our way finding
tools, which lead them to and around the marketplace. On the day of setup, our
group performed professionally and efficiently to make sure everything was
ready on the market day while still leaving time to make any last adjustments.
On the day of the market place, we felt the majority of our signage was clear
for the participants and throughout the day we were present and willing to
guide or adapt our tools in case people were ever lost. Once the market place
was over, we again maintained the same level of professionalism and efficiency
to pack down everything we had done on the event while also helping to tidy up
the place along the way.
Effort versus Return
Initially we had bigger plans for our lightboxes and vinyl
ideas but we scaled this according to finance restrictions. Our ability to
adapt is clearly displayed in the quality of our back up plans that were
implemented through screens, floor tape and boxes to achieve the same standard
that we initially set ourselves.
We decided to go with multiple touch points to engage people
coming to the market as well as moving through it and the result of this was a
massive amount of time and effort put in by our group. The return for this was
having people from the events streams come up to us and tell us how impressed
they were with what we’d done and observing participants of the market reacting
to our work.
Group Functioning
Organisation was key for our group and meeting up at a
certain time every week helped us to set out our goals and ultimately achieve
them to a high standard. Using tools such as Trello and Facebook assisted
communication, allowing us to function effectively in the busy weeks leading up
to the marketplace. We struggled with Google Plus and Keep because we found they
were less effective than face-to-face communication, which hindered our
momentum initially. We solved this problem by increasing the allocated meeting
times. During set up we identified as a group by wearing yellow arrows and
black outfits, making us cohesive as a team (as well as being on brand!) To
ensure maximum success in the functioning of the group during set up, we
divided the tasks and each member took responsibility for the completion of a
different role.
Working in a Team
Delegating tasks to members depending on their strengths was
a valuable learning curve as it increased efficiency dramatically. As a team,
having a policy of being open and honest allowed us to work through any issues
and make compromises that kept everyone happy. We made a point of going out to
lunch together in order to get to know each of the members and this helped us
work together efficiently as well as increasing our the enjoyment of the paper.
In hindsight, we should have done more of this team building earlier on because
of how successful it was. As a team we have reflected we could have spent more
time thinking about signage and leading market participants into the dark
space. We also had a member that had personal issues who may have required more
support than given.
Audience Response
The overall response to our way finding was immensely
positive. Market participants were visibly excited about following the trail of
planes to the market and many of our peers from the paper mentioned the novelty
of the planes to us. The signage was cited as a successful component of the
marketplace, particularly the digital aspect that was seen as a great
professional touch. Offering teams from the dark space provided feedback that
they felt more way finding tools were needed to direct people to their area, as
there was only an icon stand and an entrance sign guiding people there. The
screens placed around Massey to generate interest in the market were successful
as they generated conversation and created buzz, with a group of people even
taking a ‘selfie’ with one.
