Hey Jonny! How would you describe yourself and what you do?

I’m a documentary filmmaker, but my training was in architecture. My business brings both aspects of my professional experience together. It does this through telling compelling stories about the design of the places and spaces around us through different media formats, including film, animation and podcasts.

How did you find out about the Clwstwr funding?

I found out about Clwstwr funding through the Creative Cardiff network back at the start of 2020. I got in touch with the team and was invited in for a chat, where someone explained the ins and outs of Clwstwr to me.

What inspired you to apply for funding?

I had always enjoyed film projects that involved the built environment, but before Clwstwr it hadn’t occurred to me to push in this particular direction. When the opportunity for funding came up, I knew it could be a great starting point to explore how I could make this work, in quite a thorough and rigorous way.

Explain what you were aiming to do in your application

The way that I turned my vague idea into a central aim was by developing a key question that the research would seek to answer, which was: How can we better engage people in the processes and ideas that shape the places and spaces around us?

By coming up with this question as the starting point, it not only helped focus the research but also opened it up. It forced me to think beyond conventional multimedia storytelling by simply starting with exploration of the question and seeing where it led. Over the course of two funding rounds, I received around £15,000.

What process did you use to carry out your Clwstwr project, stage by stage?

I used the double diamond model of design development, which I was introduced to by the Clwstwr support team and PDR. This model pretty much shaped the whole process.

The first step was to discover how big the problem I had identified through my research question was, i.e. whether it was a problem at all. So, this stage was all about going out and speaking to people in the architecture and built environment professions, as well as those outside the profession. I was trying to find out if, and if so why, people don’t really engage with the sector.

The next step was to take these findings and categorise and summarise the key issues, which could act as a starting point for designing some sort of solution. I proposed a few different solutions, and through a process of iterating and very basic prototyping, refined them down to one possible solution. This one solution, which at that stage had taken the form of a digital platform where people could share their own stories about the places around them, was built as a kind of simulation, so that you had a sense of what a space would look and feel like. This was the final stage of the first round of funding.

The second round started with this prototype. I presented it to all the people with whom I had originally engaged at the start of the project. This was an extremely useful feedback process that identified what was missing as well as what was unnecessary. This led to further rounds of refinement and testing, which eventually led to my current proposal: a multi-platform series of content focussed around the idea of home called 'The Block', around which the idea is to build a digital community where people can share their own stories about the places around them.

What would you say were the main outcomes of the R&D?

I now have a clear idea of a key product, The Block, around which to build my business. Aside from that, it's so useful to have been through a thorough R&D process. Knowing how to do that is invaluable, and the thinking is something I apply to my work all the time now.

Where do you think you’ll go next, having carried out the R&D?

I hope to continue building my business in this sector, as well as continuing the production of 'The Block', which is currently at pilot stage. I hope to continue to open up the architecture and place-making sectors in terms of opportunities for storytelling to engage more people in these fascinating topics.