DISSERTATION - Tutorial 2

I managed to create a structure for my dissertation before this tutorial and email it to Richard as requested, however, I didn't get round to actually writing anything or drafting up the first chapter as suggested. This wasn't too much of a problem it turned out as we got to talk about some ideas that I had developed from my research visit to NIKETOWN in London over dissertation week and we also refined the structure of my dissertation.

Here are the notes I took from the tutorial.

• change from 4 chapters to 3 chapters
• consumerism branding
• start chapter 1
• ask support how to structure that chapter
• introduction
• main body
• 4 or more theories of branding in consumer culture
• conclusion
• relates back to title
• Can use a variety of examples (don't go mad)
• famous brands - Pes soap
• brands associating itself with something else
• expand on methodologies

Richards notes and feedback.

• amended dissertation to focus on three chapter structure.
• 1 - brand theory and consumer culture
• 2 - NIKE and cool branding
• 3 - case studies
• Chapter 1 (2000 words) - use a variety of examples
• intro
• main body
• 4 or more theories
• conclusion
• relate back to title
• link to next chapter
• By next tutorial - start chapter one

So basically this was a good tutorial and I don't feel as behind on the work as I did beforehand and I just need to draft my first chapter for the next tutorial and we can go from there.

RESEARCH - trip to London and NIKETOWN

To strengthen my case study with some primary research I took a trip to London (for the first time ever) specifically to visit the NIKE flagship store and observe what they are doing with there products and the experience customers have when they visit.

The store was very organised and precise, it had a lot of installations that display the clothes and products which made it almost feel like a museum dedicated to NIKE. They have utilised different popular sports and urban subcultures and echoed them in the displays. For example, there were shoes suspended in frames made from basket ball hoops, and when you enter the building you're greeted by not only the staff but a series of mannequins dressed in American Football gear tackling each other.

A lot of brands seem to be doing this with their bigger stores. They are reinvesting in the layouts and displays to give customers a new experience of shopping. With the every growing online world of retail and the expanding availability of purchasing something without even leaving the comfort of your own home, these new 'experience' driven outlets are attempting to bring people back to the world of manual consumption.

Some of the image quality isn't great because I had to use an iPhone instead of my SLR so I didn't look like I was stealing designs or anything like that. Fortunately looks of other people were doing the same so I blended in quite well.

This is the main reason why I wanted to come and visit. To see the NIKEID studio where you can get your NIKE trainers customised. Even though you are wearing a NIKE product you still get some of you put into it.