Earlier in the year, we briefed a group of first year Graphic Design students at Plymouth Art College to come up with some fresh ideas for inspiring people to get out on the South West Coast Path near Plymouth. Last month, we got the chance to catch up with those same students and see how their ideas had come to life at an exhibition show.
A theme that emerged across a number of the groups was the idea of gamification to ‘make walking fun’. Whilst many of us would argue walking is fun all by itself, it seems Generation Z who grew up with the internet and are the most tech savvy folks of our time, enjoy the social and goal motivated aspects of incorporating walking with an app.
Amongst some of the ideas was way finding that included spinning reflective acorns to catch people’s attention and lure them out from the urban sprawl onto our glorious National Trail. Others suggested the idea of mural walls, interactive sculptures and apps that would log progress based on the number of walks you completed. We saw some really innovative and creative ideas coming from this group, many of whom had not explored the Coast Path since embarking on this project.
Take a look at our gallery below to see the teams behind each project.
Only time will tell to see if some of these ideas make into the future world of walking in the South West. A big thanks to course leaders Matt Thame and Amanda Duffin for letting us brief this one in!
The South West Coast Path 