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Built Branded, by Ground Up Designers — Brooklynian

Built Branded, by Ground Up Designers

lanazellner
lanazellner
edited November -1 in The Classifieds
Hi All, I apologize if this is at all advertise-y ;) I promise my intentions are in the interest of the neighborhoods the project promotes.

I have recently started a design firm with two other designers, Kristen (Interior design) and Tayef (Multimedia-Graphic Design). The firm is called 'Ground Up Designers', and we focus on all scales of design, from print to architecture. Things have been going great so far and it has been a truly amazing experience for us.

Stemming from our desire to meet new people, discover our neighbors, and introduce ourselves to the community, we are writing a book, designing a map, and throwing a party! The entire project is called 'Built and Branded' and focuses on the development of the neighborhoods closest to where we work (and live), Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

If we reach our minimum goal we will be able to supply 5 area bookstores with 10 copies of the book each, reward all our contributors appropriately, and throw an awesome party! We would LOVE to reach $5000 so we could distribute over a hundred extra books, but we will at least be able to get our first round of prints done with the minimum funding. Every dollar helps!

If your interested in supporting these communities and Brooklyn Design, here is our Kickstarter page

http://kck.st/chL2vi

Thanks so much
I hope someone finds the project interesting :)

Comments

  • citymouse
    citymouse
    Can you explain precisely why and how this project benefits the neighborhoods of Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, Fort Greene, and Clinton Hill?

    How does the digital map offer different, more valuable content to residents and local businesses from, say, Yelp or Google reviews?

    What are some examples of local businesses that are featured in the products?
  • lanazellner
    lanazellner
    There are some very exciting and interesting things happening in the five neighborhoods we have decided to focus on, and our primary goal is to bring attention to that. The book, as well as the project at large, focuses around design - Interior Design, Architectural Design, Web Design, Identity Design, Print Design, and Product Design. Inspired by the friendly charismatic energy of these neighborhoods, we want to bring light to some of the beautiful and creative places we love.

    All in all, this is a design project, so that is the way the Digital Map will differ from Yelp and Google. It's very much about the the process of creating something beautiful, and unique, that only our community has. Everyone has a Google map of their neighborhood, but only we would have this map. As far as content goes, our hope is that the contributors to the project will suggest places that are lesser known, small neighborhood treasures. Who knows if that will pull through - it is in many ways, up to the contributors. The post cards we are putting together as the $30 reward focus around these beautiful hidden moments that can be seen around town.

    At the most basic level, the book would be offering some publicity to the neighborhoods and the featured businesses. On a more personal level, we hope the project gives the people of these 5 neighborhoods something to talk about as they get to know each other.

    We wanted to meet our neighbors - we thought maybe other people did too - Built & Branded is a solution to that problem.


    Some of the businesses signed up to be in the book are:
    * Glass Shop
    * Park Delicatessen
    * Brooklyn Bike and Board
    * Outpost
    * The Vanderbilt
    * Brooklyn Cares Vet
    * James Restaurant
    * Milk Bar
    * Sweet Revenge
    * Peaches Hot House
    * Ms. Dahlia’s Cafe

    The map's list is obviously growing.
  • citymouse
    citymouse
    I guess I fail to see how Google Maps and Yelp are not design projects; in fact they are HUGE design projects at a pretty fascinating scale, which afford the opportunity for constant, user-generated, generally "democratic" (although there are some censorship issues) content. Not that your project doesn't offer some different aspects of design skill (more finely tuned aesthetic sensibility, editing - although on Yelp, etc. it is possible for each user to create consolidated lists of businesses that can function to highlight "hidden gems" and add new businesses to the sites, and sort/feature them by any imaginable organization, including neighborhood, though this is not dictated to an audience by the overall interface.)

    I think it would be nice to focus on some of the assets in the neighborhood that don't cost money, like community gardens or public events. And businesses in our neighborhoods that have been here for a while and cater more to local residents, such as some of the restaurants and businesses around Fulton, Nostrand & Kingston. A lot of us can't afford the places you listed above, a coffee at Milk Bar costs as much as my typical lunch and dinner combined and they don't take EBT so they do not feel very friendly to me. They might as well not be in the neighborhood.
  • lanazellner
    lanazellner
    Good point's about the restaurant choices - It is true, many of the businesses in the book are a bit pricey. But the book, focuses more on local businesses with strong identities and design sensibility (rather than quality or price of food - many of the businesses aren't restaurants) - from the viewpoint of professional designers.

    We are hoping to include the community gardens, CSAs and other interesting features of the neighborhood in the map. I REALLY hope the people who contribute to the project make suggestions like yours! It will definitely make the project more interesting and successful.

    Here is a link to an image of the map we are currently working on.
    http://www.blog.groundupdesigners.com/2010/08/bklyn-ny/
    It is much different aesthetically than Google or Yelp. It has halready changed a bit since that version - so don't judge too harshly :)

    We are attempting to make a the map more of a graphic designers rendition of Brooklyn - focusing on our area. Don't get me wrong I am completely in love with Google and Yelp and I use them both on a daily basis (lots for this project haha)! And yes, they are definitely HUGE design projects, but they are also huge technical projects. Our firm isn't really interested in re-mapping the planet, just giving something [hopefully] beautiful and interesting to our community.

    If your interested in making a suggestion, I will make sure we add it too the map for you! What is your favorite hidden treasure?
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