Piggy pop-ups

We were recently consulted by children’s & young adults’ writing & mentoring charity, Little Green Pig (LGP), to design the look and feel, wayfinding and wall graphics for a pop-up creative writing/ illustrating space in central Brighton.

We asked LGP Development Manager, Emily Hogan (above, far left) to tell us a bit about the project’s aims and the design process LGP went through with Sherlock. Here’s what she said:

What sort of look and feel did you wish to create in the space?

“The No Walls Gallery is a small and bright space, which we hoped to keep fresh and modern, whilst adding some warmth and personality.

The ground floor needed to shout about LGP’s work, without overwhelming visitors with information. It also needed to be multi-purpose: a place for passers-by to get a snapshot of who we are and a welcoming stop-off to drop by and chat, grab a free book or visit our daily writer-in-residence.

The downstairs space, being used for writing and illustrating workshops, needed to be comfortable and creative – with sensible features such as good work areas, alongside fun details to inspire the kids.”

Has the design delivered on this?

“We are thrilled with Sherlock’s design – it did absolutely everything we were hoping for – plus lots of little extras, which make all the difference. We’re particularly delighted by their attention to detail and how they have kept LGP’s friendly, accessible attitude at the heart of their concept. They have also read the space very well which, although it’s a blank canvas, needed to be carefully considered due to it’s small size and our big plans for it.

Overall, Sherlock’s work has really blown us away – not only the finished design, but also their professionalism – and patience! – throughout the journey.”

What do you hope to achieve through the pop-up?

“LGP runs creative writing projects for young people across Brighton, but we’ve never had a home of our own. Through the pop-up, we hope to showcase to the community who we are, what we stand for and what we’re up to in the city. We’re also going to be working with 100 local children on writing and illustrating workshops over the course of the week.

By getting the chance to introduce people to our work, we aim to attract more partnerships with other organisations and with any luck, some donations too, as we rely on them to keep all our projects free.”

What are your future aspirations when it comes to LGP & physical spaces? Do you foresee more pop-ups in future?

“Ultimately, we’d love to have a permanent home for LGP – a creative space in the city where young people from all backgrounds feel happy coming along and taking part in our projects. This might be a little way off for now, so given the chance to do another pop-up in the future, that might be a good stepping-stone for us too.”

Sherlock worked with signage contractor partner, Reade Signs, for the fit-out and the space is being supported financially by blogzine Selfish Mother.

The Little Green Pig/ Selfish Mother pop-up will be open 10am – 4pm, 29 August to 3 September 2016, at No Walls Gallery, Church Street, Brighton. You can find a list of the writing and artists-in-residence workshops, here.