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Kate Wakely

MA work

Disclosed

In my final year at the RCA I have been focusing on two areas: the interplay between mental health and green spaces; and mindful consumption.

In collaboration with the charity Mind, I have been looking at how greater interaction with the natural environment might be deployed more widely as a service in urban areas to help build mental resilience; bringing to the fore many of the activities currently ‘hidden in plain sight’.

Together with Marion Ferrec, I have been exploring consumers’ ability to shop in a more conscious, value-driven way. Our project aims to support willing mainstream consumers who have individual ambitions to consume more mindfully, by making previously inaccessible data transparent and embedded within their shopping experience.

This enables customers to act on what matters to them, whether this be a carbon footprint or avoiding certain ingredients, in the context of making many fleeting decisions. My teammate continued to evolve the model and brand, while I have been working with Mind, and now together again we've been working to bring the concept to life in the RCA Show. ‘Disclosed’ builds on our earlier project ‘Active Values’ for Sainsbury’s which focused specifically on helping customers to engage with aspects of sustainable consumption.

Info

  • Profile Photo
  • MA Degree

    School

    School of Design

    Programme

    MA Service Design, 2014

  • Coming from a background in social anthropology and consumer research, I came to the RCA with the ambition to learn how to make the commercial research I formerly engaged in ‘do more’, and create experiences which would enrich the lives of the people who I spent my days trying to understand.

    Service design has definitely given me this space while interdisciplinary working and collaboration have helped challenge and reshape the way I work.

    I hope in future to be able to work across sectors to design services which can contribute to positive social transformation; every person, community and organisation can play a role in improving the quality of life of others - even the smallest changes and bit-parts matter.

  • Degrees

  • BA Social Anthropology, London School of Economics, 2002
  • Experience

  • Research Manager, Brand Driver, London, 2008-12; Campaigns Officer, Centre for Social Research, New Delhi, 2006-7