History and Futures
This interview with Angharad Lewis was great to listen to how she made it in publishing through working with Grafik magazine, which she brought outright later to keep the business going as it was her passion. I remember Grafik magazine at college as I have a couple of issues still today and it was the unique covers that drew me to the publications but they always had really great articles to read. Angharad very clear on approaching the structure to set a standard that is very simple to follow with the audience at mind and research material plus interviews at hand to help guide your magazine journey. Drafting from the first article to many others is best to get your ideas written down and then craft it by moving parts that best flow the conversation for the reader to read on. She speaks about articulating is important for design and I believe this is true. I’m understanding myself more as a designer through executing the way I articulate through verbal and written context that can help an audience understand myself and my work. As print seems to a lot of people is dead but I still it’s still a strong tactile product that people will still crave to have as more people engage with publications and books compare to reading online as this leave people with a short attention span where they will be distracted by many things at the palm of their hands. There will be a balance of print and digital as content needs to be key and to a length to keep an audience engage with more content to read and share through physical or digital ways we live in today.
So you want to publish a magazine?
Following on from the interview Angharad Lewis book ‘So you want to publish a magazine?’ brings the pros and cons of how to go about publishing in the industry. As digital is the uprising compared to printed format there’s a good understanding of how you go about your business in this book. Interview with many industry experts from designers to printers you can learn a lot from people experiences how you can work on your project. Overall publishing doesn’t come easy and due to lack of people investing in buying magazines of the shelf, this can maybe be considered as a self-initiated project that can start from online and if it works out to be something in demand then a physical publication can be the risk of success for the audience to behold and keep for their sake.
Publishing
What we learned writing and self-publishing a book
An insight into self-publishing a book
This article by Andrew Couldwell covers the idea and experience of self-publishing his own book by cutting out the industry top publishers from taking a huge cut from the sales of your venture. Really good insight as to go about publishing your own book through a passion of making a publication for the audience he specifically targeting to share his insight in his practice. Some of the tips are great with techniques to collaborate with editing a piece in sharing your writing for others to read over any grammar errors to marketing your way to get the word of mouth out to people about what is coming.
Structure

Six Rules for Writing Good Articles
I don’t think it can explain any simpler to writing a good article by following these six rules I creating a compelling and engaging piece of writing for an audience that might not even be aware of the subject you are sharing. Starting an article with a few brief paragraphs on what is in store for the reader which is the entry point to want them to read on. Short paragraphs and content are key to allow time to take in the information but also keep the attention of the reader to go on as long it’s got a hook to a compelling story. Capture their attention with a recounting of an event, the setting of a stage, the unfolding of a plot. This is a structure that can count to the way the content is used and why you want to tell about the chosen subject you have taken? With great imagery it allows the reader to fixate their imagination on the story you are telling in either an illustration, photograph that can explain the relationship of the content you are writing about. Overall the structure is very simple and really I need to question the content through my first draft as I said focus on getting all the relevant information into the beginning to allow me to adventure in creative writing.
Helping dyslexic students to write: Process writing approach
I was really pleased in finding this journal of reading and literacy online as I struggle with structuring my writing through dyslexia that I find it hard to cope with from time-to-time. This is a piece really written about structure and challenges that I can take to improve and guide me into dealing with writing my draft in simple layman’s terms. Process writing is something I need to embed in my practice as I’m aware writing is just as key as design and it’s for me to start to pick this up and find my own process I can deal with on a day-to-day base.
Workshop Challenge
This week I decided to focus on an important landmark of the town, which my topic would be the focus of the Victorian Shelters, listed Grade II. They have recently completed one of four shelters on East Parade that have been neglected over decades to be lying to rot on the beachfront. For me, these architectural historic shelters were from a distant past as to how they were aesthetically non-existant when walking past along the promenade. The conditions of these were really not inviting to approach and seat yourself to relax upon until they restored shelter No.3 to its original form. These shelters are over a hundred years old and were a significant part of the Bexhill-On-Sea coastline where people would come to enjoy the beaches and looking out to the channel from these shelters. The first shelter was a bandstand and was an entertainment venue for the town until the owner couldn’t afford to maintain and keep the bandstand which later turned into the first shelter on the East Parade.

Shelter No.1 Shelter No.2
Shelter No.3 Shelter No.4
These are the four shelters on the East Parade where you can see two have been restored and two more are being developed currently with receiving fundings from the council and Bexhill Heritage to help restore these grade II listed victorian shelters.
This footage was taken at 8:45 am on the morning of 17th March 2021 from Shelter No.3 on East Parade as it is a time when it’s mostly quiet with hardly any people strolling past.
Audio of seating in Shelter No.3
A moment to experience the atmosphere in seating at No.3 shelter which is the most recent restored shelter of the four that many people have really taken to since it was completed. I wanted to spend some time here sitting in the shelter in a couple places as they have music playing from time to time, mainly early 20th century music that brings history back in the current future.
It was a very interesting experience in sitting in these shelters as it brings you calmly with watching the sea before your eyes or listening to Louis Jordan, ‘Nobody Knows You When You Are Down And Out’ that takes you to a period in history in a nostalgic sense of emotions from the past. Whatever the reason your sitting in the shelter there’s an opportunity for you to reflect on your day, which can benefit you for the day ahead.

Bexhill Heritage was formed in October 2017 as a society for the conservation, protection and improvement of Bexhill’s built environment caring for the past, present and future. They are a not-for-profit charitable organisation that receives funds from local grants, memberships and fundraising events to help promote and protect historical sites around Bexhill Town
Moodboards
I began my mood board ideas by looking at the relevant context of old and new, typography and format that would appeal to the direction of creating this publication. The first slide is an example of textures that can reflect the previous state of the shelters as I like the idea of using the rustic and rotten looking of the old wood that was mistreated. This can show and tell a thousand words by the distinguish book cover that may intrigue others to pick up and read. The second slide is just examples of using serif and san-serif fonts that I like to keep modern but also the treatment of the past. Finally the third shows the various formats of book designs with embosed cover designs, french fold with texture on the inside and large format folded newspaper print that I felt could be nice as something that people can choose to pick up from these historic landmarks.

Combining the mood boards together I’ve narrowed my direction to go with a publication possibly designed with a cover with two halves of showing the past and present with the texture of the shelters and contemporary typography giving the historical nature in the quality of the paper and format of the book. I like the idea of this publication to be launched at the bandstand shelter which can bring the community to an event to share their opinions on the restoration of the shelters and what new lease of life it has given to the people of Bexhill-On-Sea. There could be a digital campaign using QR codes to find some fun facts about the shelters that you can learn from each one. This can be applied to the shelters and the publication for everyone to enjoy.
First Draft
What a load of Shelter
What do the shelters mean to the community?
Shelters are crucial for survival for all walks of life from animals keeping safe to wait for the next bus you’ve been sitting down in the last half hour to get to your next appointment. These architectural structures provide security, personal safety and protection from all types of weather, that prevents you from ill health and diseases. It has become recently when strolling along the promenade of Bexhill-On-Sea beach on the East Parade a new shelter was put up overnight. However, it was to my lack of observation that there were four of these victorian built structures that spread across the walkway that I’ve really not noticed they were there before my eyes. It was at that point that one of four of these shelters was restored to its fully functional build bringing joy to the community with a seating area for people to embrace the environment and the horizon of the English Channel to its perfect glory of what the world has to offer.
I’ve never taken much notice in these shelters before the start of the restoration as the decade of the structure never looked welcoming nor safe to settle in a shelter for a minute to observe what’s around you. However, I’ve noticed how uplifting these structures have benefited the community today in the restoration of shelter number three as I see the people of Bexhill appreciating the renovated shelter that has been fully restored by volunteers of Bexhill Heritage and the help of District Rother Council on completing the shelter on the East Parade beachfront. Since the completion of this shelter, many people locally and afar have been conspicuous by this beautiful structure that brings people together that has sparked conversations about this historical architecture and its environment that it is situated. This project has re-invented history in today’s modern landscape, where this shelter was first built in 1921 to provoke peoples attitudes and behaviour by taking a minute out of their day and appreciate the surroundings which is one of many landmarks that Bexhill-On-Sea has to offer. The four shelters along East Parade have been neglected for many decades and maintenance work has not been at the forefront of the district council for some time until recently. It’s been the people of Bexhill-On-Sea (Bexhillians) to come together and create a group based upon all the heritage in the coastal town. It was down to the hard work of the people that has to restore the love, care and attention of a significant piece of historical nature to life through voluntary, fundraising and dedication to make this project happen. It’s attracting the spirit of the community and bringing people together whether they know each other or not, but nevertheless, it is a place of homage to the area where everyone benefits from the joy of the community at its heart.
Bexhill Heritage
Bexhill Heritage was founded in 2017 with a small committee of trustees passionate to help protect the built environment of Bexhill-On-Sea past, present or future protection for conservation areas. They promoted the benefits for the public of the conservation areas in the towns built environment promoting architecture, environmental design and town planning. They want to cultivate the audience of the fundamental content of the historical habitat has to offer, which will bring interest and appreciation showcasing the unique conservation areas the heritage is extremely proud to be part of protecting the town. The charity is run by raising funds, receive grants and donation to help use funds towards carrying out any work. So nothing is easily given and it’s down to events and setting up shop to help achieve their project ambitions with all necessary purpose to achieve the desire to maintain the values of Bexhill Heritage. Early September 2019, Bexhill Heritage was approached by Rother District Council to help with completing the repairs to the number three shelter on the East Parade. The project was part-way through its restoration from the Rother District Council as the Bexhill Heritage committee had to be completed with their help for the benefit of the project to be completed through their community voluntary scheme.
The labour hours the volunteers of Bexhill Heritage had participated in the event of completing the restoration was over 2,500 hours of taking this initiative to bring back the historical architecture that was decading for so many years. This shelter has not been maintained over so many years that shelter number three was rotting, vandalised, loose tiles and deteriorating to a level of non-existent as these shelters have a significant place in the history of East Parade on Bexhill-On-Sea seafront. In the loft of the shelter, there was decades-old paint that was congealed in tins that have gone beyond their sell-by-dates which aren’t good to reuse for the restoration in that state of condition. The whole structure has to be stripped bare of the paint that already exists where the challenge to remove this from the columns, sideboards and window frames took 900 hours in itself to be prime ready for painting over. The rest of the structure was volunteered by members of the committee to paint the shelter but they had to use a contractor for re-tiling the roof with hand-made tiles that was designed for this specific victorian architecture. This would have been a budget that was granted by the Rother District Council or raised by the charity which had to consider the craft of this unique design at an expense. When the project was completed on the 14th August 2020 it was welcomed by the people of Bexhill-On-Sea with gratitude towards the hours put into this project with little money but glorify the aesthetic of this unique heritage that has been resurrected with many stories to tell from the past, present and in the future.
The history behind these shelters.
There are four shelters along East Parade, Bexhill-On-Sea that was erected at different stage’s in history during the Victorian era for the people of the community to enjoy the sea air and the ocean view of the English Channel. The first of the four was built in 1895 as a bandstand by a private investor who invested the cost of the build by asking the public to subscribe for the build of this bandstand that is assumed that people wasn’t fully aware of the function of this structure. The 8th Earl De La Warr purchased the bandstand later to add comfort for the public attending the band performances that drawn crowds to gather and enjoy the venue of live music and recognise the breathtaking landscape of the beach and the sea. This entertainment is embedded in the town today along the waterfront as you’ll find crowds in The Colonnade (located outside the De La Warr Pavilion) where you can settle down to eat and drink in the seasons of spring and summer for everyone to enjoy the festival atmosphere of live music. In 1904 the 8th Earl De La Warr had to decide to convert the bandstand into a shelter as there were many complaints about the discomfort of the traffic and strong winds for the visitors and the community that couldn’t bare with it any longer and had no choice on the decision.
This well crafted and decorative wooden shelter with an unusual ten-sided plan with hand-made red tiles that were suited for these shelters as part of a new enriching shift between 1883 – 1902 where the Victorian new town was built very rapidly with dutch gables predominates the architecture with a number of domes and turrets that was the trend of a period in the industrial revolution. It wasn’t until many years later the next three of its kind were built to accommodate the same attention to locating along the waterfront for the public to relish the purpose of these shelters as they serve for the people to enjoy the landscape. These became listed buildings over time as grade II by Historic England who are a public body to help care for, enjoy and celebrate England’s spectacular historic environments around the country. These shelters have been a subject of deterioration for decades and the challenges that laid ahead for Bexhill Heritage showed a rewarding project that truly brought back the life of these derelict huts for everyone to enjoy this unique and charming haven of devotion to the people of Bexhill. People of all ages are really enjoying the atmospheric of the shelters even with little knowledge of when, where and how these ever first came about to the town. It’s truly fascinating how they bring life and joy to everyone from all corners of the world to appreciate one’s company and share moments of conversations that ingrained into the wooden structure for yesterday to speak itself or unwind to take a moment to rest to discover the surrounding environment of the coastal line and the curiosity of watching peoples ways of life in front of your very own eyes.
The Lost West Parade Shelters
The demolition in 1977, of the elegant victorian structure on the West Parade that was once a bandstand (1899) and then to a shelter in 1921 had a lack of upkeep to maintain as to why this had to be removed from the waterfront. There were two additional victorian shelters along the West Parade of Bexhill seafront at the turn of the 20th century similar to the four on East Parade. Once these were taken down in the late ’70s the council didn’t consider replacing these at the time and wasn’t looking to re-generate the promenade to freshen the look of Bexhill’s beautiful waterfront. It took the District Rother Council over 30 years to decide on the transformation of the West Parade when the authorities Next Wave Seafront improvement project was granted a £5 million cultural regeneration programme with an additional £1 million of funding from CABE under the Sea Change Programme to change the urban landscape to tie in with the iconic building De La Warr Pavilion. This funding is an opportunity for Bexhill to create a modern promenade for the local community and visitors to the town to complement the Pavilion and natural shingle beaches where everyone can come together in the summer seasons.
The council invited many architect practices to participate in a competition ran by CABE that was opened to a creative interpretation of how the seafront can benefit the people in Bexhill for a new regeneration programme that is contemporary and mirrors the surrounding landscape. This opportunity brought a diverse range of ideas forward to the table for the district council to consider a unique fashionable architecture landscape that can fit in with its current surroundings and also the backing of the town people. The overall winners was a young practice Michael Tite and Tom Ebdon who was one of ten shortlisted from 140 entries in the entire competition with a design that shaped the seating plan of the shelter echoes the warmth of nestling in behind a windbreak whilst allowing people to enjoy the views from all directions. Over the course of getting this project underway, it came to a decision that Tite and Ebdon couldn’t carry out the programme and had to break away as they believe ‘ Rother District Council made it impossible for them to satisfy the appointment conditions’. The original competition jury was able to promote a new appointment of a new practice by the name of Duggan Morris Architects who missed out on winning the competition by five votes to four. Duggan Morris was delighted to take this project forward and was committed to delivering an innovative and original scheme as part of the future vision for Bexhill-on-Sea. The structure of these shelters is a contemporary style that is the complete difference to the East Parade victorian shelters as they are steel-framed wooden-clad units made from real Monterey Pine, by Kebony that is durable for all extreme weathers that can protect from the gale and rain in the winter months.
These structures provide a different contrast to the East Parade Victorian shelters that show no relevance to the history of the previous shelters demolished in 1977, however, it is a design that fulfils the future vision side by side of the De la Warr Pavilion that the art centre stills looks contemporary to today’s architecture. The shelters of the West and East Parade really give a great indication of how Bexhill is pioneering a seaside town to take in new beginnings for the future ahead. The rich historical past of the town that was vastly built in the Edwardian and Victorian periods where the town was developing its culture in a rich and trending place for people in the community and who would be visiting a seaside town with great expectations is hardly any different in accepting a new aesthetically design to a time way back in the past. Many people weren’t in favour of the shelters being put up on the West Parade as they felt they didn’t show the historical attachment the town has to offer compared to the East Parade shelters that are being restored today. These shelters are great ambassadors to everyone near and far to embrace and emerge in the surrounding environment where people are rejoicing to make conversation between each other where history is in the making where people did exactly the same a hundred years ago.