‘Clean Hands, Filthy Minds’ – It’s a Working Title…
Following up on last week’s challenge, I decided to go with the idea of cryptography and ciphers. I have always been fond of puzzles and code breakers (even if I never got around to solving the Rubik’s cube on my own) and would love to delve deeper into the subject. Alan Turing left quite an impression on me. Now, this week, the main outcome is the marketing aspect of this potential project… the problem was that I had to figure out what I am doing first. I had a theme, but that is it.
Like I said in the previous blog post, I started off the usual way, go through the module content for that week and see if something pops up in my head. Did not work that way. That being said, given that I had the same problem in the first weeks of this module (when we had to come up with a business idea), I figured that there is no harm in handling the same problem like I did last time – just write down whatever comes to mind as if I am explaining my thoughts to a person. And it worked…
So, I started off by doing some research regarding the theme in question i.e. ciphers and cryptography. Kept it simple, just some dictionary terms, and a couple of pages off the internet. In addition, I did some mind mapping around the term ‘secrets’. It is here when the idea started coming together. A collection of ‘secrets’ or ‘dark stories’ or some dark filthy ‘niche behaviours’ put together in a collection of ciphered messages. Not sure whether it will be a book or a series of posters, or postcards for all that matter, however, the content is going to be just that. A book that is impossible to read? Sounds intriguing. I have to say that I am slightly biased on this project simply because such a book is something that I would definitely buy. I do not know if I should consider it as a passion project.
Deciding on the target audience…
Well, as far as the target audience, it is anyone who has a secret, which is practically everyone. To help get a better picture of this, I put together a questionnaire with various topics that cover various aspects of ‘secrecy’. Questions included direct ones such as ‘ever asked to keep a secret’ and similar questions as well as questions that are related to non-verbal language and cryptography. That said, I think that depending on the content of the book, even though it would not be a “reading” book, the audience would be over 18 years of age. In addition, I think that the overall theme is also more appealing for adults as opposed to teens. In addition, puzzle lovers would appreciate the challenge of trying to decode this. I have to say that this might take the shape of a passion project.
Marketing and Production
I still need to delve deeper in the marketing aspect of this project. I would definitely need to make for notes, and see how I can promote, or even produce such a thing at this point. In terms of production, I definitely should look at foreign printing presses to see what printing options are available. In addition to that, I should probably consider digital media as well. This can include websites and/or social media presence. Not really considering apps for this one. I would really like to make this a tangible project. Something that people can hold.
