Competitive Context – Choosing the Next Project and Your Collaborators
From The Lectures
The previous brief of the module was all about finding and following our passion and work on what we are the most into in the realm of Graphic Design. We identified potential problems and responded to it according. This time, for the next eight weeks, despite we will be choosing which project to take on, there is a pre-set selection of project that we are to choose from.
This first week, we will be learning how and what projects should we take on in relation to the kind of identity we what to create as a creative practice. Over the next few days, we will learn on how to be selective with our clientele, where to look for the kind of potential clients that we would like to work for or with. The interviews where very inspiring. Really enjoyed listening to Torsten Posselt from FELD. He mentioned a lot of valid points with regards to making decisions on projects. Naturally, one is more likely to choose a project based on preference – if you like something, you will go for it. However, every now and then, it is good to go for something that is unfamiliar to you, as it doubles as a learning curve for you as a creative. The term that struck with me the most was computational design. I will definitely be looking into it at a later stage.
On a different note, Matthew Jones and Michelle Dona from Accept & Proceed talked about the importance of project management and there ‘design for good’ ethos of the studio. This studio is an example of a well-presented brand persona with a particular type of clientele and project ‘theme’. Their projects are all oriented towards making the world a better place in various aspects of life. They are a very interesting studio and there should be more of it. On the aspect of project management, as a large-scale studio, it was a question of necessity and it also made the clients take them more seriously. Also, project management is even mor important when it comes to passion projects. As there are no clients regulating the deadlines and budgets, passion projects can easily get out of hand.
Initial Thoughts on the Briefs
I have had a good read through all the four briefs. I still need to go over them again and do some further research about the four topics, as they are all interesting in their own right. I am mostly inclined towards Briefs 2 and 4, the one related to sports and help a museum respectively, but the others are worth investigating as well. In fact, I can link the first brief, which relates to mental health issues to the task we had back in Module 3, where I interviewed the COO of the Richmond Foundation, the national support organisation for people with mental health issues and their families. Similarly, the fourth brief, the one related to the archiving and cataloging of items of a science museum is interesting and gives me the chance to work with UI from scratch. I am still a novice in that regard, and I think it would be a very good opportunity to learn more about UX and UI design. Brief 2 – the one related to sports, seems straight forward, but I should not take it for granted either, as very often it can lead to latching on to the first idea that comes to mind without exploring other potential ideas. The third brief was a bit ambiguous to be honest. Could be because there is no specified outcome, and not particularly sure with who I would like to work with. Or, because what I have in mind is not substantial enough to satisfy the required criteria.
I need to decide soon… it is almost mid-module already.
