GDE 730

WEEK 7

Approaches and Strategies for Working Today and Delivering Creative Services 

This week we focus and look at creative practices and how they operate globally and how location is not something that limits design practice today because studios are able to operate from various locations or just able to be global by using technology. Time constraints are not an issue as studios and practices are emerging that make us as designers being able to practice diversity and tap into the global market.

The main question driving the week was:

 How can you work in new and more exciting collaborative ways? 

Collaboration Around the Globe with Kenjiro Kirton of Hato: Expanding Borders

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I think in terms of the working process that we have, Hato is all founded around the notion of learning through play essentially. Learning and making are probably the core of that process. I guess that instance of learning is really important, and that notion where, when we take on a new project, we’re constantly challenging ourselves to further our practice and learn by finding that project, so learning a new skill, or a new way of communicating with a type of client. It can be a range of learning outcomes but that is what will always make sure that we’re invested in what we’re doing, as opposed to rolling out that exact same product for just a different person.

Kenjiro Kirton

The podcast with Kenjiro and Alex was quite insightful. I had a few takeaways from this. First just the notion of how Hato keeps its vision of creating through play and craft and invoving communities at the forefront while setting up shop in a new location like Hong Kong. Looking at how it's different and how it will show up differently within a different culture than it's home base. 

Kenjiro pointed out an interesting notion that a new country has a different environment and culture and community and it isn't necessarily about going there and adding value because you think there isn't value there already. Because it is a different environment and culture there is existing value that their homebase of UK wouldn't have had and so how the idea of having Hato in Hong Kong provides the community there with a new mindset to engage with their risograph printing craft. And how even when they think about being in Japan as a future dream they would have to think about their reason for being there as something adding to the conversation as opposed to changing the conversation. 

Another idea about process becoming more efficient and faster because of timezone differences allows Hato to in essence be in operation on a 24 hour framework because when one studio is asleep the other is awake and so work is taking place around the clock. This notion came up in the first module I took and I can see its value in terms of working across borders and timezones.

Collaboration Around the Globe with New Studio

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It was not my goal to start my own studio and all that kind of stuff, it was
more like finding people that are thinking in a similar way, that are facing similar problems, like expansion and working with a team, but are still having the liberties and freedom of being somewhat of his own person but connected to the bigger network.

Axel Peemoeller

New Studio seems to operate like a collective of creative professionals that work together remotely. They are connected via New Studio, but operate like their own business. They are indivduals with different specialities who work together on projects. They keep in touch via Skype. Being on a 24 hour schedule works well for projects. Each creative works on their own schedule and are spread across many timezones. This allows flexibility to work during the day or night. 

I could relate to the way New Studio operates. For my freelance business I have a team of 13 creatives, we are also spread across timezones and we work remotely using tools like Slack and Google Drive. Each person has their own specializations and we collaborate by having online brainstorm and briefing sessions and then the teams work on their own and collaborate across timezones to get work done. This way we are also able to work across the 24 hour work schedule. It is definitely very fulfilling.  

The Future of Graphic Design Globally

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The education of design can start to look outside of the traditional walls of education. The students that I’ve come into contact with recently, they’re doing everything – they’re not just typeface designers, they’re not just film makers, they’re not just sculptors, they’re not animators, they’re not just strategists, they are doing it all. And they’re 21! It’s brilliant. Those are the people that I want working with me here at Someone. Those are the idea makers, the people that are going out there and getting stuff done; they’re not just talking about it, they are doing it.

Simon Manchipp

Advancements in technology and especially the mergence of social media is providing opportunity for mixing of ideas and cultures and for people with different ideas to be able to connect and collaborate. The future of design education and the future design student was nicely summed up by Simon Manchipp, these days a designer is no longer a master of one skillset, we are learning to be multidisciplinary, and wear many hats. 

A global online program like Falmouth's MA has really found a way to connect people and deliver them a collaborative experience without having to be physically present in one location. A few years ago if you had asked me if I would learn online or gotten a degree of any sort via online learning I would have rejected the idea. I've always felt I needed to be in an environment, a classroom with actual people to be able to learn anything. I didn't think I'd be disciplined enough to be able to learn online. However, this masters has truely proven me wrong and I really like the way the course has been put together. I don't feel as a student I am missing out on anything by not being part of a physical classroom. 

I also really like the wide variety of topics that are covered and all the different ways the course material challenges the student and gets them to think and take on new perspectives. I think time management can sometimes be a bit tough on a weekly basis. I can really see how technology has really helped with the learning experience.

Workshop Challenge

CHALLENGE: Based on some of the debates and discussion covered so far, outline a series of ideas that could help you to work in new and more exciting collaborative ways. What media and communication platforms could help support this? (This might be to help you collaborate with new design partners, introduce yourself to a new network or culture or area of investigation.) Present your ideas as a one minute elevator pitch video (with the aim that you will develop one of those ideas further next week).

For my workshop challenge, I chose the idea of developing a visual archive. The idea is both a process and a digital and analog tool. It is inspired by the idea and expands on my idea of making information and knowledge visual. In thinking about the best way to represent something, especially for infographics, where it is essential that images that are paired with words are able to elevate and make clear the meanings of what we are trying to convey. 

Here the use of signs, symbols and icons becomes important, and we need to make sure that the visualizations are strong and universally comprehensible. This led me to asking to question how we represent things, especially abstract concepts. This led me down the path of researching semiotics and it's role in graphic design. 

So for my collaborative tool, I am proposing a visual archive as a process and an actual digital or physical archive. It takes inspiration from my research into Georgia and Stefanie in week 5, and their postcard exercise. 

The Visual Archive, is a process whereby a participant receives a prompt and they begin creating a visualization to capture their expression of the prompt. This is then submitted into either a physical archive or a digital one, or both. After multiple collaborations have happened and the archive grows it becomes this personal search engine for designers to search and look for ways to visualize concepts.

It also can be used by researchers to expand their knowledge in visual semiotics and see if patterns and learnings emerge. In this way The Visual Archive not only is a tool in of itself but also the process of engaging in and creating the artworks.

Below is a short elevator pitch of the idea:

Final thoughts and reflection

This week was a tricky one. Since I haven't really created collaborative work before, it kind of stumped me and initially I had a creative block and couldn't think of anything. Then I started thinking about what I would like as a designer and what could help me? I also got inspiration from this week's lectures especially the one by Hato and the idea of something being created by the community, was something that I found really interesting. Hopefully, the workshop challenge elevator pitch did the idea justice, I plan on developing this out more next week and for the final assignment for brief 2.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

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Week 6: Interdisciplinary Insights
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Week 8: New Models for Future Practice

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