Another foolproof pitch required:

Ian Anderson returns once again...

Slightly reminiscent of the 'Pointless' task, I felt better prepared to tackle the latest brief.

As always:

"It's about design thinking with a little bit of real life thrown in"

So... the brief:

The world is run by a single corporation.  Situation and circumstance has led to everything being colour coded, a solution to breakdown the barriers of language and culture.  The corporation wants to pick a single colour for its rebranding.  Each group is a different colour.  With the biggest gig of your career, how do you convince them to pick you!?

• Think lateral
• Creative presenting - must entertain!
• Teamwork

TEAM: GREEN

In alphabetical order:

Jemma (WITH A J - OKAY?)

Jenny

Jon

Kathryn

We spent all of thursday generating our idea, and this morning producing a stop frame animation.  Unfortunately I had to leave the workshop - I've felt so poorly this week, I was disappointed and didn't want to let the group down... but hopefully they will forgive me and share some shots of our work for this old blog!

Lucy May Schofield:

On friday I had the pleasure of meeting Lucy.  Ahead of the workshop I had a sneaky peak at her website, and her work is simply gorgeous.  I really enjoyed exploring the website itself, I love the aesthetic and it feels very natural and personal.  The writing is beautiful too.  I recognised 'Roadkill' as one of the pieces of inspiration Hilary had shown me in the bookbinding workshop last year.  I love it when the book becomes its own object and not just a documentation.  It is a great way of marrying concept and format.

This was something that Lucy made us think about in the workshop as well as the way in which we have the ability to control the reader, to make them linger.  It is about the ability to dictate and pace (which comes from much editing and trial and error) and is also about creating the correct rhythm for the reader.  They need breathing space to take in and be impacted by the narrative, and you don't want to create a format which is repetitive and makes them lazy.  

The group shared our 'Silence' interpretations with each other, it was great for everyone to receive some excitement about their work and to start thinking freshly about the project.  My own discussion with Lucy has made me want to confront the experimental side of the brief.  My strengths probably lie in conformed issue/social briefs but I want some variety in my portfolio and something that proves I can push out of my comfort zone.  So I'm going to eliminate all panic (easier said than done) and face the brief (also easier said than done).  Hopefully for our meeting next friday I can have some visuals to share and gain feedback from.  I've already started to mock up formats that I feel might portray a silence to the reader, whilst also emphasising my concept.  This workshop was a turning point and I left thinking about my future practice.

I also want to share some findings from the day.  Lucy took us over to the Special Collections where we spent an hour or so absorbed in the Artist Books.  Here are two that I was intrigued by...

'Imprint'

I loved how it constructed a narrative and made me think about the silent projection of thoughts and sentiment attatched to possessions.  This is similar to my personal interpretation of the brief and has inspired me to think about the simplicity of presenting my objects.

Read (in past tense)

 A great use of resources!  A book on blushing produced on heat sensitive paper!! This speaks for itself, it's a great idea!  In future I will definitely be thinking about how material is also sensitive to concept.

I am looking forward to next friday!

P-o-i-n-t-less.

"One thing.  Three parts."

1. Do something pointless for an hour.
2. Document it.
3. Present it.
   

This workshop with Ian Anderson was a lot more self directed than the last and Ian really asked us to think on our feet.  We were told we were to know where we're going and that the end result should dictate.  He told us to think about the fact that we had to present it, could we justify that it was pointless?

So where am I going with this project and why?

I spoke to Ian one on one in the afternoon, and he told me not to be lateral and think so much about it.  He couldn't care less if I jumped on the spot for an hour.

So I went home.  And counted coco pops.

It didn't provide me with anything.  The end result lacked any sign of being self beneficial and was a complete waste of my time.

It was pointless.

This was essentially a sourcing excercise, with an aspect of editing.  We had to stretch ourselves whilst providing interest for those in the room.

The great thing about Ian's workshops are the presentation tips and also how to interpret a brief.  The learning curve today was that we all looked too much into the hour and not into what we were essentially being asked to do.  The presentation.  So the hour was indeed pointless.  Because we learnt we should look to what we are being asked to do and not to be seduced into doing the most creative piece.  I really need to listen to a brief, and work out what a client wants me to come back with.  Pitch as if they don't know what you have been asked to do.  And if they say talk for ten minutes.  Then fill your slot.  The industry is 50% design and 50% selling.  Be engaging - human nature will win them over.

The comments I got from Ian and the group surprised me and actually gave me some confidence!

And just incase you are wondering.

I counted 376.5 coco pops in an hour.  I drew each one, examining each grain.  This averaged at a pitiful 13 coco pops a minute.  20 grams when weighed.  This suggests that if you were to hand select each coco pop for your breakfast in the morning, your recommended 30g would take one hour and a half to make...

Ian Anderson returns...

The story so far...

I sent him something to keep forever...

He sent me something to keep forever...

And now I have just spent the last hour handpicking each individual coco pop for my 30g portion, drawing each one as I counted it into my bowl.  Yes I could have just poured them in and added milk... but that wouldn't have been pointless now would it?