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Hi! Is there a possibility to get grades before Christmas, or do we get them on January right before the next module?

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Does there need to be a reflection slide at the end of the studio practice pdf?  As long as we reflect in the presentations?

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Does there need to be a reflection slide at the end of the studio practice pdf?  As long as we reflect in the presentations?

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Is there some flexibility with page count for the studio practice pdfs? Trying to fit 8 weeks of research into 10 pages does not seem like enough. I know its an editing exercise but is there a maximum we can go over?

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Please clarify the difference in content between the Studio Practice PDF and the recorded presentation. Brief asks for research / development /final outcome in both. What's the difference please? otherwise I will be repeating myself...

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Hi. I've worked on my Darkhive interface, adding more screens to explain the concept. You can choose an alternative thinker – living, dead or fictional – to show you their favourite objects in the archive in their curated collection with audio commentary (or written if they are fictional!).

You can curate your own collection and add audio commentary to objects, why you like it etc...

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RECORDING Lecture: Monday, 18th November. Guest Speaker: Tom Sewell

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RECORDING Lecture: Monday, 18th November. Guest Speaker: Tom Sewell

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If you would like to watch the Tom Sewell lecture, which took place module wide recently, you will need to be given access by Paul Farrington. Do get in touch with him so that he may facilitate this for you.

In the meantime you can explore Tom's work here:

Art: www.tomsewell.co.uk

Graphic Design: itsart.earth

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Hey there! I wanted to share another resource that I found helpful during my process. It was created by some students, so it’s not a strict 'how-to' guide or a rigid method, but I really appreciated the way everything was presented and the techniques they used.

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THE WICKED PROBLEM : CULTURE AND HERITAGE
IronHack UX/UI DESIGN project 1.
As a future UX/UI designers, we had to do a group project. The topic is Cultural & Heritage. We were a group of 5 persons. We worked on our first project for a week. My team members are Kevin, Hélène, Léo and Elsa.
THE USER RESEARCH
Since the 70s, museums and other public institutions have been suffering a profound crisis. In the heart of this kind of institution, there's the mission of making heritage accessible to all. They build the bridges between objects and people, for them to be enjoyed by citizens.
How Might We help museums and other public institutions bring people closer and fulfill their mission to preserve and activate cultural heritage in the 21st century?

First, we worked on Figma at the lean survey canvas to determine the questions we would ask the users. We interviewed 5 people and we concluded that:

Reduce the frustration of waiting in the queues

Entertain the users

THE AFFINITY DIAGRAM
87% are frustrated about the crowd in the museums.
55% of users goes to a museum between 1-3 times /year.
69% of users spend less than €25 per month.
66% of users are between 25 and 34 years old.
THE EMPATHY MAP
After the lean survey canvas, we grouped gains, pains, demographics and habits in subgroups that helped us to do the HMWs.
After, we voted the best HMWs.
QUOTES: "I'm interested in everything, all styles of museums. I don't have preferences as long as I get to learn." - Lorène, 28 y.o. "The crowd! The lines really spoil the fun." - Liliane, 58 y.o.
We used the empathy map as a collaborative tool team to gain a deeper insight into the customers.

"Do you visit the museum alone? Yes, I've never found a wingman to go with (LMAO)." - Mathilde,25 y.o.

"Museum or exhibition are a way to escape." Hugo, 29 y.o.
THE MAIN PAIN POINTS:
"For something unique, I could afford to pay an expensive price!" Vincent, 30 y.o.

86.7% are frustrated about the crowd in the museums.

"The queue. Crowded exhibitions like the one of Caravaggio where there were so many heads in the way of the paintings are just so crowded."
THE USER PERSONA
"The crowd! The lines really spoil the fun."

Our User Persona is Emily. She is 30 years old and lives in Paris. She enjoys museums, especially the historic ones, but she hates waiting too much in the queue. Also, she likes reading books like biographies. Indeed, the main paint points we found out in the interviews is that 86.7% are frustrated about the crowd in the museums.
THE USER JOURNEY
Her goal is to maintain her cultural knowledge during this pandemic by discovering new things to do and to kept informed about exhibits.

Some opportunities that we propose would be to"optimize the ticket booking app to display visitor's affluence". In order to avoid the frustration of the waiting time in the queue, it could be interesting to create games, activities, quiz and documentation related to the museum and the exhibition", Augmented Reality (see the colors moving and coming out of the frames), Gamification and quiz to increase interactions...
After the visit : HMW make her see the missing paintings on the exhibition (because of the crowd)"buy books at the end of the exhibition", scan a QR Code to save information about the paintings" and "Virtual Reality version of the exhibition to visualize the art pieces without the crowds."

Create a Virtual Reality representation of the exhibit with full scenography; one opportunity or challenge for museum is to continue customer experience after his physical visit; allows the visitors to vote on the app, or participate in quiz to win rewards.

PROBLEM STATEMENT HOW MIGHT WE:
The Emily's journey begins when she notices an advertising in the metro. Curious by nature, Emily grabs her phone to search some information and purchase two tickets at the Orsay museum to visit it the same afternoon with a friend. She arrives and waits for 30mn in rain, because of people queuing. When she enters, she barely can't see the paintings because of the crowd. She visits the museum for 2-3 hours with her habits like listening to her favorite playlist and podcast. She finishes the visit and goes out to meet some friends in a bar and talks about her experience. She would have loved to see more of this exhibit, and she feels that needs more information to satisfy her curiosity.
IDEATION
1. Offer an extra experience that the visitor didn't expect to receive.
HOW MIGHT WE:
2. Encourage the user's curiosity awaken during the waiting line and focused as possible during the event?
HOW MIGHT WE
3. Make the visitors interact more between each other during the visit to feel less alone / to boost their experience?

Each member of the team made some pen & paper sketches, came out with different ideas, and then we put it all together.

My idea was to scan the painting and to get the infos about it, also you can add a musical background depending on the period/style of the artwork.
And if you are not present at museum you can anytime see the Augmented Reality of the artwork just to deliver an engaging user experience.

Helene thought about adding a game, with scores and trophies to unlock.

Elsa sketched about the user flow, to purchase a ticket, and also how to access the quiz during the queue.

Leo sketched the idea of a virtual friend that will be your company during the visit, more for the children like a Pokémon :D and after this you can share all your photos on social media.

Kevin thought on the idea of a digital ticket, Augmented Reality treasure hunt and a quiz for all the levels (beginner till expert lvl) after this you can share all your experiences on social networks.

THE USER FLOW
In Miro, we created a flow for the user, it's what we thought about the entire app, but we decided to focus on the biggest pain point which is the waiting time, so the quiz feature.

THE CONCEPT

Our History lover Emily arrives in front of the museum and notices that even with buying a ticket the wait is going to be long, she decides to take the quiz that she noticed earlier while booking.

Difficulty : We wanted to be inclusive since our audience is broad.
The activities should please our history lover as well as engage with a younger audience that might not be interested in the artwork.

3. Inside or outside the museum. 1 Make the wait mire educational 2. Make the exhibit more interactive and memorable

4. Sample screen from a quiz > Artwork breadcrumb timer bar under the image

5. Sample screen during the exhibition AR related treasure hunt
Next steps:
6. Feedback page : links to other medias, social link but also ladder board to compare your performance

HI-FI Prototype for testing sessions
Develop other immersive features: other games using augmented reality; immersive experience using virtual reality
Get a personalized visiting dashboard
Ideal visit time to avoid crowds
Artificial intelligence features subscription premium services

In conclusion...
Thank you for your attention !
For our first project I found that it was an interesting topic to create an app for a museum. We had just a week to do it, and it was quite challenging but at the end we did it! Each member came with creative ideas, and it was a really great first experience.

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THE WICKED PROBLEM : CULTURE AND HERITAGE IronHack project 1.

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As a future UX/UI designers, we had to do a group project. The topic is Cultural & Heritage. We were a group of 5 persons. We worked on our first project for a week. My team members are Kevin...

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Hello everyone,

I hope you're doing well.

While reviewing this week's resources, I noticed that the last video listed in the resource section has been set to private.

If you know of another way to access it, I'd greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you in advance!

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I am on my third go at this mainly because the feedback I got for my wearable science (3d jewellery based on the archive), and Saints of the Science Museum both received some negative feedback at tutorials/ group critique. I decided to have another think. I am focusing on the Periodic Table - a big player in the science world! I have decided to create an interactive periodic table that could be on web or mobile and/ or in the museum as an interactive interpretation installation. The target audience would be educators, students, parents of younger learners. Rolling over an element will bring up the standard information and highlight relevant archive pages and learning pages. If you click on the element it will take you to a page where you will have an expand results. You will also be able to just look at one group of elements. There will be a feature element of the week on the home page, an experiment of the week, and a 'Top of the Class' module where the science museum showcases the out put of a particular class project - schools will be able to submit their work for inclusion. Any thoughts would be much appreciated - even if negative! Thanks

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A Beginner’s Guide To User Journey Mapping | Marvel Blog

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A user journey map is a visualization of an individual’s relationships with a product/brand over time and across different channels.

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This is my idea, I don’t have anything to show yet:

My own category: WWII inventions and modern day
(the existing curated categories all cross with this one: astronomy, women in science, environment, engineering, chemistry etc.)

AIRPORT LOUNGE – From darkness comes light

Offering something to do while waiting at the London-bound airport/gate

Everybody is looking for ways to spend time, place to sit, and place to charge phones: I offer this as solution

Complementary services included: seating, restrooms, tea

Presenting scientific inventions from WWII that contribute to the modern day (from darkness comes light), things like penicillin, radar, and jet engine

This is meant to work as an independent marketing effort

Every second people spend with an ad extends remembering it by 3 days, so I want people to spend A LOT more time with my installation than they would with a traditional ad (poster etc.)

By targeting air travel (London bound airports/gates) I am able to get attention from a huge audience, almost everyone travelling to London with a plane – all potential visitors to the science museum

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We treat each category like a planet and create a map for it. Subcategories are the continents, and sub-subcategories are the provinces or regions. In this quick presentation, I’ll show how we can visualize the 'Photography' category using this approach.

I know this idea is a bit unconventional, but I believe it could be a great mix of creativity and practicality for organizing the Science Museum's archive. Visualizing categories as planets and subcategories as continents offers a fun and engaging way to explore all the materials.

Building on this, I also think the current categories could use a review. By simplifying them and creating a clearer structure, we can make the collection more accessible and improve the user experience.

For 'Photography,' we could think of cities and neighborhoods on the 'Visual Arts' continent. Each main category would be a city, with subcategories as neighborhoods. For example, 'Portraits' could be divided into 'Female Portraits,' 'Male Portraits,' 'Group Portraits,' and 'Self-Portraits.' This would help users navigate the content more easily.

In short, this approach provides a more organized and intuitive way to explore the collection. The key challenge will be finding the right balance between clarity and design. I suggest we start by defining key categories and testing with a small sample of photographs. If successful, we could expand with more layers like timelines or geographic divisions for deeper exploration.

Best regards,

Filip Korić

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I stumbled across the statues of the saints held at the British Science Museum .

I have an idea - - I want design a map of where they are all from and a create a collection of tourist guides, each based on visiting their place of origin during their lifetime. I think it will be fun - it can include things to do, where to eat, how to get there, how much things cost and so on.

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I've gone down a rabbit hole discovering the darker side of science (thaolidomide, drug company corruption...). This image is of prosthetic legs made for thalidomide children, who would often have body parts surgically removed to fit these painful devices to make them look more 'normal'.

For this project, do we have to show the Science Museum in a positive light?

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I have just finished watching the video by Dezeen in the resources for this week and I would like to share with you my thoughts.

These people might be inspirational to someone because of the positions they held, but I found almost everything that was said astonishing.

There is a clear political position expressed when Martin Raymond attacked Trump and Teresa May for saying “citizens of the world are citizens of nowhere” which is actually one of also my concern in the sense that nations, cultures and traditions should not be lost but protected and cultivated. He said “How terrible is that.” He continued saying people disapprove who want to be part of a global system”, but I think the “racism” goes the other side as any different opinion is censored. He complained that people believe that the past has better things and metaphors to deliver to us; he finds it shocking. He said “we are complacent when saying this and we will end up being destroyed not by bombs but by nostalgia”.

With what is happening in Palestina Gaza listening to this is quite upsetting.

Martin Raymond also mentioned the problem of dealing with the “negationists” of the climate change, but people like him do keep secrets things like clouds seeding, HAARP, MUOS and all other tools for geoengineering and destruction which exist and are kept hidden to the public.

Martin Raymond is then compared by Marcus Fairs to the Yuval Noah Harari of the future (I agree with that). Harari is the one who says openly in conferences and during interviews that in the world there are too many people who will become useless because of technology. He believes the right number for the world is less that 1 billion…

This Martin Raymond again pushes clearly for the transhumanism aspect of technology which goes far beyond his example of curing epilepsy.

And again he says “we will become Gods and Goddesses….it might look like evil but it is not”. I would say it is evil.

Harari in a Ted talk towards the 14th minute said exactly the same words. Please listen to it.

He said “What do we need so many humans for? We could keep them happy with drugs and computer games but it would not be a solution”. “Humans are becoming redundant because of technology” he continued. “A probable solution is the division of humans into classes such as gods and poor…” I see a clear reference to this and I find it shocking.

(here the link to the Ted's talk I am referring to)

https://youtu.be/nzj7Wg4DAbs?si=eH5arpK9T5CckS_O

And then Martin Raymond continues with the seven genders….Because of all these genders everything should be neutral…hybrids…

The video ends with mentioning Trump again as the monster (not technology was implicit).

I watched it as it was included in the resources but I would have preferred it was not.

Michela Bubola

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Hi everyone,

I am sharing with You my ideas regarding week 7 assignment.

Best regards,

Filip Korić

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Hi everyone,

these are my thoughts on this weeks lecture.

Best regards,

Filip Korić

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Ben sent out an email to all students on 25th October (Week 5) with the following information:

"Following on from last night's lecture, the John Stack presentation is available on the 'Announcements' link (on the left hand side of Canvas when you're on the 'Courses' tab)
Please let us know if there are any issues".

Has everyone managed to access it?

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"Week 5 Carefully reading, analysing and reflecting upon the Science Museum project requirements and watching John Stack’s lecture."

I think I missed the lecture for week 5. Was it recorded? I still have zero ideas for the science museum project and have done nothing. Maybe watching this lecture could help?

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Perun's leaf / Perunov list - 5 final renders

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Perun's leaf / Perunov list - 5 final renders

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Hi everyone,

I would like to present a slide with some of my renders which I made for Brief no.1.

Best regards,

Filip Korić

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Hi everyone,

here is my week 6 research task.

Best regards,

Filip

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Hi everyone,

here is my short essey this weeks lecture.

Best regards,

Filip

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I'd been struggling to get my head around why archives are interesting but there's a really nice video here from some archivists which I have found very helpful.

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Has anyone started looking at this brief yet? What are your thoughts on the digital archive?

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Hi everyone,

Here’s my take on the Week 5 research task/assignment. This second brief will definitely be something different for me, as I specialize in logo, packaging, and label design. It’s going to be both challenging and interesting!

Best regards,
Filip

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Here is a design for a cassette album cover; I conducted a survey for my target audience, which I posted in a Facebook group, Raving 90s LV and got interesting insights. You can find more on my blog. (https://lauraganina.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/target-audience-survey/)

This cassette album is intended as a compilation of house, techno, and ambient music dedicated to my best friends.

The project's objective is to create a unique collectable design piece—the cassette album—that connects generations and enhances the sustainability of cassette packaging.

I would like to get feedback on my design, as this is the first time I have tried an analogue approach. I was using my old scanner for the first time in a while, and I was trying to be more expressive than at other times.

The cassette case is supposed to be made of thick paper printed on both sides. Unfortunately, I could not find a mockup template for that kind of packaging, so I intend to produce a prototype of this packaging.

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Hello everyone,

I’ve written a brief essay on the Week 5 lecture, and I’d love for you to take a moment to check it out if you have the time.

Best regards from sunny Croatia!

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I don't want to enforce the racist content

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I don't want to enforce the racist content

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I needed to change my idea a little bit, as I initially planned to show (and expose) the racist language (and behaviour) of the Finnish right-wing politicians in government, but then I realised that I would be distributing the racist content myself I would do that! So I came up with this idea of "speaking FROM between the lines". How do you like this?

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I've faced a major obstacle when putting together my self-initiated project where I am fighting racism.

Because English isn't my first language and I need to translate the content I've collected for this assignment, I realised that it might be something that I don't even want to do.

I've googled (translated) racist slurs and words, but when I needed to translate "mass homicide", I decided to stop. The "True Finns" party which is openly racist, and in goverment, uses that kind of language very often.

Even though this feels very uncomfortable and something I am not going to do again, I need to finish what I've started. Maybe this really emphasise the importance of this kind of work.

I am adding harmful content warnings through my blog and PDF, as I am repeating those violent words and need to be very clear that those aren't my words and how I feel about them.

This is the blog post containing that: https://www.ktervo.com/gde740-weeks-3-4/

Just wanted to share this with you.

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Small snippet of my self initiated project!

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Small snippet of my self initiated project!

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hi everyone!

I posted a few days ago (a couple of posts below this one!) explaining a bit of the concept behind my self initiated project, what the outcome was going to be and also some pictures of the (difficult but very fun!) process of creating my project!

In the post, I mentioned that I would in time hopefully share some of the video so here it is! This is about 9 seconds of the 37 second video, even though the whole thing is complete, just to kind of show what I have been working on so people might be able to imagine it better!

I hope if anyone sees it that they enjoy and any comments are welcome!

Thank you! :)

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Perunov list / Peruns leaf - herbal liquor brand

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Perunov list / Peruns leaf - herbal liquor brand

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Hi everyone

this is 3D rendering of my final project.

The creation of the Perunov List brand was an intricate process, starting with the challenge of choosing the perfect name. My aim was to capture the spirit of the pre-Christian Slavs and their beliefs, especially the eternal struggle between Perun and Veles. Perun, the god of thunder, the sky, and war, wields his axe as he battles Veles, a horned god associated with snakes, music, livestock, wealth, and eloquence. This mythological rivalry, rich in symbolism, was the foundation for my brand's identity.

Through my research, I discovered a fascinating connection: wormwood (pelin) is believed to repel snakes. This insight, combined with hours of brainstorming, led me to the ideal name – Perunov List. The name itself subtly echoes Pelinov List (Wormwood Leaf), which ties the brand to both the mythological and botanical worlds.

The logo design for Perunov List was inspired by the universal symbol of Perun, often associated with a ball lightning motif, which I had the rare opportunity to witness on a stormy night this past summer. Using an existing symbol of Perun, I made subtle refinements and added an ornate illustration of wormwood leaves. To emphasize the power dynamic between Perun and Veles, I incorporated stylized snake symbols into the design, showing the serpents fleeing from Perun’s mark—an artistic representation of their mythological enmity. The result, combined with the right typography, is a unique, bold, and powerful visual identity that captures the essence of the brand.

Next came the bottle design, where I aimed for originality. I refused to settle for a generic, mass-produced shape. Instead, I integrated a stylized tree into the interior of the bottle—yes, a tree. This tree symbolizes the World Tree, a classic motif in Indo-European mythologies. To complete the packaging, I designed it from oak, which is another powerful symbol of Perun.

Then came the labels. The front label is minimalist, featuring a golden logo and just enough information to meet legal requirements (such as alcohol content) if the brand is eventually acquired by one of my clients. The back label tells the epic tale of Perun and Veles, featuring an illustration of Perun triumphing over the serpent Veles.

The story reads:

“In the fabric of eternity, where heaven meets earth, Perun and Veles dance their ancient battle. Perun, the storm god of the sky’s heights, rips through the heavens with lightning, while Veles, the elusive lord of the underworld, slithers like a serpent through roots, hidden in the river mists and shadows of ancient forests. Their struggle is not merely a clash of forces but a symphony of opposites, akin to the breath of life that permeates the world.”

To further enhance the experience, I had one final idea: with each bottle—packaged in oak—customers would also receive acorns and wormwood seeds, inviting them to plant their own oak tree and wormwood, thus connecting personally with the powerful forces behind the brand.

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Hello everyone,

I am sending You my week 4 research task. I hope You find it insightful. It was a really cool project and I saw a lot of way to improve my design as overall concept.

Best regareds

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Hi everyone,

I made a short essey about this weeks lecture. I hope You like it.

Best regards

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Hi everyone!

I know this is my first post of the module, so week 4 feels a bit late to be joining the wall - but I have been working a lot on my self initiated project over the last few weeks and thought I’d just share some stuff about the concept and the outcome!

For some context, for my final design in 710, I had created a photobook containing very old cemeteries and a derelict property on the theme of noticing the unnoticed/unknown - and in many ways I continued to focus on that idea in my other projects which dealt with the theme of the nostalgia experienced by Gen-Z.

My focus on the unknown was inspired by Kenya Hara’s idea that what excites people is what they don’t know rather than what they do. As a member of Gen-Z that rings particularly true because being known as “digital natives”, we have never really known a world in which technology does not exist.

Even still, a lot of us spend a lot of time attached to our screens, missing the world as it passes us by. I noticed this actually on a recent (long!) train journey while I was visiting a friend and I was the only passenger who seemed to be paying attention to what was going on outside. Although, even as I did that, I was still distracted by my phone and taking videos of it, hoping to be able to make something of what I saw.

So after taking time to think about this self initiated project - I reflected on how so many people are constantly bombarded with media and are sometimes left uninspired.

With the help of scrolling social media, not even looking for inspiration at that time, I came up with the idea of making a mixed media animation / video using some of the footage from my recent trip! It’s a style of video editing that I have always enjoyed, but always told myself I didn’t have time or the skill set required for such a large project, but I thought that this was as good a time as any to try out something I wasn’t familiar with and push myself to achieve new things! In the final video, I included some beautiful scenery from my journey but also some scenes which included some surreal imagery (such as a skyline stuck onto a rural field, or a shark out of water) to make a viewer question what was happening, and emphasise how many amazing things can be missed out on. I also included some phrases - including “take some time” - to encourage a viewer to take time to look around themselves and notice their surroundings.

My idea for the outcome is that it would be more of an exhbition piece, and have thought about how I might present it in an exhibition. Right now, I've been thinking about the idea of having a train carriage for viewers to come onboard and have the video playing inside through a window.

The process for the video has been pretty tedious - including converting a 37 second video to individual frames (12fps meaning 444 frames!) and then printing out each individual frame, designing/animating/cutting each individual frame using different mediums/tools, before scanning them all back in and editing them into a final product. It might not sound time consuming, but even just the setting up of the frames took a veeeeery long time for me (especially as a first-timer!) and the designing took even longer!

So, as I’ve been working pretty hard over the last few weeks (with many late nights) to complete it, I just wanted to share (just some!!!) of the process pictures from the journey (and I’ll hopefully share at least a snippet of the video soon!) The irony of my whole project is that although the film lasts only 37 seconds, a lot of care and thought has gone into it to ensure I deliver a genuine message to viewers!

I hope some of you have time to check out my pictures and get a feel for what I'm trying to achieve (although I understand it's hard without seeing the finished product!) and I'd love to hear any thoughts!

(Thank you also if you read this far 🥲!!)

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charlotte self initiated project process!!!!

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Interesting article by designer Jessica Walsh about self-initiated projects. She is normalising the struggle of this kind of project and is giving some useful tips on how to get started (ok this might have been more helpful for the first weeks ;) But i think it is still valuable)

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Interesting article by designer Jessica Walsh about self-initiated projects. She is normalising the struggle of this kind of project and is giving some useful tips on how to get started (ok this might have been more helpful for the first weeks ;) But i think it is still valuable)

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Self-initiated projects are a great way to exercise your creativity, experiment with techniques & show the world what you're capable of making. Sometimes, these ideas can turn into businesses. Even when the goal isn't profit, these types of projects can often lead to people discovering your creative work & getting more work in the future. In 5 steps, I've broken down how to come up with ideas, how to make them happen & how to get them noticed.

Part One: Coming up with ideas

Many people struggle with ideas for self-initiated projects or business concepts. It's easier with client work since you're given set rules & limitations from the client or boss, such as timeline, budgets, pre-existing style guides or creative directions. With your own projects, you can do anything! That is exciting but also daunting. Most people drown when possibilities of what you can do are endless. It's like going to a restaurant with a thousand menu items, it's much harder to choose what you want.

So, how do you come up with ideas? I believe many of the best concepts start with the question, "Why?" What are the struggles in your life? Start a "Shit List" notebook of everything that drives you mad. These could be things that bother you in your life, daily routine, things that bother you about yourself or things you think can be improved in the world. Pain, anger & frustration is where many beautiful ideas are born.

For example: Why are my roommates never doing the dishes? Why can't I move past my grandmother's death? Why can I never find anything to wear in the morning? Why is it so difficult to sleep? Why does no one seem to care about the extinction of Sumatran Elephants? Create a list of all these "Whys?" and hone in on the ones that you're most passionate about. The things that excite and infuriate you are what you're most likely to dedicate your time following through with.

Part Two: What can you do about it

Ask yourself what you could do about each of these "Why!?" questions. Make mind maps & word association charts. Is there a way you could solve or tackle these problems through a website or app? Could you confront any of these issues through an art project using your creative skills? Could you start a dialogue about this topic through an Instagram account?

If your struggle is with your roommates never doing the dishes, maybe you make an app that helps you split up & schedule chores. If you are a hoarder of clothing but can never find anything to wear, maybe you invent a site that lets you easily catalog the clothing in your closet and try on clothes via a customized avatar. If you're struggling with the death of your grandmother, maybe you create an Instagram handle where each day you post an artwork about a piece of advice she gave to you growing up.

After you have your list of ideas of what you could create, hone in on the ones you think are most feasible with your time and resources. If your idea is to make a documentary about animal extinction but you don't have access to film equipment, resources for travel or editing costs, maybe choose a simpler idea or go back to the drawing board on what you can actually make happen.

People have asked me, "You've made so many viral projects, what's the secret to making a project go viral?!" My answer is this: stop trying to make viral projects. That was never my intention with my work.

I've read many biographies of founders who started successful companies, and their businesses almost always start with a real struggle, frustration or problem they saw in the world or in their life that they wanted to fix. From my experience, the people chasing fame and money rarely wind up successful. It's the people who earnestly set out to change something and make a difference through their projects, products or work who most often succeed.

Part Three: Create a plan

The next challenge is following through and producing your idea. One of the most important constraints with personal work is a timeline. If you don't keep yourself on a strict schedule like you do with your client work, you'll never get shit done. So the first constraint should be a deadline. Put milestones and a project launch date on the calendar and treat it like client work. I think having a partner in self-initiated work helps because you can hold each other accountable for meeting these deadlines, and you can push each other to get things made. So find a buddy like you would for going to the gym.

Part Four: Set some rules

After you have a deadline, you need rules & constraints to work within. For example, with 40daysofdating, we created six rules that we followed. One rule was doing daily drawings and filling out a daily questionnaire based on our feelings about the experiment that day. What are your project's rules? Is your project something you do every day? Once a week or month? Do you take a photograph of your kids in the same spot each day? Do you do one illustration of the same thing but with a different tool or material every day? Do you challenge yourself to create a modern pattern for socks inspired by a different era of history every month? Will these live on a Tumblr? Or do you create an Instagram account? Are you mailing these out to people as you make them? A 365-page zine? Setting up parameters and sticking to them will hold you accountable and make it easier to execute. The more constraints you have, the better.

Part Five: Develop a unique style

If you have a unique creative style for your project or unusual delivery method, it can help differentiate your work and get noticed.

I could write an entire book on how to approach branding, my thoughts on this wouldn't fit in a blog post, but here are a few quick tips. First, think about what you want your project/brand to convey to your audience in terms of adjectives. Pick no more than three words (ie. Playfulness, Joy, Anger, etc). When choosing typefaces, compositions, or colors, think about these adjectives and choose design elements accordingly. Also, try giving yourself creative constraints which can help you create an ownable style. Try limiting color palettes, shapes, or the tools you use. The tighter and the more unusual the constraints, the easier it is to do something unique.

Part Six: Get your work noticed

Now that you've made your new self-initiated project or business idea, it's time to put it out into the world. If you are creating a business idea and have funding for a PR agency, great! If not, no worries, you can handle this on your own. Make a list of all your favorite blogs, websites and Instagram accounts that might feature your work. Now find the email addresses of the editors on those blogs. For Instagram, you can send a DM. Message them about your new project/business that you are launching. Include a short description of what the project is about, a link to the work, and an asset library of images or videos that help illustrate what the project is. If you're not getting responses from the larger blogs/accounts, try smaller ones! The smaller ones will be less inundated with requests and might be more likely to give you a feature. Good luck & happy launch day!

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Written by Jessica Walsh

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Self-initiated projects are a great way to exercise your creativity, experiment with techniques & show the world what you're capable of making. Sometimes, these ideas can turn into businesses. Even when the goal isn't profit, these types of projects can often lead to people discovering your creative work & getting more work in the future.

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visual communication for the visually impaired.

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visual communication for the visually impaired.

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Initially, the idea was to create a visual experience for visually impaired people using interactive braille which is already thing with the aid of technology. I intend to take a step further by converting images to braille where exhibitions or photography could have a section of the same art pieces but in braille. Now this is hard has it involves two things do I intend on describing these images or artwork using words, then transcribing it to braille or do I transcribe the pictures which are read in pixels to braille which involves forming a unicode for the tanscription and all the stuff involved in all that. I just want to illuminate visual communication using graphics design for the visually impaired. yes, it is a little bit late but I'm opened to all suggestions and input.

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How do Graphic designers get out of a creative funk?

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How do Graphic designers get out of a creative funk?

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Currently in my life, I have reached a point of pure creative funk. For context, I work in a college and teach nine classes across four different creative subjects. Which when broken down equates to 156 students a week since the start of term in September. My creativity at the moment is feeling really worn and stretched.

My idea is to approach the self initiated project to help me ignite some of the creative drive that I have had previous. I intend to approach a form of print publication, which explores typography as shape and utilises design quotes and phrases to ignite the spark.

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Idea about how to make my design visible for my audience

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Idea about how to make my design visible for my audience

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LUX Helsinki is an annual festival that brings these beautiful light art installations into the core city, the festival lasts about a week each year.

Combining visuals and audio might make it so that no one that walks past cannot avoid it. Exposing the microaggression and publicly shaming the right-wing politicians combined with audio recordings of people's stories how it feels to face racism in Finland.

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When creating self-initiated project, I believe the cause needs to be something personally important and the execution needs to be so strong that it gets the attention it deserves. This video I recorded last weekend in Helsinki gave me ideas about creating a flash mob or something like a public demonstration, but more like using design as a method.

Please understand that this video is not showing support to anyone or anything, it is just a documentary clip to show what a public demonstration looks like.

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Shortly about my idea, please help me with assessing if this is a good idea AND/OR the execution idea would work! :)

TOPIC

Fighting racism is a difficult topic, mainly for two reasons: It is a huge topic that could include basically anything from immigration to minorities that have existed within a society from the beginning but are seen as a separate part. The other reason is that it is difficult, or almost impossible to know who to help as there are so many people in need. Too much for four weeks.

Then I thought who my audience could be and what I want to achieve. Well, I would like to end racist behaviour completely, but that I don’t have time for now. My past is in politics – so could I use that? I wouldn’t want to create an educational campaign or something quite obvious.

GOAL

Then it came to me! I want to expose the double standards that some politicians have regarding racist behaviour (especially right-wing politicians). Some disgusting bastards overlook crime and violent behaviour in general public, but when the skin tone is too dark or they wear traditional clothing from their religion, they are targeted. I cannot stand that!

I only have a couple of ideas for the execution, but the topic is something that I would be very passionate about, and it would be most personal. It is also something that wouldn’t be commercially viable, and that is a thing I need to practice – distancing myself from commercialism with the late modules in this course (basically that was my recent feedback). I am already a professional designer/art director, so to further develop my skills I need to try something new (this was the feedback as well).

EXECUTION

My current idea is to collect tweets and other quotes from public sources that contain microaggression (text-based sources). Microaggression is a barely visible form of racism but very common, and can be easily covered by saying something like “I didn’t mean it that way” – but that doesn’t make it less racist behaviour.

I would like to shame the right-wing politicians currently in the government that behave like this. My design could be taking the original content and exposing the microaggression within text. It could be an intervention by design. I could highlight the microaggression by changing the layout/typeface/design to make the microaggression visible within the original content. Intervening by making the unnoticed visible (combining what I’ve just learned).

AUDIENCE

For something like this, an exhibition or other similar installation wouldn’t gather public attention whether it was a website or a series of posters, as I believe people want actively to turn their attention away from difficult topics. So I would need to ‘force’ this into people’s lives somehow.

I’ve thought about creating this audio-visual installation in the city centre, where I would find a very busy public place and I would use projectors to display my altered tweets/content against building walls in the street while playing audio recordings about people telling how it feels to be targeted by racists. This execution draws inspiration from public demonstrations and flash mobs.

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Hello eveyone,

I am presenting You my research task for this week. Soon, I will share with You my visuals and ideas for my self-initiated project.

Best regards

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Hi everyone,

I am posting a short essey on this weeks lecture.

Best regards

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Hi. This wall is very quiet... although my project is about quiet spaces! I have made some visuals for my project to help people find quiet spaces.

Badge for people who like quiet

Sticker for quiet venue window

App screens to find quiet (a new feature on google maps)

Any feedback welcome please. :-)