GDE730 W4 | Workshop Challenge

WORKSHOP CHALLANGE

Create a format and structure for a new business plan. You have considered company philosophy, leadership, budgeting, IP, and now we want you to create a 3,000-word business plan that presents your proposal to your client. This plan will be used to write a client facing project, or as an outline for a potential studio launch or entrepreneurial idea or artIfact. This is very much a speculative exercise that will grow and evolve as you move through the rest of the course.

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LET’S MAKE A PLAN

The structure of the business plan document reflects the logical sequence of issues that need to be considered. It starts with a very broad-brush description of the company, gradually becomes more specific, and ends with detailed projections of financial activity.

The business planning process is an opportunity to evaluate your situation, think through every aspect of your operations in a thorough and systematic way, and bring everything into alignment. 

For my business plan, I built upon the previous challenge proposal document and elaborated to include the appropriate aspects of a proper business plan. Items included were:

• Executive summary

• Vision statement

• Mission statement

• Description of services

• Business environment and market trends

• Client case study

• Evaluation of your competition

• Sustainable advantage

• Marketing plan

• Operations plan

• Financial plan for the next three years

FINAL PIECE

The completed business plan for AttaGirl Design can be found here. You can see mockups of the final designed layout below:

REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). Business / Project Plans and Communication | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Kourdi, J. (2009), Business Strategy: A Guide to Taking Your Business Forward. London: John Wiley & Sons

The Futur, Chris Do (2015), The Client Is Not Your Enemy: Redefining Your Client Relationship (Links to an external site.), [online video]. [Accessed 28 March 2019

GDE730 W3 | Workshop Challenge

REVIEW OF A DESIGNED OBJECT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR IPO INFRINGEMENT

Select a designed object and highlight the key areas that may infringe copyright or require IP protection.

CJ HENDRY

For this week’s Workshop Challenge, I chose to focus on the artist and illustrator, CJ Hendry. She is a photorealistic pencil artist from Australia who now resides in New York, NY. Her works have been shown across the globe via massive installations putting her in a position of great demand. That doesn’t protect her however from the implications of copyright infringement or intellectual property challenges.

In 2018, Henry created a series of limited edition creations based on Polaroid phots taken by Andy Warhol. She sketched the Polaroids found in a Warhol coffee table book, then printed the sketches, then crumpled up the prints and then sketched those crumpled up prints. To distribute the series on a more mass level, she then created a set of limited edition t-shirt complete with an homage to Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup artwork by creating packaging resembling a tomato soup can.

From an outside perspective, one would imagine what could possibly shut down this production from a copyright perspective would be two-fold: one that potentially infringes on the original artwork copyright of Andy Warhol, and two: using a globally known brand for the purposes of marketing oneself for profit, that being Campbell’s soup.

A mere five hours from launching the limited edition collection for sale, Hendry received a cease and desist order from the family of Muhammad Ali, one of the likenesses photographed by Warhol and then illustrated by Hendry.

Due to the fact that the potential legal and financial liability, Hendry chose not to sell the limited edition t-shirts, but did give them away via another interesting artistic expression of copyright and intellectual property.

So, the question is what is art and how far can that art rely on the art or expression, in this case, likeness of another? Warhol used the iconic brand of Campbell’s soup to great success. I wonder if he was creating in today’s litigious society if he’d had been as successful. He made a tremendous amount of art leveraging the likeness of others: Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and countless others. It may also come down to those that appreciate (or not) the artist’s take on those brands, branded objects, and likenesses. For example, NIKE, Christian Louboutin, and creative visionary Jeff Staple — who partnered with NIKE to create a custom designed Pigeon Dunk basketball shoe which is now a collector’s item valued at about $25,000 —have all passionately supported and sought out partnerships with Hendry.

OTHER WORKS BY HENDRY

GDE730 W2 | Workshop Challenge

WORKSHOP CHALLENGE

Map a resourcing model for budget and staff allocation to deliver a project or creative initiative of your choice.

If you are thinking about a generic project budgeting exercise, the example below gives an indication of the parameters for consideration. As the last week of this project brief requires you to write a more substantive strategic plan, please ensure you choose a topic or client that is most suited to your own practice interests.

Example:

You have been asked to pitch by National Theatre for a campaign to promote a new play, to include:

• Promotional poster;

• Programme;

• Digital banner;

• Print;

• Design production.

Your client has not given an indication of the budget but would like to pay you fairly. There are no existing images. Please outline the time and costs required to deliver initial stage one body of work across three concepts. Also provide an indication of production costs based on your design proposals.

ROCKET DOG RESCUE

I chose to focus my challenge this week on a dog rescue here in San Francisco, Rocket Dog Rescue. Each year they have a big concert headlined by Emmy Lou Harris to raise money for Rocket Dogs Rescue. I chose this as my love of dogs as well as my desire to help organizations doing good in the world. 

I chose to lean on my love of dogs as part of the proposal so as to tailor it to the prospective client. My hope is that they would see AttaGirl Design as a committed partner in promoting their signature fundraising event. 

You can download the PDF of the proposal here.

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GDE730 W1 | Workshop Challenge

POSITIONING STATEMENTS

Write an ‘about’ paragraph – an elevator pitch on either your current positioning or one you would like to establish. You may choose to take a speculative approach and envision your global dominance as a design studio superpower. Or as a more humble sole trader who works in a freelance capacity. Have your values changed since beginning the course? Is there a strategic approach your company would communicate to potential commissioners or clients?

Please consider the following in your approach:

• What is the idea?

• How does it work?

• Why does it work?

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ATTAGIRL DESIGN CURRENT POSITIONING STATMENT AND “ABOUT” PAGE

My philosophy is simple: be a good listener, ask questions, never promise what you can’t deliver, exceed expectations, build long-term relationships, and: be fearless.

What you can expect when working with me:

• Innovative, influential and award-winning Creative Director successful in cultivating great design teams and work environments that produce exceptional ideas for championing an organization's values, image and brand.

• Blends passion for design with business savvy and expert skills in client facing, conceptualizing and pitching ideas, guiding the creative direction of projects, and on-time project delivery. Focused and persistent; diplomatic and resilient. Excel in analysis, decision-making, problem solving, time management and meeting deadlines.

Competencies include: 

• Leadership – Based on the understanding that good management is a service, not a restraint; that business is an ecosystem which requires nurturance; that companies are composed of people not machines; and that the best work environments are great because they're fun AND productive

• Communication - Building and maintaining relationships and garnering buy-in via drafting effective creative briefs, presenting creative and persuasive visions/pitches across stakeholders (clients, staff, and leadership), and using effective negotiation to identify and implement mutually beneficial outcomes

• Creativity - Proven and hands-on designer who inspires innovation, drives ingenuity, and achieves results via effective brainstorming and ideation, creative problem solving, and resourceful and storytelling with impact

• Technical Knowledge – Possess high levels of knowledge of and skill in working with creative softwares, web design best practices, social media platforms, etc.

• Staffing – Hiring, developing, motivating, managing and retaining the best talent

• Budgeting – Creation, management, working within

• Presentations – Creative briefs, creative visions, drafts, finished products

• Teaching, Training – Developing staff, introducing new users to new products and technologies

• Work Culture – Develop and evolve the workplace into THE place employees want to be

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RESEARCH

Design for Good

WHAT

Design for Good is an ethos to use problem-solving and design thinking towards social change.

HOW

AIGA Design for Good highlights opportunities of engagement for designers to build their practice, expand their network, and have hands-on leadership opportunities. Design for Good recognizes the wide range of designers’ work and hands-on leadership and professional development opportunities, which benefit the world, our country, and our communities. Design for Good sustains designers playing a catalytic role through community projects that create positive social impact.

WHY

By supporting designers through online networks, inspirational stories, meaningful programs, open dialogues and chapter events, impact measurement toolkits, and national advocacy and promotion, Design for Good serves as a powerful resource for designers who wish to work in this area and a beacon for designers leading the charge.

Matter Unlimited

WHAT

Matter Unlimited is a strategic and creative consultancy built for the purpose-led economy.

HOW

We are situated at the intersection of culture, capital and cause, and leverage this unique perspective to create impactful solutions to service our client’s needs.

WHY

We help build and grow mission driven brands.

HelpGood

WHAT

HelpGood is an agency focused on social good.

HOW

We help nonprofits, NGOs, foundations, universities, social enterprises, cause marketers, and corporate social responsibility teams develop digital-first marketing, communications, and fundraising strategies…. 

WHY

….that inspire action and create a lasting social impact.

IDEO.ORG

WHAT

IDEO.org is a nonprofit design studio.

HOW

We design products and services alongside organizations…. 

WHY

…. that are committed to creating a more just and inclusive world

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ATTAGIRL DESIGN REVISED POSITION STATEMENT

Exclamation: an informal expression of encouragement

WHAT

AttaGirl Design is a studio dedicated to giving voice for social good.

HOW

Through an engaged, empathetic, and collaborative approach, AttaGirl Design provides strategic solutions aimed at amplifying the efforts of organizations committed to create a more humane and just world. 

WHY

There has never been a more important time to provide a platform for the voices for social good. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can make the world a better place.

FINAL STATEMENT

AttaGirl Design is a studio dedicated to giving voice for social good.

Through an engaged, empathetic, and collaborative approach, AttaGirl Design provides strategic solutions aimed at amplifying the efforts of organizations committed to create a more humane and just world. 

There has never been a more important time to provide a platform for the voices for social good. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can make the world a better place.

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REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). Planning, Strategy and Management | Philosophies, Roles and Approach | Lecture. Studio and Entrepreneurship GDE730 20/21 Part-Time Study Block S3 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Butler, Sarah (2018) ‘Wallace & Gromit producers hand stake to staff

USI Events (2017) Redesigning Leadership John Maeda, at USI 

DesignInDaBa (2016) John Maeda on Design Thinking and Creative Leadership 

Computer Arts (2016) How to Launch and Run a Design Studio (Links to an external site.)

millsustwo (2017) Inside ustwo (Links to an external site.)

The Futur (2017) How To Run A Creative Business: In-depth breakdown w/ Melinda Livsey 

Sagmeister, Stefan (2013) ‘Medalist Stefan Sagmeister (Links to an external site.)’, AIGA

&walsh – https://andwalsh.com (Links to an external site.)

Sagmeister inc – https://sagmeister.com (Links to an external site.)

Maeda Studio – https://maedastudio.com/

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