GDE740 W7 | Workshop Challenge

THE CHALLENGE

1. Create a series of positioning statements and approaches that address the strategy already outlined for your project plan. Show evidence of how trends (and other emergent fields of practice) can be evaluated, to ensure the direction of your strategy is effectively aligned to your project requirements. Please ensure your approach is innovative, original and brings new insights to the given subject area.

2. Develop a mood board to show a minimum of three different positionings, with each expressed visually and titled appropriately.

Amended challenge per Stuart (November 4, 2019)

1. Write 1 positioning/mission statement to outline your project goal.

2. Create 3x mood boards (with captions) that visualize your research into trends, that are appropriate to your project brief, and how they could be utilized to deliver your project goals.

POSITIONING STATEMENT

Ideas can be deeply personal. Creative expression can be extremely vulnerable. And for high school students, image can be everything. Bringing this altogether can be a recipe for imposter syndrome — a very real dilemma — one that faces nearly every person at sometime in their life. Creatives can be especially impacted by imposter syndrome. The XX (name to be determined) app is aimed to shed a light on imposter syndrome: to support inclusiveness and diversity, and to serve as a dialogue-starter in the young creative community. The aim: to provide an experience of belonging and awareness, and to normalize the impacts imposter syndrome. Breaking the cycle early, can help to create a clear path forward for young creatives to grow into healthier creative professionals.

If imposter syndrome can be openly discussed, shared, and normalized in the creative communities of high school students, they may be more confident, grounded and encourage them to explore a creative career path.

MOOD BOARD 01 :: Mobile Apps and Design Trends

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Forecasting apps for teens is like predicting a winning lottery number. Given the studies into Generation Z, it is appropriate to say that there is no clear way to predict which apps and what types of apps will be most popular, but there are some insights. Vibrant colors, clean type, custom illustrations are all design trends we can expect in mobile app design in 2020. Currently, the mobile apps that are most resonant to teens and applicable to my project are: VSCO, TikTok, and Instagram. I’ve also included a wellbeing app UI/UX: Buddify.

MOOD BOARD 02 :: Health & Wellness Trends

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Studies show more and more people flock to apps to address health and wellness concerns and curiosities. Teens are no different. The top health and wellness apps for teens are: Fooducate, Sleep Cycle, Spring, Waterlogged, and Grapefruit Journal.

MOOD BOARD 03 :: Generation Z Archetypes

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You can’t lump an entire generation into one lump. Well, you can, but it might not work when you go to engage with them. Several studies have been conducted to unpack the psychographics of Gen Z. This mood board give a brief glimpse at this varied group.

REFERENCE

Behance. (n.d.). 2020 Design Trends. Retrieved from https://www.behance.net/gallery/86124977/2020-Design-Trends.

Five data trends that are shaping the future of healthcare ... (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/data-trends-shaping-healthcare-future-ey.

Flora, C. (2018). Are Smartphones Really Destroying the Adolescent Brain? Scientific American, 318(2), 30–37. Retrieved from https://doi.org.ezproxy.falmouth.ac.uk/10.1038/scientificamerican0218-30

Johnson, D. (2019, September 9). 50 predictions for the EHS world in 2030. Retrieved from https://www.ishn.com/articles/109878-predictions-for-the-ehs-world-in-2030.

Ologie (2015) This is Gen Z. ebook

Rickes, & C., P. (2016, July 1). How Gen Z Will Continue to Transform Higher Education Space. Retrieved from https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-471001699/how-gen-z-will-continue-to-transform-higher-education.

GDE740 W7 | Lecture Review

POSITIONING & TRENDS

This week we learn from four new agencies who answer the question:

• How do themes and trend forecasts help ensure a project is planned and positioned effectively to deliver its strategic goals

FELD

Feld expressed that trends can be good as it indicates something has to change — a place for designers to help solve important problems.

Trends research can also be overwhelming. To keep it manageable, Feld’s approach is to ask: “what is interesting here?” as a way to filter. Further, they believe that designers can be the ones to create the trends.

ACCEPT & PROCEED

Accept & Proceed value exploring new technologies as it applies to their work and support of their clients. They look to trends to best support their clients.

STUDIO DUMBAR

Dumbar prefers to review trends and technology with their clients to evaluate and get important feedback directly prior to moving past the research phase of their work. They recognize that new technologies often equate to large, and potentially unmitigated budgets.

EDENSPIEKERMANN

The folks at EdenSpiekermann don’t seem to rely on nor regard trends. They believe they can distort the way you solve the problem, generative design as an example.

They believe that need to be aware of the trends, but that they shouldn’t drive the problem-solving. Trends can also shift by which your design is impacted. This means being able to forecast trends effectively and/or develop creative that can withstand the potential impact of evolving trends. For example, facial recognition could derail a project if the future appetite for facial recognition sours. Your work needs to be flexible in case you need to pivot. Design should be built in a way that can handle the change.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

I found it really interesting to watch the video from Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs’ chat with Google Hardware's head of design Ivy Ross, trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, and co-founder of the Future Laboratory Martin Raymond on how technology can better integrate with people's lives in this panel discussion live from Milan design regarding future trends. The most compelling takeaway is that trends forecasting can be really exciting and liberating to wonder a world in which we connect and commune in completely new ways. To be able to dream of worlds that do not exist at present seems to light a path for reaching for the stars. If we didn’t ever dream of landing on the moon - regardless of how absurd of an idea at the time — would we have pursued it so passionately? In this way, I believe trends and trends forecasting to be really important to design.

REFERENCE

Falmouth University (2018). Positioning & Trends | Interviews. Application and Interactions GDE740 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S1 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

The Future Laboratory (2019), Available from: https://www.thefuturelaboratory.com/

Raymond, M. (2010) The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook London: Laurence King. ​​​​​​​

Dezeen (2018) Dezeen and Google's Soft Futures talk live from Milan.

GDE740 W6 | Workshop Challenge

THE CHALLENGE

1. Develop a strategy and project plan for your selected project brief.

2. Utilise a variety of visual and written methods to support a full and innovative rationale for your project development.

3. Create and record a five slide Keynote presentation to outline the rationale behind the strategy and project plan of your selected project brief.

STRATEGY PRESENTATION

REFERENCE

GDE740 W6 | Lecture Review

BRIEF & STRATEGY

Accept & Proceed’s Floras Dial is an experiment in data visualisation inspired by Floriology: the study of the language and meaning of flowers. We used data from 'Flora’s Dial’, a book written in 1865 that assigns a flower and its meaning to each day of the year, and transformed it into a stunning radial calendar reminiscent of flower petals.

This week we learn from four new agencies who answer the question:

• How do you develop a strategy and project plan for a client or audience in a continually evolving global market?

FELD

FELD believes that approaches can and should vary. They prefer to meet with partners in person whenever possible as it lends itself to a greater collaboration and enhanced experience. The designers role is to communicate in the best way to get to know the people on the project. Questions are a good way to involve the client. They analyze their ideas, they layout rough ground rules for the project — knowing that they may need to move the rules around as necessary, and collaborate and share their ideas with all on the project.

ACCEPT & PROCEED

Accept & Proceed believe that projects, trends, and goals all evolve and that means they must remain FLEXIBLE. They rely heavily on deep research to best serve their projects and clients. They want to hear from real people. They then take that research and go back to the client to walk them through any insights to garner feedback and ensure they are all remain the same page.

STUDIO DUMBAR

Studio Dumbar’s strategy involves: researching into the market, client, and relative audience; conducting a brand workshop with the client; and use the same approach and strategy on every project — even if there is a deep familiarity — so that they can stay sharp and up-to-date with evolving market trends and demands.

EDENSPIEKERMANN

EdenSpiekermann researches globally and locally to ensure they are best supporting their craft and their client’s point of view. They interview subjects from wherever the end product will be used. They believe in leveraging their network for regional input.

REFERENCE

Falmouth University (2018). Brief & Strategy | Interviews. Application and Interactions GDE740 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S1 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Glug, (2018) Katee Hui. Available at: https://glugevents.com/watch/2019/katee-hui

Phillips, P (2004) Creating the perfect design brief: how to manage design for strategic, New York, Allworth Press

GDE740 W5 | Lecture Review

COMPETITIVE CONTEXT

This week we learn from four new agencies who answer the question:

• How do you research and identify new industry projects or opportunities that you’d like to participate in?

FELD

FELD is a multi-disciplinary agency that has two approaches to new work and projects:

1. Keep interested by pursuing projects of personal interest as it is very natural and the likelihood of commitment is high due to alignment

2. Take on subject where you have no knowledge. This is their preferred approach as it provides opportunities to learn new skills, subject matters and new ways of designing by conducting research.

They argue that pursuing projects of personal interest runs the risk of becoming “color blind” and that you need to refresh those eyes and brains with new experiences and opportunities which ultimately can yield great personal and professional reward.

ACCEPT & PROCEED

Accept & Proceed has decided in recent years that they really only wish to “design for good” and align themselves with creative partners and clients that share in this desire to engage in projects tackling subject matters are socially responsible such as climate change. A good amount of their work is self-initiated which in turn has generated the attention and respect of prospective clients. They have added strategy and project management units to their agency to enable their purpose and mission more effectively and efficiently. Research for their projects is spearheaded by strategy and project management teams, but the entire agency owns this process to fully engage in the work.

STUDIO DUMBAR

Being a subsidiary of a globally recognized and distributed digital agency, DEPT, has its benefits. While they do make new business partnerships by attending conferences, the majority of their work as a result of this recognition and brand affiliation “comes to them.” Must be nice. It would have been good to hear how it was before that merger and what they do differently now as opposed to when they were on their own.

EDENSPIEKERMANN

Most project like Studio Dumbar come to them. Unlike, Dumbar, EdenSpiekermann has been independently serving the design community and global agency stage for over forty years. They strive to get better at defined domains for them to dig deeper and expand their expertise across fewer industries versus broadly, and more shallowly serving their partners. Most of their work comes via word of mouth and repeat clientele.

REFERENCE

Falmouth University (2018). Competitive Context | Interviews. Application and Interactions GDE740 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S1 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)