Still struggling a bit to combine work, moving to a new place and the studies. I have some ideas in mind but not sure which one i should follow and pick for my first brief. Also time is running…

List of project ideas:

• Posters for missing cats: The idea came to me when I was walking around my neighbourhood and saw all these posters looking for a cat that was almost invisible or washed out by the weather. I thought to myself that there must be a better way for people to find their cat.
• Art Forest: This is a leftover from the last module, where I realised that people in the suburb I lived in didn’t appreciate art as much as they would in a city, for example. So I thought about creating an art-related theme in the forest, a path for people to explore the connection between nature and art.
• Gratitude: Very often we are not grateful for what we have. And many people (in Germany) tend to see things a little negatively.
• Animal welfare: I saw a documentary film about an octopus and how intelligent these creatures are, while in some countries they are eaten alive (e.g. Korea); our beloved dogs compared to pigs that we eat.
• Food delivery: a more sustainable and ‘people-friendly’ approach
• What is it like to be human? What makes us human?
• Being alone in the city
• The waste society: the story behind the things nobody wants anymore
• Support your local shop staff

SKETCH TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THE AMBIGUITY OF EATING ANY ANIMALS BUT NOT OUR BELOVED DOGS

I decided to pursue the idea of supporting the staff in the local shops for the time being. In the suburb where I used to live, I kept hearing shop staff complaining about their working conditions (long hours and poor pay). So I came up with the idea of supporting them by designing a prize that could be sold in the shop and the proceeds of which would (at least partially) support the shop assistant. Another option for customers would be to buy a ready-made baking mix (whose branding and design I create) and bake the Preze at home (something children would probably love to do at home).

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOP STAFF FIRST SKETCHES

Research task: Develop a mood board to help clarify the themes that you will be exploring in your self-initiated project.

Resources

Ideas, Craft & Context (Podcast Interviews)

The visualisation and development of ideas can take various forms. The starting point is usually sketching or writing down ideas, which are then discussed in the team. Christoph Miller says it is important to stick to a concept or framework, to show a process, to develop a layout in a step-by-step process. Sam Bompas explains: ‘You can’t have a good idea in a vacuum’. He even emails people to find someone who is as excited about an idea as he is.

For Miller, the reference points vary, but he usually likes to combine classic Western European graphic design with unexpected contemporary content.

The Codex Seraphinianus is a surrealist book full of imaginary ideas and images. It is very beautiful, but also very expensive.

Veronica Fuerte doesn’t work in trends, but more what people love. Vince Frost believes “opportunities are everywhere” to get creative ideas. This reminds me of Noticing the ignored from last module. Sam Bompas likes to archive images that he thinks are useful and grasping the essence in two words: LAVA CAKE

Bompas similarly to Fuerte argues that its about people what they find interesting and not what you need from them (when sending an email to people).

Design Genius: The ways and working of Creative Thinkers (Book by Ambrose, G.):

The design of forms, processes and materials are just as important as design and typography. Emma Thomas likes to see things as objects, even if they are two-dimensional. Michael Lebowitz: ‘Creating unique things is about unpredictable connections between ideas and people’.

Sustainable design: Sophie Thomas believes it is important to educate designers about sustainable design, which starts at the concept stage.

How to spread a message in the cloud with millions of people -> Guerrilla etiquette (Robbie Conal): Guerrilla posting is a quick and quiet mass dissemination of a message in a direct and cheap way where people least expect it (e.g. on a construction wall that people pass on their way to work).

Graphic Design: Now in Production, Opening-Day Talk (Walker Art Center):

• Everybody can use software for Graphic Design, create user contributed content on widely distributed platforms -> Post Production needed.

• “The last whole earth catalog”: gives access to tools about life and work

• Reclaim personal relationship we had with tools

• New tools: print-on-demand systems, low-cost digital printing, web-based distribution => use it for ourselves (e.g. printing book)

• Neville Brody: “We have forgotten why we are here […] revolutionary thought is but a distant memory”