However, this mind map hasn't really helped me to generate new ideas, but instead is more just a visual representation of the information that I gathered over the summer. I decided that by utilising the methods we have been exploring through the sessions I would be able to generate more ideas; therefore I started by creating a visual word association map in an attempt to produce more abstract ideas and thoughts. This is my word association map:
What I found from doing this was that although I was starting to come up with alternative ideas that were slightly more abstract and conceptual, there was still no idea that really appealed to me. I decided, after talking with a tutor, that the best way to conquer my creative block was to literally have a conversation with myself. This would involve me constantly asking myself why in order to understand where my problem was and how to get around it. This is the conversation that I had with myself:
- What is the problem?
- I don't want to make a design that is the same as the studios actual website because it would make my website redundant and useless. However, I am stuck with this idea and can't think how to make mine different with the information that I have.
- Why is this a problem?
- Because it would mean my site is just regurgitating information that could easily be found elsewhere online.
- Why is that stopping you?
- Because I don't want my website to just be the same as their website. I want mine to be more abstract whilst still successfully visually presenting my message.
- What is the message?
- I want to promote their work whilst also showing other design that is aesthetically similar to theirs; perhaps showing design work from their partners and links in order to achieve this.
- Why, what's the point?
- The point that I am trying to make is that their work is very effective and aesthetically pleasing whilst having a strong focus on communication. It is also very current work, in a style that is very popular at the moment.
- Why is their work effective and aesthetically pleasing?
- I like their work and think this for many reasons, such as: the use of grids, the simplicity of the designs, the lay-outs are functional yet creative and innovative, their use of typography, the minimal application of colour, the pastel colours that are often used, and the style of their work.
- Why is that a good thing, why would anyone care?
- People would care because with this being the current trend, and in my opinion the best type of design, they would need to be aware of this work if they wanted to create current, effective and aesthetically pleasing work.
- Who are these people?
- How would you communicate this to them?
- Designers who already have similar taste and are looking for other artists as a means of inspiration and influence.
- Through a collection of images and examples of design that demonstrates all of their strengths, as well as also giving links to other websites and design blogs that could aid them in their search.
Now that I have had this conversation with myself, I have a much more focused view on what it is that I aim to do and the ways in which I could do this. I have come up with two main ideas:
- I could compare the type of work that they do alongside other work and explain why I think their work is better?
- My website could demonstrate the current trend within graphic design, highlighting what characteristics are typical of this type of design.
I feel that my second idea, highlighted above, gives me much more scope and is something that I think will benefit me also. After having a discussion with Harrison about this idea, he asked me a question which helped me to define my idea:
- Is it not just like a more niche 'Designspiration'?
- No, because it would be an archive showing the current trend, split into categories of design elements and characteristics. Although this would be a collection of images, similar to designspiration, my website would be much more specific and could also offer links for further research. Within this website, I would not focus solely on 'Deutsche & Japaner' like I had previously thought, but would still include their work amongst my collection.
Now that I have my concept and idea, I can start to look at other websites that I think are appropriate and that help me to solve my own design problems. I looked back at the things we did before this session and wanted to quickly rethink some of the answers that I had. The main thing being the pages that my website will have. Now I understand exactly what I am doing, I have re-done this task:
- Homepage
- Grid (category containing relevant imagery)
- Line (category containing relevant imagery)
- Colour (category containing relevant imagery)
- Pattern (category containing relevant imagery)
- Typography (category containing relevant imagery)
- Shape (category containing relevant imagery)
I could also include the following pages, although these could potentially be removed if I cannot complete everything in the time scale:
- Links - Containing links to further sources of similar work
- Archive - A page that contains all of the images from the website
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