An Exercise in Problem Solving »
Throughout the MA we have been asked to question our process and research methods. That questioning covers everything from how we shape problems with questions to how we begin to offer possible solutions through risk-taking. This week, those realisations were put to the test with this seemingly simple task: create a brand for a management consultancy that manages academic spaces in one hour.
We were put into pairs. Imm (another fresh BA graduate) and I immediately began with taking the loosely defined problem and began to try and make sense of it through brainstorming. We defined an academic space as an interior, whether it be a studio, an office, a lecture theatre, a workshop or canteen. The notion of ‘management consultancy’ was scrapped, as we figured they were words which meant nothing. Through some critical thinking we managed to clearly define the problem.
We came up with a strong concept of a space. Then we stalled.
Compared to the other team we were behind. There was a block in our thinking as we had to move from defining the problem to visualising it. By the time we had reached a point where we could no longer shape the problem without visuals, Jodie and Hannah had already begun to sketch out several examples. It is not because Imm and I are bad designers — we were very capable at shaping the problem. Our difficulty was visualising it, which is evidence of our inexperience of design practice outside university. As for the other group, it is worth noting that Jodie works for ilovedust.
It was an interesting exercise in that it revealed exactly what we learned in the BA. We learned to rationalise. We learned to understand problems. And if we do not understand problems, we know to clarify them. Throughout the BA visualising problems was almost secondary to understanding them. And though we did come up with a sketchy identity (we chose to go with the theme of negative space and apertures) it took a long time to finally take the plunge and risk visualising an idea. When we commented on our process retrospectively, we found that we were afraid to be wrong in our designs.
It is that element of failure which has been my own personal demon over the years. I know now that once I push aside my fear of ‘bad’ design, I can begin to move forward within my research and how I visualise it. Not that good design arises from bad design, but it does arise from taking risks. So it is time for me to start taking risks and push aside any fear of being wrong. Not a novel concept, but a crucial one.
If anyone else would like to tackle this task and share the results (and perhaps any lessons learned) with me, I would love to see them. The brief is exactly as it is defined above: design a brand for a marketing consultancy that deals with academic space within an hour. Anything goes.
Digital Writing Spaces on April 1, 2010 at 3:10 pm
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