After the presentations, I have been thinking what would I be doing in your shoes? This question is in relation to moving forward to the next phases of the studio.
So, this studio is challenging. It is not like you have been given a concrete brief from the client. Instead a part of the process actually involves working out what you can contribute to help this organisation, in combination with meeting the requirements of a course in your degree. In addition to these two things you may be thinking how can I make the most of this opportunity for my professional portfolio, my CV?
I would also be thinking about the logistics, mainly the timeframe you have to work in – and the upcoming project briefs (summarised in the studio guide).
There is an expectation that like most professional strand studios (in Communication Design and Media) that you are progressing towards some type of substantial output. In this case some type of artefact (object, thing). We see the artefact/s in your major project brief as being a prototype, which means they are speculative, rather than (polished, refined) to a finite point. However, we are expecting you to communicate (through your prototype) a substantial well researched and formulated idea that can be tested in the real world. What this means you will have prepared your idea in a way that it can be communicated (presented aurally and visually) to a relatively broad audience with the aim to get constructive feedback.
So, all the projects (as it has panned out with the client) are quite varied. They have different contexts and constraints that affect the potential direction that can be taken and subsequently the outcomes. But, what we have to hang onto in this studio (or to return to…to ground things…) is the studio prompt and the overall aim of the studio.
Studio prompt (from the studio guide)
How can Communication Design and Media practices be used to co-author the creation
of nonfiction artefacts with the not-for-profit sector?
The expectation working from this prompt is that your group are working together to make something that mixes (integrates) a range of varying skills and practices. Working from this as a starting point it – before moving to the next project brief, it is important to clarify the skills you have in your group.
The other major thing to consider is the aim of the studio. This aim is to simply “communicate the work Lentara does in the community more effectively.”
Finally, another significant part of the studio is how can ‘storytelling’ across two disciplines be used as a key aspect of the communication strategy.
Back to me (and remember I am situated in the Media discipline) with a specific interest in documentary (nonfiction) storytelling both in traditional media (film and television) and new media. I would be thinking how can I work with communication designers with my skills? How can we use storytelling in both disciplines to communicate what Lentara does in the community? How can we use storytelling to help solve the “wicked problem” we have identified? How can we use storytelling to communicate a good idea?
To narrow things down and produce some tangible outcomes in your major project, the next thing I would do is come up with what I will refer to as an initiative prompt (or summarised creative brief) that can be used to guide the research and making for the rest of the studio.
As an example, a hypothetical for the Lentara Identity group could be as follows:
First, I know that we can not solve, or come up with an identity strategy in the timeframe, so I would be aiming to make a small contribution towards some potential solutions.
To get to a prompt, I would be thinking (out loud) that the Lentara organisation as it begins to progress towards modernising its approach towards communication and using digital media, is unsure about how to define (or re-define) its’ identity.
So my prompt would be something like this (as a draft) – “What stories can we tell (record) that will give people (the Lentara organisation) a sense of who they are and what they do? I would be aiming for a relatively open prompt that allowed me to experiment and be innovative creatively, but at the same time provided direction and structure. I would use this prompt to support all my presentations and communication about what I aiming to achieve.
The Project 3 framework involves beginning to focus in on an idea and things to make. However, unlike the final project the idea is to explore and experiment with a concept from a number of perspectives. I see this project as a bit like sketching (or making models) before you prototype.
Say I narrowed a brainstorm down to the goal of using interviews as a way to explore a response to the “initiative prompt”. One approach may be to record around 40 interviews with people, using different methods to record and present that material. My sketches could be something like:
1. Record 4 x 5 minute interviews on audio with varying people connected to Lentara, with a podcast series in mind
2. Explore short written responses (a sentence, a tweet), with social media tools and services in mind.
3. A series of 2 minute video interviews, for video web series.
4. etc
The idea is to try things out (experiment) and make some interesting (unexpected) discoveries in relation to how these interviews may be recorded and presented using design and media practices.
These interviews in relation to storytelling could focus on interviewing people from a design storytelling perspective (think HCD design methods for interviewing) in combination with getting (media type interviews)
For instance, design storytelling might explore questions like – What does the Lentara identity look like? feel like? remind you of? etc.
The media approach may focus on interviews that explore what Lentara does – What are the results of the work Lentra does? Who do they work with? What personal stories are exemplars of what Lentara does in the community? How difficult is that work? How well resourced are they? etc.
Once these interviews were recorded the other experimentation would focus on how they could be packaged, presented…what tools and services may be useful etc
I would be planning to present all these sketches (models) to the mid-semester panel knowing that one model is going to be developed further in the major project brief, or it could even be a combination of ideas from a number of models that are focused on. The direction and focus taken in the major project will depend on the feedback provided by the mid-semester panel and others in the studio as a whole. I would have an idea of what I wanted to develop further, but also remain open in regards to what other people show interest in…and the ideas that flow from presenting the outcomes to an audience.