Week_07: Global studios-Approaches and strategies for working today and delivering creative services.
Weekly Learning Objectives
By the end of this week you should be able to:
Research and analyse approaches and strategies for working today and delivering creative services as a graphic designer;
Imagine new models of practice that help you grow and develop throughout this course;
Imagine what media and communication platforms could help support your potential new models of practice;
Design and communicate a one minute elevator pitch outlining how you can work in new and more exciting collaborative ways;
Manage your independent learning effectively.
Lecture Notes
Lecture_01: Expanding borders and establishing an international practice.
Workshops are a valuable resource in the gathering of insights and data, as a tool they allow the observer to gain first-hand experience of engaging with the user. This research material can then be subsequently used to form the foundation of the ideation process, providing fact and clarity to the design development phase, of the project.
Through the process of collaboration the designer is able to succinctly define the core elements of the design brief, using the information gathered from observing and engaging with the user, to define the parameters of the strategy. This mutually beneficial relationship can add great value to a project, with the user adding insights, that can then be applied to the decision making process, within the project. And the designer can use such contributions to plan the subsequent phases of the collaboration, or as a component in the deliverable, itself.
What is the value of such insights? In regards to the use of workshops, we can assert they such forums allow for a much broader pool of perspectives, and therefore provide the observer with a greater number of data-sets and insights, so numerically speaking, a workshop can offer a considerable return, in terms of valuable information. Such feedback can then be used in the process of ideation, providing context and reasoning to the decisions made, by the design team.
In my own view, the workshop should be deployed as part of a comprehensive research strategy, that uses Ethnographic research in the gathering of data. Such methodologies would have to be measured against a set of criteria, that allowed for the diligent analysis of the information gathered, and the relevance it may have to the project objectives. By partnering with external bodies that can offer a broad range of skills and services, the designer can expand the scope of their own studio practice. In so doing, contributing to the construction of a community that is driven by collaboration.
The value of collaborating with the local community.
In the context of the local community, such collaborations could have considerable and far-reaching benefits for those that reside and work in the area. For example: A small, independent business or a sole trader would place considerable value on a partnership with a large, international company able to offer them a long-term and consistent source of revenue. In-turn, the opportunity for the larger company to partner with a business that is able to provide specialised and low-cost services, would enrich not only their deliverables, but also reduce their running costs. In regards to the economic value of such a collaboration, the practice of investing in smaller, specialised industries can contribute to the studios brand, portraying them as promoting ethical practice and sustainability, all of which will broaden their appeal, in a competitive market. For the local economies that are the subject of such investment, the economic consequences could range from an increase in spending by the local council, an influx of new businesses that have emerged in response to the collaboration with the larger company, and more disposable income for the employees of those businesses that have benefited from that partnership.
The use of the workshop format can also help to identify new opportunities and establish the foundation of a discussion, pertaining to speculative futures. In the course of which, the design agency should seek to engage with an eclectic array of external parties, in endeavouring to identify areas within the commercial landscape, in which they could potentially establish a niche practice. Assuming that there is a need for such services, a studio that is able to utilise these resources efficiently can create opportunities for expansion, into new segments.
Many of the contemporary studios, certainly in regards to the UK, strive to position themselves as being grounded in humility and driven by a desire to promote ethical practice, assuring potential clients that they value their relationships and provide a human touch, in the delivery of their creative. In reality, many of the larger organisations are not structured to accommodate such strategies, and for many design-teams, there is a lack of engagement between them and the client.
Workshop Challenge
The Challenge
Based on some of the debates and discussion covered so far, outline a series of ideas that could help you to work in new and more exciting collaborative ways.
What media and communication platforms could help support this? (This might be to help you collaborate with new design partners, introduce yourself to a new network or culture or area of investigation.)
Present your ideas as a one minute elevator pitch video (with the aim that you will develop one of those ideas further next week).
Mind-mapping through play.
I propose the deployment of a strategy that is designed to facilitate the gathering of insights and data, that can be collated and analysed in the service of providing a profile of the user.
The implementation of this strategy would comprise of a series of workshops in which participants would be asked to carry-out a series of brief tasks, such as: The rearranging of pre-selected images, illustrating their desired lifestyle; surmise their experience of the work-place in several, brief sentences; And create a self-portrait using collage.
Such exercises can be utilised as part of an approach that uses Ethnographic research, as a research methodology. The desired outcome for the workshop would be the identification of consistencies in user behaviour and the language, that they choose to adopt in the conveyance of their needs and desires.
A day in your life
A workshop designed to accommodate experiential learning through the use of Role Play.
At the core of this exercise is the belief that demonstrating empathy towards our fellow citizens of planet earth can, in the wider context of the conversation, help us to gather personal insights about ourselves, and how we conduct ourselves in society.
In this workshop participants, whom will be the members of staff from participating companies, will adopt the roles of their colleagues and then be tasked with undertaking a series of tasks, that are intended to measure their response to a variety of scenarios. After the completion of each task, the participant will be asked to explain their thought-process and why they had made those particular decisions.
Global education networks.
A manifesto advocating for the betterment of the living conditions of those citizens living in poverty stricken communities, around the globe.
Focused on the advocation of micro-economies; self-improvement; and sustainability, the manifesto would be used as a statement of intent and applied to the addressing of challenges pertaining to the economy, public services, commerce, skills-sharing and education, innovation and technology, and threats to the environment.
In implementing this manifesto, and endeavouring to accommodate a dialogue between communities, there should be created a digital forum in which there could be hosted an array of tools, accessible to communities, that had signed-up to the this collective. Such tools may include: Standardised legal documents; information pertaining to basic health care; recipes, shared among international communities; educational content, that can be distributed with ease, between staff and institutions; and video-content, delivered by experts, and intended to assist those members of the relevant communities in developing their skills, and businesses.
Further development: Global Education Networks. (GEN)
The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs works tirelessly with a broad array of countries from around the globe, in a large-scale operation to deliver vital services to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. This vast logistical enterprise calls for a substantial global effort, in the construction of transport routes and the logistics networks, and therefore the organisation has had to invest in, and build the necessary infrastructure, in order to handle this capacity.
It is with this in-mind, that I propose that I work alongside the relevant departments within the OCHA, to plan and implement my manifesto, which will serve as a set of criteria for the establishing of programmes and initiatives, that are primarily focused on providing educational content and learning resources, to some the the most remote, and economically vulnerable communities, within the global community.
The manifesto will be deployed as a tool for cross continent collaboration and will rely on the dialogue between the creators and the users, in order to maintain a comprehensive and encyclopaedic pool of resources and material. Such content can then be shared among the organisations on the ground and distributed by them, to the local population. Each of the frontline outlets will be governed by the criteria, that had been set out in the manifesto, and this will help to form the brand-philosophy and inform the communication strategy, subject to each context.
In summation, I envisage this tool as a living, breathing policy, that is sustained by the collaboration between the user and the creator, with consistent and relevant contributions from both parties providing insight and data, in the pursuit of bettering the services that are offered, and providing a more detailed profile of those areas of society, that engage with the programme. Therefore, the value of this tool can be viewed through the lens of Ethnographic research and should be considered as a tool for learning about the societal challenges that prompt the creation of such a service, as well as a channel for communication and the delivery of vital services.
Outcome:
Group Discussion:
Bibliography
Maloba, L (2020). ‘It is in me to work to support my community’: How a local NGO in Kenya is helping vulnerable people during COVID-19. [online] unocha.org. Available at: https://www.unocha.org/story/%E2%80%98it-me-work-support-my-community%E2%80%99-how-local-ngo-kenya-helping-vulnerable-people-during-covid [Accessed 14 July. 2020].
Clark, N (2019). How to design good services. [online] Manifesto. Available at: https://manifesto.co.uk/how-to-design-good-services/ [Accessed 17 July. 2020].
TATE, (2020). The manifesto of An Imagined Museum. [online] tate.org.uk. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-liverpool/exhibition/works-know-heart-imagined-museum/manifesto-imagined-museum [Accessed 17 July. 2020].
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