Creative Entrepreneur - The Project
The Brief
The latest university project that I have been set is entitled 'The Creative Entrepreneur'.
The requirements of the brief are
- Observe, enquire, research, acquire knowledge and information
- Go on a journey of discovery and explore a more personal expression of creative ideas
- Experiment with abstract concepts that lie outside the conventions of a commercial context
- Develop your own attitudes and explore creative processes and contemporary creative practice
- Originate and execute a distinctive and individual body of original work
The journey to undertake
Observation > Enquiry > Analysis > Meaning > Transformation > Concept > Development > Execution
Outcome
- You will make a creative presentation of your research
- You will create a blog of all your presentation, your new knowledge, sources and inspirations
- You will create a body of work which explore possibilities beyond your immediate world and make a presentation of your creative authorship, a response to your new discoveries
- You will make a front page/section to your blog which represents and your ideas to the world as a creative entrepreneur.
The most challenging aspect of this project I believe will be effectively going into the 'unknown'. The research that I will need to gather is what will in the long run shape my creative outcome therefore it is important that it is solid and relevant. I also want to be certain that I choose a subject that is interesting and that I feel I can fully engage within.
The latest university project that I have been set is entitled 'The Creative Entrepreneur'.
The requirements of the brief are
- Observe, enquire, research, acquire knowledge and information
- Go on a journey of discovery and explore a more personal expression of creative ideas
- Experiment with abstract concepts that lie outside the conventions of a commercial context
- Develop your own attitudes and explore creative processes and contemporary creative practice
- Originate and execute a distinctive and individual body of original work
The journey to undertake
Observation > Enquiry > Analysis > Meaning > Transformation > Concept > Development > Execution
Outcome
- You will make a creative presentation of your research
- You will create a blog of all your presentation, your new knowledge, sources and inspirations
- You will create a body of work which explore possibilities beyond your immediate world and make a presentation of your creative authorship, a response to your new discoveries
- You will make a front page/section to your blog which represents and your ideas to the world as a creative entrepreneur.
The most challenging aspect of this project I believe will be effectively going into the 'unknown'. The research that I will need to gather is what will in the long run shape my creative outcome therefore it is important that it is solid and relevant. I also want to be certain that I choose a subject that is interesting and that I feel I can fully engage within.
My belongings / Their origins
So far I have been thinking about our immediate world and what surrounds. As individual people we have ourselves many hundreds if not thousands of objects that we own. If you included every item of clothing, pencil and random paper clip and laid it out, the sheer volume of 'stuff' that we collect and keep as ours would be staggering.
There have been creative exhibitions around the world that have tackled exactly this subject. Literally laying out everything that somebody owns creates an insight into that person and perhaps reveals them as a character in an interesting and revealing manner.
This instillation by artist Song Dong entitled 'Waste Not' is all of the possessions of his mother that she has in the world. Everything including the wooden frame of her home was included within the exhibition, quite literally laying her life bare and all of its material representatives for the whole world to see.
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/projects/song-dong/
So far I have been thinking about our immediate world and what surrounds. As individual people we have ourselves many hundreds if not thousands of objects that we own. If you included every item of clothing, pencil and random paper clip and laid it out, the sheer volume of 'stuff' that we collect and keep as ours would be staggering.
There have been creative exhibitions around the world that have tackled exactly this subject. Literally laying out everything that somebody owns creates an insight into that person and perhaps reveals them as a character in an interesting and revealing manner.
This instillation by artist Song Dong entitled 'Waste Not' is all of the possessions of his mother that she has in the world. Everything including the wooden frame of her home was included within the exhibition, quite literally laying her life bare and all of its material representatives for the whole world to see.
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/projects/song-dong/
This idea of revealing the objects that we own as people I find really interesting. Exploring the things that surround us everyday I believe could surprise us in ways that we don't expect. I have decided that to begin with I am going to try and establish the source of as many items from my room as possible. I realise that this may not be possible for every item but I am going to try. I am going to begin with my clothing and shoes as they usually feature on the labels a 'made in . . .' tag.
It took me a couple of hours to gradually go through my wardrobe and record where each item of clothing was made within the world.
I also decided to record what countries each manufacturer/retailer has their garments made in.
I was definitely quite surprised by the outcome of my research. Counting alone just tops within my wardrobe my clothes come from a broad spectrum of 10 countries a figure that I find incredible. From China, Vietnam and Peru to Honduras and Mexico the items that are now sat in my wardrobe in Cheltenham have distant far flung roots from all over the world. Interestingly none of the items of clothing in my wardrobe were manufactured in the UK.
The outcome of my findings so far has created the possibility in my mind that perhaps simply focusing on the variety of origins of my clothing could be interesting enough. But I do want to continue trying to establish where a broader spectrum of my items come from to create a more varied and diverse image.
It took me a couple of hours to gradually go through my wardrobe and record where each item of clothing was made within the world.
I also decided to record what countries each manufacturer/retailer has their garments made in.
I was definitely quite surprised by the outcome of my research. Counting alone just tops within my wardrobe my clothes come from a broad spectrum of 10 countries a figure that I find incredible. From China, Vietnam and Peru to Honduras and Mexico the items that are now sat in my wardrobe in Cheltenham have distant far flung roots from all over the world. Interestingly none of the items of clothing in my wardrobe were manufactured in the UK.
The outcome of my findings so far has created the possibility in my mind that perhaps simply focusing on the variety of origins of my clothing could be interesting enough. But I do want to continue trying to establish where a broader spectrum of my items come from to create a more varied and diverse image.
Labels?
On a tangent when I was going through my wardrobe trying to find the labels to find out where each item is from I noticed how on every item the labels were in the exact same place. Regardless of the brand, material or style the labels were always attached to the clothing be it a top or pair of trousers in the exact same place. This uniformity I found really interesting and certain that it must be a deliberate design element.
This has definitely made me wonder why it is done in this way and the reasoning behind it. As I continue to explore the items within my room, this may be an element that I focus on within each item. If say for example within books, DVDs or electronic ties there are similarities within the information on products that each and every feature. This could potentially affect and influence the way in which the consumer uses the product. This may take my research and the idea of my project in a totally different direction if I begin to explore how we as the user read/use products and the information that they feature.
The feasibility of exploring every single item within my room in the timespan that I have is also encouraging me somewhat to explore the potential of limiting my idea down and taking the information that I am so far finding in a manner that is more focused and I will be able to fully explore.
On a tangent when I was going through my wardrobe trying to find the labels to find out where each item is from I noticed how on every item the labels were in the exact same place. Regardless of the brand, material or style the labels were always attached to the clothing be it a top or pair of trousers in the exact same place. This uniformity I found really interesting and certain that it must be a deliberate design element.
This has definitely made me wonder why it is done in this way and the reasoning behind it. As I continue to explore the items within my room, this may be an element that I focus on within each item. If say for example within books, DVDs or electronic ties there are similarities within the information on products that each and every feature. This could potentially affect and influence the way in which the consumer uses the product. This may take my research and the idea of my project in a totally different direction if I begin to explore how we as the user read/use products and the information that they feature.
The feasibility of exploring every single item within my room in the timespan that I have is also encouraging me somewhat to explore the potential of limiting my idea down and taking the information that I am so far finding in a manner that is more focused and I will be able to fully explore.
Where to go?
I have decided that going forward with my project I straying off into the realms of packaging / labels in a different manner would not necessarily be as beneficial to me. I think that focusing on the belongings within my wardrobe and there varying locations of origin gives me ample scope for research, analysis and design ideas. I think I could be missing out on some interesting information if I did not follow up on these in some way / manner.
Going forward, it is key that I establish what areas that I next investigate and find out more about to successfully drive my project forward. So far there are several different aspects that I could look at in relation to my clothes and the information that I have about them so far.
I know that within this project I want to create visual outcomes that will be colourful, exciting and bold. Therefore I believe that it is important that when I am further developing my project I consider aspects that will allow me to do this within my work.
For the next stage of my project I want to research the companies themselves that have manufactured my clothes as I feel that this will broaden my insight into them. The areas of the companies that I would like to explore that I feel are relevant are;
I have decided that going forward with my project I straying off into the realms of packaging / labels in a different manner would not necessarily be as beneficial to me. I think that focusing on the belongings within my wardrobe and there varying locations of origin gives me ample scope for research, analysis and design ideas. I think I could be missing out on some interesting information if I did not follow up on these in some way / manner.
Going forward, it is key that I establish what areas that I next investigate and find out more about to successfully drive my project forward. So far there are several different aspects that I could look at in relation to my clothes and the information that I have about them so far.
- The manufacturer / seller of the clothes / Who they are / Their history / Company branding
- The location where the item of clothing was made / the country itself / culture / people / beliefs
- The item itself / material it is made from / patterns / visual imagery /
I know that within this project I want to create visual outcomes that will be colourful, exciting and bold. Therefore I believe that it is important that when I am further developing my project I consider aspects that will allow me to do this within my work.
For the next stage of my project I want to research the companies themselves that have manufactured my clothes as I feel that this will broaden my insight into them. The areas of the companies that I would like to explore that I feel are relevant are;
- Brief company history, helps to understand where they have come from to now.
- Company branding / imagery
- Company ethos and values, is this reflected in the products themselves and how/where they are manufactured.