Something that really stood out to me when Robin was speaking to our class was when she said, “You can’t just tell people things anymore”. It rings so true to me and the way I used to–and maybe still do–approach design. Most times, my mind just goes to the most obvious place for design. Some of my first ideas are just words on a screen and expecting an audience to be interested just because they feel like they should read the words, when I never gave them a reason to. My mind goes to the 9/11 sprint project I did in Professor Nace’s Typographic Design class two semesters ago. I literally put the most basic words on a screen and called it a statement. It’s kind of hilarious to think about it. She actually made the whole class redo them because they were so cliché.
This idea of trying to catch people’s attention was really eye opening too, to see her disruptive design examples at the end of the presentation. A lot of the examples had a lot of environmental design elements, which I absolutely love. I also, really enjoyed learning about the Love Ling the Prince design project. It was very touching and I kind of started tearing up in class! Seeing all of these amazing designs are honestly kind of overwhelming. They are all just so different and out-of-the-box. My problem is I feel very in the box. How do I get out of the box!!!!!
During Robin’s Thursday night talk I liked when she talked about how Lin Manuel Miranda decided to read Alexander Hamilton’s biography instead of choosing something on a subject he was already familiar with. (Also side note–was STARSTRUCK when she said she worked with the choreographer of Waitress and other broadway shows. I am a total broadway fan) It got me thinking about how we as designers must be more than just design! If we constantly surround ourselves with only art, we will never have an outside perspective or insight into other avenues of life. The correlation comes when we invite creativity into other parts of our lives.
It’s funny because during the Thursday Zoom I was at my job at the football stadium getting ready for guests. That night, I was stocking and unpacking a package of White Claws, and I realized that every time I open one, I’m so frustrated with the way they package them because they group the flavors, so if the one I’m trying to get to is on the bottom or in the middle I have to take all of the ones on top out. I laughed because I realized this is a gap! Now it might be minor and insignificant, but I was proud of myself for noticing. It kind of goes into user experience more than generation of new ideas, but I thought if I ever need to design for a drink company in the future, that’s something I could and should keep in mind. I am going to try being more mindful of design in my every day life!
September 30, 2022