Friday 9 October 2009

Rationale

It will sound ridiculous, but for the first month or so after being set this brief, I found it really difficult to find inspiring things. Perhaps I was looking too hard and missing everything, I’m not sure, but eventually I began to see more clearly and I started to build up my blog.

I had already subscribed to Arts Projects magazine, which I love and look forward to reading as soon as it comes through my door. I soon realised that this magazine was full of interesting artists, designs, facts, articles and even tutorials. There were so many things that I could write about, things that caught my eye, and things that I somehow missed before. I think this has been the best thing about this brief, that I’ve come to notice everything more. Before I would have seen a beautiful building, perhaps taken a picture and thought that it looked pretty, but did I ever stop to think who designed it, how long did it take, what was the inspiration? The truth is probably not, but now I think about all of this and more. It really has just opened my eyes to the world, which is something I needed.

If there’s one thing I don’t like though it’s having to actively look for inspiration, it just doesn’t seem to come to me that way, I have to cross it when in my everyday life. So obviously trying to find 5 posts for each category (specifically museums) has been difficult. I probably should have started much earlier, but summer, holidays, friends, work all seemed to get in the way. By the time I realised what I had to do, it was August and I had 2 months to find 35 inspiring things.

But I soon realised that I love films, which is one of the categories so why not start there. I go to the cinema at least once a week so naturally the taking of Pelham 123 was my first post. I like to start each post by giving a brief overview of what the subject is; in this case, I gave a short insight into the plot of the film. This then introduces the reader so they can have an understanding to what you’re talking about. Then I give my opinion, what impressed me and why I think it’s worth seeing. I had the impression that this is what Blogs are all about, expressing your views, so hopefully I’ve achieved this well.

One of the main categories I struggled with was websites. I’m not really sure why, as I find that I can sit and admire a well thought out and produced website for a long time. This is probably because I did a module in Web Design last year and I know just how complex it is, how much harder it is than it seems. So as you can imagine, when I see a good website, I feel in awe of the person who created it. A website like ‘Eco Zoo’ for example. I actually found it through the arts projects magazine that I mentioned previously. Someone had mentioned it in an interview saying how inventive and dynamic it was. Obviously I had to see it for myself, and I was not disappointed. The way you could interact and manoeuvre you’re way around the website was just so innovative. I particularly loved the 360 degrees perspective. Being able to see all the way around the tree and the pop up book was so clever and visually interesting. Then eventually I stopped searching and tried to remember websites that I had been on that impressed me and I soon realised they didn’t have to be innovative, just different or perhaps clever in some way. Love creative is a prime example of this, using simple techniques to create something different.

Additionally I’ve tried to keep up to date with all design news by subscribing to the Design Week mailing list. I’ve found that it’s been really useful and interesting, occasionally pointing me in the right direction for something that I could post on my Blog.

I’ve found it hard to speak professionally when either explaining a post or commenting on someone else’s, this is something I will have to improve on obviously. Once I become excited about something, I tend to let my words run away from me, so if there is some colloquial language in there, this will be why. But I have tried to rein myself in and concentrate more.

Furthermore, I’ve enjoyed reading and commenting on others posts. But as I said before found it difficult to not just say, I love this, it’s amazing, but to actually think about why. It’s interesting to see how people have responded differently to the brief or in some instances the same. It’s natural that we would come across something that more than one person would find interesting. If I saw that someone had already written a post about something, I would still post mine anyway, as I think it’s only fair that you should have your say on a matter. Or alternatively, I would just comment on their post with my personal opinion.

One thing I have noticed, is that this blog has really has introduced me to the world of architecture. I’ve started noticing buildings more, especially when in New York surrounded by wonderfully crafted skyscrapers. It was hard to not be inspired there; you become absolutely saturated with creative designs.

One thing that did shock me is that I struggled to find books to post on my Blog. I love reading so didn’t understand why. Perhaps it’s because I’ve let myself be taken away with the Harry Potter and Twilight Books to stop and appreciate anything else. I have tried to read a few, but none matched up to the style that J.K Rowling and Stephanie Myers possess.

I understand that I only have four museums posted, I tried to think of a fifth, one that I could visit in Leeds, but I completely ran out of time. Time management has always been an issue of mine, I tend to underestimate how long something will take and find myself staying up all night to finish to deadline. Hopefully this can be improved. This year will be tough enough as it is, poor time management will only drag me down.

Overall I have enjoyed this summer brief. At first it seemed daunting, but now I realise that’s only because I was thinking about it too much. As soon as I started to relax, things started coming to me much easier. I will definitely carry this on as I’ve found it has kept me up to date with the design world, better than design week ever could. Most importantly, I’ve actually enjoyed writing about everything that inspires me; it almost feels like a weight has been lifted.

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