Time to return to uni and begin term 3…well kind of return and kind of begin in a very unorthodox way.
Just a little catch up at the start. It was lovely to (kind of) see and hear everyone. Though most people seemed fed up, stressed, bored and just hating Lockdown.
We are all trying our best to cope with the current situation. The online teaching platform seems to be quite good and it was great to see and hear Shernette and some of the others. I guess I seem to be coping better with this lockdown than others. I was telling everyone how I exercise a lot, eat healthy and make the most of the extra time at hand. Shernette even called me ‘an ambassador’, which I take as a big compliment.
I was very pleased that I was able to help out others with some ideas and advice that seemed to be quite good.
My idea originally was with regards to nutrition and fitness. I mentioned a ‘cook book for meal prepping’ specifically aimed at students in order to promote and help people achieve a better lifestyle. I always felt passionate about these two things and I always wanted to write a cook-book of some sort or ideas to meal prep.
Shernette made a very good point. During this current situation everyone is posting diet and exercise plans. Theres a lot out there and I need to contextualise it more but all in all sounds like I have it under control.
Shernette made a very good point, which made me freeze for a second. I had to realise my great idea wasn’t that great and needed to be refined. The idea about welfare and stuff sounded good and received positive feedback. (This idea would’ve had plenty of competition under normal circumstances too, which wouldn’t have made it very unique.). However, during lockdown everyone has been posting better eating, home exercises and general fitness stuff. So much out there at the moment. I’m not sure how or why I didn’t realise the popularity of this topic and potential product as I follow multiple ‘fitness freaks’ on social media. I had to contextualise my idea.
‘What will make your project different? What will make it stand out?’
Shernette addressed these questions to me. I froze. But I remained positive especially when she said it seems like I have things under control. I was ready to overcome this challenge and come up with something…something that ‘is just it!’
GET A NOTEBOOK – WRITE NOTES AND THOUGHTS
I knew I wanted the theme to have something to do with ‘fitness and nutrition (linked to the current COVID-19 and quarantine situation)’ but I felt lost with regards to the context and what to make. I enjoy spacial design. I really enjoyed the editorial project, though I feel like I didn’t do too well and I love typography and illustration. My original idea of creating a ‘Lockdown 101 – how to survive your own mind’ just seemed a little plain and overdone.
I like having printed notebooks. It helps me clear my thoughts. So I went out, got myself a fresh notebook and titled it
I began the process by gathering: What I enjoy / My developing practice and what I could produce based on my strengths, developing practice and general likes:
Then I have created a bulletpoint list about: What is the main interest of mine that I want to represent within my final project:
Then I created a mind map with ‘Lifestyle being the centre piece.
Then I created another mind map with ‘Proposal 1 – current situation – Covid19’ as the centre piece.
Based on this mind map and after much much staring at it and thinking my thought process was taking me somewhere. I was coming up with options and ideas that actually had some potential and is ‘different to what is exactly out there’.
I picked out some things that I liked and created a list of options.
ONGOING PROPOSAL
‘Lockdown 101 – how to survive your own mind’
AESTHETICS
While the proposal was still ongoing and I was still generating concepts and ideas, I knew that no matter what I have my mind set on the aesthetics.
I was heavily inspired by the work I produced for the YCN – HMV project. During that time I really felt like my personal style began to develop. I wasn’t just looking at Morag Myerscough and Camille Walala and Hey Studio but also (recommended by Peter) Proud Creative and my absolute favourite duo Craig & Carl. I knew I wanted the aesthetics to be similarly colourful, geometrically simple yet very exciting and striking visuals.
I was aiming to create a bright and positive look through colour psychology in order to stimulate the mind and keep people excited and motivated.
Simple geometric patterns would be applied as well as simple / minimal vector based illustrations instead of photography.
-> in terms of food and nutrition it will lower expectations and fear of failure if the meal doesn’t turn look as good as it does on the photographs.
-> gives a fresh / cool look to it which is specific to the target audience – young adults.
Essentially in terms of the aesthetics I was looking at the inspiration and references and my own work from the YCN – HMV project. I could truly relate to that style and I really felt my own style began to emerge during that project.
THE IDEA
While I was still a bit torn and not quite settled on a specific idea I bumped into my housemate. I talked to him about my initial idea, my struggles and not really knowing how to proceed.
He agreed that there’s currently tons of stuff like this out there, but he also said something that was an absolute game changer. He said ‘I follow this person on instagram who’s a motivational speaker and life coach. I went to school with him, and every time he posts something it makes me want to shout at my phone and tell him to shut up. Just sick of people telling me how to live my life’. Originally I thought a guideline on how to eat healthy, exercise and stay happy is a good idea. That people needed an aid and a lifestyle change. That moment I realised…most people hate to be told what to do. Then it occurred…the perfect solution to all of this that would respond to the current situation but also can be carried on in the post-lockdown period. Something that most people, even myself struggle with. Maintain a cohesive routine and stay organised and keeping on track with activities, diet, goals and mental health.
So my approach was to create a journal / agenda / weekly planner that everyone can fill out and tailor to their own needs, wether it is to maintain their current lifestyle or change and achieve goals. Instead of telling people what to do, I want to create something that allows them to take control with the help of a structured guideline and timetable.
Personally I have to write things down and structure my day (under normal circumstances and lockdown) in order to get things done and stay sane and maintain productivity. I noticed that during lockdown this has been a lot harder than it is normally.
A routine leads to a balanced life.
This is where my ‘little background story’ comes in the picture. I was struggling with mental health. I know plenty of people who also are, a lot worse issues than I have, a lot worse circumstances. And though I am fortunate enough to have a big room, a garden and enough space and things to do in order to keep busy. Not everyone is that fortunate. Especially the ones with mental health problems, and for them it has been extremely difficult to social distance, get out of bed and stay positive.
I have been writing a journal to keep track of my mental health when I hit rock bottom. It helped me. I was writing daily to do lists and goal trackers. Due to slightly selfish reasons I really wanted to create an agenda / journal that maximises productivity, tracks mental health and daily notes, where I can write and plan my meals and shopping lists and track goals. It seemed like a great idea, especially because if anything, I wanted to make this for myself.
This has become my first proposal. My second proposal was a desperate idea, I didn’t think it through too well. I had my heart set on the ‘lockdown journal’ idea.