Building Your Dreams
I love being a designer. Ever since I was a kid I always felt like I saw things in a different way & always wanted to create something to solve a problem. My parents were both world travelers, children of the lens, & had the artistic hand. My father especially is the epitome of a DIY man. I have watched him try and fail making things over and over again until it works out perfectly. He always told me growing up, “ why pay someone else to do your work when you have two very capable hands. Nobody else knows what you want more than what it is in your own mind.” Over the past two months of graduate school, I have taken his words to hard and understand the meaning of trying and failing. Building prototypes for our thoughts has been a very interesting process in multiple ways. The long days and late nights are evident of this, but the process is all worth it when you have something physically in front of you.
My favorite thing about being a graphic designer is the blank canvas. Whether it lives digitally, on canvas, on paper, on film, or just a blank mind; the potential for beautiful design is endless. My first step to prototyping has to be to stay away from the computer for as long as possible. Sketching is one of the most powerful tools a designer has and it can turn my manically insane and crazy thoughts into something possible. I used to sketch very minimally in my undergraduate and would try and make it come alive digitally too fast; boy was I wrong. My graphic design instructor Jay Ferracane of Angry Bovine preaches the importance of sketching. it really is the first step to making the impossible possible and is now my longest process of the prototype phase. As technology gets smarter, sketching is truly one of the last places that your mind rules as their is no limitation to the creations within your imagination.
STRIVE TO CREATE YOUR DREAMS & MAKE THINGS BEAUTIFUL
The last prototype project we has was designing for Kelty, a outdoor backpacking company. Our objective was to come up with digital products that would elevate the backpacking experience without taking away from the beauty and sanctity of the wild. We designed Periscope, a drone technology that would go above tree line to check the surrounding area, oncoming weather, and enhance views of the beautiful surroundings. We LOVED THIS IDEA…..at first. As we begun prototyping and drawing our drone, we realized how difficult it would be to create. We got stuck and we thought to ourselves how are we possibly going to make something by next week in class.
Taking the advice of our instructor Jesse Weaver, we decided to take a step back and go for a walk. He told us, “Go for a hike, pretend you are caring this product, & see if you would actually use it”. That weekend, I drove up to Vail with my lady friend and went on a hike. Within 30 minutes, we were lost on this terribly marked trail that the resort desk had sent us on. I thought to myself, “Is this where I would use Periscope”? I began to think that I dont want to carry this equipment, worry about the battery life, & there were a number of other methods of finding our way to the trail. That is when the pivot hit.
Returning to the studio that Sunday with my partner, we went back to the whiteboard. For three hours, we danced around similar ideas, completely different angles, until it hit us. We developed a product that simplified a version of our primary product but in a more effective, simpler, and an almost revolutionary application of the current technology. Details for our product will be kept under lock & key until it gets fleshed out for this is a design I am looking to build and hopefully impact the hiking/backpacking community.
The prototyping process was new to me and I have learned so much in the past 10 weeks. Most importantly, I have finally come to the realization that your first perfect idea is most likely your worst. It is only until you break it down and think it out that it comes to light but it is just stepping stone to greater thought. In undergraduate, I used to be defensive of my concepts and no matter what people suggested, I would always hold those ideas to close to the chest. Now a bit more seasoned, having an opened mind is the best thing that has come from this process. Through the IXDMA program, our instructors have pointed us in the right direction from day one and my second takeaway from the prototype process is listen to the people ahead of you. Design heroes and instructors have been doing this for years and as much as you can but heads with them from time to time, this innovators have done the dance before. Prototyping is such a rewarding process and once you can master it, it makes my passion of being a designer worth every minute.
