The Limbo: Bridging the Gap Between
“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
It’s a common question, this one question. A dream in elementary, brushed aside as a future-me problem in high school, until bam! Lo-and-behold you are grown up and it becomes the ghost which haunts you as you binge watch another series while your Word doc sits at 107 words, and the submission folder clock slowly ticks down. Oh and also, you’re graduating in eight months. For people like myself, the the generous expanse of options provided for “what do you want to do when you grow up?” is perplexing at the very least.
Of course, the floor plans have been loosely laid out courtesy of my academic studies. I’m a student of the Creative Industries who specializes in storytelling and visual culture. But what does that mean in the face of “what do you want to do when you grow up?”
Well, I don’t really have the answer to that yet.
However, if there’s one thing that has become evident as the clock ticks down to the cap throw, it’s the gap between undergrad academics and the “real-world,” whatever that happens to be. Luckily for me, this limbo state is one which I’ve been exploring this fine summer of my third year.
The In-Between
Five months ago, internship was a daunting task which promised coffee that was not for me with a crisp side of paperwork. But now I stand corrected, as here I am, creating something genuine and meaningful for people to enjoy.
In the in-between which I am inhabiting, located conveniently in the hustle-bustle of Dundas Square, is the place which has and continues to provide me with the opportunity and tools to create solid bridges from my world of academics to the real-world.
That’s also where BuskerHat comes in — the startup which kick-started my starting up. This company, along with the TMZ and PAERE, has been central in my growth this summer as a designer, storyteller, and member of the creative community. While these teams of creatives are in fact wonderful, I’m not writing this to sing their praises, but rather to share some insight into the things I’ve experienced and learned in this space. Onward to the insights!
Lessons From The Limbo
- The Difference Between Spaces
I’ve shared a slice of my take on the place between these spaces, however I have an anecdote to share which speaks to my experience of the difference between them. During my studies I created my own prototype called Journi, which was a journalism-based AR application. It was a decent prototype, but looking back and looking at it comparatively to the prototype I worked on with BuskerHat, the difference in the level of polish and detail is evident.
Speaking to no one’s experience but my own, I have the thought that these spaces offer us different things, motivations, inspirations — however you want to put it on paper. The motivation behind a project and the context of its creation becomes a force of its own in the creative process. Personally, I find my academic projects limited by rubrics and lacking in incentive. Contrarily, I found that in my time with BuskerHat, the feeling of limitation wasn’t there, and the incentive to create freely with the guidance and constructive feedback of professional creatives produced an end project that reflected the attentive passion of the people behind it.
I was able to create a compelling prototype that communicated the simplicity that BuskerHat wanted to see in their product.
While not the worst eye-sore, the Journi prototype lacked the personality and simplicity I wanted it to have. My initial vision became limited by the wire frames and rubrics provided.
- Are there two types of people?
My experience with BuskerHat shone a light on the the dynamics of teams in professional spaces. I worked primarily as a designer, and as an associate I often consulted with Will and Warren, the duo behind BuskerHat. While working on the front-end design aspect of the prototype, I felt comfortable discussing the vision and direction of the piece. However, when it came to the logistics of discussing how to collaborate to create a working prototype which included back-end functionality, things became a bit more blurry.
As a Creative Industries student, I learned to be the bridge between artists and the traditionally business-minded. But that didn’t help me here, wherein the bridge between artist and engineer was a bit of a broken telephone. I dipped my toes in the waters of the data side of things in an attempt to bridge that gap, but all the while it made me wonder: who and where is the person that lives in the space between artists and engineers?
- Bridging the Gap
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this experience, it’s that there seems to exist a gap within creative spaces, whether that be the disparity between undergrad academics and the “real-world,” or the rift between artists and engineers. It’s an interesting space which begs exploration, and so this is the best answer I have to that question:
“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
I want to live in the spaces in-between, and encourage other creatives to be the person that lives in these dynamic spaces as a bridge between parallel spaces and people.
