I’ve been toying with whether or not to do NaNo for the last few months – sometimes certain that I wouldn’t be taking part, other times considering a slightly smaller challenge to run at the same time – but I have finally reached what feels like a definitive decision. There were a number of factors influencing my decision in both ways.

For a start I have found it difficult to write since moving back home from University. I spent the last few years writing late at night, often around the midnight mark. For some reason I found it easier to write and inspiration came more freely. However, with my computer now being in the living room this late night writing is almost impossible. As well as this I’ve also found inspiration harder to come by. I’ve tried to create new ways of writing, in order to force myself into a new habit but it’s not working as well as I’d hoped and so for a time I thought that NaNo might be the best way to kick my arse into gear.

Of course I soon realised that this would not be the case. For the last two years I have successfully written 50,000 words during November, unfortunately both ‘novels’ remain unfinished. The first was too much of a mess for me to consider returning to whilst the second suffered from taking a break once the month finished – therein lies the problem for me. NaNo’s month-long challenge is a great way to get started on something but passing that 50,000 mark has always seemed to provide a false conclusion to the project. I’d reach the goal and see that as an appropriate moment to break and celebrate – the problem then comes when I try to return to the project and finish the first draft. NaNo encourages me to race towards a word-count based goal rather than one based around plot and I believe this has created issues in my writing habits.

Nearly everything I’ve written has gone no further than a first draft. A plot idea or theme enters my head, I write about it for a short while, I often don’t finish and I instead move on to something else. I have a whole range of unfinished, or half-sketched, ideas I want to revisit and complete. Sure I might abandon them after a couple of drafts but I need to give them the attention they deserve and for this I need to change my habits. I need to commit myself to plot-based (or similar) goals that allow me to take an idea and bring it to a conclusion. It’s the only way I’ll improve, so unfortunately it means that NaNo is no longer an option for me.

In many ways I need to start approaching my writing like I would a design project.

It’s a little more Rock-orientated than I would usually go for, but I’m fairly happy with it.

Playlist after the jump.

Driving Playlist 01

01 Goin’ Out West – Tom Waits

02 I Got Mine – The Black Keys

03 Old Enough – The Raconteurs

04 Bellringer Blues – Grinderman

05 House of Cards – Radiohead

06 Man on the Moon – R.E.M.

07 Back Door Man – The Doors

08 The Rose With The Broken Neck – Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi

09 Trampled Under Foot – Led Zeppelin

10 Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire

11 Race For The Prize – The Flaming Lips

12 ‘Cross The Breeze – Sonic Youth

13 Today – Smashing Pumpkins

14 The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskelton – Beck

I just finished reading SPRAWL by Danielle Dutton, an odd novel about suburbia. I say odd because it was unlike any book I had ever read. Narrated by a woman charting her life and the ongoing disintegration of her marriage, SPRAWL rarely stays on topic for long as moments rush by in quick succession. The effect is something like driving down a long motorway and catching glimpses of places and people along the way, yet through this act you somehow gain a fascinating insight into their lives. It helps that SPRAWL is so well observed – the every minutiae is recorded with the narrator frequently listing meals, or objects she has left on her table, which in turn help to place the story chronologically and also serve as interesting metaphors for her own life. But where SPRAWL really excelled was the way it exposes our own failings. Our ideas of security, love and success that have been warped by media and mass-production, for me, were shown in such clarity and as the narrator began to grow distant from her ‘perfect’ community I found myself wanting the same. However, the novel is no way cynical and is as much of a celebration of suburbia and it’s eccentricities as it is an exposure of its trappings.

I had a train back the following afternoon, so I spent some time wandering around Camden Market with two friends from University who had also been at Graduate Academy. We had been in separate groups during the week so it provided a good opportunity to catch up and chat about our own impressions of the week. Because I was a half hour tube journey from Camden I had decided to bring my stuff along with me, so was also having to navigate a busy Saturday Market whilst pulling a large suitcase behind me – much to the annoyance of many people around me I expect.

So what now? Well I’m back on the job hunt, though I should hear back from the D&AD in a couple of weeks so fingers crossed. Otherwise I have a couple of projects that should take up the rest of my time.

But then that is besides the point.

I am struck by two conflicting emotions at this point in time, relief that this mad week is almost over, but also disappointed that it seems to be over so soon. Whilst this has been incredibly intense (they weren’t joking when they said we would be tested to the limit) it has been extraordinary fun and I think I have developed and learned so much in the last few days both creatively and in my wider outlook. There is so much I want to talk about right now. So many ideas invading my imagination that I want to get out there, but the immediate focus is tomorrow morning.

I shall see you at the finish line.

The first two days have been run by The Spring Project and have taken the form of a series of ice breakers (on the first day) and methods for improving confidence and ways to ensure we are performing to our best. Whilst at the end of the first day some things seemed more relevant than others it was with reflection, and also the knowledge gained from today’s session, that I began to realise how effective some of these practices could be in both my work and social life. In some ways the first two days have felt like I’m at a self help conference rather than a creative bootcamp, but it has been interesting to actually look at myself and my needs and find new ways to address these, whilst the exercises have also provided great ways to kickstart conversations with new people.

Of course this week is geared towards people looking to enter the creative industries and so today we received our briefing for the rest of the week. I won’t go into specifics, I’m unsure if I should really discuss the brief fully as the project is ongoing, but it seems fairly high concept and open to several interpretations. This is to be expected as we all come from different backgrounds, Graphics, Illustration, Product Design, Advertising and more, and it means that everyone has something to say and contribute to the task. It’s a little daunting, given that we have about two days to complete this brief, but it is also incredibly exciting.

I cannot wait.

So my design challenge is now over and overall I think it was a successful week. I’ve done short design projects like this before, a couple as part of university and some for job applications and job hunting, but this is the first time I’ve actually done a project like this for myself. I was slightly worried when I first thought of doing this that I wouldn’t be able to maintain the momentum throughout the week – especially given that there wouldn’t the same level of feedback I would have gotten previously. Of course, there was plenty I could, and actually did, gain from this exercise. I got a chance to use a variety of design skills, rather than just training one through a tutorial, I was encouraged to think about my process and use this blog as a way of setting deadlines and communicating my thoughts as I went through the project, and I also came out of this with a new design for my portfolio.

I am very happy with the final result of this week. Whilst it is admittedly still an early concept, this was to be expected really. I feel that I now have the start of something interesting that I will hopefully continue to work on over the coming months to refine the idea and make it much more presentable and insightful. There are also concepts that were left in the sketchbook that I want to work back into the design that I just didn’t get chance to model over Thursday and Friday. As always, the translation of an idea from sketchbook to 3D model brings its own problems – proportions, construction methods and even form are often changed beyond recognition in order to accommodate more specific requirements and whilst I was expecting these it did mean that some parts of my design had to take greater precedence over others if I was to achieve a successful outcome.

Compromise, to me anyway, often feels like a dirty word to use in relation to design. It suggests that you are selecting something, not because it is the best option, but because it is the easiest, or the cheapest. However, all design is in some way influenced by compromises; material choices bring certain restrictions, whilst the target market for product will dictate the price, and therefore in turn the cost at which the product can be made. If anything it really is the ability to navigate these compromises successfully and still produce a unique and incredible product that shows just how insightful and talented a designer can be. In this project the biggest compromise in the design came as I made the move from sketchbook to CAD work.

The original concept I took from the sketchbook was a series of plastic, stackable boxes that had curved sides to appear as though the material was bowing under the weight of the box above. Unfortunately this was removed shortly after moving to CAD as I began to explore the idea of making both stackable boxes and wall mounted shelves from the same components. I tried to retain the original curved sides but the front profile that was created where two shelves met never seemed to look right unless the curve was larger – which in turn wasn’t pleasing when used in the stackable box form. I had the option of either abandoning one of the storage systems, making them as separate products in a range of storage options, or using a different form which satisfied both systems. In the end I opted for the third design route as I felt it led to a much more innovative and interesting outcome, whilst the other two would have led to something that resembled a lot of existing products. Whilst the I may still not be completely happy with the final form, I felt that the important thing was to express the versatility of the product and hope that this came across in my work. One of things I want to look at when I develop this further is creating a much stronger visual language, one which expresses the modularity and simplicity of the system.

Unfortunately that will have to be put on hold for a week as I will be in London attending the D&AD’s Graduate Academy. A week-long creative boot-camp for 100 design graduates, it should be a fun week and a good chance to meet people from completely different design disciplines. Hopefully I will have plenty to blog about upon my return.

Above is the final concept presentation for my week long design project (click image for full-size). Produced in just over 30 minutes, I’m fairly happy with it. I’m not sure if it gets the full idea across, but it goes some way towards explaining it. Now, having spent all day in front of the computer I am off to get myself a celebratory coffee before curling up on the sofa with The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy. Full blog about the past two days tomorrow.

By about mid-afternoon today it was becoming quite clear that sketch work had gone as far as it can for now and I decided to move onto the computer in order to define the design. The idea is still developing alongside this, though the functional aspects are almost determined now, leaving only the visual characteristics to finalise.

The focus tomorrow will be on modelling using Solidworks in order to create the images for my final presentation on Monday. Work has already begun on these models and I’m pretty happy with how things are going. I’ll be keeping the sketchpad close by as I work on the final aesthetic and begin planning my presentation and, if everything goes to plan*, I should be done in time for my 5pm deadline.

See you on the other side.

*Which is always unlikely

Last week I asked people (using this blog and twitter) to send me possible design challenges to tackle this week. The response was…low, but that didn’t matter because a friend of mine managed to submit a brief that instantly caught my attention. Submitted via twitter, the brief was short but was obviously not going to be simple. Straight away I knew I wanted to tackle it and this morning I was eager to start.

The brief is to design an efficient, free-standing space for miscellanea. Based on the brief alone I drew up a proposed schedule and a set of possible deliverables for the end of the week. These include a concept presentation and possibly renderings (sketched or computer generated), more may be produced but depends on resources available and time. I’m aiming to finish for Friday 5pm and currently operating a working day, that being 9am – 5pm, so that I still have time for job hunting and to write (something else I’m trying to do this week).

Today was primarily spent on brainstorming and ideation. My first task was to understand the brief fully, in particular what was meant by ‘miscellanea’. The answer – everything and anything. That was the thing I found most enticing about the brief. What people categorise as miscellanea varies, not just between people, but also based on where you are (at work or at home) and what you are doing. I decided to create my own categories of ‘miscellanea’ which had some overlaps but were able to cover most points I could think of. Categories included:

• Emotional items – photographs of family/friends etc.
• Peripheral items – the objects that move with the owner and are interacted with. Phones, MP3 players, USB’s etc.
• Sparks – inspirational images, to-do lists and other notes
• And more