Group Groping

What I Discovered
I've been trying a new approach this semester.

Last semester I really enjoyed looking at other people's work and going through a list of blogs I love for inspiration—but I found I was actually becoming quite depressed about my own work. I think there's a point I hit where it became distressing to see other people's professional, finished projects each and every day. You don't have any context, it doesn't give you any idea of the struggle they went through to produce their work, and makes it seem as if it was effortlessly produced.

So I've tried to stay away from the daily blogs and simply focus more on creating new ideas for my own work and it seems to be working better.

I met with Chris Pullman today—a bit nervously I must admit—but actually his comments seemed to echo a lot of what the half-group said on Tuesday, that it seemed I had found something rich for investigation.








So I think the venn-bubblegram is a useful device, but I still want to push a few other ideas around simultaneously.

What Next
I think I've come across a really interesting idea, but I need to ensure I don't limit myself strictly to what I've developed. Be free, allow the elements to play around on the page and see what's successful. Some notes I jotted down between teh two meetings I had were:

1. Seems like opposing ideas
2. More about center area
3. Multiple voices, multiple bubbles?
4. Common hues, similar ideas
5. Taglines very instructive/helpful
6. Elements aren't all quite working together
7. Parts seem moveable/adaptable
8. Different shapes creating something more coherent?
9. Arrangement of bubbles

This is the stuff between now and next week I'd really like to explore.

Also, thinking about my timeline, I may not have made progress toward in selecting a logo, but I am working on the advertisements a lot earlier than anticipated. Through those and the concept of the tagline, I am actually making some decisions about the logo, so I'm fairly pleased with my pacing.

And for the record, I have to say, I really appreciated the time in class to work. I know not everyone used the time wisely, but getting some room to worry less about deadlines, papers, resumés seems to make me less tense and feel more confident about exploring.

How I Spent My Time
This week I didn't do as much work as last—I was more interested in feedback from people about the direction I was taking. I tried to work on another idea I was having (shown above).