ALRIGHT STRAP IN. LETS START WITH THE MERCS SINCE THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY WHAT THAT POST WAS ABOUT

God alright so this would have been back in like [googles] oh fuck 2011/2010 I guess because for some godforsaken reason I was absolutely utterly obsessed with TF2. A game I have maybe played a collective four hours of in total. Something about the character archetypes the art style and uh. The fanfics of one author in particular. Y'know. Normal stuff. 

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I don't remember what the specific start of this idea was because while I can find ATTEMPT on ATTEMPT on ATTEMPT to start this damn fic I cant find the kernel. If I remember right I think it probably started with an overactive imagination and finding what nine? Nine archetypes (well, 8 archetypes and fucking Tavish Degroot ) that as a young writer just starting to figure out my style worked REALLY absurdly well as bases for writing exercises. Also we didn't know anything about the pyro at the time. What I do remember was discussing with a friend I had at the time the nature of the respawn system. Was it clones? Was it just wave after wave of title only mercs feeding the machine? No, Ink age 15 decided, its a respawn mechanic. They clearly have character traits in mind for these guys. So what if we shut it off.

What if every so often the contract ended. And in order to get that contract re-upped you just had to survive. Now that backstory is important because another thing this fic got me started on was team dynamics and synergy. And trauma bonding. If the respawn system was shut off every so often and you had some teammates who you'd cycle through absurdly quickly how would that change the way the mercs treated one another as coworkers. Would a pseudo leadership roll go to someone who had been there the longest and understood the expectations of the job? Or would it just be the nastiest dog in the scrapyard?

So I spent a good amount of time on determining that for each of the teams. Focusing mainly on the Tufort map as a base idea for a setting because I don't know, it made the most sense for me at the time.

So lets start this off with my protag squad. The Boys of Reliable Excavation and Demolition.

Full transparency I don't have art for these that I can easily get too, anyway but my REDS for the most part just. Look like their character art.

Looking back on it I'm realizing that my RED team actually has a solid survival rate. Which makes a lot of sense, considering their dynamic as a group. My RED's were lead by the team medic. Medic is a Sadist, we know this. He is a mad scientist who may or may not have done some very bad things in his time before becoming a mercenary surgeon. We've all seen the takes. Anton was a sadist. He would treat grievous but non life threatening wounds without anesthesia and relished in keeping tabs on which of his men would faint at the site of blood. But the manic mad science aspect of his job was lost long ago. When we meet Anton its been three days since the last "respawn shut off". He's Cataloging injuries, equipment, height and weights as though it was a shipping manifest and not a series of several autopsies. He can't even put their names down on the forms because they aren't supposed to know them. Very difficult to still believe you are making Gods when the divine has been dissected, pulled apart and sewn back together so often you could barely discern your own face from the blur of them all constantly running through your head. He was not an unkind man. Well, no he definitely was but he understood that even if he was at one time attempting to make gods out of these men they were still men and made an effort to not treat them as so much cattle like their employers seemed too. He had his men use eachothers names as opposed to only their titles. Would leave the door to his office unlocked when he worked because while Psychiatric medicine was very obviously not a field he was well versed in he knew it would aid no one if his men took to diagnosing themselves with a lead prescription to be applied between the eyes. And at the very least it was more efficient than giving a bunch of addicts free access to the medicine cabinet. Ivan Korovsky was my heavy, and he was another big part of Anton getting his humanity back now that I think about it. I love a smart Heavy who just happens to not know a ton of english. Ivan was that. He had the emotional intelligence of someone who in another life probably would have studied literature and read those complicated Russian bricks where everyone dies at the end. Imagine if your therapist was able to suplex you into taking care of yourself. Thats Ivan. I have less to say about him but that speaks a lot to his roll in that monster of a fic at the time. Yes he and anton were fucking was that even a question. Naturally my soldier was Jane Doe, as is traditional. Jane thought he was in charge and Anton had decided a very long time ago not to argue with him about it anymore. It helped that for the most part Jane's "war room councils" would only happen if they lost and would only last until he directed his attention away from the room at large to yell at someone specific for long enough that everyone could slip away. Jane's delusions were always tricky for me to write but I was also a highschooler who hadn't taken that many abpysc classes yet. I don't remember if the shovel had a name in the game but his did. Her name was Doris, and he fully believed she was a human being and his wife. Who wanted him to kill the unamerican enemy. Any unamerican enemy, she evidently wasn't picky on which one. My main interest in Jane comes from the epilogue stuff but THAT needs more context that we don't have yet so moving on. Russel "Doc" Cunningham was my engineer. Doc was the epitome of "a guy you'd have a beer with." Give you the shirt off his back, but would lecture you into next week and down the road some ways as he was unbuttoning it. A southern charmer, almost folksy at times. If you heard him talking to any of the younger mercs you'd think he was talking to a couple of rambunctious teenagers, and might even think "there's a man who'd be a good father" You would be wrong in thinking this. Well, no you wouldn't be wrong. Doc loves his girls. His girls who are all semi-autonomous military sentry units and several "creative" tools for his coworkers. The way he talks about him you're almost glad he doesn't carry a wallet because otherwise you know he'd have pictures. But if, hypothetically, he had a son or something outside of his assignment. You wouldn't hear him talk about it. Doc self identifies as a bachelor. He did get married once because its what you did. But he didn't love her, and his ex wife very much was aware of it and made his life hell when they were still married. Doc probably was incredibly young when he was married, and I don't think he was fully ready to accept who he was enough to have been a good parent even if he had been around. But rules were different on the field and no one seemed much bothered by what he chose to occupy his personal time with as long as it wasn't causing a gas leak in the basement (again) which let him relax into himself a bit more. He still doesn't care that much for the "fritterin" his coworkers are always distracting themselves with. Something his younger coworkers give him constant hell about but he figures maybe he's just...well old fashions isn't quite the word. (Asexual/somewhat Demi Engineer? Its more likely than you think.....) Sniper (Richard "Slim" Mundy) Middle aged assassin who sleeps in a camper van. Drinks too much coffee, and Anton has him come in weekly for wellness checks. In the canon of this monster he was spending a good amount of time coming to terms with a relationship he'd had with a teammate who had died in the previous contract fight. A teammate who was much younger than him. (Not young enough to be a crime mind you but for a guy who is very specific about how not sick in the head he is you can imagine the slight crisis that would come from that) . Aggressively anti-social nowadays unless he's coerced with whiskey.

Daniel O'Sullivan Was my scout and the youngest of my mercs at eighteen years old. Joined up because it was either this or juvie, and while his mom still worries about him at least she can sleep easy about him working private security instead of being gunned down in some jungle overseas. (Dan was very nonspecific about what he does for a living.) Danny-Boy was quick tempered and pugnacious, and now that I think about it I probably actively wrote him with ADHD. Constantly fidgeting and constantly "messin around" with a pen and paper during meetings. Danny specifically slept on the breakroom couch instead of in a bunk. I handwaved this at the time but I think it was probably because he grew up fidgety and restless and its much easier to get up constantly in the middle of the night to wander around if you don't have to worry about getting cussed out for it. Danny also has a soft spot when it comes to his family. He misses them, and talked about them constantly. Now I joked that Dan was aggressively heterosexual, but I think this is partly because he's an Irish Catholic and any sexual thoughts at all are a sin so forget unpacking any sort of weird gay ass thoughts he has about his best friend Vic. TURNS OUT THERES A CHARACTER LIMIT lemme know if you want me to keep going rip

Writer’s Month 1: Tattoo Parlor/Flower Shop AU

This is obviously an AU, sorta kinda character study thingy. It’s not whump, it’s just me practicing; however

Content Warning: Tattoos, blood, needles, nonconsentual tattoo mention

The bell over the door rang as Reynan pushed into the little shop. He found himself in a tiny lobby, just a desk and some chairs, leading to a hallway of curtained-off booths. The art on the walls was modern, and everyone in the drawings was fully clothed, not the image he’d had in his mind of a tattoo parlor. He could hear faint buzzing coming from at least one of the little partitions, and he didn’t want to call out and interrupt anyone in their work. But the bell had summoned someone’s attention, and he soon heard solid yet gentle footsteps approaching from the hall. Their sound was clear but not heavy, tapping on the linoleum like a shoe somehow made entirely of heels.

“What can we do for you?” The voice was ever-so-slightly modulated, but low and smooth, and Rey turned away from a drawing of an astronaut to see he’d been greeted by a green and black android. The robot wasn’t feigning humanity at all, no synthetic skin or hair, with a viewscreen for a face. Two arms, two legs, and a head, unlike old-fashioned worker drones, but Rey could see one of its arms ended a few inches below the elbow. Not in a messy way; no circuits protruded, and the edge was smooth and clean, as if perhaps it had been designed that way.

Rey took his time assessing the creature before answering, not bothering to hide his mild curiosity. “I was wondering...um. I’d like to get a tattoo covered?” He didn’t know if all shops would do coverups or if he’d need to go somewhere special. But he’d had the day off and finally pushed himself to just go inside and ask. He knew surprisingly little about tattoos, despite the one inked across his left shoulder.

The robot seemed to be sizing him up as well; an LED square appeared on its viewscreen and bounced around for a few moments, its odd tracking reminding Rey of a dragonfly. “You work...nearby? I have seen you before. Many times.” The square became a spinning circle, and the robot’s attention was faraway, as though it was seeking the answer itself rather than expecting Rey to furnish one. “The flower shop, down the strip,” it said finally, viewscreen clearing.

“Yeah, the florist; but I’ve never seen you in there.” His tone was mildly suspicious; he’d remember if he’d ever seen this android before, and he was generally good at spotting if he was being watched.

The robot actually laughed at this, and despite the cascading sound seeming a bit like two voices at once, its tone was friendly and disarming. “I see a lot. I remember everyone. I don’t mean to, I just...do.” It shrugged its metal-plated shoulders, then swept its truncated arm toward the back of the shop. “I have time now, if you know what you want.”

This gave Rey pause. The android was an artist? Not just a shop attendant, a cleaning bot, a secretary, but an actual tattooist? He considered this a moment before he realized, if he wanted someone making clean, even lines on his skin he couldn’t do much better than a machine. He started down the hall, and the robot followed, directing him into an open partition at the end.

Inside the android pulled the curtain and gestured for Rey to sit on a faux leather chair, covered in a long sheet of paper like something from a doctor’s office. It crinkled obnoxiously as Rey fidgeted to get comfortable, and he tried to tell himself this was something the tattooist must be used to, and what did a robot care anyway?

“So what were you thinking?” The robot asked conversationally, as it pulled open a cabinet and drew out sheets of parchment and tiny pots of color.

Rey reached into his pocket, twisting in his seat and crackling the paper. He withdrew an embroidered chevron patch and held it out, grip somewhat tight, as though he wanted the robot to only look, but not touch. “It’s my regiment. I want it over -” he shrugged off his button-up, leaving only his tank top “-this.” His bared shoulder revealed a barcode underlined by a small stylized sword. He spoke more rapidly as he explained, “I’ve served my sentence, it’s ok for me to remove it. I’m allowed --”

The android raised a hand to silence his protestations. “I don’t actually care about Accord Forces protocol. It’s no problem.” If focused its attention on the patch, and a line of light scanned up and down his faceplate, scanning the image into his saved files, as though he could tell Rey wouldn’t want to surrender the badge to him. “I’ll have to make it dark, to cover the black, but it’s nothing I haven’t done before. Unless you’d like me to laser the old one off? You’d have to let that heal though, before getting it tattooed over.” It tilted its head, waiting for Rey to choose.

“No, it’s fine. If you say it’ll cover, I’m fine with that.”

“Excellent.” It flipped a few switches on an autoclave sterilizer, and a few wisps of steam escaped as the box’s seal released. The android slotted the end of his shorted arm into a circle of metal on the machine’s front face, and Rey heard a bit of whirring and a mechanical click, before the robot withdrew his now-whole limb from the autoclave. The hand and wrist looked the same as its other arm in color and design; but then the artist opened a sterile package and slotted a grouping of needles into a barely perceptible hole in its first finger.

“Wait! You mean, right now?” Rey wasn’t sure if he was losing his nerve, or if he’d simply expected there to be more to the process. His only experience with tattoos so far hadn’t been a fun one, after all. “Don’t we need to discuss payment, or something?”

The robot picked up a cartridge of ink and pressed it down into a socket in its knuckle until it made a quiet pop. “I don’t generally charge for coverups, to be honest with you.” It turned it’s attention back to Rey, and could see on his face that his concerns weren’t entirely assuaged. “I mean, if you really feel like paying me…” the spinning circle returned to its faceplate as it considered a moment. “Flowers.”

“Flowers?” The request was unexpected, bordering on absurd, but Rey felt the tension release from his shoulders as his nervousness was replaced by confusion. “What do you want with flowers?”

The android paused -- not in a human way, breathing, thinking, considering; but completely, unmoving, with its darkened face turned toward Rey’s. Nothing played over its screen, and he felt he may have made a mistake while he stared into its blackness. Then, just as quickly as it had ceased motion, it started up again, fiddling with its arm as it replied. “I like flowers,” it stated flatly. A bit of emotion returned to its voice and it continued quietly, almost wistfully “I like...beautiful things.”

After a quiet moment, it pulled up a chair and leaned over Rey’s shoulder, holding up its hands over the skin and looking into his eyes as if waiting for him to announce he was ready. “Don’t you um, trace the picture or whatever?” This earned him another soft laugh, and strands of light began to stream out from the robot’s screen, creating an overlay of the chevron on Rey’s skin. “Oh,” he breathed softly. The android remained still, needing permission, and while its attention was clearly on creating the detailed light display, Rey could feel a weight like eyes on him. He nodded his assent, and the artist began.

The pain was the same sharpness he remembered; all the needles moving together creating the feeling of a single blade slicing into him. Rey looked away for a moment, and the sensation seemed to grow worse. Without being able to see, his mind imagined the circular, color-filling motions were grinding and spiraling down into his flesh to paint his very bones. He forced himself to look back at his shoulder, relieved to see that the needles were still there, bouncing along his skin. Barely any blood welled from the punctures, and the android’s arm moved with a laserlike precision that shouldn’t have been surprising, but was completely fascinating, and he found his focus drifting as he watched the artist move.

“Alright.” The robot said simply, startling Rey out of his fugue. The android was wiping at the tiny spatters of blood and ink on his arm, and applying a large square bandage. That was it? It was already over? “You can change this in a couple hours. I’ve got some care sheets at the front desk with cleaning instructions.” The android stood up from its chair but stayed close as Rey got up, as though he expected him to faint.

When Rey was able to get up and gingerly pull his button-up back on, the robot waved his arm toward the curtained doorway. Rey exited and started toward the lobby, realizing the android wasn’t behind him. A click and whirr sounded from the partition, then the robot stepped out into the hall, again minus one hand.

Rey wasn’t sure exactly what to do now. Should he run off to the shop and get some flowers immediately? Should he shake the robot’s hand? What was the procedure for this sort of transaction? He realized he hadn’t asked if the artist had a name; surely it had some kind of designation. Inkbot 2000? He tried not to snicker aloud at that thought; he didn’t figure the android would appreciate it. Before he could offer any sort of awkward farewell, the robot was handing him a sheet of paper labelled “Care Instructions,” and plucking a business card from a little holder on the desk.

“Come back if you need any touch ups or, of course, anything else. You did well. I’d say I like green but that’s every sort of flower, isn’t it?” The robot’s head was tilted in a way that somehow implied a smile.

Rey simply nodded, taking the offered items and mumbling “Appreciate it,” before making his way out the door. He was halfway to his car before he checked the business card. It declared the address and phone number of the shop, and across the top, in a large green font like the display on a digital clock, was what he assumed was the artist’s name: Celadon Argos.

What is Creative Thinking?

         The definition of creative thinking to me is understanding, learning and then solving a problem but in a unique way with a different perspective. When solving a problem designers should try to avoid traditional resolutions and think outside the box. Everyone not only designers can use the creative process when trying to solve a problem for example mathematicians, scientist and engineers. When using the creative process you will explore new challenges, and create new unusual fresh and original solutions. As a visual communicator I think creative thinking is highly important since you want to appeal to the viewers eye, communicate your message intellectually and in a different way. My creative thinking process includes three main components connecting experiences, stepping away from traditional thinking and the epiphany stage.

          When presented a problem you have to connect experiences to find your creative solution. Meaning you have to be knowledgeable and be intellectually competent. In the design industry this can mean you’re inspired by other designs and designers as you view their works, technique and styles. Maybe just looking around your surroundings in pop culture, doing research or just memorizing something inspiring from the past. In an article by Brain Pickings they mentioned how Steve Jobs agrees with connecting experiences to your problem as he mentions “Creative people… were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” He explains that creativity is just connecting things. When designers are trying to solve a problem they can connect their experiences with their own problem. The designer should ask themselves how their experience relates with their problem, if their experience is applicable with their problem, and if possible manipulating that experience in their own way to make it solve the problem.

          During your creative thinking process designers should step away from traditional thinking. In other cliché words try to step outside the box. Designers should be willing to take risk and accept change. To do this they have to generate as many ideas as possible. My design professor taught us to put on paper numerous sketches of whatever I’m thinking. By doing this I am eliminating unoriginal ideas I had in my brain and pushes me to create new ideas. Creating a word lists is the same concept. You will then eliminate all of the unoriginal ideas and pick one or two ideas that seem unique but also solve the problem. Generating numerous ideas creates a non-traditional way of thinking that’s important in the design industry since people want to be visually interested to their surroundings. In Inkbot Design’s webpage they state “…Leaving a comfort zone is sometimes necessary to succeed, even if it means facing the unknown.” 

             The epiphany stage (or so I like to call it) happens later on after you’ve thought about a problem for so long. Randomly you will get a creative solution in your head out of nowhere. It is important that you sketch or write down that solution in order for you not to forget later on. Like the famous quote of Don Draper “Just think about it deeply, then forget it. An idea will up in your face.” Being able to randomly think of a solution is simple but you should be able to create that idea into reality also instead of letting it wonder off in your brain.

         I find these three components important when trying to think creatively. I allow my brain to welcome previous memories or background knowledge, I think about the problem in a different point of view while trying to step away from the obvious solution and I find the epiphany stage important since your brain randomly creates a unique idea but it is your job to implement that idea to create a unique solution. Thinking creatively is applying your intellectual abilities to your problem. Taking these steps help you achieve a successful resolution without having to be creative yourself.

Sources

 Brain Picking “I,Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words via 200 Quotes” Maria Popova, www.brainpickings.org

 Inkbot Design “Creative Thinking” Radovic Zorana, 2016

http://inkbotdesign.com/creative-thinking

 Quote from Don Draper

Design Integration

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming

The month was all about discovering the voice and tone of a brand and then applying it to the brand's messaging. It is also essential to know the difference between voice and tone. Juliana Kenny says voice is expressed through words and covers your brand's personality, rhythm, and pace along with vocabulary (Kenney, 2017). Voice is pretty much the foundation of your brand's messaging, and tone is how you use it. Kenney goes on to say that tone is the attitude of the brand's voice and should be appropriate for your target audience. (Kenney, 2017). 

The next phase of the brand's messaging is the storytelling phase. Once the appropriate voice and tone are determined then, the designer will need to conduct more research to uncover compelling stories that will appeal to the target audience. George Felton talks about six main plotlines used in commercial ads. He did note that there are a lot more plotlines; these are just the ones most often used. These plotlines are Man against nature ( used by Insurance companies ), Man against society (used by brand's like Dove), Man against man (used by companies like Apple and Coca-Cola), Man against himself (used by brand's that need to improvement), Man against machine (used by brand's going against the industry norm), and Man against fate (used by Lottery brand's).

Vision boards were another topic of study this month and how important they are to the design process. Creating vision boards is essential when communicating with the client and with the creative team working on the project. Communication is key to successful projects, and listening to the client describe what they want is not enough. So that everyone is on the same page, mood boards are used so that the creative vision can be approved, and the client can be somewhat at ease knowing that the creative team understands their vision. Words are not enough, and the Staff at WDD says it best "A picture is worth a thousand words, and mood boards are a great tool to create that picture for your client" (WDD, 2008).

The differences between marketing and advertising campaigns were also discussed this month.  It can be hard to distinguish between these two, but essentially advertising is one component of marketing, according to Inkbot Design. Advertising is used for TV, Radio, Print ads, and is not that personal. Whereas marketing is how the brand communicates to its audience, the message can be more personal. It involves the four P's, which are Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. Advertising Strategies are planned to promote specific goals or adjectives put forth by the marketing strategy. Marketing strategies are the brand's overall communication with the audience. Think about it this way, marketing strategy is the foundation of the brand, and it's values and messaging to the target audience. Advertising campaigns may differ from each other, but they all carry on the values and messaging from the marketing strategy. Simon Schmid says "A campaign is a sustained effort that is slightly beyond your day-to-day business but still connected to it in some way" (Schmid, 2013).

Problem Solving

Not a whole lot of problem-solving going on this month. A lot of this felt like a review for myself personally. This month was crazy so the biggest problem that had to be solved was time management.

Innovative Thinking

 Finding a differentiation in Box Park Sushi was really challenging. The difficulty was expressing it. Visually it was easy to envision, but putting it down on paper seemed more difficult than expected. Getting feedback from the instructor helped the branding effort and finding the voice and tone much easier. 

Acquiring Competencies

This month was all about discovering a brand’s tone and voice and then showing that tone and voice visually in a vision board. Learning about the differences between tone and voice will carry on into Occupational and Conceptual. Learning about storytelling and the process and research done to find compelling stories within a brand falls into Occupational and Conceptual. Giving critiques and knowing how to give and receive critiques is very important in the creative industry. This falls into Occupational, Academic.

Reflection

Overall I felt this month was good but hectic from a personal standpoint. There has been a big improvement in the way the branding is coming along for the Box Park Sushi rebrand, especially from where things ended in the previous course. The area that was really eye-opening and offered a lot of insight was finding out the differences between tone and voice along with the differences between marketing strategy and advertising strategy. Even though I have done a lot of critiques, I found it challenging doing critiques to classmates over an online session. Not only was it challenging to get everyone on the same page in terms of getting the correct software to record the meeting. It was difficult to get things started. It got easier as the conversation went on, but after listening to the recording, It felt like at times I could not communicate what I was trying to say. The static board for Box Park Sushi came out better than expected. I mentioned to Noah who critiqued my static board, that designers can get tunnel vision when designing. That is what I did and missed some composition issues that affected the movement of the viewer's eyes. Thanks to Noah’s feedback I recognized and agreed on the issue and made the appropriate changes. The dynamic board also came out better than expected, especially when using stock imagery, footage, and music. The dynamic board feels like it is an extension of the static board and shows off the tone and voice of Box Park Sushi’s Rebrand well. The critique session for the dynamic board went well, though I think if another motion designer critiqued my dynamic board, they would find more issues. This month was good and seeing how the Box Park Sushi rebrand has progressed from last month to this month is exciting. There are still a lot of changes and tightening in area’s of this rebrand and those will continue on into next month. 

  Felton, G (2013) Advertising: Concept and Copy 3rd Edition [Online Book] Retrieved from Vital Source Bookshelf

Kenney, J (2017, November 01) Know the Difference Between Tone and Voice to Set Your Brand Apart [Online Article] Retrieved from https://gimmemojo.com/2017/11/01/tone-voice-set-your-brand-apart/

Schmid, S (2013, October 14) Smart, Effective Strategies To Design Marketing Campaigns [Online Article] Retrieved from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/10/strategies-design-marketing-campaigns/

Mastery Reflection

During this month of Design Integration, we further our project development for our proposed location established in the previous months. Our design solutions come to life as we create the brand voice and tone, static visual board and dynamic visual board, all of which are added into a final client design brief.

As week one of this course commences, we articulate possible design solutions to our location’s problem statement. Commission local artists to paint murals throughout the area of Fowler, St. and Towles, The organization of a yearly event in celebration of the community, and Establishing an on- going media presence for the area of Towles, where three possible alternatives to aid with our community’s disengagement problem.  After rationalizing our solutions, we conclude week one by providing peer feedback and review.

Week two focuses on the elaboration of the brand’s voicing. “Brand voice is one of the most important, genuine and strongest articulations of what we call Brand.” Hanlon expresses in his article What Is Brand Voice? (Hanlon, 2017.) The brand voice encapsulates the personality and essence of the brand by carefully selecting keywords that will guide our communications and keep them consistent throughout each interaction. (Heald, 2018).  In the section above, we developed a Brand Voice Chart using Heald’s recommendations from her article 5 Steps to Find Your Brand Voice. The selected keywords: quirky, quaint, vintage, and modest where chosen to best represent our chosen community of Towles.

After selecting our attributes, we developed the mission statement, tagline, and introductory paragraph that would communicate our brand’s voice and tone. Later, we created a static vision board based on these elements as well. The combined imagery represents the Towles’ way of life. Images of the neighborhood’s quaint houses and porches are featured in addition to a picture of the butterfly conservatory’s colorful painted walls. Old books and antiques also made their way into the mood board, intended to communicate the vintage appeal of the community. Thoughtfully graffitied walls signify one of our potential design solutions, which is to commission local artists to paint murals throughout the area. Images representing the many unique faces of the neighborhood are also included. Typographic elements, color pallet, and textures where also provided.

On week four, our visual come to life as we developed a dynamic vision board. This video composition features the use of subtle movements and transitions that pertain to the arrangement of carefully curated short videos. The assortment of short videos selected for this project all represent a different aspect of Towles, our determined location. These aspects, or attributes, can be summarized as the four keywords listed in our brand’s voice chart. Our brand’s attributes are: Modest, Quaint, Vintage, and Quirky. The keywords appear with each short transition on the final video composition, aligned with the visual that best represents the characteristic. For instance, the word “vintage” appears as the video image of and “old-timey” car fades out to reveal a closeup shot of the tuning of an antique car radio. As the video progresses, other antiques take the screen, antiques in the likes of an old film projector and a vinyl record player. The same can be said about the reaming three attributes, succeeding a visual that represent said attribute.

Lastly, we revised our design brief adding a media matrix. The creation of the media matrix allows us to better determine the correct media to design for by evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the 4 media categories (print, environmental, on- air, and online). “Great design is all about getting the right message to the right people in the right way, and that means choosing the appropriate delivery medium.” (Lee Stone, 2013). Lee Stone suggests in order to deliver the correct message, we should make use of the appropriate medium.  This simply means the message can be convoluted if not delivered in the correct setting. For instance, we cannot advocate for sustainability by selecting a non- sustainable print media. On the other hand, “a good eye for form and function transcends the medium.” (Inkbot Design, 2017). While it is true that creative and timeless designs can make us overlook the medium, the designer must conduct due research in order to select the most effective medium, according to the projects’ needs and expectations. (Inkbot Design, 2017).

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming —

A combination of resources where researched throughout the design process. For instance, Felton’s Advertising: Concept and copy helped us with the elaboration of tagline by considering  “What’s your quirk?” It chosen for its straightforwardness. It is short, simple, and amusing. (Felton, 2013) Advertising: Concept and copy (p.226). Above everything, it exposes what differentiates Towles from the neighboring communities. Hanlon’s article What Is Brand Voice?  Was used to develop Towle’s attributes. “Brand voice is one of the most important, genuine and strongest articulations of what we call Brand.” Hanlon expresses in his article What Is Brand Voice? (Hanlon, 2017.) We developed a Brand Voice Chart using Heald’s recommendations from her article 5 Steps to Find Your Brand Voice. The selected keywords: quirky, quaint, vintage, and modest where chosen to best represent our chosen community of Towles. Throughout the Design Brief, design solutions are rationalized based on research.

Problem Solving — Our problem statement reads: “The locals of Towels are unengaged with their community. We should re-imagine and promote the area within the neighborhood in order to enliven our locals into appreciating their community. By transforming the perception of the residents towards Towles we will create a newfound love for the community that will aid revitalize the area.” Our problem lies in the disengagement of the locals of Towles for their community. A problem that begins with the lack of awareness for the community benefits and its made worse by a poorly up kept neighborhood. While we as designers may not be able to overcome physical, socio-economical, and demographic barriers, we have the ability to alter the perception of the audience through design. It is through this that we are able to effect change. By altering the perception of the residents we create a newfound love for the community. This is done by understanding and addressing their wants and needs and communicating them through design solutions.

Innovative Thinking — Innovation is acquired through the art of perception. We are able to communicate “quaint” instead of small, and “vintage” instead of outdated. This is a transformative process centered in the use of visuals, voicing and tone to transport the community into a magical state where they begin to cherish the little things that make the neighborhood of Towles unique.

Acquiring Competencies — 1) While we as designers may not be able to overcome physical, socio-economical, and demographic barriers, we have the ability to alter the perception of the audience through design. It is through this that we are able to effect change. 2) The research phase is never complete. Each design solution requires on-going research and dedication. The designer’s work remains in constant evolution. Variables may change daily and in order to create an effective solution we must stay on top of all changes and adapt accordingly. 3) It is impossible to reach 100% inclusion and approval rate. Even in target demographics, each individual is unique and responds to different stimuli. This process helped developed my research and analytical skills as well as advance my software skills (i.e. use of Adobe After Effects). Through continuous practice we are able to polish our abilities and apply them to future projects.

Started reading Black by Badiou and his discussion of the CMYK and the manner in which the process of writing upon a computer is influential itself is rather interesting and I wish to neither affirm nor oppose: it allows for a discussion of form external to text but also of the text, imperfections in the PDF becoming new inkbots, opening new texts from the page, it presents a manner of reinterpreting Badiou's own sense against itself rather insightfully.

Creative Thinking

Jessica Metzler

For years we’ve been told to think outside the box, but what does that really mean? It means to use our creative thinking skills. This type of thinking is “defined as a way to look at and solve problems from a different perspective, avoiding orthodox solutions.” It allows us to explore connections and create original ideas. For aspiring designers, I believe this type of thinking is crucial to master, so that we can stand out from the crowd. In this ever changing, fast growing industry we must be able adapt with the times and creative thinking is one major way to help us do so.

There are several characteristics that make up a creative thinker. The first quality is curiosity. It is important to ask questions because that way we are always learning. If we are curious, that means we are paying attention to everything we see. Noticing color, textures, lines, etc. in everyday life can help us make connections between our work and the world. I think the more curious we are, the more complex our ideas and designs will become.

Another marker of a creative thinker is flexibility, the willingness to make room for change. I believe this is especially important, because change is unavoidable in our growing world. A future client may change their mind, something could come up and concepts can change. It is vital to our success to be able to adapt with the times and embrace change. To extend on the quality of flexibility, we must also have an open mind to others critiques. It is important that we translate criticism into a constructive tool that we can use to improve our work.  

In addition to these characteristics, there are also ways to stimulate creative thinking. “Creativity is a skill that can be developed and a process that can be managed.” Even if someone isn’t naturally very creative, there are some techniques we can use to improve this skill. One of the first steps to any project is brainstorming. This means thinking and writing down every idea that pops into your head. There are a several ways to organize your ideas which include a word list, bubble map, mind map, idea categories, etc. Using a bubble map works best for me because it allows me to start with one idea and branch off into several other similar ideas. Another way to develop your creative thinking skills is through problem finding. Go ahead and just start working, sketching, etc. without a set plan in mind. Seek problems as you go along the process so that you can learn and create happy accidents. Some of my favorite parts of my work are a result of a happy accident.

Creative thinking is a tool that can be useful in not only the design world, but our everyday life. It allows us to come up with original solutions and imaginative ideas. We must always think outside the box, stay curious and work to improve our creative thinking skills.

 Citations

Radovic, Zorana. “Creative Thinking - An Essential Skill for the 21st Century.” Inkbot Design, 5 Dec. 2016, www.inkbotdesign.com.

Naiman, Linda. “What Is Creativity? (And Why Is It a Crucial Factor for Business Success?” Creativity at Work, 2018, www.creativityatwork.com.

MANIC EPISODE (Manink episode is this anything) got me archiving everything because the pizza box edges closer and closer to death with every moment and damn now that I have the hidden knowledge of neocities I truly am out here thinking of making one but not for anything specific just collaging some absolutely hog wild bullshit that I do in my own goddamn notating for example some hits so far include

-a list of characters that in lieu of anything even remotely helpful has the characters name and then a John Mulaney quote. For some reason.

^ this file name, specifically

The fact that at some point apparently I was going to reference real life crepepastes in my Nano project, I guess

Which is separate. From the Mistaken Identity Sex Nonsense. To be clear.

me: I hate when characters in fic use terms of endearment when its severely out of character 

also me: writes Crocodile saying sweetheart (derogatory) 

COMPLETELY UNRELATED but it hit me yesterday that Mantis and Liquid from MGS were shitty gamers in the 80’s and 90’s and brain no no NO NO NO NO-