The very first meeting

July 8, 2010

The first review meeting really helped define the project for me. Up till now, I was still a little confused despite it being a simple project brief.

The first question that Mr. Ravindra asked me was "What is the design challenge in your project?" This question could be answered in two ways, one being the challenges faced while doing the project itself, and the other being what challenges I would be facing with my current set of skills and beliefs. Though at that time I only considered the challenges of the design brief, on retrospect I think there is more to it.

In my proposal my research questions revolved solely around branding. What about application? What was I going to design alongside? It could be a website, but it could also be something else. Mr. Ravindra also asked me to get into the skin of the company. What are their ideals? What is their mission statement? Do they want to project a funky image or something more suave? He suggested that I prepare a set of questions that would help me get a direction for the overall visual language of this project.

Alison and Danika both gave a lot of stress on finding out the expectations of the client and my own, and documentation. They really helped me spell out some of the loose ends of the project that I need to take care of. They suggested that I document even the slightest ideas, since each idea represents and depends on the experience of that particular moment. Even if these ideas are not taken forward, they could be the beginning of another direction now or later. My documentation will show how much I have travelled in the project, and how much I have been able to grow with it. They also gave me some feedback on client based project based learning, and how I should make the most of it. These are the months when I should make full use of my interaction with other designers in the field and learn from them.

There are a few things that are still not sorted out. These include:

-- Deliverables

-- Timeline

-- Expectations

The common feedback was that I should not forget myself in the project. Client based projects often become the do's and don't's of the client, and since the client here itself is a graphic designer, I need to make sure that the final outcome is me, and not him. This is perhaps going to be one of my biggest challenges through the project.