Week 5: Collaboration
Your personal research tasks are for deeper critical reflection and demonstration of your thinking and working processes.
These are the research tasks for this week, please share your findings on the ideas wall and on your blog:
Research the different ways in which graphic designers produce work collaboratively.
Reflect on at least one example of a collaborative project that has led to an exemplary and historically significant piece of work.
Week 5 - My own research
Who would I collaborate with?
This got me thinking - who would I collaborate with. The obvious answer (and safe bet) would be someone already in my creative network, a good fit. I started making a list from my current network.
Collaborative Concept
There is a great museum in my local High Street that has a lot of local history about the pioneering plastic surgeon, Archibald McIndoe renowned for his holistic approach to the treatment of allied aircrew during World War II.
After I quick visit to the local museum, they told me that being set back from the High Street meant a lot of visitors didn’t realise the museum was there. There is a signpost, but this is not very visible. The approach is down a no-entry road so access isn’t obvious or easily approachable.
The entry road does have a big side wall which would be perfect for eye-catching graphics to advertise the museum which is just set back from the road.
So my proposal is to collaborate with the local museum and charities to paint the wall with suitable vibrant eye-catching graphics that showcase the museum and raise awareness of its location.
Collab problems to address:
Who owns the wall, and will they let me do this?
Support from the museum - both with the use of images and finance
Support from the McIndoe Charity at Queen Vic Hospital
Apply for local grants for good causes to cover paint costs?
Who will paint it or vinyl - what material to cover it with?
Notes
I made notes of creative collaborators within my industry that I thought might be good to experiment with.
Print
My husband works in print, and although I’ve worked with him before, and I’ve always wanted to create my own book, I felt this was too close to home.
Photography
I’ve art-directed photoshoots before but nothing really stood out as images to create.
Make it fun!
Community
East Grinstead, the town I live, retains a sense of community and the beautiful surrounding countryside. It has weekly farmers markets, and regular events throughout the Summer when the High Street is closed and pedestrianised and the council put on a free event with local bands, fairground rides and food stalls to raise money for charitable causes.
I decided to look at my local museum to see if there was a collaboration project I could included in my research.
Inspired by the lecture series by Morag Myerscough and her quote on “Make it fun”, and the vibrant painted outside spaces from the Graphic Rewilding from Baker Bowiski, I decided to look into my outside community areas.
Initial concepts for my collab project
Video showing how close the Museum is to the main High Street and proposed wall to put vibrant graphics on
Modern museum that is hidden back from the main High Street
Ugly wall that I am proposing to put graphics on advertising the museum