Recreation
As we move onto project 2 we were given the topic Recreation. My first reaction to this topic was confusion. I wasn’t sure what to think of this topic, or if I even understood what it meant. Although, I was having a hard time grasping the meaning of the project, the word “art” was on repeat like a favorite song in my head.
As I explained to my professor and classmate of said word, I received some great feedback, but I was still lacking the completed feeling. “When was the last time you went to a museum?” my professor asked. I had to think about this for a moment, I can’t quite recall the last time I've attended a museum. My professor then followed up with “What is the reason you haven’t been to a museum in so long?” Which was answered with the obvious covid, not having time, and the amount of people allowed into the museums at a time. Focusing on the museum aspect of art didn’t seem to completely strike me, there has to be more to this “art” idea.
As the professor paired us up into our first groups, the idea of art was noticeably sitting at the table alone. The idea did not match any of my classmates interpretation of recreation. At this point, there was a certain aloneness that gave me the “I’m wrong” thought along with “maybe I can just fit in with the other students ideas.” This thought was next to impossible, for I lacked the interest in any of the other ideas. There was a possibility I’d be doing this project solo.
We were assigned into final groups with the option of going solo still on the table. Slowly everything was coming together, or so I thought. As a group it was decided to go with the topic of “art”. Many ideas were thrown out, but they still didn’t strike that well at first. Although, we all agreed it is hard to be a successful artist. This topic didn’t quite hit the “Recreation” topic like we had initially thought. Our ideas turned into some how finding a way to help artist gain connections, and get their art noticed. I personally loved this idea but non the less, it was still steering away from the recreation topic.
After much discussion we decided on our final problem. This is the most important step of this whole process, without a final problem we wouldn’t have anything to solve.
Problem-
People don’t have access to different and specialized kinds of artistic resources.
After finalizing our problem we moved onto the “how might we” part of the project. This is meant to better understand the problem by asking ourselves how could we fix it.
How Might We-
How might we create opportunities for artists to collaborate and interact with new mediums/forms of art?
Now to focus on the XYZ portion. This particular step was difficult to figure out, because we couldn’t quite get our XYZ to make sense. We created a fairly long XYZ at first, but were able to shorten it after discussing with the professor. XYZ’s are another step meant to briefly explain what we are wanting to do. Along with, including a teaser of how we plan on solving the problem.
XYZ-
We want to provide artists with access to tools and resources through collaboration with other artists to inspire them to pursue new disciplines and mediums of art.
After finalizing our XYZ we discuss the unlike. The XYZ unlike is meant to show the difference between our XYZ, and current businesses that don’t necessarily help smaller artist gain approval.
XYZ Unlike: unlike art galleries that just showcase the artist work.
Next up are pains and gains, these are meant to help give an understanding of what benefits and down falls our solution might bring.
Pains –
- Resources for new mediums can be expensive
- Lack of space to manage different creative pursuits
- Lack of collaboration with other artists
- Inexperience when it comes to industry standards and methods
- Lack of experience with new mediums of art
Gains –
- Access to tools and resources
- Learning new techniques
- Expanding artist’s network
- More creative confidence
- Inspiration and motivation
Moving onto personas. This was a quiet process, we allowed our brains to work separately to then come together to decide on the negative Nancy, hopeful Michael, and positive Pete. Personas are meant to bring characters to life helping the audience understand a persons point of view, thoughts, what they say, do, and how they feel.
User Personas –
Negative Nancy (drawing major) –
Says
- “I’m so bored of drawing, I want to create a sculpture!!”
- “I don’t think anyone would want to teach me a new technique.”
Thinks
- Her art is below average, especially in comparison to some of the things she sees on social media
- New mediums of art would be too time-intensive and expensive
Does
- Create art in her spare time
- Goes to art festivals and events in her community
Feels
- Uninspired without connections to other artists
- Unmotivated to do anything creative
Hopeful Michael (non-art major) –
Says
- “I’ve never tried printmaking, but it’s always been a passion of mine”
- “I need to research more about printmaking.”
Thinks
- Thinks he has the creative abilities to make whatever he puts his mind to
- Wishes he could get more exposure in the art community
Does
- Reaches out to local businesses that create art like blown glass and ceramics
- Love to paint on his spare time
Feels
- Confident that his artistic direction can be expressed in many different mediums of art
- Comfortable learning new techniques.
Positive Pete ( Painting major) –
Says
- “I hear ceramics are really fun.”
Thinks
- “I bet I could be good at it”
Does
- “Gets in touch with people that have the resources for ceramics”
Feels
- “Excited for the new challenge”
This process has been pushed to move a bit faster, which puts us at the survey part of the project. We decided to add a couple more questions then we needed allowing us to expand our options for the final questions. The survey is meant to help my group and I better understand our audience and their thoughts/ struggles.
Possible Survey Questions –
- Would you consider artistic creation a recreational value?
- yes/no
2. How confident are you in creating art as a hobby?
- Not confident 1–10 very confident
3. What are some mediums of art you would be interested in pursuing if provided the space and access to tools?
- Text box
4. Would you be willing to physically interact with other artists?
- yes/no
5. If you’re an artist, would you collaborate with another artist using a medium of art that you’ve never tried before?
- yes/no
6. Would you collaborate with a known artist if you had the option to? Why?
- Text box
7. Would you be willing to teach another artist some of your techniques?
- yes/no
8. What concerns do you have about learning a new medium?
- Text box
9. Do you appreciate collaborating with others on things to come up with a new idea? Why?
- Text box
Final survey:
Now onto the Job to be done aspect of the project. A job to be done is mandatory for this project, it brings us one step closer to our solution. This also allows our audience to understand just exactly what the end goal is.
My group and I came up with a couple ideas, but we all agreed on one that we all believed was strong and solid. After agreeing, we discussed our job to be done with our professor. She agreed that we created a solid and right to the point job to be done.
Job to be Done:
To enable artists to pursue new disciplines through collaboration and connection with their local artist community.
By this point, the group is ready to move onto possible solutions. The solution is the biggest part of this project, if you aren’t trying to fix the problem then what is the point?
Our professor asked the class to individually come up with 3 possible solutions. When done we were to share our individual ideas with our group. After discussing our individual ideas we decided on the possible solution we all believed would be the most effective. Since, we all had similar solutions we were able to combine our ideas into one.
Possible Solution:
A digital platform where artists can show their work, share their resources, and collaborate through physical or digital means with other artists.
Final Solution:
The group decided on a final solution, which is basically the main one we discussed just a little more in depth. With that being said, a digital platform where artists can showcase their work in the form of a digital gallery for other users to take inspiration from, leading to networking and collaboration with other artists in a physical or digital environment of their choosing.
Benefits from solution:
- Users will be able to choose their status as a viewer, artist, or mentor
- Each post in the gallery will be customizable to the project at hand
- Users will be able to network with one another about collaboration or other topics
Our professor then explained the importance of a storyboard. This method was not used in our first project, but it helped my group understand how our audience would/ should go about using our final solution.
Storyboard:
Business Model Canvas
While in class we were introduced to the business model canvas. My group and I were instructed to work on the hand out together. After we finished, my group invited our professor in to hear her thoughts on how we handled the worksheet. She was pleased/ surprised it was already complete and explained that we were on the right track. I turned in the filled out worksheet into the project 2 assignment, for I was not able to insert it in this blog.
It was time to decide on a name for our solution. A name is important, so important that you are given a name before you even leave the whom. A name is an entitlement and an importance to your person. Just think of it as this solution/ app is my groups baby, but don’t think to technical into it.
Possible Names:
- Artlink
- A.R.T.S. (Artistic Resources Trading System)
For the past couple of weeks the group has been creating the presentation, logo, and a layout of our solution. Although these have been very successful, I have been feeling a lack on my end with the group. I was paired with very smart and strong students that contribute/ understand the end process more then I do. I’m lucky to be in such a strong group with strong minded students that know how to use computers like geniuses.
Today Tue, December 7 is the last regular class meeting. We will be presenting to our piers and professor for feedback before our final on Thursday. Before presenting for feedback, my group will discuss who’s in charge of each part of the presentation.
After presenting we received some very helpful feedback. Once all the changes were made, my group was confident and ready for the final on Thursday. I believe we all did a great job and I am so thankful for the groups I had through out this semester. My professor taught us all so much, I’m beyond lucky to have had her as my professor. I am going to miss this class, along with the great conversations I had and listened to.
Thank you for you time, and for reading my final project blog. Have a great day!
