Creating Self-Initiated Projects: https://andwalsh.com/articles/all/creating-self-initiated-projects/?fbclid=IwAR0YaKGufa_2wUqalJ9wOrBoMavDrfXMb8gAw4J8xKHO2UfcQflGwRbkWAY
Sometimes, these ideas can turn into businesses. Even when the goal isn’t profit, these types of projects can often lead to people discovering your creative work & getting more work in the future.
Part One: Coming up with ideas
- Is exciting but also daunting.
- I believe many of the best concepts start with the question, “Why?” What are the struggles in your life?- This is something I like to do with my work anyway, I enjoy asking the why to find out more about things.
- - I think is could be a good idea to keep thinking about this through B7 so that I have a wider more explorative approach.
- Start a "Shit List" notebook of everything that drives you mad.
- The things that excite and infuriate you are what you’re most likely to dedicate your time following through with.
Part Two: What can you do about it
- Ask yourself what you could do about each of these "Why!?" questions.
- Make mind maps & word association charts.- I find these really helpful with my practice already, exhausting things of ideas and thought (also relating to Stefan Sagmeister talk before christmas).
- After you have your list of ideas of what you could create, hone in on the ones you think are most feasible with your time and resources.- Really think about this with projects, what is it that I can practically do? Want to be ambitious with work but also achievable.- Thinking about Rob Watson's talk and how he outsources freelancers to do the work he can't (paper artists, digital artists etc). When I'm more established these options may become more feasible.
- You might need to go back to the drawing board on what you can actually make happen.
Part Three: Create a plan
- The first constraint should be a deadline. Put milestones and a project launch date on the calendar and treat it like client work. I think having a partner in self-initiated work helps because you can hold each other accountable for meeting these deadlines, and you can push each other to get things made.- I feel I'm improving in terms of setting dates and deadlines, I'm very good at organising this for myself and have built tools to help me do so.
Part Four: Set some rules
- After you have a deadline, you need rules & constraints to work within.
- Setting up parameters and sticking to them will hold you accountable and make it easier to execute.- I think this is very true for me personally, having things to work around always helps drive and guide me through a project.
- The more constraints you have, the better.
Part Five: Develop a unique style
- If you have a unique creative style for your project or unusual delivery method, it can help differentiate your work and get noticed.
- First, think about what you want your project/brand to convey to your audience in terms of adjectives. Pick no more than three words (ie. Playfulness, Joy, Anger, etc).- I think this is a good way to approach personal branding as well as personal projects. Could start thinking about my own branding in this way.
- When choosing typefaces, compositions, or colors, think about these adjectives and choose design elements accordingly. Also, try giving yourself creative constraints which can help you create an ownable style. Try limiting color palettes, shapes, or the tools you use.
Part Six: Get your work noticed
- Now that you've made your new self-initiated project or business idea, it's time to put it out into the world. If you are creating a business idea and have funding for a PR agency, great! If not, no worries, you can handle this on your own.
- Make a list of all your favorite blogs, websites and Instagram accounts that might feature your work. Now find the email addresses of the editors on those blogs. For Instagram, you can send a DM. Message them about your new project/business that you are launching. Include a short description of what the project is about, a link to the work, and an asset library of images or videos that help illustrate what the project is. If you're not getting responses from the larger blogs/accounts, try smaller ones!- This whole section is really helpful, thinking about the ways of approaching people and businesses without the assistance of an agent or anything like that.- Could also be a way to reach out for work potentially?
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Vrints-Kolsteren on a year of self-initiated and self-published work: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/vrints-kolsteren-graphic-design-161219
Having completed several non-commercial projects in collaboration with artists – for example, Chair, a publication designed for Benny van den Meulengracht-Vrancx and a T-shirt titled Red together with Frédéric Jaman – they wanted a platform where they could launch these kinds of works independently.
“Instead of releasing these through a publisher, we decided that we wanted full control over the design and the end product and so we wanted to publish these works ourselves,” Vincent says.
- Having more control over the process to allow you to make choices that are true to what you want, and create an outcome that truly represents you as a creative. Also being able to have control over a process that is normally dominated by someone else could open up new design opportunities.
“It is much more satisfying to be personally involved during every step of the process from start to finish.” And the duo has big plans for the imprint, describing it as a “playground” to experiment and initiate research projects. “With our Kado project, we experimented with many printing techniques.
Naomi explains: “You could see the book as a collaboration in a way. Instead of working together with an artist, you could see this project as a collaboration with the audience. They make their own flower arrangements, but they will always make their own ikebanas with our personal set of editorial rules.” The result is a book that allows readers to flower arrange in print, by layering up different pages of the book to produce unique compositions.
- The user has more control over how they experience the project, leaves room for interpretation as well as allowing the audience to be more creative with the outcome you develop.
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White Christmas:
In a stunt that ultimately goes against what the agency exists to do, the self-initiated campaign – titled White Christmas – offers respite from the deluge of advertising at this time of year by posting blank ads on print and digital billboards, buses, bus stops, newspapers, social media and even radio.
“As a creative agency we typically spend our time creating ads and promoting brands, but this year we’ve decided to do the opposite and give everyone a break from ads during the holiday season,” explains creative director Stephen Flynn.
- Thinking about the audience in a new way, What do they want? How can we help?
- Really interesting project as the outcome doesn't advertise the agency at all but it makes a massive change to something we normally don't recognise, so people are likely to ask questions and wonder what it's about (especially if it's happening frequently) and then they'll be led to Wunder agency.
- A Fun and playful personal project with a wholesome human agenda, relieving stress for the public during a stressful time. I think ideas like this that solve a problem (think about &Walsh's article and the Shit List) in a fun way are really successful.
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Triangle Studio have supplemented their modest portfolio with a quarterly publication cleverly titled Try Angle Paper.
The self-generated project not only gives them an outlet to do things they might not get the chance to for clients, like experiment with typography, make their own paper, and create products for themselves (planners, calendars, notebooks, postcards) that they can sell online, but the work also acts as a free advertisement for what the studio can do. We know it’s not a new concept, but that only makes all the more curious: why aren’t more young uns doing things like this?
- In talks with professionals about getting noticed many have mentioned sending things to studios to get your stuff out there, but also with this has come the notion of making things personal, not just sending something generic.
- Projects like this are also helpful in seeing what you create, keeping a log of your design progress that you can reflect on as a creative.
The Happy Newspaper:
(Established in 2015 with financial help from kickstarter) The Happy Newspaper has been released quarterly, containing happy news which has been collected over a period of three months.
The newspaper is a 32-page publication organised chronologically, with news articles arranged month by month. Not only is the paper packed with only positive stories from across the globe, it also has an entire section dedicated to our Everyday Heroes.
The newspaper is a 32-page publication organised chronologically, with news articles arranged month by month. Not only is the paper packed with only positive stories from across the globe, it also has an entire section dedicated to our Everyday Heroes.
- I really love the addition of everyday heroes, I think it is such a nice feature to have that celebrates people around us, especially now given the current circumstances.
- It's lovely that there is something physical given to people that presents this news as well, there are lots of instagram accounts that do something similar to this but having something in print helps people feel more connected I think and gives us a break from our screens.
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My Shit List:
- People tapping in a quiet space meant for focusing (e.g. library)
- Slow walkers
- Cars, taxis and buses when I'm cycling
- When it gets dark early
- Why do I find reading such a boring thing, I want to want to read!
- When I think of a good idea before bed but fall asleep and forget it by the next morning
- When I upcycling clothes and I make them worse
- The fact I want to wear dresses but feel like I get judged when I do wear them
- I bite my nails
- My eczema
- Not being that blonde anymore
- Being crap as engaging with social media
- The fact I don't put myself out there as much as I like
My Hobbies/what I like:
- Sewing
- Documentaries
- Learning new things, researching
- Crafts, tie dye, making own paper
- Books, I love books!
- My cheese plant
- Walks in the countryside
- Cosy days in
- Making little gifts for people (generally tend to be books)
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