Semester one has come to an end!
As with very year in PDE, this semester has been a combination of juggling studying, deadlines and a ridiculous workload. The irony in studying engineering "stresses" in Mechanics has nearly put me over the edge!
Our only design project for PDE this semester was Retail "Therapy II". This is now an annual project where 4th year MEng students design a product to be sold in the GSA Store during the Christmas period. We were very much encouraged to experiment with materials and process to develop a luxurious final product.
This was the first project I decided to put myself "out there" on social media and document some of the processes publically. I tried posting on Instagram weekly(ish) showing the development of my process.
Instagram, to me, has become a great platform for finding and keeping up to date with independent designers. With more and more employers looking for marketing skills and clean social media accounts, why can't Instagram be another platform for my portfolio?
Recording the whole process with behind the scenes pictures is a great way to show the world my design development, style and creativity.
Keeping people engaged with the process is key. People use Instagram to stay up to date with the world around us, but no one wants a boring news feed.
I feel like I still haven't mastered the whole "engagement" side of documenting, but the likes I received on each photo shows the general interest my project. I am more than willing to admit some photos uploaded were below par (to put it nicely), but they added to the overall flow of the project and gave people an insight into my thought process.
Instagram was also pretty useful in gauging the popularity of different prototypes.
Instagram may not be a useful "tool" in developing products for modern day designers, but I feel it has got me and my followers more involved with the design process.
This experiment helped me realise how quite a lot of design is about selling a concept. By communicating your vision effectively with an audience you can show a narrative of the product's development, adding to the true personal and market value of the product.
If you want to keep up to date with my projects next semester, follow me on Instagram !