Seminar 3 : Presentation and Feedback

23rd August, 2013

Thethird seminar presentation gives an overview of the storybook, the stories, themes and the character sketches. It also exhibits some initial character design explorations. The presentation can be viewed here:



The feedback for this seminar was:

PRESENTATION :

- When describing the plot of the story, talk about the larger scenario and how individual accounts are interlinked.
- The energy dips when the audience is asked to read excerpts from the story, instead they should be read-aloud when presenting.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT :

- The characters seem to be at a point of death and resurrection, which gives the story potential to turn the course of events.
- Push the satire and naivety in the tone to create interest.
- Write all the accounts in first person to make the inanimate characters easier to relate to and to give them a personality beyond their basic function.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT : 
- The project demands a strong hand in illustration which is not demonstrated. Need to draw every day and develop a style suitable for the project.
- Draw the animals from life to get a better judgment of what can be exaggerated and to capture nuances.

CONCERNS :
- Highlight the themes and tighten the connections for the reader. - Meet the writing team before creating newer drafts.

NEXT STEPS:- Create newer drafts of the written content to make it direct and make the message clear.
- Draw every day to develop an illustration style.
- Begin working on layouts.

Seminar 2 : Presentation and Feedback

8th August, 2013

The second seminar presentation charted the themes that can be included in the storybook, the research and inferences on biodiversity being explored through food and finally the story structures and characters.

The presentation can be viewed here:

The feedback I received this time was:

PRESENTATION :

- Clear, concise, organized. - Do not over-explain everything !

RESEARCH / METHODOLOGY/ APPROACH :

- Cite the context of the city where the research is coming from,
even if it is common everywhere. - It is interesting to use design tools as story structures. - Try to collect stories that already exist among communities. - Try using social mapping as a tool to map these stories.

CONCEPT : - One can either use existing stories and personalize them or write a new narrative altogether. The two ways of working can be Fact or Fiction.
CONCERNS :- Can the protagonist be empathized with?
- Can the call for action be portrayed effectively?

NEXT STEPS:

- Keep a story journal and write every day, if not for final content but to
collect instances and nuances that can be used for the final storybook.
- Stop researching further, keep the research aside and start working with an imaginative outlook.
Be playful and silly.

Seminar 1 : Presentation and Feedback

19th July, 2013

This was the first of the five seminars during the course of the diploma project where we share and discuss the progress of our work with students and faculty for new perspectives, evaluation and feedback.
Through the seminar I was able to give an introduction to The Biodiversity Storybook,
share my initial research, findings and the choice of directions that the project could take.
The presentation can be viewed here:




The feedback I received at this point is as follows:

PRESENTATION :
- Clear, crisp and simple presentation, well presented.
- Avoid using the words “my project” or “my goals”. Need to represent the
project in a way that it stands on its own.
- The need to impact the urban public has been identified.

RESEARCH / METHODOLOGY/ APPROACH :
- Crisp and clear in approach. Research focused on broad agenda and needs.
- Project is research heavy, is there time for design development?
- Need to make sure that various areas of research don’t take over the project.
- Organizing research and selection of topic and flow seem clear.
- Only left-wing case studies have been studied, are there conventional and  
  conservative case studies to define the challenges?

CONCEPT : - Is the storybook the best way of disseminating the message?
- Since the medium is decided, the form can be explored. Pop-ups or interactive
   techniques can be involved.
- One can reflect on how biodiversity is taught in schools through focus groups
  and then try to make the subject such that everyone can relate to it.

CONCERNS :
- The project is ambitious, but the form of storytelling has great potential.
- Since storytelling has no limits, is the ‘urban’ boundary a problem?
- What makes the book different from those existing?
- Interviews and other research ahead may be too ambitious without identifying
  modes of data collection.
- Could lack of indicators of biodiversity for the urban public be a problem?
   With the urban population, is ignorance bliss?

NEXT STEPS:
- Need to do in-depth research on one area of the topic to develop narrative,
  build characters and make the project manageable.
- How will one move towards conceptualizing the book?
- Find data collection tools.
- Meet and get feedback from the writing centre about storytelling and writing.
- Ideate and create a few concepts and see what makes them special.
- Get client feedback at regular intervals, not just when the book is completed.