Workflow Style Chart

This week (or rather a few weeks ago now), we discussed how people work. A chart was put up on the board that read like this:

Inspiration --> Idea --> Concept --> Trial --> Refine --> Product

Originally, I thought this was a pretty good chart for my workflow style, but after discussing it a bit more, I started to see spots where I tended to do things a bit differently.

Before I can really take this chart and make changes to it, I should define what each word means to me. This way, individual definitions won't get in the way of understanding my workflow style.

Inspiration: This is when I am suddenly struck with passion.

Idea: This is the initial vision I have of what to do.

Concept: This is the finalized vision of what to do and how to do it.

Trial: This is the stage where I've begun working towards a product and I'm trying to see what works and what doesn't.

Refine: This is the stage where I take what's working and what isn't and change how I'm working or what I am doing.

Product: This is the last stage, where all the work comes to fruition and I have done something that is (hopefully) similar to what I set out to do.

So that's all of them, but I need to add in a few of my own:

Motivation: This is the longing or desire to actually do something.

Planning: This one is pretty straight forward. This is the stage where I set a schedule and deadlines for myself.

OKAY!

Now that all that is out of the way, let me show you my workflow style chart, and then I will explain my process.


For me, the first thing I actively do is come up with a concept. As you can see in my chart though, that is not the first thing that happens. Three things have to all happen simultaneously in order for me to start my process: I need to have inspiration, an idea, and motivation.

Many times I have one or two of these things, but that's not enough for anything to happen. However, once all three hit, I am off like a rocket. I wanted to convey that these three things were flowing in and out of me all the time, so instead of a solid square, they are in a cloudy/blobbish shape.

Once I have my concept, my first instinct is not to jump right into the trial stage. Too many times I have started a project only to lose my motivation halfway through. I feel that planning is a good way to hang onto that motivation as long as possible.

By setting goals and deadlines for myself, I can't procrastinate or push back the parts that I know are going to be difficult or a pain in my ass. I also like to make a rough schedule so that I know when I will be working on which parts of the project.

Now that I have a plan, I begin working and trying to find out what works and what doesn't. When it is time to refine and make changes, I try to judge how the process is going. If it is going well, then I continue on and will eventually reach the product stage.

However, if it is going badly, I have to assess how badly it's going. If something isn't working I can go back to my trial stage and see if I can fix the issue. If it really isn't working at all, I can go back and make a new plan before continuing on into the trial stage. If it is SUPER HORRIBLE NOT WORKING EVER, then I just scrap the whole thing and go back to trying to get inspiration, motivation and an idea together again.

This assignment actually came at the perfect time for me, because I just started undergoing a HUGE project, and I was able to take that and what I was doing there and really dissect what it is that I do in my workflow process. Because of it's size, I cannot tell you if this style was effective or not yet, because it probably won't be completed for another year or so, but let's just say: I'm pretty excited."

The last thing I want to talk about that we discussed in class is this concept:

Art = Me, New Media = Target Audience

I've never really thought about this, but it is actually a really great point. It seems like in New Media, we are all artists, but we don't think about making art for ourselves, as much (if at all) as we do about making it for our target audience or our client.

This is not the case when it comes to art. Art is done simply on the whim of the artist. (Unless of course the artist is commissioned, in which case that artist is often looked down upon like a "whore" by other artists. This is pretty stupid in my personal opinion, because while I understand that it can be viewed as selling out or what have you, everyone needs to pay their bills somehow, and, let's face it, most non-commissioned artists aren't bringing in a whole lot of money.)

So, I decided to do an experiment. Since I was going to miss next week's class because of a doctor's appointment, I would dedicate the time I would have spent in class (3 hours) to doing a piece of art just for myself. It will be in my next entry, so keep your eyes peeled.