Thoughts behind my brief

I had an idea in mind about what I wanted to do: taking an already existing business and optimizing its system. The systems of a business or its service is sometimes neglected, I feel. Certain businesses follow a system either because of years of doing it a specific way, or by copying business models from ones around them. Not much time is spent looking into the newer ways of thing being done. This interested me. I have always believed in the fact that a designer is not one who comes up with 'pretty' looking designs, but is one who finds solutions to problems that may spread across more than one disciplines. I felt that this was an opportunity for me to work on exactly that. 

Although I do not deny the fact that everyone has a designer inside them. Every businessman will look into the problems his business has and comes up with a creative solution to it. They are not designer, most are not even literate. Yet, being human, we all try to solve problems, bring order and method into everyday life. As businessmen, we all try to save more and spend less. 

Despite knowing this, I felt a desire to look into the systems of a business. I wished to act as an insider and peer into what really goes on. Yet as an outsider see if I could find a solution that they as insiders could not.

There was danger in going ahead with my brief. I could have just as easily reached a dead end. I could have landed up banging my head against a wall begging for a problem that wasn't there. Four weeks could have passed by with me still running from pillar to pole wishing to design something, to do absolutely anything. Yet, my interest prevented me from letting go of the idea and moving on to something more substantial. 

Then came the day of the feedback.

It threw up a lot of questions, and I am glad it did. It gave me a basis to work on. The guidelines were mentioned and what was expected was a lot more clearer. I asked myself a couple of questions as I took another look into my project.

What are the logistics..? who am I keeping in mind-- who am I designing for?

Who will carry on after I leave?

Where does innovation come in?

What is so special about what I am planning to do that makes me a 'designer'?

What other understanding or knowledge do I have that other people don't have?

What am I contributing?

Is it something that has already be done before?

Keeping these in mind I set out again, to create another brief and work on something new that would work better within the space provided by the course.