Getting right to the point...
As I took a seat in my first class of Fall 2010, I was a little nervous. I had never had Professor James Moss before and I didn't have the slightest idea as to what I would be learning or the kind of work I would be doing in Art 220: Concept Development. Funny enough, that is exactly the first thing Professor Moss, a.k.a. Jimmy, asked us. After passing out index cards, Jimmy instructed us to write our names on the back and answer these two questions on the front:
1. What do you think you'll be doing?
2. What do you think you'll be learning?
Needless to say it took me a moment as I attempted to piece together and write down a coherent answer. As if that weren't enough to kick my brain into overdrive, Jimmy then proceeded to collect and read aloud what we had written, saving us from embarrassment by omitting our names, and responding to our theories if we were on the money or not. I have to say I was close. Pretty close. Around the general vicinity.
It was an interesting way to begin the class and an easy way to get us immediately thinking and generating ideas which is ultimately what the course is about. Jimmy summed it up for us during the exercise: he said that the goal was for us to learn how to evaluate, sort through, and talk about our ideas as well as identify the individual processes we use to generate them so that we may do so quickly, more efficiently, and in greater number. Brilliant.
Next he threw out a couple of words like concept, design, process, brainstorm, develop, and asked us to define them. Seems like an easy task, not so much. Someone said a concept was an idea. Jimmy asked "What's an idea?" and so we continued breaking down the definition. Somehow in the middle of that discussion we started talking about brands and their personalities. We discussed why it is particular brands have certain characteristics. An example was energy drinks. Red Bull, Monster, Rock Star, they all project a specific idea to the consumer. Red Bull's campaign conveys that drinking Red Bull "will give you wings". Why wings? What idea are they trying to sell you? Someone answered freedom. They are trying to sell you the idea that it may be possible to do the impossible. That's when it hit me. Everything is designed to appeal to the viewer. It's not enough just to say people will have energy if they drink Red Bull. You have to develop a strong idea and showcase it in a way that will be memorable. From imagery, to colors, to font, it's not just about the product anymore, you have to know how to wrap it up with a pretty bow because, nowadays it's all about the visual. That's what the wings do, they give the audience a visual.
Whoa...and this was just Day 1.
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