Design_for_Industry-_Final_Report

Alaa Dean Alzalam- Team 7 DESIGN FOR INDUSTRY 10/05/10 Inspired By Nature’s Diversity BA (Hons) Digital and Creative Enterprise School of Computing, Informatics and Media Contents Page Page 1.0. Introduction 3 1.1. Belbin 3 1.2. How I Compared With My Profile' 3 1.2. How I Compared With My Profile' 4 1.3.The Generated Roles 4 1.3. Team Player and Diplomat 4 2. My Technical Role And Skills That I Brought To The Production 5 2.1. Organisation and Coordination 5 2.2. Implementing a System 5 2.3. My Proposals 6 2.4. The Broadening of My Responsibilities 6 3.0. Analysis of Skills Learnt 7 3.1. A Conclusion of Belbins Efficiency within Team 7 7 4. A Reflection On The Peer Marks Awarded 7 5.1. The Final Presentation 7 5.2. Positive Feedback from The Body Shop, Bradford 7 5.3. Work placement 7 Appendix 8-13 1.0. Introduction Our group of four selected a brief for The Body Shop through the D&AD Student Awards via the inter-net. We entered the competition submitting some completed elements of our campaign both digitally and through the post. Currently we are eagerly awaiting the results in anticipation. 1.1. Belbin The very concept of having a huge data-base of set answers to various personalities, together with a computer generated counselling profile page, was at first quite strange. Indeed, I was sceptical of a digital device having the ability to generate an accurate profile based on a few questions, without taking into consideration ones religious, cultural and social backgrounds. Upon receiving the Belbin test results, I diligently read the document with an element of bias, sure to find some contradictions. 1.2. How I Compared With My Profile' “Your profile shows someone who enjoys focusing on a particular area of interest. Here, the pride you take in your work and the attention you give to quality and accuracy are most apparent”. (1) Surprisingly the section “what is distinctive about my profile'” highlighted a perfect summary of how many past employers and close friends had described me. However where Belbin was accurate in some areas, it failed in others. 1.3.The Generated Roles Inaccurately, in my group members’ opinion and mine, was the very low mark, generated by Belbin for the “Team worker contribution” section. With an estimated 2-5% average contribution, I found the mark shocking as I had always thought of myself as a real team player. Now, I began questioning myself. Was I a team player' Did I have the have the ability to be diplomatic, listen to all and avert friction...' 1.3. Team Player and Diplomat After the first few days of being placed into groups, I had an immediate bond with all my peers, some stronger than others. Two of my colleagues like myself were enthusiastic to engage immediately with the task at hand. Unfortunately we found it extremely difficult and exhausting with our fourth team member who was completely unresponsive on both a professional and social level. Unfazed by the lack of interest of our fourth member I put forward many team bonding exercises and kind gestures to the group hoping to engage the latter. These efforts consisted of regular group meetings, the forming of an additional group forum (in the case of blackboard going off-line), a contact sheet containing all the team member’s personal details, (a paper and e-mail transcript were supplied to all). Other efforts included dinning out together (sometimes within the university campus and other times at my Bradford home) and the small gesture of offering sweets in meetings. Despite our colleague’s persistent lack of participation, the three of us held the project together and continued to send relevant updates to the fourth member. 2.0. My Technical Role And Skills That I Brought To The Production From the very start of this module I found myself naturally organising the group’s meetings, keeping minutes and storing and filing all the groups’ paper work. Within the first week of our initial group meeting I decided that we needed an additional form of communication, as unfortunately Jonathon Wyatt could not access the University’s online facilities, neither blackboard nor his e-mail account. We agreed that Kristine could design and host a forum from her fiancé’s server-which has never yet gone down as it hosts many important companies’ websites. We all agreed and Kristine immediately implemented this. 2.1. Organisation and Coordination The role of organiser and coordinator has always been a strong quality in both my professional and personal life. This was clearly demonstrated throughout this project, as it was I who planned all the groups meetings and kept regular contact with all members throughout the project via the forum, e-mail, calling and texting them. This included keeping them all positive, motivating and keeping up their morale. I also took full advantage of our forum by delegating necessary work to the other group members and keeping everyone updated with future meetings and ideas. I sent letters to The Body Shop enquiring if they could mentor our group (2). Unfortunately they would not, despite this I was determined to find us an industry based mentor. Therefore I approached a local design company and asked their General Manager/Proprietor if he would agree to mentor us. He agreed and so I arranged a meeting for all the group members to meet Adil Khan. Kristine, Mark and I met with Adil who viewed our work and discussed different ideas, offering us some industry advice. We kept regular contact with our mentor as he also printed our finished work. 2.2. Implementing a System My role as organiser, enthusiast and coordinator extended to offering my home as a meeting and work point, hosting my colleagues, supplying homemade food, using my car to take them back and forth. Both Kristine and Mark attended these meetings and together we worked hard on collective assessment in my study, designing and adjusting our ideas. It took us no less than five hours to design the format of the first poster. 2.3. My Proposals The initial idea of using the different hands holding the various raw ingredients used by The Body Shop was my idea (3). I wanted to capture the consumer market, keep strictly to the set brief and appeal to the relevant target audience. The slogans “Inspired by nature’s diversity” and the name of the website-“Gateway to beauty” were both my suggestions (4), which the group approved of. Therefore I wrote the commentaries for all six hands explaining the deeper reasons behind the pairing of the product with the particular hand. In initiating the design process I believe that I set the direction for our group. 2.4. The Broadening of My Responsibilities My role broadened still as I travelled to purchase the plants and fruits needed for the photo shoots. The Aloe Vera and Gardenia plants were particularly hard to find at that time. I endlessly rang around various gardening suppliers until I found them, one being as far as Huddersfield. Yet the photo shoots not only extended to props. We needed specific hands. Mark designed a poster, advertising for models. Unfortunately this proved unsuccessful and we learnt that we needed to do more. I approached a variety of different people who agreed to model for us. Every meeting was planned via the forum with notice being given for all to attend always well in advance. I booked out the studio. Mark, Kristine and I met there and took the photographs (8). We then collectively selected the best photographs and submitted them to the next stage, the meeting at my home in which Kristine, Mark and I attended. 2.5. Campaign Photography All campaign photography around Bradford including buses and billboards were taken and adjusted by Mark and myself. Additionally Mark and I supplied Kristine with the necessary imagery and text for the construction of the website. 3.0. Analysis of Skills Learnt Fortunately within our group we all possessed different specialist skills and so I was privileged to work with such expertise in fields I had not previously delved into. Kristine and Mark taught me many Adobe Illustrator skills including how to create vector imagery. I learnt how to use various file formats and import and export to other adobe software’s when necessary in order to achieve maximum quality and compatibility. Furthermore I acknowledged that when colleagues will not commit themselves that their negativity and lack of input would eventually lead to their demise. This project taught me to be patient and work hard utilising and learning from each other individual strengths in order to achieve your goals. Additionally communication is essential for any team to be successful. 3.1. A Conclusion of Belbins efficiency within team 7 Overall I must admit that Belbins accuracy and efficiency in defining roles and responsibilities proved successful. However as I stated previously other factors can influence a person’s ability to undertake a new role and flourish therein. 4. A Reflection On The Peer Marks Awarded Alaa Dean Alzalam - 89% Mark May - 87% Jonathan Wyatt - 44% Kristine Sarapova - 89% The peer marks awarded are an accurate summary of each of our efforts. I am pleased that the group recognised my significance within it. I am satisfied that the points given are a true indication of each person’s input. 5.1. The Final Presentation The creation of the presentation Mark and myself designed the slide show. I bought the ties and arranged for all to wear white shirts as to display our unity and professionalism as a group. 5.2. Positive Feedback from The Body Shop, Bradford In order to get additional feedback from The Body Shop I arranged a meeting with the assistant Manager and designed a questionnaire for her to fill in. Mark, Kristine and I met up with her at The Body Shop and had very positive feedback. 5.3. Work placement Our mentor Adil was so impressed with our work that as a result he offered both Mark and myself a work placement in his design and printing company, with an immediate start. END OF THE REPORT Appendix 1: Taken from my Belbin report first paragraph entitled “ 2: The original letter that was sent to the Body Shop and their response. The Body Shop’s Response: Dear Kristine, Thank you for the letter we received from your colleague Alaa. Regrettably The Body Shop receives a high volume of student requests every week and we are therefore unable to assist you with the request for a mentor on this occasion. However, should you wish to take pictures in the Bradford store, we would recommend that you contact the store directly to clear this with the Store Manager. We are sorry that we cannot be of more assistance on this occasion. Kind Regards Nicola Ball 3: Evidence that the preliminary idea was mine. 3: 4: Our Group Forum: www.kristine.me.uk/d4i/forum/ Web content: Please all read and give your opinions by adalzala » Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:05 am Web Content the campaigns theme: “Inspired by nature’s diversity” Objectives The campaign is aimed at highlighting The Body Shops indiscriminative outlook on beauty. Presenting a various selection of different hands is symbolic of representing the diversity within the human race and in the natural ingredients found in their products. Hence the Theme inspired by natures diversity, Meaning The Body Shop appreciates and embraces diversity in all its products, appealing to all those who appreciate natural and ethical beauty. Poster campaign we have presented six uniquely diverse hands, varying in colour, texture and age. The hands represent the vast diversity of The Body Shop consumers, be it of their ethnicity, age or gender. Each hand is holding a significant natural component, found in The Body Shop’s products. Note: The ingredient contrast in colour and texture with the corresponding hand as much as can be achieved. One: To emphasis the colour of the ingredient Two: To allow the hands unique beauty to be noticed Packaging: The new delivery box Our aim is not to reinstate the Body Shop as the original pioneers of ethical beauty, through the new delivery box. Rather it is to improve the customer experience by handing them a piece of the missed experience that you would not receive via the post. The box would include samples of products that link to the customer’s purchases. 1: The white gardenia flower in the palm of the old hand The title of the poster is “Wise and Beautiful” Often the elder members of society are dismissed particularly when we look at advertising or a beauty campaign. However old age has a way of humbling the inner self and it is a stage of life most of us will reach. It is important that we recognise that beauty manifests itself in all the different stages of our lives. The white flower represents the wisdom, which comes with age. The colour white, being the obvious sign of reaching that stage of life, the strength and frailty of the flower is a metaphor for the journey of our lives. This is to show that the elderly posses a strength and beauty of their own despite their looking frail. 2: The strawberry in the palm of the black, African hand The title of the poster is “Black and Beautiful” Not all so long ago the world was considered to be flat and coloured nations and races seen as inferior. Ever since the time of slavery, blood has marked the continent of Africa. A continent enriched with its natural resources, vibrant colours, and diverse cultures.  The hand in this poster is the signifier of racial diversity and equality. The strawberry represents our feelings. It’s heart like shape also indicates the common denominator, emotion that we as people regardless of our racial background possess. The contrast of the strawberry against the hand are bright, vibrant attractive and passionate just like the hand that possesses it.  3: The loose coco beans in the hands of a white European The title of the poster is “United and Beautiful” With the European nations coming together under one banner now more than ever, have we begun to appreciate and value deeply those countries whose resources we enjoy everyday. The coco beans represent the benefits derived through nations embracing and knowing each other. The coco beans are not native to this part of the world nevertheless they have become an integrate part of our daily lives and this image connotes the beauty of sharing and acceptance.  The white hand holding the cocoa beans is an image to show the value of the cocoa beans to the world and how valuable we are one to one another. 4: The orange in the decorated hand of an Asian lady (decorated by henna) The title of the poster is “Individual and Beautiful” The misunderstood world of Asian ladies hiding their beauty behind their veils is often interpreted as outdated. Looking through their eyes, beauty is an important aspect of their daily lives but in a different way. A noble and humble nature accentuates that beauty. The decorated hand here is to express individualism and the orange represents the world of beauty being at her fingertips and her acceptance of it. 5, The olives in the hands of a prisoner  The title of the poster is “Reformed and Beautiful” We as creatures have the amazing gift of freewill, and have the ability to make certain choices in our lives. Having made bad decisions or mistakes we can choose to reform ourselves.  Once former prisoners are released into society, they are very often discriminated against. Always having to inform future employers within the interview process about their past. The prisoner’s hand holding the olive signifies his desire for reconciliation and freedom. 6: A piece of Aloe Vera in the palm of a scared hand.  The title of the poster is “Scared and Beautiful” When the word scared is mentioned, we tend to imagine unattractive images. Yet how many people are scared from within'  The Aloe Vera plant is most commonly known for its natural healing and soothing properties. The scarred hand in the picture commonly depicted as unsightly, is holding Aloe Vera, presenting to us the wounds people incur throughout their lives. Their internal and external scares. Everyone can identify with such pains. The Aloe Vera symbolises the healing process we go through on our way to recovery. If you have any queries regarding any of the information stated in this post or any of the documentation, then please inform the rest of the group via the forum.  Kind Regards  Alaa Last edited by adalzala on Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:43 pm, edited 2 times in total. adalzala   Posts: 49 Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:44 pm