“When starting a new business, expressing your unique proposition is a critical message to communicate from the outset.
Professional approaches to design management and strategies for future growth are also important issues to address early on. For many, this involves initiating a model of practice that suits the founding partners' philosophy and underlying design principles.
You will engage with these themes in this module as you develop your own specific model for a creative enterprise. You will start by considering the framework for your new business and write a design-focused strategy for this new initiative. The brief will allow you to focus on your own interests, creative background, or future career ambitions.
This module is an opportunity for you to consider your creative ambitions and understand the type of work that you would like to be doing moving forward.”
“In weeks 1-4 you will be working on Assignment 1: Individual Report. The brief can be downloaded from the assignments tab. Remember to complete your weekly research tasks as these will help towards the development of your final outcome.
This first brief considers the business framework for practice and gives you the core knowledge for managing work and defining roles in the creative studio. The outcome will involve putting theory into practice as you write a pitch deck for your own business, project or creative initiative. This brief allows you to focus on your own interests, background or future career scenarios, whether freelance, studio or in-house opportunities.”
This new assignment feels like a good chance to really think about where I want to go next in my creative work. I like that it’s focused on starting something of my own, whether that’s a business, a freelance practice, or a specific project. It feels open, which is a bit daunting but also exciting. I’m starting to think about what kind of work I actually enjoy and want to be doing more of, maybe something that combines my design background with storytelling or animation.
The part about creating a model of practice that fits your own philosophy stood out to me. I think I want to build something that feels personal but still has a professional structure. Maybe something small and collaborative, with room to grow if it needs to. I like the idea of being clear from the beginning about what I care about as a designer.
The brief also talks about roles and design management. I’ve never really thought about how I’d run a studio or manage a team (I'm naturally more of a sheep), but it makes sense to learn about it now. Even as a freelancer, I guess you still need to understand how to manage your time, your projects, and how to present your work to clients properly.
Right now I’m just exploring a few different directions, maybe something that connects design with real-world stories or helps people feel something through visuals. I’m not totally sure what shape it’ll take yet, but I’m hoping the research tasks and thinking time over the next few weeks will help me figure it out. I’m going to stay curious and see what feels right.