Has anyone seen my thinking hat?
Oh, hang on... I just found it!
I just had a brain wave, and although I felt a little bit stupid at first, I feel so relieved now. Basically, for some reason my "creative student thinking hat" got blown off in the wind and I must have accidentally put on my "day job thinking hat".
I've made a decision; No, my project / brand is not about how to settle in the UK, deal with culture shock or how to open a bank account. It is about being creative!
For some reason part of me still thought I had to cover all aspects of student support with this project (just like a university or government might do), but actually, whatever I do will be a lot stronger and authentic if I focus on the one thing that kept me going from the day I got here to today, and that's my aspirations and creative drive.
Let's think about my initial research question again: "How can graphic design provide information and support to international art and design students in GB"
There are many ways how this can be done, and I identified various areas of providing this support to students. But actually, my idea, in fact the key idea is, that by reminding students why they are here in the first place - no matter how down they are, or if they get stuck, if they find that inner creative drive and are inspired to follow your aspirations, you'll be able to deal with just about anything.
Having made the conscious decision to focus on the creativity aspect will not only help me focus, but I also feel more passionate about my project and in fact I can finally put on my "design student thinking hat" again. It should make it a lot easier to rework my brand's proposition and to rethink my primary research approach.
I am creative in Great Britain. I am a student. I am creative. I am myself.