I have to say that I love this discussion! This is the type of thing that we really need in our industry; creativity, innovation and a drive for change. Looking at the current market not as a hindrance, but a chance for real possibilities.
I love the ideas so far. I think the ones that could really work are a competition or charette with teams and the photomontage idea. The competition or charette could be really cool, as designers with different backgrounds could weigh in to get a more broad perspective than is available even in some of the largest firms. Teams paired up with fresh grads or current students with crazy new ideas, with designers with an extensive background of experience and know-how mixed with some green front-runners….what a blend….and there are so many nuances and niches in our profession that you can’t even begin to categorize each. Maybe start out with broader, conceptual projects to see how they actually work and then narrow down in scope and detail. This could eventually be a tool used to approach industries for potential jobs; developing a valuable product before a client even knows they need it. This would mainly work in the public sector, but that appears to be where the majority of cash flow is coming from…
Then with the photomontage or wikidesign. A collection of images of good and bad design to build on and learn from mistakes made and lessons learned. It would be a great resource for us all, even if that’s all that it amounted to, but I’m sure there are plenty of ways that it could be improved.
This seems to be a time when many of us are, have been, or will still potentially have the time to reevaluate who we are. As long as we keep looking forward as a whole, we can only benefit from eachother! I look forward to more great ideas…
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