The final video:
(watch in 1080p for best results!)
The write up:
Questions and answers. Problems and solutions.
The question you ask will lead you to the answer you seek. Discovering and defining the problem will facilitate the process of designing and delivering the solution. This is basically the context of my whole video. With the help of applications such as Photoshop, Keynote, iMovie and Garageband, this short and simple animation video briefly illustrates how to get from one point to another when faced with an obstacle.
This process of sorts can be simplified with 4 D's: discover, define, design, and deliver. Discover and define fall under the category of the Problem, while designing and delivering are under the Solution.
My immediate reaction is to relate my video to the problems I encounter as a designer, as I have mentioned before. In the context of design, every design stems from a problem. Design in general is all about solving problems.
However, just because my process includes the word "design" in it, doesn't mean that this method pertains to design problems alone. In fact, this methodology can be applied when looking at just about anything, contextually.
In the video, the girl (me) is trying to get to the other side to progress forward, but is blocked by a deep chasm. This "obstacle" is her problem. Once realising that her questions can turn into answers, she slowly figures out the process to overcome it.
Under the "questions" category, the steps involved are discovering and defining. First, you must discover the problem. A solution is useless if there is no problem for it. Then, you have to define the problem. This can be done by asking questions in context. Where do I want to go? What is stopping me? How far do I have to reach? How long will it take me to get there? What can I do with the existing resources I have now? ..and so forth. Questions are an important tool in discovery. Once you have your set of questions, you can further define them by answering them, or asking more questions in detail. This is also why I have many question marks on top of me in the first half of the video. The entire point of asking questions is to clarify ambiguity. If a question represents ambiguity, then the answer represents clarity.
Knowing what you're facing and how to solve it is half the battle already. That is why I've realised that planning is crucial when it comes to any task. One cannot rely on haphazard execution alone. In fact, it can be said that both planning and execution are equally important when solving problems.
Once you've got your planning down, it's time to design, which really is just executing everything you planned. Personally, I find planning more difficult than designing, because when you design, you're merely sitting down and putting all your ideas into action. With planning, however, you have to use your brain power to churn out the answer. Once the planning is done, you already know what to do, so you just do it. In the video, the "designing" part of the process can be represented by the equals sign (which represents the process) dropping down and extending to become a bridge. Without the process, it would not be possible to reach your goal (or in this case, get to the other side).
Last but not least, is deliver. In a design context, this is where a designer would present the finished product to the client. It is the last step before completion. In the video it can be represented where I am crossing over to the other side.
On another level, all this also made me realise how the journey is just as important as the destination. Most of the video shows how I got to the solution, the discovering and defining. The execution, which is the part where I cross over, is short in comparison. This shows how usually the planning takes longer than the execution. Too often have I focused solely on achieving the goal rather than enjoying the process and stopping to smell the roses. In this modern age where we expect to receive instant gratification all the time, it's hard not to be patient. But good things come to those who wait, or rather, good things come to those who plan properly and go through the process.
In conclusion, you will always come across problems that you need to "get over" with. The solution to it? Discover, define, design, and deliver.
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