My Immense Dislike for Mondrian Helped Me Find Peace

 After today I will no longer despise the childlike line drawings that I associated with Piet Mondrian. Truly, it was his not-so-simple simplicity that saved me.

Composition with yellow, blue and red; 1942

As the above slide clicked into place on the projector during my late afternoon art history class, I had to refrain from letting out a sigh of disappointment. I have never really been the biggest fan of Piet Mondrian. In fact, I didn't even consider his work real art - until today.

In short, I learned that Mondrian's work is virtually impossible to re-create and have it be believable. His paintings are comprised of hours of building grids and finding balance; yet his complex ideas appear so simple.  
That's it! I thought, as I sat in class. I really needed to stop making things so hard on myself. During my bike home that evening, I again returned to the drawing board. My top three ideas were laundry detergent, voting ballots/government documents and food. Well, the laundry detergent wasn't working. Maybe I could change it to something else dealing with scientific facts? No, no, that was all wrong because I would be making more work for my self. Not only would I have to research the design, but I would have to research the science behind the product as well. The same applied to government documents. I just don't know enough about politics. I was left with food. I didn't really want to do a single food product, so I thought perhaps cooking items would work. Spices, spatulas, the works. But what would I really do with that? Design labels?

So, I thought about how I grew up in a food culture. Huge family meals have always been a large part of our gatherings. We even dance with bread at our weddings (yes, Yanko is Macedonian)! To me, food is one of the greatest aspects of life. And it brings people together; after 5 hour hikes when everyone is exhausted, following an unexpected family death, even when you have been sitting at your computer working for hours on end - out comes the food and suddenly everyone is energized and laughing!

I thought about the value of food and I thought about the activities I have enjoyed in Holland since I have been here. I even tried to remember that this is my project, and I shouldn't worry about if others will like it, but rather if I like it, or rather love it since I will be working on it for a couple months. And then it came to me.

I am going to brand a bakery! Suddenly, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. The nightmare in the back of my head disappeared, and a huge smile appeared on my face. Why had I not thought of this before? What a perfect way to hone up on my corporate identity and packaging skills!


And so the idea was born. I finally have a capstone, and it is one that I will truly enjoy. Thank you, Piet Mondrian - I salute you. Victory, victory - let's dance!

Victory Boogie Woogie, 1944

Learning from Failure

Over the past two weeks, I researched, documented and collected loads of laundry detergent bottles. I talked to biology professors and students about the effects of the detergent chemicals on the environment. I even talked to my advertising professor about designing for other cultures. It wasn't working out.

I had a great idea, but in reality, there wasn't a great way to execute it. After my advertising class on Monday, my professor and I sat down and talked about why designing for cultures no longer works as it used to. He said that as the world becomes flatter and flatter, the more this concept of cultural awareness in marketing diminishes. Of course, there are still minor differences. There are images that aren't culturally acceptable, and certain product attributes that some cultures like more than others, but when it comes down to it, if a business wants to sell its products in multiple countries, they are probably already a global company, and don't really need to change much about their brand.

So, I asked if I should lean more toward marketing a sustainability project. And then he explained and we agreed that you don't really want to market sustainability, but rather it should be a value that a company has for itself.

After our discussion, I raced home on my bike in the freezing cold and snow flurries, ran up the stairs of my dormitory, threw open the door to my room and sat at my desk in a crumpled ball with my head flat on my laptop. This can't be happening, I thought. This is capstone. How can I be in such a horrible lost mess at the end of November? What am I going to do?

I brainstormed for the next hour, went back to my sketchbook with my original list of product ideas and thought how I might be able to make something else work. By midnight I was still searching for a solution, but I thought it was best to rest my brain and sleep.

You might think it's odd that I am sharing my struggles with capstone, but I find it very fitting. This blog was created to show my process throughout my capstone. That includes the stress points. Great designs, like most things in life, don't always work out. And by George, sometimes you have to fail in order to learn and grow. Yes, my proposal turned out to be a total drop in the bucket, but I am glad I realized it now instead of next semester.

We are given such a huge amount of time to do capstone because good design takes time. Our professors know we are going to face many challenges (and that is partially why you should pick a capstone you love), and that in the end, our projects may be entirely different than we thought they would. And my capstone will be entirely different, because I am going to start fresh.

And you know what, I think it's a good thing.

Laundry-list

Lately I have been making "laundry-lists" rather than shopping-lists. Every time I make a run for errands, I bring my camera with me and document the packaging for every laundry detergent I can find.

I have come across some brands that we see in the United States, but also some container shapes that I haven't seen before. An interesting fact about doing laundry in Europe compared to the US is that Europe has many more setting options for washing clothes. You can choose from 4-5 different temperatures, and several types of wash cycles as well. You also have about 6 different dyer settings. Europeans think very highly in regards to saving energy and going green.

Of course, the packing is in Dutch, but I am not so bad at reading labels any more!

Robijn detergent in liquid form as opposed to powder

Generic brand detergent - quite simple

Again, generic, but this time for colors. The color choices are rather odd for the generic brands considering what the detergents are used for.

All sorts of different packaging. This is the type I have in my dorm. A lid on the top is used to measure the detergent. I got it for free but I hate the mess it makes!

This one looks familiar...

Another familiar face!

Crystals: an interesting concept. Kind of reminds me of dishwasher detergent.

Help, I Need Somebody!

One biology professor. One toxicology professor [who will be traveling to Central America this December]. One advertising professor [from Canada]. Two design professors [from the United States and Holland].

I am building my network of resources for my capstone. It think that I will have a nice variety of opinions as I begin to develop my brand, and that is reassuring.

Take Two

Finally, a decision has been made!

The Product: Laundry detergent

My choice for my project may not be the most interesting at face value, but I think that the idea behind it is interesting. I want to focus on laundry detergent, and considering cultures and sustainability, laundry detergent could pose many environmental questions. People need to wash their clothes (or maintain decent hygiene in general),but they use different methods of doing so based on where they are in the
world and even how their country views caring for the planet.

I would be interested in portraying how types of laundry detergent could be marketed in different cultures, and maybe also launching a plan for conservation. This would not only show my interests in culture, informational graphics and packaging, but it would also give me a chance to implement another interest, science, as I would have a small focus with the packing on the concern for phosphorous levels in detergents (these get into water systems and cause eutrophication; an overgrowth of algae).

The Next Step: More research

My professor in Leiden wants me to conduct a week or so of intensive research to make certain that this product will work as I try to portray difference in marketing for cultures. I think it will be fun to sneak through stores in Holland with my camera, but I am also anxious to begin the actual design work.

Critique #1

 "The secret of getting ahead is getting started..." Check.
"...The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." Oops.

Lately, my focus has been more on what countries I wanted to compare and what I could design than what I will actually be designing. I didn't even realize this until my critique.

I have been considering items that are practical and of value (based on need) in each culture. I have also been thinking of things I would be interested in designing labels, packaging, etc. for. My thoughts so far are shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, underwear, socks, paper, cooking utensils/plates and cups, lotion, towels/face wash, blankets, and hats. I really like the idea of soap or laundry detergent when we are talking about necessities - especially because they can be quite different for different cultures. I also like the idea of using something that has to do with food, like cooking utensils or plates, because it is something that everyone uses and something I am interested in (food). I have also considered working a sustainability component.

Starting now I must put my research on hold and focus on exactly what I am going to make!