Our class project for the GDC involved highly collaborative brainstorming with the class and sub groups in order to identify challenges, goals, and solutions for the GDC. Our Shapers team had branched off once we identified the need for events to engage students with the GDC.  A challenge is that there are not enough design events to engage students with the GDC and what they offer. Specifically, for mentorship, students need more awareness and engagement in GDC’s mentorship program and there is a lack of 1:1 time with mentors.

Our team had 3 people (Sara N., Rachel and myself) in the group and we first brainstormed ideas with moodboards. We initially thought to do a conference that would attract students to showcase an art show or to do a hands-on technical conference (like a live skillshare). Based on the first round of feedback and consulting GDC’s Launch conference. We felt that it supported an identified gap for the GDC and as students, we felt that this solution is something we would attend.

The Shapers virtual meet up event will expose students to what the mentorship program is like so they are more likely to be engaged and sign up for the full-time mentorship program after the experience. It will be an annual, 1-day virtual meetup (live streamed) across GDC’s 9 chapters that connects students with mentors.  Mentors will share exclusive tips and stories on how to be a professional designer. The interactivity, personalized Q&A and takeaways would attract students because they can gain insight from top designers that they would not normally be connected to.

Our mocked up collateral consisted of a website, poster, lanyard swag bag, Instagram posts and volunteer t-shirts. The design was inspired by shape designs, “shapes being shaped”, using playful colours and is bold and eye catching. The copy is also playful (shaping you and shaping you into a well-rounded designer) to play into the visual design. Effort was taken into the logistics of the event and making sure this is communicated in the collateral.

To rate this project and my contribution to it, I would give us a 9. Our team was able to find the concept early so we had some extra time refining our content. My contributions was continually updating the main copy of the strategy, updating our presentations, the designs that fed into the collateral (people, city and hands) helping with the poster, design and mock up of the t-shirt, bag, notebook and Instagram. I applied what I learned from the previous group project in having a strong, supported concept so I helped push the adjusting of our direction so that the direction and design was more cohesive and supported.