It’s the Monday of Week 4 of the Development Practice module, meaning we’re almost a third of the way through study block 1 out of 6 of the entire MA. (Where. Did. The time. Go. ?)
On Wednesday, we’ll find out the theme for our first rapid ideation sprint. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll create the prototype of an artefact of our choosing, using the ideation and prototyping techniques we’ve been practising throughout the module so far.
I won't lie, I had a bit of a meltdown about this this weekend. I’ve been loving the course so far, and the amount of freedom we have to take the weekly challenge activities in whatever direction we want depending on our own interests and aspirations. But this week feels like a lot – coming up with an original design idea and making a functional prototype for it in just two weeks, on top of full-time job, on top of generally dealing with life, the universe, and everything. (Just typing that made me shudder a little bit.)
One of the things I’ve been worrying about is the amount and type of material I’ve been reading and writing for the course so far. My ‘perfectionist brain’ has been telling me that I’m not ‘reading enough’, or ‘being academic enough’, or ‘having good enough ideas’, or ‘absorbing the information well enough’.
I find it hard to pull myself out of this type of thinking, but I did find that getting up from my laptop and doing something completely different this weekend made a big difference. My 'different thing' of choice: watching the new Buzz Lightyear film at the cinema. It was pure nostalgia and escapism – good, wholesome fun, some emotional moments, and a welcome reminder that it’s okay to go out and enjoy yourself when you need to rather than sitting alone and feeling trapped in your own head.
This is where the Pixar magic bit comes in too: seeing the film reminded me of a book I came across a few months ago called Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films by screenwriter Dean Movshovitz. Essentially, the book examines and distils the elements of Pixar films that make them so appealing to adults and children alike, from choosing an idea, to creating compelling characters audiences can genuinely empathise with.
I started the book over the weekend as a nice, gentle read, without the intention of learning anything specific, more just out of curiosity. I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of times a concept related to storytelling has jumped out at me from a UX perspective. For example, creating characters with real opinions and passions that are rooted in their own lived (and often painful) experiences is very similar to the kinds of things it’s important to consider and include when creating user personas. And sticking to the core essence of your story, ‘mercilessly pruning’ anything that isn’t relevant to driving the plot forward, is similar to ensuring that scope creep doesn’t knock your product vision off course.
I probably wouldn’t have even thought about picking that book up if I hadn’t stepped away from my laptop and gone on an adventure with Buzz Lightyear and his friends last Saturday evening.
I think the main things I’m trying to say with this post are that:
1. It’s okay to have a wobble.
2. It’s okay to give yourself a break, cut yourself some slack, and do things that allow your brain and heart to refresh and recover.
3. Inspiration can strike at any time, any place, and that is a lovely thing.
References
MOVSHOVITZ, Dean. 2015. Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films. Bloop Animation.
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