Ya know, I've been thinking lately that my portfolio is weaksauce. Maybe not weak, but... it could be better (couldn't everything?).
So I've been mulling this idea in my head of something to help keep my creative juices flowing. Because sitting here isn't getting it done. I want to create something that will provide potentially infinite possibilities for side projects to help pad my portfolio. What I'm about to detail is my idea for
The Ideator.
I'll let that sink in for a second. Or at least leave you in suspense.
The Ideator would be a Flash-based application (because Flash is what I know best) that would generate design projects from a few lists of criteria. For example, the general format may be something like,
"Create a logo for a ___________ business. It must be ___________ and ___________."
Possibilities could include a logo for a plumbing business that must be a logotype/wordmark and in the International Typographic Design style. Or a logo for a postal courier in the Bauhaus style that appeals to millennials... I dunno...
They wouldn't all make sense, but they wouldn't necessarily need to. It would really be an exercise in creative thinking and problem solving; finding unique solutions to difficult design problems. Some cool things would definitely come out of it. And they wouldn't be limited to logos; it could include entire marketing campaigns.
One of the biggest things driving me to this idea is the fact that you very rarely get to choose your clients. If I want to bolster my portfolio, why should I limit myself by only showcasing my abilities on projects I'm interested in? There should be some combination that has me designing a poster for a Twilight convention.
I loathe Twilight.
But that's all the more reason to include it among the possibilities The Ideator could produce. It would prepare me (or any designer) to work on projects they may not be interested in, or even outright hate.
Right now, it's just in sketching/planning. But I really think this should happen.
