As a final year graphic design student, it’s my responsibility to devise a self directed project to work on throughout the year. As part of the Argosy collective, I have chosen to work with one of our rich; yet erratic archives - the corner shop records boxes.
One of the biggest roadblocks I have faced with this project is ‘how do I make it commercial?’. This could very easily have become a research heavy, academia focussed project. But I want more out of it. I think the archive offers us the opportunity to explore what we have lost from a pre digital society. Print imperfections, tactile design engagement, a care free tone of voice, lettering, illustration these are all things considered a luxury in design and brand engagement, yet in the 50’s and 60’s, most of these things were a functional requirement.
I plan to catalogue the archive as part of my research, photographing it, analysing it, deconstructing the narrative, and trying to gleam different insights from it. This will form the basis of my project, where I’m considering creating a design project that comes from a brand strategy point of view. Informing and inspiring future brands and industry professionals to consider our pre digital history, and what we can learn from looking back to that time period.
