On Wednesday 4th August 2021, Company Concentric hosted its second roundtable of a series of 10. This month, we explored Designing your Digital Content from the position of being a creative artist. We welcomed experienced designers (including our guest contributor, freelancer Liz Jacobs and Bernardo Quieros from Diagonal Dance) alongside artists seeking to learn more about digital content creation.
You
Recently, Yanaëlle and I have been reflecting on the importance of placing value on yourself and your story. There are so many varied resources when it comes to digital content that it is easy to forget that you are the primary source. With a wealth of ‘rules’ and set procedures for marketing and communication, it can feel as though you are just following a formula alongside everyone else.
During the roundtable we discussed how to shift this mindset. At the core of our creative practices, there is belief in our individual value and worth. We can cultivate the same meaningful agenda when we design our digital content by understanding our values and vision first and foremost. As creatives, we aren’t selling a product – we are offering an experience, a connection, an emotion, an escape or a confrontation.
We agreed that taking time to evaluate your story and values (personal and professional), create a manifesto and summarise your company or project in varying lengths could result in increased and valuable clarity.
Reflections
Over the course of the event, we covered practical challenges and questions that arise such as: is my content clear and concise? Is it accessible? What is my role and what is the role of the graphic designer I have hired?
A lot of the information was generously shared by the participants themselves, blending in with advice from Liz through an extremely active chat box and lively interjections. It was great to see participants share their knowledge with others – one of our favourite aspects of the roundtables is the way that people with all sorts of experience and interests gather and engage with each other.
The most interesting point that stood out to me in this roundtable was the idea that taking ownership of your digital content could really connect others to your creative output. Our creativity and personality can be extended beyond the scope of our work to touch the way we market ourselves and engage with our communities.
Mikaela Livadiotis