Rubicon: Investigate. Ideate. Iterate.

•

Rubicon: Investigate. Ideate. Iterate

A Design Thinking Workshop for Graphic Design Students

Traditional methods of teaching are now constantly competing with a growing number of alternatives, from online video tutorials, blogs, and books. While these new methods have proven useful, there is one thing that they cannot replace:the lessons borne from human interaction.

Rubicon is a workshop and resource that helps design students with their creative process. It is a starting point and reference for them on their journey to discover their own personal way of designing and keeping creative. The philosophy and brand story behind Rubicon has been inspired by Charles Eames, who taught that design happens at the intersection of interests.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Brand Book

An in-depth, 72 page brand manual was created that includes information regarding the conference format and design, the proper use of brand materials, and their application, including stationery, promotional materials, photography, and conference colaterral.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Brand Application

With the standards established, the brand was applied across print and digital media. Conference colaterral were developed which would be given to students who participated in the workshop. These include a tote bag, a shirt, a notebook, personal name badges and four different sets of cards.

Three sets of cards have been developed as reference materials for students. These contain tips and techniques for different phases of the process: investigation (research), ideation (concept development), and iteration (design development and execution). A separate deck of cards, the Challenge Deck, have also been developed for students who are looking to push their design skills to the next level. These cards have different real world challenges that can be added as limitations to a project. They span from limiting the types of tools you may use, the kind of approaches you take to a project and the "real-world" requests from clients, like making logos bigger and finishing on super tight deadlines.

A website was created to be the centre point of a digital strategy for promoting the conference and getting people to sign-up. There are plans to expand the website to include digital versions of the resource cards that will be made available to participants.