A Curated Comeback
With so much talk about what return-to-work post-COVID looks like, we have been thinking a lot about what it will mean for us here at Forward. We hear banter about how many days in the office are necessary, how close the desks should be, where can we eat, how do we meet and the like. It all is under the guise of getting “back to normal”.
What is “normal”, anyway?
Normal… hmmm. We aren’t sure that’s the right goal, or the right set of questions. Here at Forward, we are looking to curate how we move forward. Over this past year, we have all been through a lot. And, during this time we have found new ways to get our work done, to spend our time and to think of solutions within this new framework. We’d like to take some of these solutions and make them our new “normal”!
Creating space
We have found ourselves asking new questions and sometimes harder questions. Instead of our usual check-in meetings with our clients, we want to be more thoughtful about how we spend that time. Ask what the objective of the meeting is, ask who can be present and if there are any stakeholders missing from the discussion. Our process has always begun with research, but our approach to getting that base of information is changing.
We believe that asking the harder questions up front will help us find a better solution sooner. For example, are the right people in the room? Are we looking at the whole picture or just the logo? How does this project fit into the larger ecosystem of your brand? Is the messaging empathetic to your community that you serve?
As designers, it is our job to find creative ways to accomplish something. Asking these questions up front help, but we all know there are many solutions for the same job. So, the more we think about it, why is the goal of to get back to normal and not to create a world that is more empathetic and equitable for all? The “normal” of before-times didn’t work for everyone in our society so why go back to that? We all need to do Our Share moving forward.
“We are excited to be part of the solution to help bring change to our surroundings. Hopefully.”
A thoughtful approach
With all the talk about pivoting and responding there was also the pace of our work that changed. Because we had to be more aware of everyone’s availability, we found our work less reactionary and more thoughtfully executed. Having space to think through things ultimately streamlines what our work needs to look like and do. This is something we plan to keep as we curate our process forward.
A look inward and doing our part
COVID highlighted the inequities in our community, in our nation and in the world. We all saw it. It was a time for learning and adapting to things as they came. We found time to connect with other designers, writers, producers and share what we were doing. Making the time to learn and listen.
Over the past 25 years, Forward has developed relationships with vendors. We have long had our favorite go-to-resources for stock art, photographers, trusted printers, writers and developers. It’s a good time to cast a broader net, look at new resources to enrich our designs for our clients.
What’s next?
Here at Forward, we have a new energy to design a new future and to find new ways to adapt while staying grounded. We believe our world has changed and hopefully for the better. That is what our covid year has taught us.
What did it teach you?