Processing Ideas  

During the course BCM114, I will be creating a digital artefact in a group of friends, Olivia Adams and Ashleigh McMurdo, which will require a lot of brainstorming on our part to come up with the best fitting artefact! So, we currently have three different ideas, which could be explored further and spread to multiple platforms.

The ideas are:

1. Illawarra Hiking:

The first idea we had was to do a hiking Facebook page with reviews of different hiking spots. This would include video footage of the hike itself and then an Instagram page with photos of the hikes, trail maps and views. An example of the possibility of what the Instagram page would look like is show below in regards to the saddleback mountain track I did on the weekend.

2. Netflix

The second idea we had was to do honest Netflix reviews on a YouTube channel. This would be weekly reviews of all genres, especially ones that aren’t particularly popular. This would have the structure of an overview of the show, then each of our opinions, what we liked about it/what we disliked about it etc. We want it to be funny so it would be more of a comedic way of responding to series.

3. Wollongong on a uni budget

The final idea was doing Wollongong on a uni budget. This would include two different platforms, Instagram and YouTube. Firstly, the Instagram page would have three posts per location. One photo would be the original food/drink item with a review of the taste, the ingredients to recreate it and then a picture of the recreation with a link to the YouTube video. The YouTube videos would be similar to Buzzfeed Tasty where it shows what goes into it and we would also give the price of all the ingredients and edit all the videos ourselves. An example below is a screen shot of the kind of idea we were thinking, using mushroom toast from Queen Street Eatery, that I had earlier in the week!

FINAL IDEA: Textbook Recipes

Having had a serious thought about the Digital Artefact Starter by Travis Wall, particularly with regards to my interests, skills, experiences and knowledge and the fact that it should address some sort of problem, the group has decided to do Wollongong restaurants done on a uni budget would be the most interesting idea to put forward. This has multiple mediums and also helps uni students – which are of plenty in Wollongong – to budget better. Being uni students ourselves and knowing that this is often a problem for students, this will also benefit us.

Simplicity Cycle

Before I get started, I wanted to briefly discuss the usefulness of the simplicity cycle, and its ability to break down concepts of an idea. So, we have started with the region simplistic whereby the idea was put forth to have a Wollongong uni budget. The region of complex, was the development of Instagram base and editing videos etc. Then hopefully we are back to the region of simple whereby the complexities have surpassed. Although we have expanded upon the original idea it is done in a way that is interconnected and with three people can be made to be simplistic yet effective.

Breakdown of ideas

Tite:

Textbook Recipes

Background:

As shown above, we have taken a while to process the type of Digital Artefact that we would want to create, with the strong belief it should be the one that interests all three of us the most, and benefits the community we live in. As we have all lived out of home for over 18 months, we all have had to think of how to budget with food, whilst also enjoying what Wollongong has to offer overall. All students lust after great food quality, and we would like to show people in similar financial situations to us, how to make restaurant quality food on a budget.

Concept:

So, our basic aim with what we’ve seen in the areas of cooking and eating out, we’ve noticed realistically people like a balance of the two but maybe don’t know where the best spots are or don’t really have all that much experience with cooking meals for themselves. We’ve had a chat to many of our friends and flat mates in the same position. Essentially, we have found by creating a YouTube channel and Instagram around the problem of budgeting/not knowing exactly where is good to eat, can be combined to help uni students navigate their way through Wollongong, both enjoying eating out and also cooking easy meals at home as an equivalent!

Methodology

1. The three of us will visit popular restaurants around the Wollongong area and order a great items off the menu.
2. We will recreate the restaurant meals on a budget by using groceries from local sources
3. YOUTUBE: We will then film ourselves making this item and create a vlog from content filmed. The vlog will be posted on youtube. This vlog will be promoted via Twitter and Instagram.
4. INSTAGRAM: First post will be a photo and review of the restaurant’s version of the meal. Second post will be a snippet of the process of us recreating the meal. Third post will be our finished product with an analysis of whether the meal is worth making.

Utility:

Our platforms will be relevant to Wollongong uni students, as it helps with their cooking skills both nutritionally and cheaply. With many cooking Youtube videos and Instagrams, some of the food is just not realistic budgeted, easy meals, this provides the perfect opportunity for us to give uni students ideas in an accessible way. It is also relevant to us as we are also uni students, so we know what it is like to be stuck on a budget and unsure of what to cook for (often) one person.

The Future

So we’ve made an Instagram and YouTube account and our current plan is to go to Opus this week, then recreate and film their Benni Bagel after! We have made a brainstorm of the possible locations and also plan to ask people their opinions as well.

So that’s basically an overview of the current stage we are at – I can’t wait to get stuck onto the PROTYPING stage!