[mirrored from my IMD blog - link]

I have not really been the best at keeping a blog of my Zoom phase, and if I’m being honest (which is really the only thing I should be doing here) I haven’t really got much to show.

With my concept constantly changing from day to day towards the end of last semester I found my initial plans for my Zoom phase beginning to disappear – to the point where come the hand in’s I really had no idea what I was going to focus intently on.

I still am not exactly what I shold be focussing on, but I think I have two options, or routes, to go down. My project will be a very technical project and as such will have certain limitations imposed on it by the hardware I have available. Perhaps I should concentrate on finding these limits and overcoming them. Option 1: develop the technical side of things – i.e: build dirty prototypes with a trial and error outlook.

On the other hand perhaps my project will be influenced by the cultural side of snowboarding; art, fashion, attitude, localisation, etc. Personal experience shows me that the visual side to the sport is almost as important to the technical side with enthusiasts often choosing their equipment based on how it looks or ‘goes wit’ their personal style. Option 2: spend time comapring the fashion and artistic sde of the sport. Attempt to determine if it’s appropriate to try and style this project as a fashion item or accessory – or, at the end of the day, is it always going to be a technical monstrosity?

I’m going to have to make a decision soon. And fast.