AMFI (Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences)
In the second half of the propaedeutic year, the Branding major kicks off with the Lab Worldbuilding. I developed this module in collaboration with two colleagues, in both Dutch and English. In language and imagery, students sketch a complete world in which their brand can play a role. They research into target groups and tone of voice, and they are introduced to storytelling. The lab thus offers an ideal mix of creative and professional writing. Students are lured out of their comfort zone, play with language and ‘build’ a convincing and original world in just a few weeks. Lots of feedback, both from teacher and peers helps to take ‘ugly first drafts’* to the next level. The final product is a full-colour, double-sided folding poster in A1-format, printed on both sides with an amalgam of text and images in an attractive layout. Students discover that these elements reinforce each other and that anyone can write. Evidence of this can be found in these appealing examples.
* The ‘ugly first draft’ is a real buzzword in my writing classes. Students are encouraged to turn off their internal critical co-reader when writing a first draft, which can be ‘ugly’, full of crooked sentences, half-finished thoughts and (spelling) errors. This gives the author the freedom to experiment. Critical thinking skills will play their role in later versions.
Worldbuilding Labs AMFI examples
