Part 1 – “The Pressure”
As we’ve discussed in the past, an integral part of the work culture at Obsidian Learning is involvement in various forms of volunteerism. Continuing Obsidian Learning’s tradition of putting our skills to work for non-profit organizations, a team of Obsidian employees has recently been collaborating on a communications project for Social Motion Skills, a Houston-based organization that helps craft solutions for families dealing with autism, ADHD, and other similar social challenges.
Late last year a group of Obsidian employees volunteered at an associated organization, Aspire Accessories, so we were already somewhat familiar with the aims of Social Motion Skills and the exceptional services it provides. As we’ve spent more time at their offices over the past few weeks, meeting with their team members and strategists and a number of the young people that benefit from their programs, our determination to produce a high quality and impactful deliverable has increased exponentially. We really want to get this right.</p>
Our current project goal is the production of an E-clip – a short video that combines educational and promotional elements – that tells the story of why Social Motion Skills was founded, how it helps families with autistic and socially challenged kids navigate their specific challenges, and, most importantly in my view, how this organization guides these children and young adults toward reaching their full potential.
Up to a point, we’ve followed a classic development process; we determined who would be on the design team, had a kick-off meeting, met with our subject matter experts (notably, Wendy Dawson, Director and founder of Social Motion Skills …and, of course, the kids!), and started brainstorming on how we could best represent the organization and its goals.
As the project takes shape, I’ll keep you posted on our progress, any challenges we might need to overcome, and eventually, we’ll show you the final product. With a talented learning strategist at the helm (Lubos Janoska) and two crazy creative graphic designers (Tim Spencer and Rick Carruth) on the project team, and with the additional motivation of really, really wanting to create a deliverable that will do justice to the outstanding work being done at Social Motion Skills, I have no doubt that we’ll be producing something that Obsidian Learning will be proud to share.
This blog post is part of a series. Continue to Part 2
