The Big Idea
Random Blends in any edition is to me, a showcase and celebration of students' works and ideas.
Also, being a Communications and New Media (CNM) exhibition, I would want to nail down the essence of the discipline Random Blends is exhibiting first. So, a quick search on the Internet reveals that Communication is:
the meaningful exchange of information between two or more living creatures.
-Wikipedia
while New Media is:
on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, and creative participation.
-Wikipedia
Thus, Communications and New Media is broadly, meaningful exchanges of information through creative participation. Interaction, by far, captures the essence of that meaning.
Coupled with the fact that the theme for this year's Random Blends is Calibr8, holding notions of reassessment and renegotiation, this further epitomises the importance of interactivity. With interactivity, we have engagement, which translates to stimulation of thoughts and finally a reassessment of the audiences' preconceived notions of CNM.
Therefore, my Big Idea for Random Blends would be:
Random Blends 2014 invites visitors to partake in the showcase and celebration of National University of Singapore's Communication and Media students' works and ideas through direct and indirect interactions with the exhibits and fellow visitors.
I chose the word 'partake' to bring about a sense of involvement for the visitors while explicitly mentioning the way to be involved (through interaction with the works and other visitors). I also explicitly mentioned the discipline involved in Random Blends to prime visitors of what kind of exhibits they would see. Lastly, I used the word 'celebration' to condition visitors' mood and spontaneity (You often want to have fun and are seldom serious during celebrations).
I left out the purpose of 'calibrating' visitors' notions of CNM and what not as I feel that this is something intrinsic and a natural process that visitors will do when interacting and doing self-evaluation.
I think this sufficiently embodies the meaning of CNM and also the purpose of Random Blends.
