When I first started working for Bays Consulting, the idea of working in a data-orientated company was, quite frankly, daunting. Growing up, I’d been fonder of the ‘arts’ subjects rather than any of the core STEM subjects, eventually going on to take History, Philosophy and Politics as A Levels and studying Media at University. Nevertheless, I was excited to step up to the challenge, doing what I love for a company based on an unfamiliar topic to me. Much to my joy, as time has passed, I’ve become more and more familiar with overlaps between the arts and science.
In terms of social media, it’s been important to keep an eye on the analytics from week-to-week to gauge which content is working and which content isn’t so effective. This has shown how important the numbers are, even to me in my seemingly ‘contrasting’ field of work. Getting to grips with using formula in excel spreadsheets for creating content calendars has also been important (and something I am continuing to try and get my head around!)
Noticing the overlaps between the arts and science in work led me to also think about where, elsewhere, there are overlaps. Last summer, I visited an awesome exhibition in Singapore called ‘Future World: Where Art Meets Science’. It was an eye-opener to the amazing work that can be created when art meets science. The exhibition featured multiple digital, interactive installations. One of my favourite installations would have to be the ‘Universe of Water Particles, Transcending Boundaries’ installation. It represented the power of nature in a beautiful art form and, with the help of scientific technologies, had an incredible interactive feature; the physical presence of a person causes the water to flow around them.
Much to my excitement, this term at University, I’ve had the opportunity to take a ‘Creative Audiovisual Coding’ module. In short, this involves using code to produce a creative piece, for instance, an interactive game or a sound piece. I knew it would be a challenge taking this module and getting to grips with the maths it involves. Although at times it can be frustrating it’s also been the most satisfying thing ever! Finding the patterns in the code and then creating something colourful, fun, and most importantly, something I am proud of. I look forward to getting stuck in with this as the term progresses. I hope to blog my progress with this. Keep your eyes peeled for another blog coming soon.
Abbie Jenkins