“the new BAU house!”
All about the Business As Usual, house of cards.

BUSINESS AS USUAL, is a non-commercial arts project, developed from a series of seven art collectable cards. Each card explores the parameters of identity as defined through our generic job titles, investigating the cultural language and the ritual exchange of the business card. This series is limited to 200 complete sets and 100 individual art cards, a total of 2100 physical pieces in circulation, with an unlimited download access to the original PDF files for adaptation and subsequent dissemination.

From industrial to scientific processes, the previous century bore logic to bespoke career specialisms lending itself to the phrase, "jack of all trades and master of none". In the digital economy, with the advent of hot desking, remote working, outsourcing, viral networking and increased mass public access to information via the internet, gaining knowledge and understanding across a range of disciplines is paramount in everyday communications. The dot com boom was shrouded in modern alchemy, web developers and (misguided) investors, created a hyper-inflated economy, with consumers locked into proprietary software solutions by the new personable faced corporations. In these situations, a friend and a little bit of jargon busting can go a long way.

In education, with increasing numbers of students entering into undergraduate study and higher degrees, it is essential that our orientation to learning is geared towards developing transferable skills through deep and independent learning, equipping our graduates with the said necessary tools to be able to evolve and find their place within the world of work.

The concept for the project began 3 years ago when I produced a introductory name card in an attempt shift the focus of my acquired name oZ to that of my given name of David. The situation became heightened when a close colleague introduced me in conversation as "davoz", a name reminiscent of the leader or the Daleks, from the BBC's Dr Who.

My obsession with Be@rbricks, the small plastic designer collectable toys from Japanese toymakers Kubrick, have given inspiration to the development of the series 1 characters. Each providing a basic framework or shape to explore a diverse range of personality types and known identities. Series 1 consists of the following characters:
generic (david), musician (oZ), artist (claire), educator (joe) and designer (boo); alongside 2 special project cards, that relate directly to my ball works and ice films. Already we hear that Series 2 is in production and will be released soon.

The most important aspect of the BUSINESS AS USUAL project is you!

This website is being developed to showcase your interpretation and creative responses to the project. Return your own designs, (or adapt and return the originals, from series1), of artworks that expand the possibilities of the business card as an expressive medium. This could be an opportunity to show all your hidden sides, let out the demons, evaluate your own self-image and exercise the ghosts of your personality in the BUSINESS AS USUAL hall of fame.

David Osbaldestin, Autumn 2005.