This week was essentially a review and a chance to check what needs to be done in the next couple of weeks. Next week this blog as with all of the blogs are are assessed.
Group Exercise
Detail
Research
Video
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Images
This is the updated plan of our groups requirements for the student exhibition.
This finished article being modelled by a friend. This is Cherill's design.
Reflection
'Pants' is a word I exclaim when under pressure or just plain old too drunk. I am guessing for myself that this is a reference to some form of finality. I am a somnambulist and often these exclamations correspond with their events (I walk and talk about my pants in my sleep). Of course I walk and talk about many other things, but for the most part I am generally angry and unlikable. I wish I was funny like Sleep Talking Man.
Covered today was the the tenth law 'The One' from John Maeda's book 'The laws of Simplicity. Cherill, Katelyn and I also plan to begin work on the pin board of materials from our creative process which will accompany our work for the student exhibition.
Group Exercise
Reading Quiz
Answer the following questions as succinctly as possible in your own words 10 mins: Cut & paste into your blog and start answers / 10 mins: Open discussion
What does Maeda call the 3 keys? - Away, Open & Power.
Describe how you have used these in your work towards student exhibition? Give at least one example of each key. - By moving away from each of my designs I have been able to view their effectiveness more accurately. Maintaining an open line of communication with my co-conspirators has benefited the project. Simplification and the ideal of using less have been a focus of our group throughout our design process.
Describe an incident in the production of the student exhibition where technology has been an enabler.... and another where it has been a disabler! - Most certainly the production of designs which adhere to a defined template is an example where the technology has been an enabler. Using the machines in this lab where they are running an earlier version of the Adobe programs compared to the other labs and my machine at home is an example of the technology becoming a disabler.
At this stage in the exhibition process you are all working on some element or process for the big event. List 3 things (in your current project) that you could take away to simplify and one thing you could add for meaning. - We could reduce the number of designs. I could not exhibit my 'steampunk monitor' to give a more cohesive feel to my body of work as a whole. I could relent from building my own portfolio site and use a Wordpress template. We are actually adding something for extra meaning being the pin board of our creative process.
Research
Video
The reading this mentioned open source software and APIs in reference to openness encouraging simplicity. This video is a great example of the use of open source software being Blender used in combination with crowd sourced funding. Found this via an RSS from Gadgetose.
Images
This is a bit for fun, work done by a recently graduated design student from the University of Cumbria, Gary Nicholson. This came in via RSS from My Modern Met.
Reflection
Some of the class today was spent discussing the layout of the exhibition space, we also went down to the space for a look. With the planning that our group had put in previously it was simply a matter of choosing the spot for us. Having this discussion gave the project and in fact the whole course a firmer sense of reality. All is looking good at the moment as we spiral into the final four weeks. Cherill and I have a clear understanding of what is required and how we are going to get there.
This weeks class was concerned with reflecting and acknowledging failure within the design process. The Maeda reading also looked at finding a 'return on failure'.
Group Exercise
Discussion
Discuss these questions in relation to a group creating a design in collaboration
What are the 3 best things about your efforts for this year’s exhibition? - My engagement, cooperation and articulation.
Did you manage time well? - Mostly
Did you manage materials well i.e. test prototypes? - Yes
Have you researched installation methods? - Yes
Have you made a shortlist of the essentials for the last WEEK? - Yes
Have you made a shortlist of the essentials for the last DAY? - Not yet, waiting for the contingencies to kick in.
Failure
In regard to creative collaboration & the exhibition discuss these questions - write a paragraph on each and use examples;
List and describe 2 areas of failure in your preparation for the exhibition - I have been a little unreliable in that I have missed a couple of arranged meetings with my conspirators. The computer in front of me failed in that it is a public computer with CS3 installed, when I had created my design in CS5.
Describe how you could realistically improve on this next time you exhibit. - Better time management. The development of a timeline at an early stage would certainly assist with this. I have been getting more organised and this course has in some ways forced the issue.
Research
Video
It fairly straight forward what is going on with this video 'Famous Failures'.
Images
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Reflection
Failure should be allowed for in the design process, even embraced. The allowance of contingencies for time or to create alternatives would be the most obvious, this is effective time management of failure. The less obvious up side to failure is where the failure of a concept within a particular project does not mean it will fail in another project.
Todays class was concerned with the ninth chapter 'Failure' from Maeda's 'The Laws of Simplicity'.
Group Exercise
Reading Quiz
Answer the following questions as succinctly as possible in your own words;
Using this years exhibition as an example, describe an aspect of your work or something you have worked on, where you have found a symbiotic relationship that is both complexity and simplicity. - I really see this type of relationship occurring throughout my creative process, but if I had to pick one aspect I would say the collaborative process has embodied this notion the most obviously.
Provide a conceptual example of a situation that has arisen during this project where you have had a return on failure? - A return on failure occured when the relatively simple first pattern design was simply not working. The alternative required the addition of pleats effectively making the design more complex.
Homework: Provide a short explanation and example of how FAILURE can be turned around using the law LEARN. Describe how this relates to the TIME law. - A failure always leads to an investigation of how it happened. This investigation invariably leads to an increase in knowledge, a key aspect of the law 'Learn'. This process has a knock on effect with the 'Time' law. A well planned creative process will include an allowance for contingencies.
Research
Video
Insert video and comment
Images
The final product of the helmet cover project.
Reflection
Failure is an opportunity to find a better way, which is my optimism talking. This is Maeda's mode of thought when he talks about finding a return on failure.
Todays class looked at the advantages and disadvantages of making comparisons.
Group Exercise
Discussion - Reflection
Discuss these questions in relation to a group creating a design in collaboration;
What is the difference between reflection and criticism? - Both enter into a discourse about the given topic. Reflection has positive connotations and I would say is more introspective. Criticism carries a negative implication and implies an external source.
Can you reflect while you are designing? - Yes and it is important to do so.
Do you set aside time for reflection? - Indirectly. When something is not feeling quite right.
Do you make notes on your reflections? - Absolutely.
When is the best time to reflect? - Throughout the design process.
Do you compare your work to work by your heroes? - Yes.
How do you benefit by comparison? - Definition leads to knowledge. Knowledge is power.
What can be a disadvantage of comparison? - Unreasonable or unbalanced comparisons could lead to false conclusions.
Task 2 - Moving On / Encouraging solutions
In regard to creative collaboration: discuss these questions - write a paragraph on each and use examples;
Are you brave enough to move on and adopt new and unexpected ideas? - Yes, the collaborative work completed as a part of this unit is a good example. When I began this course I, like most people, had preconceived ideas about the what I was going to create. The basics like a portfolio, website and a personal branding could be taken as a given. As for individual projects I approached the course with an open mind, but a cover for bicycle helmets? I really did not see that one coming.
Describe how you have encouraged others with a solution to their design problems - Here are some of my pearls of wisdom that I have shared with others over the course of the semester; 'What matters in the end, is that you are happy to put this design forward as your work', 'When I am designing something, I ask myself would I buy this, eat this, wear this, talk about this, etc.', 'Imagine yourself from the perspective of your target audience, sure a ten year old boy may be a little difficult, not to mention creepy, but...' and 'You are so doing it wrong'.
Research
Video
Found this while looking for something else and decided that I just needed to post it somewhere. Enjoy.
Images
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Reflection
I think overall I am a good person to work with collaboratively, particularly in the discussion, reflection and criticism areas. I also have an ability to lighten the mood, which I think of as having the effect of greasing the wheel (although I am kind of mixing my metaphors here). I just know from my perspective that I feel more creatively engaged if I am enjoying the process.
Todays lesson was about chapter 8 'Trust' of John Maeda's book 'The Laws of Simplicity'. Although it may seem like they do sometimes to our little squishy brains, computers do not 'guess' as he suggests, they simply 'do' based on a predetermined set of parameters.
Group Exercise
Reading Quiz
Answer the following questions as succinctly as possible in your own words.
Provide an example of a situation where you have to have trust – in the same vein as the author in his swimming lesson example. What made you trust in this situation and how did you feel? - I learnt how to drive in 2011, previously I cycled everywhere. When I drive a car I feel that I am giving an amount of trust to the vehicle and further to the other motorists with which I share the road. A vehicle is a complicated mechanism and when I operate one I am trusting that it will perform as expected. Beyond knowing how to operate it, I have little knowledge of how a vehicle actually works.
Where in our exhibition do we need to instill trust? Give examples. How are we going to achieve this? - In an exhibition such as this we need to trust our peers as it is with them we are collaborating.
What strategies are used to instill trust? Examples? Where do we need to employ this in this year’s exhibition? How are we going to do this?
If you could “undo” any aspect of the preparation for the exhibition to-date, what would you “undo”? With this in mind, what would would you change now in your preparation strategy to overcome having to “undo” anything? - Wow, that is one convoluted question. Basically you are asking; how would I 'undo' a preparation decision and at the same time avoid changing this decision. There is also a typo in the question where the word 'would' is repeated.
Homework: How are you using the laws in relation to your contribution to the student exhibition? Provide a short explanation and example for each of the laws so far. - so we have this text about simplicity from which you have again extracted complicated questions. I can understand for the most part why you have done this as it is exemplified in Meada's fourth law 'Learn' (particularly the repeat aspect), but honestly this is getting tiresome. 'Reduce' - we have reduced the number of deigns that we are printing. 'Organise' - we have created a timeline. 'Time' - we have organised our time. 'Learn' - we have learnt stuff from our research. 'Differences' - we have researched different fabrics and printing techniques. 'Context' - we have shifted our focus to adult consumers. 'Emotion' - we have used emotive designs. 'Trust' - Cherill and I trust one another.
Research
Video
I do not really have a tangible link between this video and this weeks topic. I am posting it because it is pretty and was created by a recently graduated design student, Kyle Mowat from Canada's Sheridan college. This came in via an RSS from The Fox is Black
Images
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Reflection
I would never say that my computer 'guessed' anything. It would probably annoy me if started doing so and prompt me to investigate in order to put a stop to its presumptuousness (wow, that's a hell of a word). My computer does happily surprise me, but only when it performs a predetermined action that I had forgotten that I had told it to execute.
