Design Project 2 - Other Groups

(Losing Individuality)

This teams idea was that in the future we all lose our individuality and identities. We had no more personality and no more thoughts or feelings. I found this skit very engaging and interesting. The way it was acted out was immersive and communicated their ideas very well. However, I found the sound effects and electronic visuals the group used to be a bit jarring which made me slightly uncomfortable.

(Altering Genes for Custom Babies)

This group did a skit on how in the future babies would be 'manufactured' to the parents specifications for a fee instead of by natural breeding. All in all, I found this presentation fun and interesting. On the other hand, it really felt like I was watching a comedy show where nothing was serious and everyone was just goofing off. I think that that really detracted from the experience and communicating the idea.

Design Project 2 - Final

For our presentation we decided to go with a talk show about how ecosystems are developing in cities and cannot survive without a functioning urban environment. Our talk show revolved around the issue of the crow and how it is becoming smarter, larger and more aggressive. I was the talk show host, which I think really suited my persona, and as an added bonus I got to do a silly dance.

(Our Basic Script)

We decided to do our talk show through a very basic script so that it wouldn't seem too rehearsed as talk shows and debates usually are not rehearsed. This worked well and we practiced together to make sure we all understood what was going on at all times.

At one point during out presentation there was a technical glitch where the music for the start of the debate replayed itself. During this time I quickly improvised and started dancing again, when the music stopped I added in a quick line about how the show host loves to dance.

In our presentation, we only had 4 visuals. A title slide, two ecosystem pictures, and a graph of crow growth compared to human size. I think that these sufficiently got our idea and concept across when combined with the talk show. I also felt that our talk show was engaging for the audience to watch.

Design Project 2 - Plan

After thinking over our themes for a night, we finally decided to stick with natural ecosystems evolving to become native to cities and other urban environments.

(Plan One)

At first we felt like we should do a normal presentation with a powerpoint as it would be easier to get our theme across. During this time we were also thinking about whether we wanted it to be a Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi etc. We settled on slightly comedic documentary. The picture above shows how our first plan was going to communicate our idea.

(Plan Two)

We then thought about how we could simplify this idea and get it across easier. We decided to take out the story board from plan one and add in how humans would be affected by the adaptation of these animals to the urban environment. 

(Plan Three)

After plan two, we thought some more and decided we would need to be more specific. To get our point across we would have to focus mainly on one animal to emphasize how much can change. We also thought of ways it could affect humans and different ways the animals could adapt. We thought about using a sugar glider as the example, but then decided to change it to a crow.

(Plan Four)

In our last recreation of the plan, we decided we would change to a talk show to communicate our idea. The talk show would include each member of the group acting as a different party and their opinions on the crows that have been living in the cities.

Recreating our plan multiple times allowed us to see how our ideas could be communicated in different ways and analyze which way was the best and most engaging way that would keep our audiences' interest.

Design Project 2 - Themes

To prepare for Project 2, our group decided to just throw ideas at each other for an afternoon trying to come up with concepts that we had not heard of before. These ranged from zombie apocalypses to food becoming pills. We then stopped on a concept to do with animals. We weren't too sure where we wanted to take it though. We thought about genetic mutation, natural evolution, adaptation and much more. We also had to think about how it would affect humans and the environment.

These are all the themes we came up with. They span from power, brainwashing and fashion to medicine, food and war. Brainstorm like this allowed us to combine ideas and think of new original concepts.

Design Project 1 - Other Groups

A lot of other groups had interesting concepts; However, some of their meanings were lost on me and I was confused as how they pertained to lightness.

Unfortunately, with this group I was absolutely lost in what their idea was. To me all I gathered from it was that there is a tree-house in a tree with a hammock. I don't understand how there is lightness in this concept other than that the model would be off the ground. Perhaps it may be too literal or they may have stayed from the theme.

This version of a tree-house also loses me in where the concept of light comes in. Perhaps they were going with Trees are growth and growth is life and life is light? I'm not sure, however; I do like their concept drawing and how it would be interactive in that children and people would be able to get inside.

I understand more about this groups concept than the previous ones. I can understand where the light is coming from and the idea behind it. I also find the visuals on the page to be very useful in imagining and visualizing their structure.

I feel that this group was far too literal in their take of enlightenment and went too far with the religion theme, deviating from light too much. It is clear where their concept originated from, but again I feel it is far too literal. It could also possibly be offensive to those walking through the botanical gardens.

This poster shows that light is knowledge and the concept of growth from the tree. On the other hand, I feel as if the poster is far too detailed with too much information that is not visually represented, and the sculpture/model itself is not clear. Perhaps they should have spent more time visualizing than writing.

This group did a good job in representing their sculpture, however the poster really lacks detail or any "umph" so to speak. I do like the concept of using natural light to create a shadow in the form of a student using a tree shape. I don't understand how Light is Life relates to a student or a human holding a diploma though.

Design Project 1 - Final

For our final concept we decided to go with the idea of light-hearted-ness, which represented playfulness, purity and happiness. We took this concept further to the meaning of inner-child. The middle of the sculpture is open and light is streaming out as if the sculpture was tearing at the seams where the inner-child is trying to break through. The inspiration for the aesthetic we were going for in the wood was brought from Henry Moore in one of his London exhibitions.

(Henry Moore's Sculpture)

Our sculpture would be hung on a branch to represent playfulness. We were also worried that the shape of the sculpture would appear morbid and dead, so wcidede de to add a smile onto the face instead of leaving it completely blank. The sculpture is minimalist and has not much detail so as not to detract from the meaning. We thought perhaps the sculpture would rock back and forth a bit on the branch, but were unsure if this was safe.

Design Project 1 - Concepts

Our first concept was with the idea that knowledge is light. We decided to use puzzle pieces and a book to represent knowledge. Light would shine up from the book onto the face to show the absorption of knowledge.

(First Concept)

The group was all excited about this idea, but then we thought it may be a little bit too literal with the puzzle pieces and would also be awkward with just a head. We then thought to create a "figure" holding a book with vines growing to represent growth and knowledge. We still liked the idea of the light shining on the face from the book.

(Second Concept)

After being on this idea for a while, we felt again it was too literal and that there were too many concepts being thrown around with growth and knowledge and purity. So we tried to simplify it in our third concept.

(Third Concept)

In our third concept, we had the idea of playful and childish. The sculpture would hang over the tree and light would still shine from the book.

Through group communication and collaboration we came up with original ideas, however; we felt that they were too literal and also too complicated. Visualizing like this allowed us to find the flaws in our concept and try to improve.

Design Project 1 - Ideas

For design project 1, our group started off just by talking to each other and getting to know each other better as we thought this would be a good way to bond as a team. After doing this we decided that we would start putting ideas down for our structure using the A-Z activity where we think of words that have to do with the topic (Lightness).

(One page of words)

A - Alluring Angel, Alive, Aura, Aliens

B - Bright, Birth, Bold, Brilliance, Bling, Balloon

C - Clear, Calm, Courage, Crazy, Celestial, Creative, Charming, Cloud, Crystal

D - Daylight, Darkness, Dreaming, Diamonds, Dramatic

E - Electric, Energy, Emotion, Evolution, Earth, Ember, Eclipse, Explosion

F - Fantastical, Fanatic, Fun, Freedom, Frivolous

G - Glint, Growth, Glittering, Glowing, Glory, Geometry, Glass

H - Heaven, High, Happy, Heat, Harmony, Hocus Pocus

I - Imagination, Ice, Illuminate, Intelligence

J - Joyful, Joy, Jesus, Justice

K - Kite, Knowledge

L - Lion, Light, Luminous, Lantern, Light-bulb, Lighter

M - Mystic, Magic, Mysterious

N - Nurse, Nostalgic, New age, Natural

O - Organize, Oasis, Optimistic

P - Pretty, Precious, Prism, Perfection, Pure, Poverty, Puzzle, Purity, Plasma

Q - Question, Quizzical, Quagmire, Queen

R - Rouge, Rage, Romance, Rigorous, Rave, Rainbow, Rhythm, Radioactive

S - Sparkle, Stage, Star, Solar, Stream, Shadow

T - Triumphant, Torrential, Teaching, Technology

U - Unite, Ultimate

V - Victorious

W - Whimsical, Wisdom

X - Xray

Y - Yin Yang

Z - Zirconium, Zealous

We found this activity to allow us to think in broader terms with the concept of lightness.

Wet and Dry

When I thought of the contrast between wet and dry, two things came to mind: a literal wet and dry, which is shown in the picture as rain and the dry spot under the umbrella; and an emotional wet and dry shown by the tears of the girl and the love of the guy. I feel that wetness is akin to sadness because when it rains it is dark and grey. However; one could also view rain as refreshing and renewing life. My interpretation of it though is that it brings sadness while sunlight brings happiness as I usually find myself smiling and laughing for no reason if I'm looking up at a cloudless blue sky.

Point of View Activity

In this activity we were asked to draw a bench 4 times. The top left is a normal drawing, the top right is a top down view, the bottom left is an 'exploded' view and the bottom right is taking a pattern from the object. This activity really helped me to see objects from different perspectives and in different light. For example, the exploded view made me think analytically about the object and how it was put together while the pattern view made me take a closer look at the object and take a design idea from it.

Single Line Faces

Another exercise we did was to draw someones face without looking at the page while using a continuous line.

What this exercise has shown me is that there are many different ways of creating an image and communicating through visuals. Even though the drawings are very abstract and messy, you can still see a face in them. I enjoy looking at them because they show that even though I'm not very good at drawing, I can still do something abstract, which is great because I love abstract designs.

Pig Activity

One activity we did was to draw a pig.

Our drawing was then analyzed to see if our personalities matched the way we draw. According to my pig drawing, I am a realist, I'm secure, traditional, friendly, careful and analytical.

I would have to agree in saying that I'm a realist, I see things as they are most of the time and I also find myself pragmatic. I also see myself as friendly and careful as I do like to meet new people and I always watch my step and think of consequences of actions. The analysis also says that I am very analytical, which I also find to be true. I tend to observe and find meaning in actions.

So far the pig drawing has 'told' my personality quite well, however I don't see myself as secure as I'm very shy and always feel that my work is of low standards. I also have stage fright. I also don't feel I am traditional. I tend to be more open to ideas and actions than most people are, and my way of thinking tends to differ from the norm as well.

All in all I feel that this pig drawing is just a coincidence rather than something that digs deep into our psyche.

Lecture 10: SCOOT Design Process

Hearing about SCOOT, a mixed reality game that combines the real world and experiences into a game, allowed me to view design process in a new way as it was the first time I had seen a real process of design completely on an industry level.

The design process that SCOOT followed shows me how important it is to research before you begin, as well as how the client, end user and project values are all critical to the success of the design. There was something I found interesting in the design process though, and that was how long it took the team to recycle a world that they had already created, as for me this would have been one of the first things I had thought of as in design I've always been told to let the user do the work to interpret what the design is about. Doing this earlier would have also saved a lot of work and effort for the team.

It was interesting, however, to see how the team came up with ideas and also how much paperwork and design ideas there were before they came up with an actual design. I also found it interesting to note how the group that made SCOOT kept updating their game to work with newer technologies and community interfaces.

(Combining Reality and Virtual World)

One thing I liked about SCOOT was that it incorporated games into the real world, allowing players to explore the area and learn while having fun and helping game characters. This really showed me what is possible and that thinking outside the box can lead to very interesting and different concepts.

Lecture 9: Methods of Design

As design is a process, it therefore must follow a method. There are, however, many different methods that designers can take to reach their goal. Some design methods that I like to use are:

Fast Visualization: This is where you draw visuals quickly and draw ideas down which will allow your mind to be stimulated resulting in new thoughts. The reason I enjoy doing this is because I love to doodle and it really helps to get what I'm thinking down as I find it difficult to explain myself with words.

Observation: This is where watching how an object works, how people use it, what it makes people feel comes in handy. Observing in such a way allows you to see how others view a design and what can be improved and what problems it has when being interacted with.

(Dam observed from Beavers)

(Beaver Dam)

Scenarios: Scenarios are where you place your design in different situations where interactions are different. This leads to see how your design will work in situations and what can be improved in such situations. These situations could be hypothetical or occur rarely.

These design methods all try to find patterns and ways to improve a design. Sometimes they may even lead to a new design/concept entirely.

Lecture 8: Teamwork

When designing you are often placed in a group and are almost never working alone and this makes teamwork and social skills very important. Depending on the dynamic of a team, it can be a satisfying and productive work environment or it can be stressful and conflicting.

(Good Teamwork)

A group that works well together can benefit from each other, sharing ideas and inspiration, sharing the work load and even having fun instead of feeling like you're doing a lot of work. For these teams to work, the members place some trust in each other and share their opinions without worry of confrontation and aggression. The team works together to form goals and make decisions which helps them solve problems.

(Bad Teamwork)

Groups that don't succeed tend to have conflicts and distractions. They also do not communicate well and do not take into account others' opinions. These groups can be seen as anti-productive and implosive. It won't be a team, but a group of individuals. 

My Interest: Fashion and Design

(Edgy Design)

(Free Flow Structured Design)

(Modern Design)

(Symbolic Design - Scorpio)

Lecture 7: Design Perfection

In my opinion, there isn't really such a thing as the perfection of a design. Due to peoples' different outlooks, beliefs and experiences, designs will always have a flaw or a detail that someone may not like, but someone else will love.

Antoinede de Saint Exupéry feels that a designer only reaches perfection of a design when there is nothing left to take away from it. I strongly disagree with this. I feel that this would only be the case when looking at an object from a minimalist perspective. Sometimes designs have added details for aesthetic functions, and though unnecessary they are still needed to make the design finished and polished. Take fashion for example; some garment designers add non-functional zippers or non-functioning pockets for aesthetic design only. Zippers tend to add an edgier quality to the overall design, as do pockets. The garment below shows the way zippers are incorporated to add flair.

(Project Runway)

My Hobby: Aqua-landscaping

(Modern Aqua-landscape Design)

(Natural Aqua-landscape Design)

(Japanese 'Zen' Aqua-landscape Design)

The Japanese 'Zen' aqua-landscape design is based around the philosophy of three rocks forming a triangle for equilibrium. It has both symbolic and aesthetic appeal.

Chairs Comparison

Bamboo Spring Chair by Anthony Marschak

(Anthony Marschak)

Physical: 10/10

Aesthetic: 7/10

Symbolic: 0/10

The Bamboo Spring Chair ranks very highly in physical function as it looks like a chair, has the shape of a chair and supports the back of the person sitting in it. The aesthetics of this chair is also quite high due to its minimalist features. The shape is actually quite modern and appealing. This chair appears to have no symbolism at all.

(Mehtap Obuz)

Leaf by Mehtap Obuz

Physical: 7/10

Aesthetic: 8/10

Symbolic: 3/10

"Leaf" has a high physical function, though not as high as the Bamboo Spring Chair because it has no back support. The aesthetics of this chair are slightly higher than the other chair because of its more modern appeal. The chair has symbolism in that it is based off of a leaf which is represented in the curves.

Lecture 6: Play for Thinking

One of the major ways of learning and coming up with ideas is through play and exploration. You might think that messing around is just for entertainment/goofing off or wasting time; however, when we play we are engaging and interacting with our surroundings. This helps us find new points of views which in turn allows us to come up with new concepts.

Bill Gaver from the Royal College of Art goes as far as to say "it's a serious business." In regards to that, I would have to disagree. I feel that the reason we are able to learn and explore so much while 'playing' is because we aren't focused on a goal, our minds are more open and we are relaxed.

Learning through play is also not only limited to children. Adults who 'play' also find new points of views and form ideas. One form of play that adults in Japan take part in is the making of "domino effect" type creations. I would think that these "domino effect" creations allow the creator to think in different way and explore different options of getting something from A to B.

Lecture 5: Where from?

Where do ideas and concepts come from? If you were to ask me, I would say our surroundings, that all ideas and concepts are originally formed by what we see, hear, touch, taste, smell and experience. Concepts are taken from nature or our environments and recycled in new forms and combinations.

(Extrapolative Design)

There appear to be three ways in which ideas can be recycled, iteration, invention and extrapolation. Iteration is where a process is repeated over and over again until a desired outcome is reached. In design, this could be seen as drawing an object repeatedly and slightly differently until a goal is met. Invention is the process of taking multiple ideas and mashing them together to form a new and interesting design. Extrapolation is taking an existing object and changing it to make it more practical/aesthetic depending on the need.

There are also many different 'genres' of designs ranging from architectural design to natural design. I feel that I am drawn more to geometric and natural designs. Geometric designs, to me, are more abstract and stand out more, while natural forms blend well and can be a variety of shapes.

When we look at concepts and ideas for man made objects, you can almost always find the inspiration in nature. Some examples are Hook-and-Loop fasteners, airplanes and antennas. The inspiration is all around us, it is just the combination of ideas and the design process that makes the concept original and meaningful.

Interview: Artist Jasmine Chen

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak to Jasmine Chen, an upcoming artist in who has had multiple exhibitions in Taiwan with another one coming up in September this year. She has also had some experience working in the British art industry. As well as this, she has been featured in W.E People Magazine (December 2008) for her artwork.

While I was speaking to her, I decided to ask her about her thoughts on some of the lectures I have had:

In your opinion, what is design?

“Aww, that’s a hard question, do I have to answer? “

Yes

“When I think of design, I usually think of product design. I don’t particularly like to use the word ‘design’ as it doesn’t pertain to what I do which is more along the lines of fine art. The word ‘design’ feels more of something that would make art more accessible and communicative; whereas fine art is less accessible as they’re the artist’s own views and show ambiguity.”

(W.E People)

Do you have a process you follow when painting/sketching or do you just ‘go with the flow’?

“In the beginning I do have a simple process, however as I continue to work on a piece the process can change. There is often a process of trial and error and it takes time to realize something isn’t working too well. Sometimes when this happens and I get artists block, I visit museums to try and get inspiration. Take my new series of works for example, the inspiration came from a moldy potato that I was supposed to have cooked, inspiration usually pops up by accident. So I suppose that is my own version of a process.”

Would you say your works have more of an aesthetical appeal or a symbolic one?

“I guess it’s a little bit of both, a lot of people have told me that my work is more on the aesthetic side, but I am really trying to incorporate more symbolism. In my career it is important to not stick purely to aesthetics as adding symbolism allows an audience to relate and emote more. You could probably say that if my work was purely aesthetic based it would be more akin to illustration than fine art, but it is really more to do with what you want your work to come across as.”

Lecture 4: Design Visualization is Thinking and Communicating

Some people believe that the core of design visualization is thinking and communicating. I would say I have to agree with them. This is because design is more about making a finished product than expressing oneself, in which case the exploration of ideas is needed as well as thinking how the finished product will work and its specifications. In design, the drawing process is definitely more of creating something as an object. Visualization is about creating an image that can communicate ideas and concepts across to other people rather than having enigmatic qualities and meanings as is the case with more artistic and emotional images.

As it is important to communicate ideas using visuals, it is also important that you find an inner "visual voice" to get your ideas and concepts onto paper. As an exercise for this, I drew hands 20 times, hid them away for a day and looked at them again the next day. This allowed me to find if I have any patterns emerging in the way I draw.  Among them, these were my favorites:

They're my favorites because I feel they each have an emotional pull to them and suggest that there is a meaning or emotion behind the gesture of the hand.

Visuals can be categorized into two broad types, representational and diagrammatic. Representational visuals take much longer to draw, are more artistic and need a lot more skill to do, while diagrammatic visuals are the opposite, conceptual, quick to draw and not as much skill is needed.

I feel that I am very much diagrammatic in my drawing when trying to communicate ideas, and probably in most of my drawings as I'm not that skilled at drawing. The main reason I use diagrammatic drawings when communicating is because they are able to get the idea across without so much time being consumed and putting too much detail on the paper that isn't needed.

Lecture 3: Design has Purpose

As mentioned in my previous post, designs all have a specific purpose such as being practical or decorative. There are many types of functions an object can have; However, I will focus on three: The physical purpose, the aesthetic taste and the symbolism an object has. Each object and its function will have been created for a specific group of people which can be determined, to an extent, by how it was designed.

Physical Purpose:

(SwissArmyKnives)

A design with a high importance in physical purpose focuses mainly on how the user will interact with the object and how the object will work. For example, the multi-function knife has high importance for how the object works and functions.

Something as practical as this object most likely has a target audience of working people or those who may like to work with their hands. It will probably not appeal to those who are looking for a decorative or symbolic object.

Aesthetics and symbolism are not as important in such a design as its main focus is on how it is used and its usefulness, not how it looks or what its meaning is.

Aesthetic Purpose:

(House Interior Home)

An object with aesthetic functions listed as high importance will try and have influence on the feelings of those observing the design and perhaps even try to evoke an emotion from the observer or user. The design can achieve this objective in a variety of ways, such as appealing to the senses of the user (sound and feel) or using color and shapes to create a feeling of emotion (Jagged edges for aggression etc.). These objects will most likely be less practical and more just for viewing than use.

The contemporary chairs have high aesthetic purpose due to its appearance, however it likely is uncomfortable to sit on for lengthy periods of time and it located very close to the floor. This leads me to feel that the physical purpose of the design is very low. The chairs do appear as if they are attempting to symbolize something, but it does not seem as important as the aesthetics of the chairs.

Symbolic Purpose:

(Businessweek)

Symbolic designs and objects will attempt to recreate or mimic another object in some form. This is usually done to give the object meaning and personality. These structures and designs are likely to be iconic, such as the Beijing National Stadium which symbolizes a bird's nest but also became the icon for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

These objects usually become more well-known due to how they can easily be related to. They also are likely to have moderate importance in aesthetics as well, probably so they are visually appealing and make the symbolism more obvious.

Mixed Purpose:

On the other hand, designs are not limited to being only one of these functions and can have high importance in each of the aspects.

An example of this can be the faucet shown. It has a practical use as a tap and functions as a normal tap, yet it also has aesthetic appeal in its designs. The curves and angles, as well as the material chosen, all contribute to its appearance and feel to create a very modern and functioning faucet.

Lecture 2: Design is Organized

Many think that there is not much planning or organization involved in design; However, the process of design is not as simple as bring a concept to life. No matter how simple or complicated a concept may appear, the design that comes from the idea has some sort of purpose, whether it be practical, aesthetic or something else.

(CongruentSystems: Simple Process)

(BoxesandArrows: More Complicated Process)

Each design also has a specific target audience which can range from the designer themselves to decorators with a minimalistic taste. This aspect also needs to be included in the design process as the target audience/contractor has a large influence in the creation of a project. Naturally, a design will change and evolve over time. This is due to the amount of people working on the project. Most of the time it takes more than a single person to create an object an each person will have a say in the final outcome. These influential powers can range from those funding the project to the environment where the object will be placed.

Designs can be very fluid as most of them stem from ideas which can be interpreted in many different ways. Each of these diversions may effect the final design due to ideas being taken and incorporated from each one creating an effect much like tributary rivers contributing to a larger river.

(Minnesota River Basin Data Center)