More Critical Thinking in Design

More Critical Thinking in Design

Like it or not, critical thinking is extremely important; it helps us learn and grow, encourages us to look in the mirror and when necessary, go on a diet. Critical thinking is the catalyst for change.

To underscore my point, that critical thinking is utterly lacking, let me provide an example. We are just emerging from a period in which the prevailing sentiment in design was 'innovation', an era characterized by big fish, big dollars and the growth of design.

Understandably that article focused on the macro reasons behind innovation's shortcomings; and so, after seven or so years of the innovation era in design we remain, to the best of my knowledge, without a benchmark, to truly measure innovation's value to business, culture or society. Design grew, but did it better the world, or just line its pockets? If innovation was all around, why didn't it move the needle? Was a product produced in 2007 so different from a product produced in 2000?

Where to now?

Well it seems I can finally count down the weeks left to graduate, and only have to days left to apply so I'll be out of here soon enough...

It will all be said and done by November only two months away and that's it I'll be off into the real world as a Professional designer. I don't now what next will bring me yet, though I plan to return back to studies, within design of course if I am not heading down a track I like as I can see myself easily getting lost and leaving design behind unintentionally of course. As of next year I am not invited to stay at my parents house, once moved out I can never return so I'll be paying rent and supporting myself.

I could never afford this while at uni as working part time would only cover my monthly rent and bills and there would not be anything to spend on uni and if there was a rainy day no saving to go into. Also I have to buy a whole lot of silly things when I do move out, I am thinking of a share house in order to stay on track and not end up getting to lonely.

I am not sure about work yet, as I would love to be in design even if only part time but I know that I can't be fussy and should take anything that comes up. I have already updated my resume to apply for retail jobs at Christmas time as a plan C thing as really once I am on my own I will have to pay my way. I know that often people stay with their parents to save to go overseas for a short period of time but I know that any saving I will be doing will be on top of rent, as traveling is something I aim to do I will just have to work hard and be wise.

It is a little scary to think that it now, I'll be paying my way no more safety net and if I don't come through with the money I'll end up homeless, but also an exciting point where you feel in control and oddly normal.

Hopefully next year will have good thing for me and I can get to where I want to be if not I have a few other plans laid out. Its all happening now, I just need my final project and drinking fountain design to end out working well and I'll be set.

I am back :)

Well its being awhile, but as I now have another blog for uni work there hasn't been all that much to put up in here. Though I do have a few links to share that I think are interesting and helpful.

Woman's roles: I suppose as any woman you feel that you should be treated the same and have the same opportunities though its not always the case. Everyone knows woman are just as good as guys. Though sometimes it can make things easier as if I am not a successful designer, then within my family I know it wont be as bad as if I was a guy as its not expected that I need to be successful so there is less pressure.

A plea for more critical design thinking: Could be that the design industry isn't large enough to warrant professional critics, or that the market isn't great enough to consume these critiques, or perhaps that designers are uncomfortable criticizing their colleagues' work? Or maybe it's just that as an industry we are content, or that the intended audience has yet to develop a criterion for evaluation? For whatever reason, my observation still stands: critical thinking in design, whether from historians, educators, authors or journalists, is largely absent.

How to avoid mental masturbation: this link is from another student and I know I fall into this far too often during projects.

1) A designer obsessing over a design concept trying to get it to work and as a result ends up blowing the schedule and budget.

2) Endlessly trying to justify the merits of your design and why it is the best thing to every happen to mankind.

3) Trying to convince even yourself that your design is a good one.

4) Sitting around and discussing the merits of a design, and supporting it by referencing great works of other designers, and/or successful design theories.

5) All the while feeling good and secure and enjoying your new found mental superiority and a sense of achievement.

I think you get the picture? Honestly, this is one of the root causes of very inefficient and ineffective designers.

So how do we get out of this?

1) Write your own design brief.
I have already written about how great a design guide the brief can be for a designer here. Do have a look?

2) Work in a team.
Creative energy and conversation, helps spur a design onwards. Alternative insight helps closes the design options quickly as well.

3) Set tight schedules to avoid Parkinsons Law.
The famous adage that describes how “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. This is very true with designers, especially during the concept phase. We have a bad habit of sketching ideas over and over again. Check out my “10 Tips for Guaranteed Concept Development Success” for more information for efficient sketching tips.

4) Get feedback and listen to advice.
If A does not like B and vice versa, it is subjective on who the the bad one is. However if A does not like B, and C does not like B, and also D does not like B, then we know the problem lies with B. This same goes for a design. Trust me if most people don’t seem to like it, it is probably not very good. What every it is, get it critiqued anyway. At the very least you will get a different perspective on your work. Oh, do listen to the advice, even if you don’t like what you hear.

5) Support your design through research.
There should be a reason why your design looks/works/feels as such. If there is no reason why, then you better figure why. Use everything you lean in consumer behavior research to help you determine the right path for your design.

6) Get real quick to verify your idea.
Designers suffering from “Mental Masturbation” tend to be all talk and no action. Often times the only way to verify a design is to get real quick. Jump into 3D to resolve a quick detail, or even better, get into the workshop and build a model. It does not have to be a good looking one, but at least a sketch model to get your proportions right. Check out >Think>Draw>Make> to see how this can help you along your way.

7) Big picture thinking but details orientated.
Finally, take 2 steps back, and take a look at the bigger picture objectives. This takes us into a loop, and back to point 1. Having a big picture awareness helps you be aware of what your design needs to do and when.

Design objects thesis blog:

Last Saturday I was in the city doing a study group for my Chinese class, as its heaps more advanced than Chinese 1, I have learnt twice as many characters as Chinese 1 and we aren't even halfway through, we have no time to learn these in class so we with some others in class we meet up before all big tests to study.

While catching the train in it takes an extra half an hour as they are upgrading a crossing on my line so there are buses instead. This means that you end up waiting 5 minutes to fill the buses, and 10 minutes from the bus arriving to fill the train and keep on the timetable.

On the way home I had the delight of watching someone cook their dinner in the distance, as the train had stopped in the middle of the tracks, as it often does. Although I couldn't see the activity as it was far away you can see the actions as you know them so well like going to the fridge taking things out going to the sink and washing back to the bench.

Then we all got to watch some girl beating up a guy on the platform, and pulling his hair out, and punching him into the ground then leaving him. So a fun eventful time home.

On the train

On my way into the city on Friday to meet up for a group assignment for my Chinese elective I had a very interesting trip in. Firstly there was this young looking kid smoking, its one of those moments where you go oh he is smoking as he thinks he is cool, as he is sitting down next me he offers me one which I decline. Then our conversation continues as he tells me about some stupid kid he knows who smashed up the men’s toilets on the platform and that’s why they are out of order with an asbestos sign warning people to keep away.

Across from my train station being end of the line is a factory with fork lifts constantly moving things around what looks to be like lots of cables and stuff. He then continued a story about how his friend and him stole a fork lift each at about 2am, form there took off the tires placed them on the train tracks and drove them into Flinders street taking about 5 hours to get there as them move at such a slow speed. He continued his story about how his friend almost tipped his fork lift over and how they where chased once they arrived at flinders street and that the cleaners where surprised to see them, then how he stole some fuel of the cleaners and then kept his trip going until both him and his friend where chased along the tracks by people in cars trying to stop them, so his friend hope out and slashed their tires with a knife.

Finally the train I have been waiting for has arrived onto the platform, there are less carriages then normal as it’s a public holiday, so it end up just being this boy and his bike and me alone in the carriage. He continues with another question, had I every been in trouble with the law and how he ended up spending two years in juvenile detention and that is where he learnt to roll is cigarettes.

His story was he stole a car along with some of his mates and drove it around for 5 day to NSW and ended up doing a few drive off at petrol stations to keep going. He said that the cops chased him at times and as he was heavily intoxicated so it was hard to get away. Then he said he ditched the car outside a cop station, and discovered that his stolen car had guns in the boot so he took a hand gun. While he was randomly shooting things he shot a man in his leg.

He said he was arrested along with his friend when he pulled the gun on an out on an police man who was not in uniform, and was told to put his weapon down, he proceeded to say that no he wont as he knows he will win as all the police had was a mace.

The he said that when he was in juvei his tobacco and papers arrived to him in clear glad bags as they where all searched to make sure they didn’t contain other drugs. I asked him where he went to school now and he said in Croyden. He then said some racist comments about an African immigrant/refugee that hoped on the train and stopped the conversation as more people hoped on the carriage. So it was an interesting conversation to have on the train, I don’t think I believe much of it as it sounds like he was saying stuff to sound impressive. Then again last month there was a creepy guy who claimed he murdered his wife with a meet cleaver.

Work in Progress

More to come as the brief isn't still quite clear about my direction, I have some mind maps that has sorted this out though. Forth year is turning out to be a nightmare lots of work to be done thats for sure, but I guess when you invest so much of your time, energy and thinking into one project whats not to be scared of as all in all a final year project shouldn't just reflect ones own ability but also ones on mind and thinking. I guess with my project I know have a strong risk factor in it but thats what I think I enjoy not knowing where I'll end up, knowing its going to be a long journey and knowing that at the end of the day it could all be worth nothing, but it could also be worth something to someone.

Communication of sustainability

Introduction:

Design to me has never solely been about just an object, as with everything we create people and communities are at the heart of the project. Creating more meaningful objects or experiences is necessary, we should interact and grow with our surroundings and create more of a sensorial experience. Social issues have and will always create barriers to overcome and work through. A particular interest of mine is environmental and social sustainability and the issues surrounding it. People always have a different approach to it but many still see it as an extra cost on top of what we should be doing instead of something which should automatically be considered.

Project Background:

Definition of Sustainability: (adjective) 1.able to be maintained. 2. Maintaining ecological balance, exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area. My Definition: Sustainability to me is about lifestyle and attitudes. Being aware of consumption and aiming to consume less it’s not about remaining stationary and sustaining what we already have but a reduction on our resource consumption and reducing our ecological footprint.

Communication is a vital day to day occurrence, using a vast skill set including listening, intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, speaking, questioning, analysing and evaluating. But what exactly is communication? “Communication is defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding.”

Environmental Sustainability has become too much of a medium to open up the doors and cloud peoples judgement by playing on peoples fears and anxieties. People don’t know how to the issue of sustainability as governments and other organisations take the opportunity to redefine its meaning each time. Confusion and ambiguity surround this topic and every one fears they are being told lies.

As greenwashing entered the product market place everything and anything could now be called a green product including paper towels (recycled paper) this has lead to consumers then either turning a blind eye to the issue or wanting true environmentally friendly products. To label a product green has little reference to sustainability after the market place turned it into a gimmick, these products are labelled as eco design, environmental design or even the new phrase of blue design.

Sustainable products shouldn’t just be about using recyclable materials but assisting in a lifestyle choice where the aim is to reduce all resources consumed, and preserving land for natural ecosystems. With our global population continually on the rise and a reserved amount of resources available we have to be globally aware of what is consumed. In Australia we are facing an affordable housing crisis, expanding out suburbia only puts further strains on systems in place.

As with the water issue affecting Melbourne and having reached peak oil our current lifestyles have to dramatically change to accommodate new lifestyles. As more lighting, and electrical appliances are consumed worldwide the energy consumption increases. This then impacts on the land we are all continually fighting for as more power stations are built.

Other issues arising from products are the landfill problem due to consumerism. This is all to do with material choice, consumer’s reaction at end of life of a product, and societies following fashion trends, with the continual remake, redesign of products. Should materials chosen for new products be eco friendly, recyclable, recycled, used or waste materials in response to this issue?

With the continual discussion on Environmental issues, higher levels of anxiety form. As humans we find it hard to quickly adapt to rapid change unless there is no other choice, we like to keep things the same surround ourselves with the familiar and work with things already known.

Approach:

Research into Sustainability and Design find examples of reactions to the issues. Example artworks created around green washing. The Bruce High Quality Foundation's installation Beyond Pastoral (Shroud of Turin) a scale model of the BP petrol station located opposite the gallery, underneath which thousands of lemons and limes were arranged in the form of the BP logo.

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Looking like dejavu

I don't know what to do for design studio anymore, I have developed such a small skill set where nothing ever quite looks like professional design when I finish looks more like some 2nd years work. I can't seem to focus and find an idea that I truly like so I am going around in circles of what I do and don't like. Its all like the EV scooter again and I hate it not sure if I should just skip studio as I have nothing to show as I have been sick, and also my lack of direction has meat nothing has yet been finished just a lot of half starts. I don't feel like a designer at all anymore, I did in China i truly felt like I had something to offer now I don't. Its all just a load of crap in my head crap already been thought of and done. I am coming up with crap that I hate and have no where else to go.

More thinking

It weird thinking about how the China experience for me is slowly delivering what I wanted, I am finding it easier to let the control go of where I want to end up exactly. Most people around take the sensible and logical approach for a final year project to hone in on technical and tangible skills, and end up with a manufactured piece to show to consultancies to showcase they can take a concept from start to the end. Sometimes it seems such a logical and rational approach that is something that I too should desire and pursuer that too.

Though I know feel it in my heart I want to do something different, I need to chase after something else. I think that visualizing for me the amount of furniture and objects that are already out there the likelihood of it being unique and totally different id minimal, ideas overlap and things branch into almost being identical. I know that with a year to work on the project it will be special anyway, but it won’t hold the risks or the challenges that for my last year at uni I want to tackle.

I reailse now that my strengths lie elsewhere as the time it takes me to do things like CAD and maybe even research takes way too long, which is something I want to start to focus on, effective presentation and shorter simpler ways to express myself. I have decided to try and create my own path and way through design. I may not end up where I want to be but if I follow my own interests that keep me inspired, otherwise its going to be along year and I am just going to end up with something else I don’t like.

So I’ll type up a new brief for me with something that I have always loved and loved to do even before starting uni, its different than ever one else project and it also involves the risk of simply being unachievable, or too much work and effort for the wider community to take on to. I have decided to take this gamble now.