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.