live theory : critical writing : stage one

Initial Thesis Statement:

This essay will explore the relationship between design and culture and how a city can mirror the surrounding culture. The essay identifies how design can restrict culture within a city, the need for an active exchange between design and culture in order for a city and it's culture to thrive, and how design can facilitate this exchange through adaption of the "user" role to a "designer".

Initial Supporting Sources:

Urban Future Manifestos

The reading provided from Urban Future Manifestos looks the relationship between people and spaces. Doung Anwar Jahangeer expresses how people create "places" and that currently the city restricts this; the designed elements of the city like the walk path, signs and fences, detaching people from the spaces that they live in. Jahangeer then explored spaces that are "in-between" where nature has rebelled against design and the constraints of it have failed. Jahangeer also identifies that "creativity exists everywhere, and that the ability of space/place making exists in everybody" and that architects (and designers) need to facilitate this. Jahangeer's views are helpful for my critical perspective as he identifies how design can limit the active exchange between design and culture, and he also highlights the need for user creativity to be encouraged in order for culture to be expressed.

Noever, P. & Meyer, K. (2010). Urban Future Manifestos. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz

Aspects of everyday design: resourcefulness, adaption, and emergence

Wakkary and Maestri explore how designed objects can be manipulated by the user in order to fit into the individual's everyday. From this, the idea of the everyday designer is introduced, where all individuals interacting with design have the potential to adapt and customise design themselves for their own specific wants and needs. Wakkary and Maestri challenge designers to design in a way that prompts users to interact with design in ways that were not originally intended. This source supports my critical perspective as it encourages the reversal of the role of the designer and the user. As the people are the "true essence" of a city, by allowing them to dictate how things that are designed within a city are used, the true culture of the city is better reflected. 

Wakkary, R. & Maestri, L. (2008). Aspects of everyday design: resourcefulness, adaption, and emergence. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 24(5), 478-491. doi:10.1080/10447310802142276

The Culture of Design

This source looks at how design constantly evolves with societies. Julier investigates how design can effectively reflect current cultural values by materialising them into designed objects. This source is supports my critical perspective as it explains how design can act as a platform to display culture as opposed to restricting it which has been argued in other sources. This means that my argument can be further developed and more rounded.

Julier, G. (2000). The Culture of Design. Los Angeles: SAGE

live theory : RAP 5

The most interesting aspect of this weeks lecture for me was the connection between critical design and design activism. Design activism encourages change in social, cultural and political environments much like critical design, where design prompts viewers to reflect on and critique certain issues or aspects in society. While I do not think it is completely necessary for all design to encourage reflection and change in society, I do think it is an important element of design and our communities and can be really valuable to a viewer in order to encourage new and interesting ways of thinking about and understanding the world. Design can effectively do this by visually communicating somewhat radical scenarios and grounding them in design ideas that the viewers can ground in reality enabling them to have a greater understanding of the critique being made. 

live theory : critical selfie : stage three

In-between the designed are the forgotten spaces - it is here where the essence of the city can thrive.

My critical perspective explores the relationship between designed spaces and those which are not. Inspired by Jahangeer's piece in Urban Future Manifestos (2011), Made in Between showcases the relationship between the intentionally and unintentionally designed worlds and how they inform each other. The designed world effectively shapes the non-designed, where the spaces in-between design are as much of a product of design as those that were created intentionally.  However, it is in these negative spaces are where the essence of a culture can flourish. Jahangeer states that "creativity exists everywhere, and that the ability of space/place-making exists in everybody" - design can somewhat restrict this creativity. In this, the negative spaces that are created through design are the perfect facilitators for creativity.

Support for this idea was found in Tonya Sweet's lecture Material culture, People Culture and Globalised Culture, where the active exchange between design, people and culture was discussed: that people are product of their culture yet they are also the ones who are shaping culture. Design embodies the designers values and beliefs and projects these onto others. A city should then reflect those values and beliefs of it's occupants as a whole, not just those of the designers. This is why the undesigned space of a city is where the essence of the society is - it is in these spaces that have not been bound by predetermined views where the true culture of the city can be displayed.

Made in Between captures these in-between spaces and emphasises that it is within these places where the cultural creators of the city, the people, thrive.

live theory : critical selfie : stage two

After my second exploration of the city, I found that I kept bing drawn to the spaces around what has been designed. This idea had grown from my initial shoot, where I was looking at spaces where people had rebelled against design, and were adapting design for their individual everyday. This first perspective had been influenced by Jahangeer's writing in Urban Future Manifesto's and his view about how people create spaces. 

The perspective that I now taken has been adapted from this viewpoint, where the "inbetweeness" has been explored. These are the spaces that were not intentionally designed, but are created from what designers, architects and people have made surrounding them. I also was quite drawn to where nature has rebelled against design, but I don't think I will pursue that perspective further.

The spaces in-between design, are as much a product of design as those that were created intentionally.

Shoot 2 Contact Sheet

The series of photographs I produced based on this perspective looks at the "forgotten spaces" that are formed by the surrounding design. I have layered the shapes of these unintentionally designed spaces overtop of the images to emphasise the form of them and to give an abstract blue-print aesthetic. While I am relatively happy with the images produced, I do think that the idea can be developed a lot further in order to communicate my design perspective in a stronger and more interesting way.

Spaces are designed,

but the spaces that are not

are created too.

live theory : RAP 4

I found the concepts in today’s lectures really interesting - in particular how design is both a facilitator and an outcome of culture. I have a strong view that design needs to accommodate for the users own input and individuality and if this is not recognised in the design process user identity can be lost. I also found the discussion on globalisation interesting and although I can see the benefits of it, I do think there needs to be a greater emphasis on celebrating specific cultures as to not lose diverse ethnic identities. While I enjoyed the topics discussed today, I did find it quite hard to completely understand all that was being said without much written notes on the slides.

live theory : RAP 3

After already doing photography with Leon, much of the stuff he talked about was stuff I had already been over. However in saying that, it was still quite good to review it and I do really enjoy it so it was alright. One thing that really stood out to me was the strength that s series of still images has compared to that of a moving video. The concept of “closure” and how still images allow for viewers to put their own input and understanding into an image was really interesting. I think the lecture was a good refresher and has definitely helped me have a stronger awareness about the images I’m taking and what they communicate versus what I want them to.