live theory : RAP 9

I found Margret's lecture about manifesto's really interesting and really useful. I was actually quite inspired by her lecture - it got me excited about doing my own manifesto! The main points of the lecture for me were the ones about how to write a manifesto, what it should accomplish, how it should make people feel and that it should call people to take action. Our manifestos are about what WE care about as designers, and really let us do whatever we want, something  that we are not always allowed to do at university as we are always trying to meet a certain brief. We can finally do something that we are truly passionate about, and communicate this to others and this makes me excited.. but a bit scared too.

live theory : assignment 4 : manifesto proposal

The Everyday Designer Manifesto

Everyone is a designer. Everyone does it everyday. The common definition of a designer is "a person who plans the looks and workings of something prior it to being made"(Stevenson, 2010). However, this definition does not accommodate the act to redesign, modifying a design subsequent to it's creation.  The way in which people naturally interact with their surrounding environments and objects, manipulating and employing them in ways which best suit their individual existence, makes them a creator, a maker, and an architect of their own everyday. 

The role of a traditional designer needs to transformed to that of a facilitator. The everyday designer needs to be encouraged to exercise their creativity and not be restricted by the boundaries that design presents.

How to design for the everyday designer:

facilitate

inspire

forget everything you know

How to be an everyday designer:

know who you are

if you don't, that's okay

be who you are and who you want to be

embrace difference

embrace change

think

don't think

create

build

act like a designer

because you already are one

Initial design proposal ides:

live theory : RAP 8

Last week's lecture about craft, technology and design outlined the importance of craft and "making". The most interesting aspect of the lecture to me was how design materials influence craft and vice versa. This has occurred throughout history, even starting in the stone age where rock was chiseled with tools. Examples of craft influencing culture were given, outlining how craft was influenced by the first, second and third industrial revolutions due to the culture of that time. The question was brought up about our current culture and how it has inspired design and craft.

design+ : assignment 3 precedents

 Using infographics in order to inform the target market about the benefits of a healthy diet and active lifestyle. This could work well for the target market as it is engaging and easy to understand.

Push-Play is a New Zealand campaign that promotes physical activity. The activator wheel reveals fun ways to "push play" by spinning the wheel.

Jump Rope for Heart is also a campaign that specifically targets physical activity in children. Participants jump rope in time to music making it fun and engage.

live theory : RAP7

Last weeks lecture about design and the body explored how people interact with design. For me, the lecture highlighted the importance of understanding how this can occur. While sight is the most dominant sense used to experience design, I think the other senses are just as important and are even more exciting. Understanding how to stimulate other senses through design can change how we create and how other experience our designs and the world around them. This could perhaps aid in reconnecting the body with design, rather than just the mind through the eye which was mentioned.

live theory : critical writing : final essay

live theory : critical writing : peer assessment forms

Here are my peer assessment forms for project three, kindly completed by Karly and Sean

live theory : RAP 6

This weeks lecture explored the relationship between design and nature. The most interesting point I pulled from the lecture was how designers try so hard to reflect nature and organic matter in design. However, I think that most of the time this is a bit of a contradiction because the whole design process, to me, seems the opposite: planned and controlled. Another interesting point from the lecture was when Tonya questioned if we feel a sense of responsibility as designers to design things naturally and sustainably. And I think we do. More than ever, sustainability is a huge topic that is stressed in not only design but all aspects of society. I definitely think that we have a much larger understanding and awareness about sustainable design and the implications of what and how we design. I think this is a good thing and that we should design with these things in mind.