Week 9 / Type of Spirit

Great work on Type of Spirit! :D

We will have a final presentation on week 15. You don’t have to show every projects that you have done, you can choose the ones that you like the most and present at least 3. Daisuke may invite some guest critiques so each will get 15 minutes: 10 minutes to present and 5 minutes for feedback.

Recap on shifting mode. We are shifting our mode to making, as we have done enough research and thinking. Reason why we had spent the first half of the semester on “thinking part” is because framework is important. (framework = rules, regulations, concepts that we created, and the way each reframed the project) Remember the structured chaos workshop. Structured Chaos is the condition that our class is cultivating. Even creativeness needs a foundation and structure. It is about amalgamating intuitive but chaotic creativity with structure. You need a balance of structure and chaos. We have done a 9-dots-exercise as well. In order to get out of the box, you have to find/identify the box first! Who put those dots? Sometimes the dots are given, but sometimes it’s the designers who put the dots. First half of the semester was about finding that box/creating framework by writing essays, creating concepts/directions, and sketching.

“Most processes leave out the stuff that no one wants to talk about: magic, intuition and leaps of faith.” - Michael Beirut

4 main concepts of this classes were reviewed.

Communication Design in 3D
Scale and Navigation
Human Centered Design
Storytelling, Experience Design

The essential/critical questions that all the designers have is “what is design?” Design is a relationship between form and content. If so, then the beauty is in the balance between two. Think of the balance between your design’s concept and form. Is it engaging? Is it balanced? In order to get better with balancing between those two, we need to train ourselves to look (observe, investigate, analyze) and make (prototyping, iterative process, trial & error, crafting).