this blog remains open– it belongs to all who made it. feel free to come back anytime and to post now and then if you find something you want to share.
thoughts that are worth thinking... (thank you polly)
Art happens between you and something—a subject, an idea, a technique—and both you and that something need to be free to move. Many fiction writers, for instance, discover early that making detailed plot outlines is an exercise in futility; as actual writing progresses characters increasingly take on a life of their own, sometimes to the surprise of the writer.
What’s really needed is nothing more than a broad sense of what you are looking for, some strategy for how to find it, and an overriding willingness to embrace mistakes and surprises along the way. Perseverence.
Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.
You have exactly what you need to produce your best work.
Expect fertile periods, dry spells, false starts, breakaway bursts, successive significant changes of direction, medium and subject matter. ( sounds like a marriage or relationship )
doodle.
maybe you should have a section in the book devoted to absolute failures. how great would that be? how does failure = success? how do you define failure? i believe, one door closed, means another is about to open.
You have nothing to lose, and nothing to fear. Enjoy your self. Engage in a process of being alive and experiencing the world in new ways, look for the amusing connections that only you make, ask yourself questions that only you would be interested in. Embrace your uniqueness, your story, your oddness, your fears. This is one of the most valuable things to realize.
Think of the possibility of leaving a loose thread, an unresolved issue that you can explore in your next piece—a cliffhanger. Don't worry about closure.
a story:
The ceramics teacher announced on day one the class would be divided into two groups. All those on the left side would be graded soley on the quantity of the work they produced. All those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple; on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pounds of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds, a “B” and so on. Those being graded on “quality” however, needed to produce only one pot—albeit a perfect one—to get an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged, the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity”group was busily churning out piles of work—and learning from mistakes— the “quality”group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay. If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble.
so, i see, i should have assigned experiences by weight. 50 pounds of visual/verbal fodder—anything, everything related directly or indirectly to being a student, designer, the unique person you are, your interests, fears, successes, techniques you love, words, clippings...imagine what you could do with that. i suggest you get out your scales and start weighing. (don't forget to document it.)
most of this came from the book titled "Art&Fear" observations on the perils and rewards of artmaking.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Posted by Heather Clark...thank you!
The Virtues of Failure
This is written by Donald M. Murray, Pulitzer Prize winner, and is excerpted from The Boston Globe, date unknown:
The virtues of failure are many, but the most important are:
• Failure allows escape. I spent a night trying to figure out how to escape a hated job on Time magazine. The next morning I was fired. Problem solved.
• Failure stimulates creativity. We are problem solving animals, and each failure teaches us what doesn't work so we can move toward what does. A failed glue led to Post-it notes.
• Failure encourages risk taking. After you have failed a few times, you learn the world doesn't care, that, in fact, the world was not even watching. It becomes natural—and exciting—to take risks.
• Failure helps you discover that what you have lost may not have been what you wanted to keep.
• Failure erases the scorn you once felt for others who failed. In its place comes empathy, compassion, even respect.
• Failure motivates.
When Murray was asked what he taught as a professor, he usually answered, “Failure. What we cannot do reveals what we can do.”
This is written by Donald M. Murray, Pulitzer Prize winner, and is excerpted from The Boston Globe, date unknown:
The virtues of failure are many, but the most important are:
• Failure allows escape. I spent a night trying to figure out how to escape a hated job on Time magazine. The next morning I was fired. Problem solved.
• Failure stimulates creativity. We are problem solving animals, and each failure teaches us what doesn't work so we can move toward what does. A failed glue led to Post-it notes.
• Failure encourages risk taking. After you have failed a few times, you learn the world doesn't care, that, in fact, the world was not even watching. It becomes natural—and exciting—to take risks.
• Failure helps you discover that what you have lost may not have been what you wanted to keep.
• Failure erases the scorn you once felt for others who failed. In its place comes empathy, compassion, even respect.
• Failure motivates.
When Murray was asked what he taught as a professor, he usually answered, “Failure. What we cannot do reveals what we can do.”
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Mapping the Cultural Buzz: How Cool Is That?
Research, presented in late March at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, locates hot spots based on the frequency and draw of cultural happenings: film and television screenings, concerts, fashion shows, gallery and theater openings.
from the NYT...
Research, presented in late March at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, locates hot spots based on the frequency and draw of cultural happenings: film and television screenings, concerts, fashion shows, gallery and theater openings.
from the NYT...
Monday, April 6, 2009
warts and all: a good working title (by Polly)
after the conversation today i'm sure you can all add something to this list. please join me in compiling the biggest possible “hairball clog” list. lets think of all the ways we can kill our ability to create freely...
i’m not a designer—i’m a phony
i have nothing worth saying
i’m not sure what i’m doing
other people are better than I am
i’m only a design student (senior)
my students are so much more talented than me
no one likes my work
i’m no good.
but, it's not supposed to be that way
thoughts that are worth thinking...
Art happens between you and something—a subject, an idea, a technique—and both you and that something need to be free to move. Many fiction writers, for instance, discover early that making detailed plot outlines is an exercise in futility; as actual writing progresses characters increasingly take on a life of their own, sometimes to the surprise of the writer.
What’s really needed is nothing more than a broad sense of what you are looking for, some strategy for how to find it, and an overriding willingness to embrace mistakes and surprises along the way. Perseverence.
Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.
You have exactly what you need to produce your best work.
Expect fertile periods, dry spells, false starts, breakaway bursts, successive significant changes of direction, medium and subject matter. ( sounds like a marriage or relationship )
doodle.
maybe you should have a section in the book devoted to absolute failures. how great would that be? how does failure = success? how do you define failure? i believe, one door closed, means another is about to open.
You have nothing to lose, and nothing to fear. Enjoy your self. Engage in a process of being alive and experiencing the world in new ways, look for the amusing connections that only you make, ask yourself questions that only you would be interested in. Embrace your uniqueness, your story, your oddness, your fears. This is one of the most valuable things to realize.
Think of the possibility of leaving a loose thread, an unresolved issue that you can explore in your next piece—a cliffhanger. Don't worry about closure.
a story:
The ceramics teacher announced on day one the class would be divided into two groups. All those on the left side would be graded soley on the quantity of the work they produced. All those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple; on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pounds of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds, a “B” and so on. Those being graded on “quality” however, needed to produce only one pot—albeit a perfect one—to get an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged, the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity”group was busily churning out piles of work—and learning from mistakes— the “quality”group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay. If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble.
so, i see, i should have assigned experiences by weight. 50 pounds of visual/verbal fodder—anything, everything related directly or indirectly to being a student, designer, the unique person you are, your interests, fears, successes, techniques you love, words, clippings...imagine what you could do with that. i suggest you get out your scales and start weighing. (don't forget to document it.)
most of this came from the book titled "Art&Fear" observations on the perils and rewards of artmaking.
i’m not a designer—i’m a phony
i have nothing worth saying
i’m not sure what i’m doing
other people are better than I am
i’m only a design student (senior)
my students are so much more talented than me
no one likes my work
i’m no good.
but, it's not supposed to be that way
thoughts that are worth thinking...
Art happens between you and something—a subject, an idea, a technique—and both you and that something need to be free to move. Many fiction writers, for instance, discover early that making detailed plot outlines is an exercise in futility; as actual writing progresses characters increasingly take on a life of their own, sometimes to the surprise of the writer.
What’s really needed is nothing more than a broad sense of what you are looking for, some strategy for how to find it, and an overriding willingness to embrace mistakes and surprises along the way. Perseverence.
Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.
You have exactly what you need to produce your best work.
Expect fertile periods, dry spells, false starts, breakaway bursts, successive significant changes of direction, medium and subject matter. ( sounds like a marriage or relationship )
doodle.
maybe you should have a section in the book devoted to absolute failures. how great would that be? how does failure = success? how do you define failure? i believe, one door closed, means another is about to open.
You have nothing to lose, and nothing to fear. Enjoy your self. Engage in a process of being alive and experiencing the world in new ways, look for the amusing connections that only you make, ask yourself questions that only you would be interested in. Embrace your uniqueness, your story, your oddness, your fears. This is one of the most valuable things to realize.
Think of the possibility of leaving a loose thread, an unresolved issue that you can explore in your next piece—a cliffhanger. Don't worry about closure.
a story:
The ceramics teacher announced on day one the class would be divided into two groups. All those on the left side would be graded soley on the quantity of the work they produced. All those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple; on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pounds of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds, a “B” and so on. Those being graded on “quality” however, needed to produce only one pot—albeit a perfect one—to get an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged, the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity”group was busily churning out piles of work—and learning from mistakes— the “quality”group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay. If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble.
so, i see, i should have assigned experiences by weight. 50 pounds of visual/verbal fodder—anything, everything related directly or indirectly to being a student, designer, the unique person you are, your interests, fears, successes, techniques you love, words, clippings...imagine what you could do with that. i suggest you get out your scales and start weighing. (don't forget to document it.)
most of this came from the book titled "Art&Fear" observations on the perils and rewards of artmaking.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The race is on
The literal search for information is concluding. As of the return from spring break, we will begin to organize your collected content into a meaningful structure (book).You will be responsible for making a book by hand as a prototype. In addition you are required to make a mass consumption version to be published on either lulu, or blurb.
using metaphors to organize: review the word list from the "try this" posting below. collect a large number of taglines from magazines or advertising. covers work well but you need variety. compile them mix them up in lists. then see where what you have made fits the under the taglines. then organize the taglines based on your response to the assignments.
The literal search for information is concluding. As of the return from spring break, we will begin to organize your collected content into a meaningful structure (book).You will be responsible for making a book by hand as a prototype. In addition you are required to make a mass consumption version to be published on either lulu, or blurb.
using metaphors to organize: review the word list from the "try this" posting below. collect a large number of taglines from magazines or advertising. covers work well but you need variety. compile them mix them up in lists. then see where what you have made fits the under the taglines. then organize the taglines based on your response to the assignments.
good questions are better than so so answers
If i had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my axe.
- abraham lincoln
key questions to consider when searching to give shape.
1) what is your method of bringing order to your disparate experiences? tape? paper?
2) are you doing additional support research? this should be topics of interest to you.
3) what are the small piece of the equation to make visual studies from? define them. doodle ect...
4) what is your claim? what is your evidence?
5) if you define your process as a journey, your experiences as destination points, what are the intersections?
6) what is your quest?
7) what compels and persists?
8) what is your meaningful context? who?
consume in a radical way. read, see and experience everything through the question at hand.
consider three types of knowledge:
theoria-the act of experience to gain truth
praxis- practical knowledge that comes from doing an activity or manual skill. a cyclical process
poesis- the act of creating or making
think about
personal experiences
audience
graphic design profession
leaping forward
From Veronica: Finding Metaphors
Audiences as co- designer (you think you control me but I control you).
collect a large number of taglines from magazines or advertising. covers work well but you need variety. compile them mix them up in lists. then see where what you have made fits the under the taglines. then organize the taglines based on your response to the assignments.
HEADINGS + TAGLINES
Looking for solutions?
Royalty free style
complete your search
use your imagination
Enjoy a new experience
Fine tuning
Watermark for life
The second best time
Fontwear
Tailor- made
Get buzzed
First Impression
The big if
Bridging the distance
Growing good Karma
Truer moments
Beyond
Creativity for a cause
TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLES
Find your bliss
Perfect little details
Less is more
Work in progress
Bird's eye view
They mean green
Just another day
Hatching ideas
Culture creator
Made to stick
Not so fast
Save us
Waiting for permission
The real and the fake
Regrets only
The world in two footnotes
EXPLORATIONS + READING + WRITINGS
differences = Perfect little details
making things out of paper = Find your bliss
it keeps me entertained for hours = Use your imagination
a dead jelly fish = Regrets only
i can't breathe = Waiting for permission
you find beauty in ugly things = Creativity for a cause
packing my stuff = Less is more
love the one you're with = Truer moments
calculated = Looking for solutions?
end of spoon = Perfect little details
trace = Work in progress
human made = Culture creator
pink tennis ball = First impression
homeless lady = Save us
people on bikes = Just another day
tea under the lemon trees = Truer moments
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
the literal search for information is concluding. the race to shape the mass of explorations, readings and connections into some semblance of a coherence artifact begins. read and response to traversing the edge and center: a spatial approach to design research by katie salen
define how will you proceed from today… 44-54 page book (you best get going)
can’t get started? try one of these.
make quick notes from books you find useful. see what explorations, readings, and writings fits under the topics.
Example: my notes from John Maeda’s book Simplicity
Simplicity= sanity (like using initials to protect privacy)
We have become uncomfortably full. Everything makes perfect sense until it doesn't.
The laws- reduce, organize, time, learn, differences, content, emotion, trust, failure, the one, away, open, power, life.
Thoughtful reduction uses less to gain more
Organize to make many appear fewer
Shrinking time feels like simplicity however fast doesn’t come cheap.
Seeing and knowing- knowledge makes things simple and creates bodies of evidence. Evidence shows confidence in what you are doing.
Simplicity and complexity need each other
The periphery of simplicity is not peripheral to communication
More emotions are better than less, openness simplifies complexity
Is trust in simplicity worth the gain? Don't pretend it is just convenience
Some things are never simple and can never be
Subtract the oblivious and add the meaningful
You need mentors to give you courage
Adding up all the little things really matters
There is no kitsch there is only kitsch
Omit the important to find “important”
Another organizational method: table of contents as metaphor
find various books from different professional areas. you could use salen’s metaphors of travel, dwelling, interaction, or find your own metaphors (but do it now!).
collect a large amount of chapter or section titles. pick and compile.
see what explorations, readings, and writings fits under the topics. expand on the selection of topics/ explorations that fit, or make new ones. re-sequence to organize the structure or to make expansions.
Example: ( I sort of used salen’s)
One brain or two
More experience = bigger brain
Public domain
I am a natural, I think…
Suicide spot
Beyond the bypass
Primitives that we are
Unromancing the dream
Faking it
Starving audience
For export
In exile
Service like the old days
Are you hypnotized?
In Jekyll’s foot steps
Its not just about salivating dogs
Knock wood
Through a broken lens
Public enemy
Public image
Dining out
Last chance
Delusions of grandeur
Annexation area
Border zones
Rest of the continent
for the memories, thanks
Crowding into the bath
Growth control
Floodway
Flight path
Struggle to lose control
Prisons by any other name
Audiences as co- designer (you think you control me but I control you).
collect a large number of taglines from magazines or advertising. covers work well but you need variety. compile them mix them up in lists. then see where what you have made fits the under the taglines. then organize the taglines based on your response to the assignments.
define how will you proceed from today… 44-54 page book (you best get going)
can’t get started? try one of these.
make quick notes from books you find useful. see what explorations, readings, and writings fits under the topics.
Example: my notes from John Maeda’s book Simplicity
Simplicity= sanity (like using initials to protect privacy)
We have become uncomfortably full. Everything makes perfect sense until it doesn't.
The laws- reduce, organize, time, learn, differences, content, emotion, trust, failure, the one, away, open, power, life.
Thoughtful reduction uses less to gain more
Organize to make many appear fewer
Shrinking time feels like simplicity however fast doesn’t come cheap.
Seeing and knowing- knowledge makes things simple and creates bodies of evidence. Evidence shows confidence in what you are doing.
Simplicity and complexity need each other
The periphery of simplicity is not peripheral to communication
More emotions are better than less, openness simplifies complexity
Is trust in simplicity worth the gain? Don't pretend it is just convenience
Some things are never simple and can never be
Subtract the oblivious and add the meaningful
You need mentors to give you courage
Adding up all the little things really matters
There is no kitsch there is only kitsch
Omit the important to find “important”
Another organizational method: table of contents as metaphor
find various books from different professional areas. you could use salen’s metaphors of travel, dwelling, interaction, or find your own metaphors (but do it now!).
collect a large amount of chapter or section titles. pick and compile.
see what explorations, readings, and writings fits under the topics. expand on the selection of topics/ explorations that fit, or make new ones. re-sequence to organize the structure or to make expansions.
Example: ( I sort of used salen’s)
One brain or two
More experience = bigger brain
Public domain
I am a natural, I think…
Suicide spot
Beyond the bypass
Primitives that we are
Unromancing the dream
Faking it
Starving audience
For export
In exile
Service like the old days
Are you hypnotized?
In Jekyll’s foot steps
Its not just about salivating dogs
Knock wood
Through a broken lens
Public enemy
Public image
Dining out
Last chance
Delusions of grandeur
Annexation area
Border zones
Rest of the continent
for the memories, thanks
Crowding into the bath
Growth control
Floodway
Flight path
Struggle to lose control
Prisons by any other name
Audiences as co- designer (you think you control me but I control you).
collect a large number of taglines from magazines or advertising. covers work well but you need variety. compile them mix them up in lists. then see where what you have made fits the under the taglines. then organize the taglines based on your response to the assignments.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Helpful tips:
Excerpt from: What is a designer by Norman Potter:
Ask yourself:
-Why this document or drawing or model?
-For whom and to whom from whom?
-In what time and place and occasion?
i.e.:
-For what purpose, with what intention, with what (precise) aim?
-or for which of several purposes seen to be related?
Then:
-When should it be done and when conveyed? (may be separate)
-How it should be done? (less a question than an answer)
Thus:
-Why - Who - What - Which - When - How
Embrace:
-Context, relevance, completeness, sequence, tone, consistency, usage, and other things you may wish to consider.
Thus giving:
-Relevant form to what you do.
-From the possibilities of mode, vehicle, medium, agent, intention.
-Each of which can usefully be distinguished: they are not the same nor better described as dualities. (medium:message)
The Apparent case for navigation by principle.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
digging deeper - greg tariff
After presenting today, I had some really good insight on how to then move forwards with this project, things to research, ask myself, look into others, and record my findings.
Ideas discussed were:
-Anthropology / Psychology
-What makes people act the way they do?
-Are people trying to conform to a group, or separate themselves from others?
-Psychology of marketing
-Why would someone carry an image on them that is not their own?
-Sending a message, relation to ancient times?
-What creates the tribal instinct of joining a group of people?
-What are the factors that contribute to creating a "cult-like" following?
Travel away from the styles, and go more in depth on what causes people to react the way they do with these items. Then with further research of going more in depths on these questions; relating my findings in the form of experimenting with type.
Ideas discussed were:
-Anthropology / Psychology
-What makes people act the way they do?
-Are people trying to conform to a group, or separate themselves from others?
-Psychology of marketing
-Why would someone carry an image on them that is not their own?
-Sending a message, relation to ancient times?
-What creates the tribal instinct of joining a group of people?
-What are the factors that contribute to creating a "cult-like" following?
Travel away from the styles, and go more in depth on what causes people to react the way they do with these items. Then with further research of going more in depths on these questions; relating my findings in the form of experimenting with type.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
abstract city
I LEGO N.Y.
abstract city is a roll model for us. check out more creative impulses here @ abstract city. these are the types of results that inspire an audience. so much economy, and fun!
Poster Boy Is Caught Zorro with a razor blade...
Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good and modest expectations.
Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.
Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think is still the secret of great creative people.
What else is this like?
How would you explain this to your parents?
Back up a few steps. What else could you have done?
Take away as much mystery as possible. What is left?
abstract city is a roll model for us. check out more creative impulses here @ abstract city. these are the types of results that inspire an audience. so much economy, and fun!
Poster Boy Is Caught Zorro with a razor blade...
Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good and modest expectations.
Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.
Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think is still the secret of great creative people.
What else is this like?
How would you explain this to your parents?
Back up a few steps. What else could you have done?
Take away as much mystery as possible. What is left?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
(brain assistant box) on to 4x 5 cards for monday feb 2
per our class discussion- connections can be made by combining individual image cards and word clipping cards (thoughts expressed as words). make sure to shift and try different arrangements that create new ideas. the ideas happen by these random connections might not be going in the same direction as your original plan. let things happen, look for new connections that take you into new territory. “the oblique strategies" can help you find a new point of view...
connections are all around us
connections can lead to new connections
connections generate authenticity
authenticity is persuasive
generate your cards and post on your blog for Monday. Make Connections!
be sure to check out the other class blog.
Realizations about design process: (thank you polly)... in her words
Robert Wilson is a designer of space, time—theatrical events. He begins thinking about new performances by creating a series of abstract charcoal drawings, arranging them into sequences, then studying the drawings, looking for stories and structures for the stage.
I one time had the opportunity to talk to Nancy Skolos of Skolos Wedell. She told me how she would cut little compositions out of paper and arrange them while talking on the phone, catalogue the compositions, and pull them out for poster designs at a later date.
Both processes ( I am so relieved to know ) fly in the face of what I had always believed to be true—a concept must be created first, then form is determined to support that concept. There is no right or wrong way to approach design. The only way to approach design, is to be true to the way you see the world. But, first make sure you are looking (and seeing).
a little bit of synchronicity: The current show in the Selby Gallery titled Thomas Woodruff's Freak Parade is on exhibit in the Selby Gallery. He was only in his 20's when he collaborated with Robert Wilson on set decor for a theatrical performance titled Edison.
connections are all around us
connections can lead to new connections
connections generate authenticity
authenticity is persuasive
generate your cards and post on your blog for Monday. Make Connections!
be sure to check out the other class blog.
Realizations about design process: (thank you polly)... in her words
Robert Wilson is a designer of space, time—theatrical events. He begins thinking about new performances by creating a series of abstract charcoal drawings, arranging them into sequences, then studying the drawings, looking for stories and structures for the stage.
I one time had the opportunity to talk to Nancy Skolos of Skolos Wedell. She told me how she would cut little compositions out of paper and arrange them while talking on the phone, catalogue the compositions, and pull them out for poster designs at a later date.
Both processes ( I am so relieved to know ) fly in the face of what I had always believed to be true—a concept must be created first, then form is determined to support that concept. There is no right or wrong way to approach design. The only way to approach design, is to be true to the way you see the world. But, first make sure you are looking (and seeing).
a little bit of synchronicity: The current show in the Selby Gallery titled Thomas Woodruff's Freak Parade is on exhibit in the Selby Gallery. He was only in his 20's when he collaborated with Robert Wilson on set decor for a theatrical performance titled Edison.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Presentation 2: Experiences + Connections
Presentation 2: Experiences + Connections
Questions for the next presentation:
1)What are some different kinds of connections that can be made between image+image, words+images?
2)How do you know when you have and have not made connections?
“The Oblique Strategies" can help you find connections...
Dan Pink would say... ”Like drawing, Symphony is largely about relationships. People who hope to thrive in the Conceptual Age must understand the connections between diverse, and seemingly separate,disciplines. They must know how to link apparently unconnected elements to create something new. And they must become adept at analogy—at seeing one thing in terms of another. “ -from A Whole New Mind.
A STORY IS A FACT, WRAPPED IN AN EMOTION THAT COMPELS US TO TAKE ACTION THAT TRANSFORMS OUR WORLD.
five basic components:
a passion- in which the story is told
hero- or narrator- to see through his or her eyes
antagonist or obstacle-
awareness- allows the hero to prevail
transformation- the results in the hero and the world
(from the book The Elements of Persuasion)
Questions for the next presentation:
1)What are some different kinds of connections that can be made between image+image, words+images?
2)How do you know when you have and have not made connections?
“The Oblique Strategies" can help you find connections...
Dan Pink would say... ”Like drawing, Symphony is largely about relationships. People who hope to thrive in the Conceptual Age must understand the connections between diverse, and seemingly separate,disciplines. They must know how to link apparently unconnected elements to create something new. And they must become adept at analogy—at seeing one thing in terms of another. “ -from A Whole New Mind.
A STORY IS A FACT, WRAPPED IN AN EMOTION THAT COMPELS US TO TAKE ACTION THAT TRANSFORMS OUR WORLD.
five basic components:
a passion- in which the story is told
hero- or narrator- to see through his or her eyes
antagonist or obstacle-
awareness- allows the hero to prevail
transformation- the results in the hero and the world
(from the book The Elements of Persuasion)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
the idiosyncratic Gerhard Richter...
...an idiosyncratic combination of artistic instinct, technical dexterity and pure chance, Richter creates paintings of stunning beauty. As he has himself explained, "I want to end up with a picture that I haven't planned. This method of arbitrary choice, chance, inspiration and destruction may produce a specific type of picture, but it never produces a predetermined picture...I just want to get something more interesting out of it than those things I can think out for myself."
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
EXPERIENCES 1.0
first read pages 1 through 28 in keri smith's book.
take some time and look over your book, identify the experience you want to do first.
next week engage in your first experience.
document it with one of the methods indicated in the book.
look through the book like you are looking at the items at the second hand store... which ones talk to you? those are the ones you want to do.
tell me what it is. post which you will do on your blog, indicate where and when you will do this. what means will you use to document the experience?
WORDS + IMAGES ON CARDS (brain assistant box)
translate your experience into 3 x 5 sized cards. this can be any paper stock or method of image reproduction you would like. make as many cards as you would like to make. (at least 10) read from any of the readings listed, or maybe there is a reading from the past that you thought was important. look at it again and pull the content you responded to. extract meaningful words, phrases, paragraphs and add these to the cards—as many as you would like. (at least 10). make sure to note your sources for future reference on all image collection and readings that come from books.
at the end of the week, review the weeks collection / experiences. look for curiosities, the unusual, then connections. note these connections. keep these connections. from the connections you make (make as many as you can) post the most successful ones on your blog and write a brief summary. a summary can be a word, statement, paragraph— a found thought or quote-everything is of value. if you don’t have a connection post something anyway as a question (which are more interesting than answers anyway). ask a question—what the heck is a connection and how do I make them in my everyday life? But write a summary of your experience. go deep. brevity + levity rules the day. what is valuable?
READINGS
an incomplete manifesto
brian eno’s oblique strategies
things i have learned so far in my life stephan sagmeister
michael bierut:
why designer’s can’t think
on falling off a treadmill
some of these original texts can be found on design observer.com
thedailyscrapbook.com
a scrapbook page is presented each day from her recent book
titled “scrapbooks”.
take some time and look over your book, identify the experience you want to do first.
next week engage in your first experience.
document it with one of the methods indicated in the book.
look through the book like you are looking at the items at the second hand store... which ones talk to you? those are the ones you want to do.
tell me what it is. post which you will do on your blog, indicate where and when you will do this. what means will you use to document the experience?
WORDS + IMAGES ON CARDS (brain assistant box)
translate your experience into 3 x 5 sized cards. this can be any paper stock or method of image reproduction you would like. make as many cards as you would like to make. (at least 10) read from any of the readings listed, or maybe there is a reading from the past that you thought was important. look at it again and pull the content you responded to. extract meaningful words, phrases, paragraphs and add these to the cards—as many as you would like. (at least 10). make sure to note your sources for future reference on all image collection and readings that come from books.
at the end of the week, review the weeks collection / experiences. look for curiosities, the unusual, then connections. note these connections. keep these connections. from the connections you make (make as many as you can) post the most successful ones on your blog and write a brief summary. a summary can be a word, statement, paragraph— a found thought or quote-everything is of value. if you don’t have a connection post something anyway as a question (which are more interesting than answers anyway). ask a question—what the heck is a connection and how do I make them in my everyday life? But write a summary of your experience. go deep. brevity + levity rules the day. what is valuable?
READINGS
an incomplete manifesto
brian eno’s oblique strategies
things i have learned so far in my life stephan sagmeister
michael bierut:
why designer’s can’t think
on falling off a treadmill
some of these original texts can be found on design observer.com
thedailyscrapbook.com
a scrapbook page is presented each day from her recent book
titled “scrapbooks”.
Monday, January 12, 2009
presentation 1: design process,"the journey is the destination" due jan 21th. use these questions as a guide when preparing your presentation.
1) select three projects that you feel had a successful design process to tell the story about your process of design or "how did you get to where you got".
2) how do YOU solve a problem?
3) was the focus on you, an audience, or the instructor/project parameters
(this can help you understand when you do your best work—tight parameters, loose ones)
5) what were the similarities in the process?
6) what were the differences in the process?
7) what did you find rewarding in the process?
8) how is your process unique to you?
9) we are not talking about outcome, but process.
10) how would you describe this in an interview?
11) do not present what we know,a generic process, but the personal process.
12) how do you make us interested?
what was valuable? brevity + levity rule...
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Systematic Inventive Thinking
come up with an idea for an innovative new product. It can be any sort of product, just as long as it's something truly original, something you've never seen or heard of before. You have 45 seconds. (Please take this time to actually think of something before you continue.)
then click here.
then click here.
For Innovators, There is Brainpower in Numbers
By JANET RAE-DUPREE
Published: December 5, 2008
Published: December 5, 2008
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
— Japanese proverb
DESPITE the enduring myth of the lone genius, innovation does not take place in isolation. Truly productive invention requires the meeting of minds from myriad perspectives, even if the innovators themselves don’t always realize it.
Keith Sawyer, a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, calls this “group genius,” and in his book of the same name he introduces a scientific method called interaction analysis to the study of creativity. Through studying verbal cues, body language and incremental adjustments during team innovation efforts, Mr. Sawyer shows that what we experience as a flash of insight has actually percolated in social interaction for quite some time.
“Innovation today isn’t a sudden break with the past, a brilliant insight that one lone outsider pushes through to save the company,” he says. “Just the opposite: innovation today is a continuous process of small and constant change, and it’s built into the culture of successful companies.”
It’s a perspective shared broadly in corporate America. Ed Catmull, president of Pixar Animation Studios and Disney Animation Studios, describes what he calls “collective creativity” in a cover article in the September issue of Harvard Business Review. “Creativity involves a large number of people from different disciplines working together to solve a great many problems,” he writes. “Creativity must be present at every level of every artistic and technical part of the organization.”
So, we all should brainstorm our way through the day, right? Wrong. That classic tool introduced by Alex Osborn in 1948 has been proved in a number of studies over the last 20 years to be far less effective than generally believed. “He had it right in terms of group process,” says Drew Boyd, a businessman based in Cincinnati who blogs and speaks often about innovation. “But he had it wrong in terms of the method.”
Brainstorming, Mr. Boyd says, is the most overused and underperforming tool in business today. Traditionally, brainstorming revolves around the false premise that to get good ideas, a group must generate a large list from which to cherry-pick. But researchers have shown repeatedly that individuals working alone generate more ideas than groups acting in concert. Among the problems are these: Throwing in an idea for public consideration generates fear of failure, and workers looking to advance their own interests often keep their best ideas to themselves until a more opportune time.
Instead of identifying a problem and then seeking solutions, Mr. Boyd suggests turning the process around: break down successful products and processes into separate components, then study those parts to find other potential uses. This process of “systematic inventive thinking,” which evolved from the work of the Russian engineer and scientist Genrich Altschuller, creates “pre-inventive” ideas that then can be expanded into innovations.
Kapro Tools, working with an Israeli company called Systematic Inventive Thinking, used the method to create a new type of bubble level calibrated to help build gentle slopes to improve drainage. Previously, construction workers approximated the slope they wanted by placing a nail or other object under the edge of a standard level.
“Innovation is a team sport,” Mr. Boyd says. “There’s a dynamic that happens between people that produces results I just don’t see with an individual.”
Even Albert Einstein, society’s most common mental picture of genius, needed group input to hone his insights. According to “Einstein’s Mistakes” by Hans Ohanian, the great physicist’s derivation of the famous equation E=mc2 contained several errors; it wasn’t until 1911 that another scientist, Max von Laue, developed a full and correct proof.
“The best innovations occur when you have networks of people with diverse backgrounds gathering around a problem,” says Robert Fishkin, president and chief executive of Reframeit Inc., a Web 2.0 company that creates virtual space in a Web browser where users can share comments and highlights on any site. “We need to get better at collaborating in noncompetitive ways across company and organizational lines.”
THAT’S exactly what innovators at a dozen health care systems throughout the country had in mind nearly four years ago when they formed the Innovation Learning Network, says its director, Chris McCarthy. The problem, he says, is that there are so few health care innovators within each organization that introducing technologies and processes can be painstakingly slow. “We thought if we could get all these experienced folks together to push each other’s thinking continually, we’d all be better off,” he says.
What started as a grant-financed, one-year trial is now a member-financed permanent network, he says. The members bring in new technologies and experiment with them in a faux clinical setting in San Leandro, Calif.,. One of the first large-scale initiatives to arise from the network is KP MedRite, an effort at Kaiser Permanente’s 32 hospitals to ensure that nurses are not interrupted while dispensing medications. Other member health care systems have already begun to introduce the program at their sites.
By using the group’s knowledge and experience, Kaiser Permanente accomplished in less than a year what would have required roughly two years to do without the network, Mr. McCarthy says. “It was a huge jump-start for us,” he says. “The group effort allows us to move much more quickly and become successful much faster.”
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