Critical design thinking elective 2016 by Dionne Swinkels

Critical design

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dead man knockingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

K E A E l e c t i v e M o d u l e 2 0 1 6

Introduction The publication you’re holding in your hand is the result of three weeks worth of critical design, with the hammer as the object of study, produced by 17 talented students from the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology. What is critical design, you might ask? Critical design is about adressing political and social issues, rather than the purely functional or convenience-focused aspects of design. It is also a space, or an attitude, where we allow ourselves to investigate the useless, the weird, the fun, for one fundamental purpose: making people think and talk about what the hell it is they are holding in their hands. The course has been trying to adress critical design through three dimensions - a theoretical one, represented by Anthony Dunne and Carl Di Salvo - an idea generating point of view - a machine point of view, represented by the makerlab with it’s lasercutter, 3D-printer, textileprinter, foliocutter – but also with KEA’s other machines: a sandblaster and a vacuum mould. We hope you will be just as startled as we became, that you will enjoy the thoughts behind the process, and find interest in our photographic documentation of the work with the prototypes. Jesper Balslev & Jeremy Walton, teachers. Copenhagen 2016

Signe Beck Simon Blitz Ravnkilde Nina van der Zee Mathilde Christhensen Korsvig Anne Louise Jagers Emily Binnie Sally Nicholson Rita Leal Kamila Puchniarz Janneke van Hooff Sara Castanho Roos Bodewes Renars Kaulins Dionne Swinkels Emils Lukasevics Jonas Lingren Pedersen Henriette Holt Matthias Da∂ason Lasse Birger Bartholin Kjøbeløv Rikke Smidt Kathrine Grøner Errboe Rosa Emilie Riddersborg Katrine Hede Anders Poulsen

Table of contents Hands on 5 Hammer handbag 9 Sweet treat 14 Quadruplex 20 Handyman 25 A sudden impact 27 Green energy 29 The sustainable hammer 32 Two headed hammer 38 Anti-heuristic terminal 41 Process book 46 References

Hands on Genderless toolkit

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Screw myself?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Dionne Swinkels, Emily Binnie, Janneke van Hooff Materials: Wood, Paint, Foam, Steel Machines: Laser cutter, sawing machine, sandmachine 5

D io n n e s w i n ke ls I was very curious about “the dead man knocking” elective since I had no clue what the title should mean. Critical design thinking is also a new subject for me where I never had taken any closer look into. Required the title of this course I expected that we would learn how to design objects with different critical aspects to take in consideration. The first lessons were meant for us to understand how to use different models, like the a/b manifesto to get a better understanding about how to design a object from different points of view. The importance is that this made us think to which consumer we were designing for. After this method we started working with the lotus blossom model, what was kind of difficult and confusing in the beginning, since we never had worked with it. When knowing how to use it, it became a very creative and fun brainstorm session about how to use on of the a/b manifesto’s and turn this into eight different species. My first actual model was a hammer with a hole in the middle. This idea I generated from our first brainstorm session with the lotus blossom. It was a challenge to put the hammer together, but the outcome was better than expected. When I found my flow and feeling creative I came up with the idea about a Hammer Iphone case. The Iphone case is inspired by self defense products for women. While building the model, our group came up with more idea’s about self defense gadgets, we saw this as a great opportunity to build further on our product. When I participated in the course for “how to use the machines”, in the workshop I gathered some knowledge about how to control them.

During this course I figured out very quickly that it would be more accurate to make just one product suitable with every individual machine. I hoped that we would get more information about which materials were sufficient and how to use them in combination with the machines. Also the fact that we have to get inspired by the hammer was a challenge since its such a clarified object already. If we could have the option in the beginning to use different tools it would be more easier to adjust to our actual product. The main issue was feminism were we got inspired trough. I think feminism has a very strong voice in general which is not accepted by everyone these days. People getting placed in boxes all the time. There is a lot of violence to women, in case they come in defense or try to come up for themselves, they have no voice to speak or their not taken seriously. This subject stayed in my head for days, and we started discussing about that a hammer is actually a mens tool. That it’s a cliché for women to work in construction places. Comparing these manly tools with one of the most female products, which is make-up, I got curious how we could combine these. Why does women always have very feminine make up, with shiny colors etc. Is it possible to end this cliché that make up is only for woman? How to make it more masculine and how to shock people with make – up that is genderless. Our idea got born, a toolkit for men and woman, with products were everyone will be able to use them. I expected that making the objects was harder than it seemed to be. We used the saw, sanding machines and the laser cutter. It was actually very satisfying that the outcome of these

products were very well made. Our biggest achievement was that it looked like a small collection of items which were all similar in the materials (we used only wood, metal and silver paint). We communicate our collection line with the name “Hands one”, which literately means using the products were its made for. We made a tampon box “the magic bullets”, dildo screwdrivers “screw yourself”, eyeshadow box, brush, lipstick, and perfume bottles. When there was a possibility during this project, with having more time working on our “hands on” toolkit, we were able to make it more sophisticated. Even though we spend all time we got, and the toolkit looks professional in its way right now.

E m i ly b i n n i e Reading the elective module description, I gathered the module was a chance for us to come to terms with complexities when designing innovative products, and that many designers fail to do this by feeding the same, idle, consumer needs. I thought we would be expanding on this and looking at ways we could avoid developing products that would not allow society to advance, but just be feeding in to a mundane consumer demand by analyzing previous work from successful critical designers. I thought the course would be much more theory focused. Instead, we began brainstorming very early, and put ourselves into a negative design process when looking at the hammer. The first week consisted of brainstorming, applying the’ A/B Manifesto List’ we could design a hammer - but a hammer that had no functionality as a hammer and that perhaps lacked the common aesthetic of a hammer. As design is inherently focused on convenience, we opted against this to see if we could find critical ideas within the useless hammer. When brainstorming using the ‘Lotus Blossom’ method, we simultaneously applied ‘Scamper’, in which we changed or expanded on ideas we found within our initial brainstorm. When trying to generate ideas, I had in my mind that I wanted my final artifact to be feasible, and not fall into the category of ‘Corporate Design Fiction’ as in it would only be used in some sort of utopian society. This led me to wanting to create a product that didn’t rely on much technology to operate, as this can often lead to many problems in the real world. I felt the Lotus Blossom method paired with Scamper helped me to generate many ideas, and vision things I wanted to achieve and also wanted to avoid. By using the design approach of ‘Quick and Dirty’, we began making paper prototypes using ideas we had generated in the first class. This was to further the insights we had initially found, and see if we could expand on ideas, or if it actually led us to an alternative idea. I created a paper prototype with some classmates making a pointed hammer, the idea that it would actually be difficult to hit the nail with such a small tip on the hammer head. Following the paper prototypes, I was interested on the concept of woman dressing themselves as a defense mechanism. I thought I could create a knuckle duster style ring that actually resembled the idea of the sharp pointed hammer, which served little useful purpose as a hammer but could be used as a weapon. After being taught how to use the machines in the workshop, I felt it would be easier to make a selection of smaller and primarily wooden products, and more viable in expressing my message rather than trying

to explain it through a single prototype. I was still unsure of what my message could be, I then found people who wanted to make more than just one artifact. I formulated a group in which we were concerned with expectations regarding gender within society, but adapted it from the idea I had prior to this, to something relatable to other genders rather than just generally young women. By determining a strong political message, we could formulate an idea for an end artifact (or artifacts). As society is becoming more and more fluid with how individuals identify themselves, there is decreasingly a need for solely ‘male’ or ‘female’ products, generally speaking. So many products that are traditionally gender based, despite them being consumed by many different types of people, they are marketed in such a limiting way. Products like make up or phallic shaped sex toys are not just for women. By utilizing the traditionally butch and masculine visual of a hammer, and employing it to ‘woman’s’ products, we could project the social message of how marketing can be crude and thus often restrictive on society. Much of marketing ties in with Heuristics within psychology, certain colours and graphics have strong stigmas attached to certain things. Even tampons are often packaged in warm bright colours, with flower motifs across them. We were questioning this, an individual buying tampons knows what section they are in and what purpose they serve, is it necessary for them to be presented in a way that restraints users merely to these outdated ideals? Myself and my group believed this was one of the issues within society, however it is slowly diminishing. I believe our final prototype has value as a critically designed idea, as the message we created could be much more beneficial to society than the actual products themselves. However, of course there may have been a bias toward these product due to it being my own work. The course will be beneficial to me in the future as I will further be able to look at things from a decisive and realistic point of view. Critical design also enables individuals to design things that can stand for a change in society, rather than just more merchandise. If I had more time, I would have liked to change the way each product looked to give it a more sophisticated finish. The items were obviously made manually, however after looking at the Japanese design approach of Wabi – Sabi, I learnt to appreciate our project for its unrefined guise. This also reinforced the importance of the message behind it rather than just the way it looked.

J a n n e k e va n h o o f f At the beginning of this elective module I didn’t had that much expectations. I did some research what critical design meant and I read: ‘critical design takes a critical theory based on approach the design. This kind of design uses design fiction and speculative design proposals to challenge assumptions, conceptions about the role of object plan in everyday life.’ My expectations after reading this was that we were going to look at the meanings from different critical design objects en work with this. I’m a sceptical person myself and I couldn’t wait to put this into use! I didn’t expected that there were different modules and guidelines to brainstorm with problems and different point of views so we could put them in our design object. What I learned from using this ideagenerating modules, like the lotus blossom, is that you don’t have to follow the rules. You can intemperate them in your own way if it keeps you inspired. At the beginning this was a bit difficult for me, and I think for more classmates. But ones we were on the track with brainstorming about different hammers the ice got broken and I noticed that not only me but the whole class had fun sharing their ideas. In the second week I was sick for a few days so I missed the paper prototyping building. I was kind of scared that I won’t be able to have an input in the final prototype that we were going to make. But luckily my group mates where still open for some further brainstorming. The issue my group mates picked was feminism and we worked with the lotus blossom again. We started with an Iphone hammer case idea but ended up in a manly make-up toolkit. We started to work in the workshop the next Monday. After making our first screwdriver-dildo we found out that is all went faster then expected so we multiplied our talents to make as much wooden makeup as we could think of. A nail polish, brush, eye-shadow and two more screwdriver-dildos were at to out toolkit. What is critical about our design object is that it shows the preconceptions about not only the woman race, but also the men. Why does all the make-up needs to be girly and who sais girls can’t work with tools. Genders these days are more alike then ever. Men use makeup, trans genders are (for most of the people) no taboo anymore and girls dress like guys. So why are there still stereotypes that need to be broken? Our toolkit called: hands on is the beginning of breaking these stereotypes. The way we did this is we used the aesthetics of a hammer.

For the parts that we could not make out of metal we used metal paint to get the same look. The final products in our hand on toolkit are: - Lipstick - Eye shadow - Screwdriver dildos (called ‘screw yourself’) - A tampon box (included metal tampons) - Perfume bottles - And a brush What I learned after making this design piece is that really small things can have a big meaning and that sometimes: less is more. In communication design that’s a term that gets forgotten lots of times. The bigger, the more attention, the better. But I prefer working small and make a statement even though it is for a smaller target group that way. If we had more time I would have rebuild the box, so we could have a proper toolbox. I also liked the idea a lot to make a tool belt so women (or men) could wear our products. But overall I was satisfied with the product we delivered, it probably could look more sophisticated. But on the other hand the rough look of the wood showed out our message more. for the next time I would love to learn more about materials to work with and a bit more guidance how we can design our ideas. Also by the end I was a bit done with the subject ‘hammers’, because we did lots of brainstorming in different groups with hammer in the beginning it sometimes felt you stole ideas from other group mates. I liked it for the first couple of exercises, but in the end I would prefer a bit more freedom. At the end of this all I can say I really loved this elective module. Working with my hand again, being sceptical, the funny examples in the lectures and the fun we had in class!

h a m m e r h a n d b ag Yo u r p e r s o n a l p r o t e c t o r

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wow! this is really coolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Sally Nicholson, Anna Louise Jagers, Roos Bodewes Materials: Leather, Wood, Cork, Metal, Machines: Laser cutter, 3D printer 9

S a l ly n i c h o l s o n Prior to starting this class my idea as to what it would be about was unclear. I had a general concept of critical design - design that asks questions and makes viewers think. Yet even with this preconception I didn’t know what to expect from the class, and the name Dead Man Knocking didn’t provide any clues. That being said, I was excited to build a physical model, as I’m so used to doing all my creative work on the computer and not having a physical object in the end. As a class we started generating new ideas and concepts for hammers right away. To help promote the thinking of new ideas we approached the hammer from various points of view using tools such as the lotus blossom and SCAMPER. The ideas I generated throughout the class were all over the place looking back I do notice a common theme of questioning the uses of a hammer. I chose my idea of a jelly hammer for the paper prototype exercise, illustrating the idea in two styles of prototyping – quick and dirty and paper craft. Using two different methods to show the hammer really demonstrated the importance of expressing your ideas in various forms and qualities. It was through another class exercise, still using SCAMPER and the lotus blossom to create a paper prototype, that we came up with our idea of the Hammer Handbag. Once finished with the paper prototype we knew this was the idea that we wanted to use to create our final project. After being introduced to the machines in the Makerlab the idea of the Hammer Handbag didn’t necessarily change, but the details of the design became much clearer. With the laser cutter we determined that create a motif on the leather, while also cutting out the

sewing pattern. Also, once we learned about thingiverse.com we decided that the handle would feature a knuckleduster as well. My understanding of the intention of this course was to create something that challenged preconceived notions of an object, ours being both the hammer and women’s accessories. With the Hammer Handbag we wanted to further the dialogue on women’s positions within society and force people to think about equality. Harassment, physical or verbal, is something that women are constantly threatened by and are likely to experience at some point in their lives, and we wanted to bring this problem forward. Throughout the course we were introduced to several terms and theories in regards to design, which helped provide guidance in making our critical designs. The theory of system 1 and 2 thinking was a concept that interested me and I found that categorizing and naming these ways of thinking encourages you to use system 2 more because you are hyper-aware of how you’re using your brain. I think that is a good thing, however after awhile you might go a little crazy if you’re forcing yourself to always think deeply and question everything. Looking back to when we were generating ideas for different hammers I progressed from system 1 to system 2. Wabi Sabi, which embraces imperfections, was a term I very much likes, and is a good ethos to have in life. Wabi Sabi prevents waste and encourages people to alter the conceptions about beauty. The Hammer Handbag doesn’t exactly employ Wabi Sabi, but it does have elements of what could maybe considered frugal design, as there were some mistakes we

had to patch up quickly. As well, the idea that design is accretive was really informative. I can’t single out any specific elements of the bag that exemplifies accretive design; nevertheless it was interesting and useful. History is something that we should always keep in mind, even in design, and know that our reality is the composition of things and stuff from all ages and places. The concept of Adversarial design – design that has a stance on politics or a social problem – was another term I found important. I like this type of design as it posits ideas and encourages the viewer to think, and hopefully creating progression in some manner. The Hammer handbag does have elements of adversarial design as it explores the current position of women in our society. However, the bag has had very little exposure to the public so it’s hard to know if the bag actually acts as an adversary. Hedonic Asymmetry was also a useful term to learn, as it can be applied design and life in general. The biggest challenge when making the piece was the construction of the leather hammerhead and we had this mentality that once we completed this part the rest of the process would be much smoother. It was a big relief to finish sewing the leather, and the steps that followed were easier and much less stressful. However it could have gone downhill afterwards and there was no way of knowing, therefore this asymmetric mind frame was irrational. What I’ll take away from this course is the creative and critical mindset that was used.

Taking this course made me realize the importance of asking questions and thinking differently. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very unlikely Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll end up in design, but I think I will be able to employ and benefit from this way of think in whatever specialization I end up in. Given more time or resources I would have like to have produced a bag of even better quality. I was pleased with the design of it, but there are tiny mistakes that occurred during the production; the zipper was a bit too short so there were two holes at each end that we had to patch up, the cork we glued onto the handle could have been more smooth, and it would have been nice to have attached the knuckleduster in a more secure fashion. It would have also been nice to have shown it to more people in the public and have more conversations about the piece and discuss itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meaning, socially and politically.

A n n a lo u i s e jag e r s Before starting this elective module my thoughts were very open minded especially because the description of the elective was fairly broad. The reason of choosing this elective was since my current study, Fashion Management, the lectures and modules are theoretical so that is why my personal preferences went to an elective that was more creative and design focussed. During the past three weeks we were subject to examine, discuss and generate new ideas suitable for the name of the course; Dead Man Knocking. In order to create a valid idea for an artefact there was decided to start off by using the lotus blossom idea generation (Yasuo Matsumura, no date). Using this method gave us the opportunity to think beyond the usual path, subsequently this helped us organise the significant themes and to explore a number of alternate possibilities and ideas. One of the first lotus blossom idea generators we made focussed on a hammer including the paradigm shift of: provides answers/asks questions. During this session we came up with ideas such as a hammer that asks the consumer how many times the object needs to be hit. While further developing the ideas we made quick and dirty prototypes of our ideas, this ended up as a hammer with an eye. After some group discussions and making more lotus blossoms the decision was made to focus on the agonism of woman harassment. This idea came from the fact that a hammer is not an object to building things with but there is also a way of using it as a self-defence tool. So by finding a way to combine self-defence weapons, a woman accessory (a handbag) and a hammer we juxtapose unusual elements.

During the ideation stage and then to further development of the ideas there were some difficulties we came across. We did not want to create a mere exposure effect by expressing our personal preferences into the concepts. Also with the bandwagon effect it was hard to create original ideas, somehow there will be some kind of influences of students while you listen to their outcome of the idea generating. This was hard since the purpose of the assignment was to think beyond the usual path. Throughout the process of making the hammer handbag we figured out rather early that it was definitely a case of design fiction. Due to the fact that finding the materials and making the actual bag went so smoothly. As a group we decided to use leather for the top of the hammer that would be engraved with a hammer pattern by using the laser cutter. The handle was made from wood with cork wrapped around and the part where you hold the bag is a 3D printed knuckle duster. Even though some of the material choices and colours we designed at first, they then changed and progressed for the better in order to create an agonism artefact. Especially since most of the process went perfectly fine there were some troubles while using the 3D printer. After making the actual hammer handbag there was some hedonic asymmetry, which is a logical way of thinking since there is always the tendency to never be satisfied and always willing to improve your work. That is why we kept on developing ideas and thinking how we could improve it when we would have a bigger budget, other machines, other materials etc. The next time the handle of the hammer would

most likely be replaced with a piece of white oak wood. The cork gave a clear view that we want to create a mix of raw material and new technology with the leather and the laser cutter for example. That is why my personal preferences would go to a white oak wood and using the sand blaster to make the logo on the handle. Besides the hedonic asymmetry thoughts the final artefact turned out in a good way. It gives a clear view of the substitute of a hammer and a self-defence tool. While working with this group we had a hot hand fallacy since we had great team work and made a good artefact so it looks like there is a chance of further success. This elective module gave me the chance to develop not only my way of critical design thinking but design thinking in general. As mentioned before my aim was to be more creative and think and create ideas in a different way. This definitely opened my eyes for this field and way of working. By working with the different methods and theories we could create something that we would never think of when starting this elective. The knowledge that was gained will definitely be useful in the future.

Roos bodewes Prior to starting this class, I had no expectations and didn’t have an idea of what we would be doing. I tried to get a better understanding by doing online research but it didn’t provide a clear idea of the course. As well, the name of the course ‘Dead men Knocking’ was really confusing for me. The first phase consisted of brainstorming for the initial paper prototype. One of our first ideas was the hammerhand. As a group, we discussed different functions to enhance the idea. At first I was overthinking it, but the key is to let ideas flow. So what if we substitute the hammer with something else? Or use another material? There were a lot of different directions we could take, but together we chose to focus on the self-defense hammer handbag. It was almost a case of design fiction because everything went smoothly as we transitioned from brainstorming to construction. The self-defense hammer handbag is a bag for women to protect theirselfs against the society nowadays. Self defense and self protection is an often a priority for women. Self defense is important because statistics say that all women are good candidates to become victims of violent crime at any point in their lives . The self-defense handbag combines the functionality of a handbag with a self defense tool, making it the perfect accessory for any woman. The second phase was to make the quick-and-dirty prototype. It was really interesting to see what you can do with just paper. Manipulating the quick-and-dirty prototype helped us visualize our true design elements. After this we made a high resolution version of the prototype. So we created a prototype what was closer to what we wanted to create. Following the introduction to the various machines, and what they could be used for during the project, we started to think of even more ways to design a hammer. Our way of thinking when we went into this project was hedonic assymetry. The handbag is made of dark gray leather with a beautifully finished hammer pattern texture made with the laser cutter. There are metal studs added to the front of the handbag that someone can hit with when they are in danger. A knuckle-buster was added to the handle of the bag adds flare but also provides additional protection for the hand. Inside the handle there is also a hidden pepper spray as another form of defense that does not detract from the style of the bag. The hammer handbag is also a form of adversarial design. The bag’s

appearance and purpose contradict the norm of society and hopefully will trigger a deeper reflection than the bags you see in a department store. The interviews we conducted with several people caused them to think about women who would actually need this bag in a circumstance where they have to protect themselves against ill-treatment, rape and violence I really enjoyed working in this group because everybody was working really hard. It might have been a case of the Hawthorneeffect because we all paid specific attention to each other’s work, and therefore wanted to make sure we were doing our best work. If I had had more time to work on the project, I would have dedicated more time to the initial prototype phase. More specifically, I would have looked into how using different materials might alter the overall critical design. Changing the materials may have an impact on the entire functionality of the design, as well as appearance. We escaped the anchor-effect because the project gave us a lot of freedom, so I wish we had experimented with that freedom a bit more. Also, I would be very curious about receiving feedback on the hammer handbag without any previous explanation. In other words, I’d like to witness people’s reactions to the design without my interference or targeted questions. If my group were asking the questions, it might create the bandwagoneffect where people just agree that the bag is awesome because we as a group are so proud of it. As I am writing this paper, I am trying to avoid confirmation bias because as an exchange student it is sometimes hard for me to grasp concepts in English, especially for a class like critical design when my creativity and intelligence are utilized. I want to always do the full extent of research so that I don’t make future mistakes or rely on what I already know. Combining concepts and purpose from two totally different inanimate objects was something that really made me question what every day items are actually used for. It enhanced my observation and evaluation skills in a way that other classes have not. Design thinking is an approach to solving problems in a practical and creative way. The theory behind it both inspires new products and helps in the development stages. Personally this course has taught me not to criticize or second guess when investigating different ideas. It has shattered my fear of making mistakes because the only mistakes in creativity are made with a closed mind. It has encouraged thinking outside the box to ensure that you work in a very innovative way, and I will take this experience with me into future projects.

S w e e t t r e at A chocolate kit as a treat to drug your kid

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is the first time I feel guilty about my kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Kamila Puchniaz, Rita Leal, Sara Castamp Materials: dark chocolate, cacao powder, plastic bag, alluminium foile, paper

Kamila Puchniarz How chocolate changed my point of view on social problems. The first few minutes in a classroom and I already started to be uncertain. It was after the teacher announced that the object we will have been working during the next three weeks is a hummer. A hummer, the thing which is so boring, ugly and mostly used by the male gender representatives. I was wandering: “Why should this course be interesting? They could have picked thousands of things that are more interesting and sophisticated, than an object which is used for building and reparations.” The thoughts I had at the beginning weren’t anyhow motivative, till the time we were introduced to the Lotus Blossom - a diagrammatical creativethinking technique. That was a first time in my life I consciously started to generate critical design ideas. Moreover, a hummer from boring object turned to a very interesting one. What if we deprive a hummer its basic functions, and start to perceive it in a more complex way? Lotus Blossom exercise resulted in very weird ideas of non-hummers. We came up with different examples of critical hummers and fictional hummers, the one which completely change its purpose and 15

are very difficult to use or sometimes even impossible to grab. In other words hummer stopped being a tool and became a weapon or flying machine. However, the most interesting idea of a non-hummer, which grabbed the teachers attention was a chocolate hummer. I think it was the material: chocolate in that case, that brought the excitement. We started to brainstorm how cool will it be to play and prototype in a chocolate. After we were introduced to the machines, laser cutter and sucking air machine, we got little bit confused if it is possible to use a chocolate as a material to create a prototype. All of this machines heat an object to high temperature and we all know that chocolate melts after being heated. That made a chocolate a difficult material to work with. Before creating the prototype, we started to brainstorm what kind of problem the chocolate hummer could communicate. There is a lot of people in a society suffering from diabetes. We were thinking of using chocolate hummer as an object to create a campaign “Kill the diabetes”. Using hummer as a symbol of destruction and chocolate as a symbol of sugar overconsumption which cause diabetes. While debating about this

idea we discovered another problem, caused also by overconsumption of sugar. Chocolate or a sweet candy is usually used as a treat for children, to reward them for doing something good. We also noticed the connotation, that the same pattern applies with treating a puppies after being obedient. Ask yourself a question, is it right to do that to the children? At this point hummer stopped being a worker tool and opened a conversation about being a political design prop, pointing on a problem of sugar overconsumption in a society, especially with a focus on children. Full of positive energy, we prototyped archetypes special for children to bring the attention to their parents and make them think: • Prototype of bone, popular treat for dogs, covered with chocolate excellent reward for your child. • Pure chocolate injection - a perfect drug for your kid. • Chocolate sweet pills - never feel the pain again. • Cocoa powder line - pull a sweetness to your nose. We used dog treat bone and we covered it with chocolate. We poured the chocolate into the syringe to make a chocolate injection (a reference to

a drug addicts who injects heroine to veins). We poured the chocolate to the pills package and freeze it to make the chocolate sweet pills (a reference to pain killers addicts). A cocoa powder refers to cocaine addicts who pull it to the nose. This curse made us think critically about the design, and evoke a hidden potential for social change. I have hopeful thoughts that if this products appear in shops close to the candies area it will have a huge impact on parents and customers, and maybe, before buying another sweet they would stop and think if this is right. For the future, if we have more time and more money we would definitely create a social campaign against drugging children. We would place the chocolate injections in a candy shops or close to the area to realise parents and buyers that chocolate and sugar is a drug. The photo shooting engaging children holding a chocolate injection or eating chocolate pills or getting a chocolate bone as a dogs do, will have a great impact on parents. Especially that children donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the connotation, because for them this is just another sweet treat.

R i ta L e a l The purpose of the Course Critical Design - Dead Man Knocking, was to develop an idea around Critical design, represented by a hammer. Although Philosophy and Psychology are part of the Design process (doesn’t matter the area, if it’s Communication, Industrial, etc), Critical Design tends do focus on these two disciplines which are really complex and in some cases very abstract. The first stage of the creation process consisted in some exercises and brainstorm in group about different shapes and purposes for hammer, using the Lotus blossom method. Some of the ideas generated, always critical or nonsense, consisted of a “melting hammer” (very difficult to use), “hammer with spikes” (handle made of spikes, painful, but still possible to use), “ice hammer” (can be used as a hammer as long as the temperature is low, although is not comfortable) or the “chocolate hammer” (impossible to use as a real hammer but can be a metaphor). The visit to IKEA’s Space 10 was very helpful to understand the way that some apparently idiot or nonsense ideas can lead to solutions to real problems or demands.Chocolate was the natural choice, although the final product wasn’t decided in this stage. The second stage consisted on paper prototypes, trying shapes that could fit the chocolate form. At the same time, the group took the decision about the subject/ theme that could fit with chocolate; that was a critic about the way children are raised in developed countries, with special focus in Denmark - the treat method. Despite their behaviour, children will always be rewarded with candy. Several scientific studies concluded that chocolate and its effect, is compared to a drug and how people can get addicted to it. Children are even more sensitive to this possibility. ( http://www.health.harvard.edu/ blog/can-you-become-addicted-to- chocolate-201302145903 ). Children develop a similar behaviour to drug addicts, as their actions are based in the possibility of getting a reward in the shape of a candy, becoming natural manipulators. Parents are afraid to say ‘no’ and that that action can provoke unhappiness or frustration in their kids. So, what is the best way to convey this idea? How can we create awareness about this problem without being too obvious? How can we make people think just with an object? The answer was in Political Design associated with Adversarial design. The subcategories inside Critical Design seem to be infinite, but the two authors, Tobias Revell (Critical Design - http://blog.tobiasrevell.

com/2013/12/critical-design-design-fiction- lecture.html ), Anthony Dunne (Hertzian Tales) and Carl DiSalvo (Adversarial Design) were somehow elucidative about it, although not always easy to comprehend. “Adversarial design is a theoretically informed construct for understanding, describing, and analysing a range of objects and practices.” Carl DiSalvo in Adversarial Design. The final idea consists of 3 main objects: - dog bone covered in chocolate - pills covered in chocolate, in a box - syringe with chocolate inside (in a drug addict kit) With all the machines and tools available in Kea’s workshop and material lab, we selected the vacuum machine, cutter and a kitchen cooktop, along with several accessories, such as pots, bowls and spoons. We chose the vacuum machine after learning how to use it in the workshop introduction course. The first attempt was to create a mold for the bone. The vacuum machine uses PVC plaques and, despite the success in creating the shape of a bone, this material is not suitable for food and also not flexible enough to use for chocolate. It would have been useful to spend more time testing different types os chocolate and proper existent molds or even learn how to create one with the right materials. The solution we encountered was to cover a dog bone (treat) with chocolate. We did the same for the pills, although none of them can be eaten. For the syringe the only issue was related to temperature: when dark chocolate is exposed to low temperatures, changes its colour from dark brown to almost white and doesn’t look like chocolate anymore. Regarding the photoshoot and people’s reactions, the idea was to the drug addicts center (Mændenes Hjem), in Copenhagen, but we didn’t felt comfortable or safe to talk to people when we arrived there, despite our expectations. We needed more time to book an appointment with someone from the center that could make us a guided tour and select some people to talk to us. My expectations about this course were fulfilled. I expected to learn about Critical Design and how to develop ideas around it and that is what happened, although the first lectures didn’t seemed clear about what we were supposed to create in the final assignement. All the exercises in class and the texts were helpful in order to develop the final idea. In my opinion, our 3 final products are well representative of our idea and will raise the questions we planned, when presented to the public. After all, the hammer didn’t had to look like one!

S a r a c a s ta m p Chocolate is the most craved food in studies of food cravings1 and its meaning has shifted in the recent years to the idea of a substance that signifies luxury, reward and pleasure (James, 1979)2. Like coffee and tea, chocolate is a source of caffeine and therefore, potentially open to abuse. So we started to wonder about the relation between individuals and chocolate, and the attitude towards chocolate consumption with focus on children and its parents. Based on observation and past experiences of our childhood, we could identify a behavioural pattern associated with the reward system3. Children act and perform with their parents just in exchange for a piece of candy, a bag of sweets, chocolates, etc. And the fact that parents have (or should have) the control to set the rules, make us think about the way children are raised in the modern sugar culture. “If you eat your vegetables, you can eat your chocolate” is the conventional parents’ approach to make children eat healthy food which doesn’t always turns out a success because the child’s brain is focus is on the reward, the sweet treat. In line with this, questions about parental attitude and control theories towards children’s eating habits become a subject associated with dog training methods, due to the presence of a reward stimulus. Therefore, we aim to explore this issue criticize and reflect. Critical object/prototype A dog bone, a syringe and a pill package were the three objects chosen to represent and address the social issue related with sugar and chocolate consumption. The choice of objects

relied on the semantics and denotation of each one of them, which are easily recognized and identified in today’s society for several reasons. For instance, the dog bone represents the treat and the reward system, whereas the syringe with the needle and the pills package imply the meaning of addiction and drug use. By experimenting with these forms, we intend to create a narrative and dialogue to explore the appropriation of such objects in a different context and approach. This exercise exploits the characteristics and our “human perception” of chocolate as a powerful and manipulative substance, which in other context can be also interpreted as playful and not dangerous. The final prototype will be the display of a cocaine kit, where we will have a small plastic bag with powder chocolate and the syringe with chocolate inside. Besides that, we will include the dog bone covered with chocolate and the chocolate pills to emphasize the message of the critical object. Idea-generation and theory The first steps of the process were ideageneration and brainstorm. Deconstructing of the functionality and use of a hammer as we know it was the starting point to define the issue we wanted to focus on. A gold hammer, a hammer without handler, a multi-functional hammer copying the original Swiss knife, a women’s bag hammer, a hammer in a shape of a cocktail shaker, among others were some of the products we came up with exploring the concept of a hammer. The brainstorm sessions using the lotus blossom framework were seen as an abstract activity in the beginning because it was difficult to move away from conventional thoughts about the hammer seen now as a design object open to criticism.

However, with time and more idea-generation exercises we were able to search for different approaches forgetting about the hammer shape and characteristics. Through analysis and design thinking, we agreed on using chocolate as the primary material to build the critical object. This strategy enabled the design and development of the prototype influencing our motivation, dedication and workflow. We conceptualized the idea by reading and discussing Carl DiSalvo’s book about adversarial design where he describes the term with examples of projects where design challenges beliefs, values and approaches to solve political issues. His view and take on agonism relates with our aim to use critical design to make the audience think about education and health issues, or simply reflect on the meaning of chocolate as a product of design. Additionally, he refers to technology, sociability and computation as mediums to experiment and develop products for everyday purposes. In line with this, we discussed the prototype and its qualities to open up for a debate around chocolate as a drug and persuasive tool used by both parents and children. Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience, and Critical Design by Hertzian Tales was also taken into consideration due to his knowledge and analysis of cultural speculations and conceptual design. Such terms have never been thoroughly explained and/or debated at school, at least not the way he describes it. Therefore, it was a meaningful reading and interesting view on our everyday social and cultural experiences.

Process As mentioned before, everything started with brainstorm and the use of the lotus blossom framework followed by paper prototype. At this stage, we had already developed this interest in using chocolate for the final prototype which created some limitations in regards to the issue we would like to address. However, we were positively engaged and determined to work with chocolate and consequently thoughts about diabetes and sugar habits in Denmark started to be a topic of discussion. We shared childhood experiences and also our perception of the way children are raised around sugar and other “unhealthy” substances. Once the issue was defined, it was time to make a selection of the critical objects and to search for techniques to actually build the prototype. The first attempt with the workshop machines was the vacuum machine, which we were very curious about. Basically the idea was to do a mold of the dog bone and fill it with chocolate. But some things are easier said than done, so we bought a real dog bone instead and used it to cover with melted chocolate. Even though the first mold turned out almost perfect, we couldn’t take the bone out without ruining the mold and that’s why we had to change strategy. We melted two chocolate tablets in total in order to create the prototype. The syringe was our main problem in the beginning but it turned out to be the easiest. The pills packages required some cleaning and dedication when extracting the real pills from its sheet. On the way, we tried to experiment with the pills by having them also covered with the chocolate. But the end result wasn’t as good as expected. Also with the bone, we needed to polish it in order to have a smoother and dedicated shape.

Regarding intervention, we visited Mændenes hjem in Istedgade because of its connection with drug use and because of the potential of the place for a photoshoot of the prototype. However, the environment of the place didn’t allowed us to ask for images or to talk with people there. The alternative was to photograph the building from outside and to place one of the objects, in this case the syringe, on the floor creating a story for itself. As an improvement, I believe that minor adjustments and alterations could have been done to achieve a better prototype. For example, the quality of the chocolate and specific cooking techniques for melting and maintaining chocolate properties could have been considered. Furthermore, the intervention could have been planned differently and with more time so we could get feedback about the project and also more pictures of the prototype in a real environment/scenario. Besides that, we managed to always find solutions and take several approaches to finish the prototype on time.

Q ua d r u p l e x Multifuncional hammer

‘It’s flex, it’s unisex, it’s a hammer’

Emils Lukasevics, Renars Kaulins Materials: Stainless steel, lacque, wood oil, aluminium paste, plastic stickers

E m i ls L u kas e v ic s On the picture above we can see the end result, a multifunctional hammer called Quadruplex and holds four features essential to this critical object - Flex, Unisex, Complex, Simplex. How did we get there and what it took to achieve the end result I will describe in the upcoming paragraphs. I have to admit that the very start of this course of lectures I was not hundred percent sure of what to expect nor was I correct what critical thinking even means as it turned out later. If i would have to describe what is Critical Design with my own words I would say: ‘’It is a form of Art ’’. Simply because art holds a large part of its features : challenges assumptions, conceptions and brings out discussions. We were introduced that our end product would be hammer however the product actual creation would start only in 1 week. This created a very large brainstorm session which constantly would have new ideas and angles on things. By doing exercises in class, as well as with examples and terminology given we were encouraged to do something unordinary and explore what really is a hammer. What is hammer and what issues creating a critical hammer could be addressed. We did this by brainstorming through a task called ‘’Lotus Blossom’’. Crazy ideasv flew straight out of our minds. Electric hammers, glamour hammers, hammers with implemented cameras and so on and so forth. One of the ideas that was generated was a swiss hammer, this very much was the source of our final idea. Each of the hammers had to address an existing issue which is out there in the world : poverty, child abuse, global warming, sustainability, prostitute safety, etc. We looked

at the ‘’Swiss Hammer’’ and what could it address. We looked at the how some things are usable for everything but are good for nothing. Which brought us to the fact that there are so many tools and things that do the same feature however people just contineu supporting consumerism by constantly shoping for ‘‘new and improoved things. Ford, Audi, Kia, BMW, Mercedes and other car companies create almost the same products, with the same function : Sedan, Bus, Universal - every year new model. People create apps that already exist : WhatsUp, Viber, Messenger etc. In a result world gains nothing but lost man hours and resources. Therefor we set out to tackle this issue through creating a hammer. Our concept of the hammer was as i mentioned earlier ‘’Quadruplex’’. The name is no coincidence. We created a hammer shaped as a cube giving four exactly the same shaped sides with each offering in theory exactly the same possibilities for the necessary tasks at hand. However we gave each side a name for people to be able to choose one of the hammer offered features depending on their task. By juxtaposing all of these features on to hammer, we would create one tool that has it all. The difference between choosing ‘’Complex’’ or ‘’Simplex’’ however would create as large of an impact as when choosing between ‘’Viber’’ and ‘’WhatsUp’’ - none if any. That how ever was only the concept and we had to create an actual prototype. Before going forward with this idea and creating the prototype as an actual product. We went back to drawing board and thought long and hard if this is our end product and can the message be conveyed in a better and clearer way. Material choice had to be considered since the original

material intended was metal however getting a metal that big as well as cutting it would create an unknown factor. Since we have not worked with metal before and were unsure about is it easily to make a cube out of a stainless steel. However after contacting some more professional people we were confident with our plan and went on with it. We used circular metal cutter in order to get a cube shape, then made it smooth and pol- ished up. We had intentions to create engravings with laser cutter on the head of the hammer however the stainless steel is too hard of a metal therefor we had to figure a way around it. First thought was that we are going to either drill in the letters or do engraving ourselves. However luckily we were introduced with sand-blaster. Thanks to laser printer we printed stickers which we used as stencils for the sand blaster and created our desired text on the hammer. Prototype really came together by the end of it. When it was brought out to public we met up with random people on street and asked: What do they think if it? An elderly men replied that its : ‘’ It has Flex and Unisex and it is a hammer.’’ While another person coming out from Warpigs answered : ‘’It could be a meat tenderer.’’ It was great to see that people brought and associated the hammer with their work place. Proving in a sense that even though hammers have so many names - they are all just hammers. The thing that changes is the function of it. I think what I have gained the most from this class is the power of visual storytelling even in a object. Therefor prototyping is highly advisable. Also the way we brainstorm and view things. Using scamper and lotus blossom as brainstorming techniques to achieve new and innovative ideas could be the key in future

of my work. If i would go back and have the time and resources increased I would have definitely increased the size of the hammer. The intention was to have 7x7cm cube while as we ended up with 2.5x2.5cm one. More time on polishing the metal cleaner. Our intention was to create packaging very close to what apple offers for their products which sadly wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possible due to time limitation.

R e n a r s K au l i n s For the past three weeks we have been exploring theory and practice behind the critical design. I have to be honest. I did not choose this course myself, it was a random pick made either by one of the administration ladies or possibly one of the wonder machines of the 21st century, but when it all comes to finishing up our prototypes and getting ready for presentations I simply could not wish for anything better.

a comment on social fiction, or Swiss hammer that has multiple functions whereas all of them end up doing the same feature.

With this in mind I would like to jump back to the first day. While walking to the school I only had the description of the course in my head and a little bit of theory that I really did not get after attempt of reading the given material. So I really did not know what to expect from the upcoming course. Later on when we got introduced to our teachers and few easy exercises to break the ice, it was clear to me that next 3 weeks will be well spent.

Carrying on to the next phase was different from what I thought it should be. We tried to brainstorm about problems we meet on daily bases and what impact it creates on a global scale. As, for example, overconsumption as a problem and golden hammer as a result, or the meat consumption in specific and a Taser gun hammer that would shock the person trying to kill the animal as the result. It honestly took a some time to settle down on our idea. I remember us having a talk about our buddy who was buying all the tools you could find available on the market for no reason such as iphone, Imac, ipad, ipad pro,i-that and i-god-knows-why just to do those few limited functions that could have been easily done with one device. COMPUTATION.

Coming up with an ideas might feel like an easy task, but when it comes down to action it quickly proves the opposite. Therefore we were introduced to some of the methods and ways of working around. Having groups definitely made it more fun. For example, while working with lotus blossom method our team was quite successful I would say. As a group everyone was giving their input as well as trying out their drawing skills and share the visualized concept with rest of the group. Throughout the exercise we managed to come up with some pretty good ideas as ,for example, a hammer that was designed for construction workers and would take a selfie every time they would hit the surface which would raise a question is it the hammer manly enough, or a high tech hammer that would only work if the scan of the fingerprint was successful which would make

Word by word we ended up in big discussions about all the unnecessary tools available today. I could find at least 9 applications on my phone that would serve the same function to send a text message or all the 47 different type of TVs available in electronic store, or more than 50 different type of car brands that offer the same core feature - vehicle to take you from point A to point B. Slowly the idea started to shape in one direction and we came down to the point where our concept of swiss hammer would actually create a strong comment on how oversaturated is the market today and how many unnecessary products we come up with just to keep our revenues high in a short period of time without even considering the impact of the consumption created in the long term. With the help of the teachers we came up with good name for our hammer - Quadruplex.

Hammer would include 4 main features Simplex, Flex, Complex and Unisex. This would be the comment on all the products named in various ways, owned by different companies with different price tags to serve the very same function. Our concept for the hammer ended up raising a lot of questions. For example is the end product dematerialization of all the complex technologies and wasteful sources today that serve the very same feature or is the hammer juxtaposing all the features and possibilities in one very unique product. That is for every single individual who comes across our hammer to think about. Reaching practical part of the course was the most wanted part. Making a hammer again can sound easy, but when you start doing the research and all the ideas you though would be just as easy as folding the paper prototype were faulty. Our strategy to accomplish the task was to purchase a hammer in the local store and rebuild it accordingly to our needs. First of all finding the right tools to actually reach what we want was also a challenge. We would never end up with such a good result if not having the assistance of the teachers available in the school. First we wanted to engrave the words in metal to achieve permanent effect, but later on we were told that it would not be possible so we had to find solutions. We got in touch with Lars( teacher from jewelry workshop ) who gave us new knowledge on how to get things done. We had option of engraving manually with the tool we build on the spot (1) or use the sandblaster(2) to change the surface of the metal and get matte effect. Building the multifunction hammer included shaping the wood, polishing the wood, painting the

wood, cutting the metal(3), shaping the metal, polishing the metal, designing stencils (4), printing out sticker stencils, preparing hammer(5) for the sand blaster, using the sandblaster and others. It all came down to point where we had a beautiful prototype to show to others and feel good about what we have made(6). If I would have all the resources available in world, I would make one sample hammer from very expensive metal, shape it till perfection, and place it in the main Apple store located in New York. It

Handyman The perfect tool for pleasure

‘you buy, you buy?’

Simon Blitz Ravnkilde Materials: Hammer, Malaco shoelace, candy, sprayprint, cardboard

Simon blitz ravnkilde Let me start off by telling you what I’ve made. I have made a dildo. I will tell you a bit about my thoughts and why I ended here, but there will be a lot for you, dear reader to conclude yourself. Why I ended here is still unknown to even myself. I can only explain what seems like water under the bridge, but that same water ended up giving life to the lotus blossom when continuesly repeated. Planning I wanted to make a baby. I tried to put myself in the brain of a character. An offensive and sexist with very strong belief in the women’s incapability. A male chauvinist at its worst. Women don’t know how to use tools, the only tool they know how to use to perfection is a dildo, was things I thought about and tried to print into my consciousness. Another question that repeatedly came to mind was; should they be aloud to vote at all? Do they belong in a man’s world? Luckily it was ‘kvindernes internationale kampdag’, the day the dildo was born and what better day to release the handyman to the world. As Freud said: “Much of what we do is a sublimation of sexual desire.” This belongs very much here because you cant make a baby without having sex, or actually now a days you can, which kind of underline the problem. But you can’t have a sexual appealing baby without thinking sex, that’s a fact. Making I guess the dildo should go in the lotus blossom, so to speak. It did and then the magic happened. Suddenly a hammer was a very private thing. A thing you would hide away. It

would even be illegal in some countries. Some would even find a hammer vulgar. But most important wouldn’t a hammer be a masculine thing anymore. Confused? The dildo is a spraypainted hammer with malaco candy shoelaces wrapped around it. Its pink and a real beauty. Living The namegiving part was a tough choice, even though I was a single parent. Handyman or Handymama. What would it connotate either ways? I was afraid that it could and would be an image of impowerment to the women - That they actually don’t need men at all. Now I did say I was afraid, but to be honest I actually didn’t care much. I just wanted it to learn to speak and go live its own life. My human daughter is only 5, but I hope and think that I will feel the same with her in 13 years. Go express yourself and don’t embrace and hold on to me. You are a grown up now... I did think that it was very important to get the look of a dirty and cheap graphicvice made box for it. It should be a reflective illusion - A true copy of the reality our brains has created. My child should be wearing sexy garments anything else would be blasphemy. When it got old enough and had its first day with its conspecifics in a sexshop, it looked and felt right. The long gone son was home. If it even is a son? Could the women live without the men to help them out? In that case it would be very wrong to call it a long gone son. But handy wouldn’t make any sense at all. As I said before it was a tough choice, but I had to make a decision. “You buy, you buy...” the owner of the sexshop said when I stood there with my own offspring. No off course I’m not gonna bye something I

created myself, I thought. But then suddenly I got this warm and unfathomable feeling and thought to myself for the first time: “My child did it. It became one of the mob. One of the others. One not to stand out.” Me as a parent left alone Do we all see the same color or is it just that we learned that that specific color is red. If that is what you have heard your whole life, then the color is red for you. It might look different to another person, but he’s belief is what it is. Everything is what your brain tells you it is. In that way a parent is a very important person. You, with help from salesmen, teachers and the mob form this person’s belief. You clay the brain to think that this color is red and that you do need a wife or a husband to create the perfect life. I could have done this different, if I myself had been brought up different. Don’t know at all where I ended, but now let the object, which very importantly also includes the packaging do the rest. You are a grown up now... I can’t grasp if women now look’s stronger or weaker or if it even made a different at all? Who is the winner? Is that the carpenter smelling he’s hammer Monday morning at the construction worksite in hope for better days? The only thing I know is that I should have made something that could reproduce itself, so that I wouldn’t sit here all left alone.

A s u d d e n i m pac t But it doesn’t work

‘Well, it’s not much good for hammering’

Signe Beck Materials: Colourd polymorph plastic, lacquer, metal hammerhead

Signe beck Man picked up a rock and started hammering on stuff. Man started developing the rock, sophisticating it, making it suitable for specific purposes. Man provided it with handles, experimented with materials etc. Man made a hammer. The hammer was never really invented. It just entered our story, as a natural extension of our cognitive and physical abilities, making us even more able. Able to make and break. Able to advance. The hammer in general seems to be an idea more than something specific. By definition it is a tool for delivering sudden impact to an object. The hammer easily becomes a symbol of human ability, skill and craftsmanship. We associate the hammer with handiness and force – a driver for change and invention. It is no wonder an ancient god like Thor or the flag of the Soviet Union draw on the forceful symbolism of the hammer. The hammer has impact in more than one sense. In a day and age of digitalization, microchips and 1’s and 0’s we are facing alienation. Craftsmanship and doing things in a physical sense is becoming a rarity that requires certain skills and knowhow. We a quickly entering a life lived through screens. This sudden change of lifestyle forces us to ask questions. What is happening to the world? Are we melting into a transhuman reality, where we leave our autonomy and knowledge behind? Are we more skilful than ever or are we being by our automated lifestyle? Are we losing our touch? These are complex, big questions. One should think they require big answers. Maybe. But one can also address these questions with further questioning. Critical design seeks out these questions and tries to deal with them. A usual

aspect of design is often that it addresses issues with solutions. Questions receive answers. This affirmative approach is well and all, but it doesn’t really make us wonder about the problems behind our solutions. Affirmative designs become numbing agents to the people that use them. Critical designs make us sit up in our seats. In an attempt to address the issues of lacking human ability, the idea about a melting hammer started emerging. Generating ideas over the critical design a/b manifesto and using the lotus blossom method presented a series of odd, problematic hammers. The process provided a lot of shades and nuances to the idea of the hammer. This led to the more general question; What is a hammer? Mindmapping over this question became the catalyst in a philosophical and pondering discussion about tools and abilities. Words like ‘impact’, ‘advance’ and ‘development’ were dominant and notable in the process. From a theoretical point of view Heidegger’s philosophical views on tools became a key aspect. Heidegger categorizes a hammer as a ‘ready-to-hand’ object – we use the hammer without theorizing. We don’t wonder about the hammer, we just use it for its’ function. However if that hammer should break or become dysfunctional, it becomes ‘presentto-hand’ and we start to theorize about the hammer and what it should do. By deriving the object its’ functionality, we become aware of why we use it and to what purpose. On a more tangible level, theories on design and electronics put forward by Anthony Dunne also became important. Dunne approaches the design of electronics on different levels like ‘dematerialization’, ‘juxtaposition’ and as a

‘package’ to name some. Especially interesting where the ideas on electronic designs as a ‘fusion’ where the material and the electronic are functioning together, though coming from different places. Dunne’s views and nuances on design and electronics theorized the cirtical thoughts on electronics in our lives. The final idea for a melting hammer came from observing a vacuum former. Wondering about what could be done with using this machine the shape of a melting hammer emerged. The following days where filled with research on attractive materials to produce a melting hammer. Low-temperature melting plastic was found to be a suitable and flexible material to try the concept. As more work came into the idea and the prototype of a melted hammer it became increasingly obvious that there is a definite comment on electronic and digital culture present. More work could and should be put into this aspect of the concept. The idea of an electronic, automated hammer that destroys itself, through its’ own force, when being turned on would be an effective commentary. The melted hammer is primarily a sculptural object. It serves as a three-dimensional illustration of a tool falling apart. It appears and feels wrong compared to what we expect from a hammer. Several people who have encountered the melted hammer say something like: “But it doesn’t work…” or “Well, it’s not much good for hammering…”. The inability and dysfunctionality it represents is in accordance with the frustration it has derived from. Our ability, melting away.

Green energy â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I think the hammer is made because we need more green energy, right?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Henriette Holt Materials: White paint, hammer, clay, moss, plastic granulate

Henriette holt Problem finding/problem soleving Grøn energi er for mange mennesker en positiv ting, det omhandler nemlig om at være en bæredygtig forbruger der tænker på miljøet. Men er grøn energi nu så bæredygtigt og godt for miljøet på længere sigt, som politikerne udgiver det for at være? Jeg har udarbejdet en ”grøn energi hammer” der skal sætte fokus på lige netop dette emne. For hvordan er det nu at vi producerer denne ”grønne energi?” Jo det gør vi gennem vinden der får vindermøllerne til at dreje rundt på naturlig vis, og på den måde skaber vi grøn energi. Men vindmøllerne bliver lavet i et komposit materiale kaldet glasfiber, som dog er alt andet end et naturligt materiale. Glasfiber kan nemlig ikke nedbrydes eller afbrændes, og ender derfor på deponering indtil vi finder en løsning på at genanvende det. Nogle firmaer er begyndt at genanvende det som isolering materiale, men det er langt fra nok. Critical design as a method Men hvorfor denne kritiske vinkel? Jo jeg tilmeldte mig et valgfag på KEA der hedder Critical design. Critical design var ikke noget jeg havde arbejdet med før, men syntes det lød rigtig spændende da det er en anden måde at tænke i problemstillinger på, med en mere abstrakt tænkning. Det at kunne lave et objekt der kunne se kritisk på et design, på en kunstnerisk måde. Valgfaget startede ud med at vi fik af vide at vores overordnede tema for kurset var: en hammer.

Hammeren skulle i sig selv ikke være kritisk, men man skulle kunne associere hammeren ind i den problematik man havde i tankerne. Jeg gik derfor i gang med at idegenererer på selve hammeren: Hvad hammeren bliver brugt til samt hvilke symboler der er i en hammer. Jeg kom ind over det at en hammer har to sider af samme sag. Man bruger en hammer til at reparerer ting med, men man bruger også en hammer til at ødelægge ting med. Så hvad nu hvis man havde en hammer der ikke kunne nogle af delene? Men samtidig med at man reparerer noget så ødelægger man jo også noget, som for eksempel sømmet man banker i væggen. Jeg så også en hammer som noget man bruger i nødstilfælde som en emergency hammer, som der hænger rundt omkring i busserne. Men at en hammer også kan bruges til mordvåben. Så alt i alt har en hammer flere forskellige funktioner, men altid to sider af samme sag. Jeg ville derfor se om jeg kunne finde en problemstilling der også havde 2 sider af samme sag. Jeg lavede derfor en 3D foldet papirs hammer der ikke havde nogen ender. Jeg havde derved lavet en hammer som symboliserede det at den havde 2 sider. Den ene side som var det at den ikke kunne reparerer noget, og den anden side at den heller ikke kunne ødelægge noget, og var derfor i princippet ubrugelig. Vi lavede en masse forskellige hamre i papir, som blev af bedre og bedre kvalitet, men på kortere tid. Der gik det op for mig hvor hurtigt man faktisk

kunne lave en prototype, som man kunne snakke ud fra, som ville give lytteren en bedre forståelse af hvad man snakkede om. Da vi alle i klassen havde lavet en model og fortalt om vores dem, gik jeg i gang med at undersøge The hammer is baced on agonism theory. Prototyping Da det kom til hvordan jeg kunne udarbejde mit objekt, var der mange måder jeg kunne lave den på. Vi havde alverdens maskiner og materialer til rådighed på skolen. Men da mit projekt nu omhandlede grøn energi var det værd at overveje at lave det i så naturlige materialer som muligt, for at få budskabet tydeligere frem. Derfor undlod jeg også at bruge mekaniske maskiner til at producere produktet. Alt på min prototype kan skilles ad og nedbrydes hver for sig, det mest unaturlige på min model er mine vindmøller som er lavet i plast, dog kan de varmes igen og formes til nye modeller. Derfor gik jeg også fra at 3D printe mine vindmøller til at håndforme dem selv. Det var også med til at nedsætte produktionstiden på min prototype, som gjorde det mulig for mig at holde mig inden for tidsrammen. Why critical design? Min prototype afspejler sig i kurset på den måde at den ikke er sigende på én bestemt måde, men at den sætter grøn energi til debat. Det kan debatteres hvorfor den er som den er, hvorfor grøn energi er godt/dårligt, men også det hvorfor den er udformet som en hammer. People will remember the problem better because of the von restorff effect the hammer gives them. Til mine fremtidige projekter vil hammeren være et symbol på hvordan man kan tænke i

design løsninger, og evt. gøre brug af frugal design til at opnå en hurtig og brugbar prototype, samt ikke altid at vælge den mest availebility heuristic way. More time Hvis kurset: Critical design havde været længe, havde det været en oplagt mulighed for mig at gå ud i felten og få noget mere feedback på min hammer, samt på problemstillingen grøn energi. Jeg ville også have lavet en hammer mere, for at kunne tage nogle billeder af den med ud hvor den var smadret. Så tror jeg at det ville være mere forståeligt for de adspurgte. Hvis tiden havde været til det, kunne det have været sjovt at se om man evt. kunne komme tættere på en løsning omkring grøn energi. Hvem siger ikke at vindmøller i glasfiber er den bedste løsning? hvilken problemstilling min hammer kunne have. Jeg havde stadig den bagtanke at mit projekt skulle omhandle det at der altid et to sider af samme sag ( Bagsiden af medaljen) På baggrund af det kom jeg frem til at det skulle omhandle kritikken på grøn energi. ”Er det på tide at vi begynder at tænke over alternativer til materialet på vindmøllevinger, eller er der et alternativ til grøn energi?”

s u sta i n a b l e h a m m e r Or just a label?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Even thought I would never by a hammer, I really want to buy this one!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Katrine Hede, Kathrine Erreboe, Rosa Riddersbog Materials: canvas cotten, wood, 3D filament, paper Machines: 32

Katrine hede For me it all started with a whole lot of confusing thoughts. It was a mix of frustration over all the new terms and litterateur that, for me, was hard to understand, but it was also exiting with a new way of thinking. Suddenly I figured out that some of those small things I have been wondering about in my life actually have a name. Or things I have just been doing without actually realising it make me fit perfectly into a term, for example the decoy effect, now I will forever think about it, when I buy the medium coffee. And the sunk cost fallacy made me think about a job I had, were everything felt apart, but my boss wouldn’t accept it. She just kept going because it was her big dream and had spend so much time on it, even though she lost all of her money and confidence. I never thought about her poor situation as a term before. The litterateur made so little sense in my brain. I read it, I really tried to understand it, but I couldn’t. I read it again, more slowly this time, tried to understand it, but I forgot it right away. As I often do. We used the lotus blossom sheet. Or at least we tried to. But because we didn’t have settled for an exact idea, everything in the group was difficult. I guess fashion students often can have a hard time see the meaning in doing anything else but clothing. And the idea went from a hammershark to a hammercollection. But it didn’t feel right and we started all over. -All frustrated about the course, the hammer and each other. We made a new brainstorming, and the ideas became to pop up. We talked about peoples desire for give things identity, and that we could make clothes for the hammer. -As a

hammerdoll. Another issue was homophobes, and we thought about made the hammer formed as a penis.

for the box. And used the textile printer, we tried out different colours, and ended up with a brown.

But the idea and the issue we wanted to stick with, was the sustainable hammer.

So now we had a hammerbag, a box for the hammer in the bag and a totebag for the box and the hammer in the hammerbag. We wanted to try the 3D printer and made a green keychain as well. And for handtags we used paper and the lazercutter again. It really gave me something, to get to learn all the machines and tools, it gave me safety and understanding for working in other materials and it pushed my limits for what I thought I could and dared. And took us all out off our comfort zone I guess.

There were different issues in the sustainable hammer to work with. Would it be possible to convince and sell an ordinary hammer as sustainable? The hammer is maybe some of the most sustainable thing, it lasts in generations, the design is timeless. Can you actually make people forget to use their common sense and the expensive price, just by branding it as sustainable? Another issue with sustainability is all the packaging. Is it sustainable to buy biodynamic apples in plastic and more plastic all the way from Spain? How critical are we when it comes to the things we buy. Is the need for feeling good with our selves overruling the common sense? With those things in mind we went to the workshop. My mind suits well in the process, with thousands ideas. The place I like the most is definitely the process. When the idea is settled and there is a focuspoint but nothing is set and done. Then the mind is still open for new ideas and can go with the creative flow. And that made the time in the workshop really great. I figured out that I could use a band saw, so we could get a box for the hammer. And it was really great working in wood. The top of the box we cut out with the lazercutter, and all the waste from the cutting was unexpected beautiful and useful, and gave us a perfect Wabisabi moment. The tiny wood letters that was leftovers we used as a keychain. We wanted to make a bag for the hammer and

We colored some of the hammer green, and were ready for testing it. We placed it in the hip Vesterbro clothingstore Kyoto, and actually it fit perfectly in there. The design and logo made a great combination with rest of the store. All of the people we asked thought it was a very nice hammer and a great concept. And the fact that it was sustainable was very positive. Some thought 1195,- (!) was very expensive for a hammer, but really liked the idea. Only one of the responders questioned all this greenpackaging. All the others liked the design, the bag, box, logo, and the fact that it was sustainable. And didn’t have a single thought about why you should get lots of packaging with a hammer, especially a sustainable hammer. Witch really made me think about how uncritical we are as consumers. We really are willing to give 20 times as much (!) for a hammer if the branding is nice. And it

makes us feel good about our selves. If we had more time, it would have been interesting to see how many hammers actually could be sold. Would it be possible to make the clothing stores buy The sustainable hammer, because the branding fits perfectly into this very hip DIY trend that mixes clothing and sneakers and tools and bikes and so on. It would also have been great to make a big campaign, with The sustainable hammer in focus, to make people aware about the issues about sustainability, greenboxing and make people think before they buy.

Kathrine Erreboe For me it all started with a whole lot of confusing thoughts. It was a mix of frustration over all the new terms and litterateur that, for me, was hard to understand, but it was also exiting with a new way of thinking. Suddenly I figured out that some of those small things I have been wondering about in my life actually have a name. Or things I have just been doing without actually realising it make me fit perfectly into a term, for example the decoy effect, now I will forever think about it, when I buy the medium coffee. And the sunk cost fallacy made me think about a job I had, were everything felt apart, but my boss wouldn’t accept it. She just kept going because it was her big dream and had spend so much time on it, even though she lost all of her money and confidence. I never thought about her poor situation as a term before. The litterateur made so little sense in my brain. I read it, I really tried to understand it, but I couldn’t. I read it again, more slowly this time, tried to understand it, but I forgot it right away. As I often do. We used the lotus blossom sheet. Or at least we tried to. But because we didn’t have settled for an exact idea, everything in the group was difficult. I guess fashion students often can have a hard time see the meaning in doing anything else but clothing. And the idea went from a hammershark to a hammercollection. But it didn’t feel right and we started all over. -All frustrated about the course, the hammer and each other. We made a new brainstorming, and the ideas became to pop up. We talked about peoples desire for give things identity, and that we could make clothes for the hammer. -As a hammerdoll. Another issue was homophobes,

and we thought about made the hammer formed as a penis. But the idea and the issue we wanted to stick with, was the sustainable hammer. There were different issues in the sustainable hammer to work with. Would it be possible to convince and sell an ordinary hammer as sustainable? The hammer is maybe some of the most sustainable thing, it lasts in generations, the design is timeless. Can you actually make people forget to use their common sense and the expensive price, just by branding it as sustainable? Another issue with sustainability is all the packaging. Is it sustainable to buy biodynamic apples in plastic and more plastic all the way from Spain? How critical are we when it comes to the things we buy. Is the need for feeling good with our selves overruling the common sense? With those things in mind we went to the workshop. My mind suits well in the process, with thousands ideas. The place I like the most is definitely the process. When the idea is settled and there is a focuspoint but nothing is set and done. Then the mind is still open for new ideas and can go with the creative flow. And that made the time in the workshop really great. I figured out that I could use a band saw, so we could get a box for the hammer. And it was really great working in wood. The top of the box we cut out with the lazercutter, and all the waste from the cutting was unexpected beautiful and useful, and gave us a perfect Wabisabi moment. The tiny wood letters that was leftovers we used as a keychain. We wanted to make a bag for the hammer and for the box. And used the textile printer, we tried out different colours, and ended up with

a brown. So now we had a hammerbag, a box for the hammer in the bag and a totebag for the box and the hammer in the hammerbag. We wanted to try the 3D printer and made a green keychain as well. And for handtags we used paper and the lazercutter again. It really gave me something, to get to learn all the machines and tools, it gave me safety and understanding for working in other materials and it pushed my limits for what I thought I could and dared. And took us all out off our comfort zone I guess. We colored some of the hammer green, and were ready for testing it. We placed it in the hip Vesterbro clothingstore Kyoto, and actually it fit perfectly in there. The design and logo made a great combination with rest of the store. All of the people we asked thought it was a very nice hammer and a great concept. And the fact that it was sustainable was very positive. Some thought 1195,- (!) was very expensive for a hammer, but really liked the idea. Only one of the responders questioned all this greenpackaging. All the others liked the design, the bag, box, logo, and the fact that it was sustainable. And didn’t have a single thought about why you should get lots of packaging with a hammer, especially a sustainable hammer. Witch really made me think about how uncritical we are as consumers. We really are willing to give 20 times as much (!) for a hammer if the branding is nice. And it makes us feel good about our selves. If we had more time, it would have been

interesting to see how many hammers actually could be sold. Would it be possible to make the clothing stores buy The sustainable hammer, because the branding fits perfectly into this very hip DIY trend that mixes clothing and sneakers and tools and bikes and so on. It would also have been great to make a big campaign, with The sustainable hammer in focus, to make people aware about the issues about sustainability, greenboxing and make people think before they buy.

Rosa Riddersbog Previous to this course I didn’t have a lot of expectations, as I didn’t really know a lot about critical design. But something, perhaps the title, ‘Dead man knocking’, intrigued me and made me think that this would be new ground, something surprising and hopefully inspirational for future projects. At first hand critical design makes little sense. The examples of critical design presented to us, as well as a few practical engagements we got subjected to, I would basically describe as useless, silly nonsense. In retrospect I see that my first take on critical design is very misled. As you get deeper into the theories of critical thinkers along with the work of critical designers, you suddenly find meaning in the ‘nonsense’. Critical design, perhaps, isn’t useful in conventional ways, as it lacks the more functional and practical aspects of affirmative design. The value of critical design lies within the debate, the questioning and the overall reflection on important topics and issues in society that needs attention. During the first week’s experiments, using the lotus blossom brainstorm and making paper prototypes, the field of critical design was still very abstract, and it was a challenge to link the terms in the a/b manifesto to a hammerrelated object of our invention. Most of the prototypes turned out weird and child-like, and had little or no connection to actual issues. Probably because we perceive ‘a hammer’, our reference point throughout the process, in a very narrow-minded way. Redefining the hammer through a brainstorm on all the things a hammer could be, and choosing an issue of our concern, was the breakthrough to our final concept: The sustainable hammer. From this point, the

concept didn’t change significantly, but was refined in the further process, using the machines. Our focus has been the packaging of the hammer inspired by Anthony Dunne’s Hertzian Tales, where the concept of packaging is described in a way that makes one reflects on the power of packaging and the fact that packaging sometimes can have an even greater impact/value than the actual product. The idea of semiotic skins also emphasizes the significance of packaging. In creating the packaging we used the laser cutter, the textile printer, and the 3D printer. Our line of packaging consists of a small bag for the hammer, a box in wood to put the hammer in the bag in, and a big bag to put the hammer in the bag in the box in. Additionally, we made some smaller products like hangtags and a little 3D hammer just for decoration. The idea behind our concept The sustainable hammer was to make people more critical about products and companies, and be more aware about the effective tools of branding. It is also a critical comment to greenwashing and the way we almost blindly believe a product to be good or better if it is marked with some kind of sustainable label. Rosa Emilie Riddersborg, sustainable fashion DK 16.03.2016 Obviously, the desired outcome of the concept is a more critical consumer who questions products, sustainable or not, and doesn’t just follow a mass of other consumers, trends etc. But hopefully the sustainable hammer can also encourage a more sustainable lifestyle and open up for more climate debates – however tedious it may sound, still a necessity. The results from testing our prototype in the

public matched our expectations - that people would see a cool product and automatically accept the sustainable labelling without, or with only a few, critical questions. With more time and resources, I therefore think it would have been interesting to take the branding of the hammer to another level, to see if people’s reactions would then be different. For instance by making at short film or commercial, a hammer popup event with little hammer cakes etc. Creating a bigger universe around the hammer, overdoing the branding of the hammer by far, would have been a more powerful and fun way of communicating our message. In regards to future projects, I think that the experience of creating this prototype will be useful – mostly due to the theories, which are definitely useful in many contexts. For instance the cognitive fallacies, an interesting learning that helps one reflect upon what psychological mechanisms that make humans act in certain ways. Definitely helpful for a designer targeting an audience, but also for a buying customer, a civil in society, willingly/unwillingly exposed to all kinds of designs in everyday life. Another learning, one I find very relevant in relation to my specialization in sustainable fashion, is the different types of frugal design, for instance the Japanese practice of Wabi Sabi. The frugal design approach of repairing and reusing resources is most current in our fast speed world. Though a lot of the frugal design inventions are questionable, the philosophy behind has a high inspirational value and should be echoed even more in the fashion industry as well as in other industries.

the two headed hammer â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I find it intresting that different people have different connatations about the same object depending on their field of workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Jonas Lingren Materials: plastic granutes, hammers, glue Machines: Miter saw 38

Jonas lingren When I first saw the title of the course I found it to be self explanatory and really interesting, since I work with digital design everyday but always find it difficult to be critical about you own designs. So I decided that learning more tools for the process and ways to be critical about your projects would be really giving to me. What I saw as being critical towards your design wasn’t exactly how the course saw the term “critical” in the design context. Being critical through creating designs that asks questions, was not exactly what I imagined it would be, but the theory and process of creating an object and see how it made people interact and see different things in that same object was really interesting learning that I wouldn’t be without and can use in my digital work field. The first prototype of paper I made was just a simple hammer, what I probably did different was that I builded a tiny model due to it being made out of ordinary paper, which I saw as an unstable and fragile material when used in large scale. So the first paper prototype made me think about how I would create something in a 3D perspective, since I’m used to work in a 2D environment. We were then introduced to theoretical cognitive psychological terms which inspired me, to what I wanted to create for the project. I had two ideas, one was to build a ChampaignSaber-Hammer, which I found interesting due to the combination of raw strength in the shape of a hammer and fragility in the form of a glass champaign bottle. My second idea was to create a two-headedhammer that was inspired by the cognitive theory we

were introduced to in the course. The thought was that the hammer should state that one hammerhead is 100% effective, adding two hammerheads will create a 200% effective hammer. The two-headed-hammer would then be symbolizing some of the basic group psychology tendencies. Everyone can tell that this hammer would not be more effective, cause you’ll need a guy to hold the two nails that you’re going to hammer in, also you normally won’t be hammering in nails with the exactly same distance for all the time, so creating a simple object that reflects theory but doesn’t work in practice appealed to me. I therefore decided to go with the twoheaded-hammer project. My orignial thought was that the hammer was to reflect on group psychology, the project could be based on my preconscious due to my background at CBS studying Organisation Psychology. Also I found it fascinating that I had some thoughts about what the hammer was symbolizing, but in different situations with different people, the object would tell a different story. The concrete psychological tendency that the Two- HeadedHammer was to reflecting is the Ringelmann Effect, which is the tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases. But at the same time the hammer could also be telling something about Social loafing, which is a phenomenon in groups where some people do less of an effort when placed in a group then when working on their own. It first became obvious to me that the hammer created different perspectives when I put it in the hands of an IT Engineer & Entrepreneur, he saw it as an innovation object that said something about what innovation departments

can bring to a company in general. I then put the hammer in the hands of an craftsman at a store with professional build tools called Carl-F he instantly said that it was ineffective and that you never would just hammer nails in with the same distance all the time. This showed me that the object created different connotations and questions depending on the person holding it, making that person ask critical questions related to his individual field of work. I’m convinced that if i ask a wider variety of people to say what they saw in the object, each would see something a tint differently due to their individual background. This observation was what gave the object it’s name, “The Two Headed Hammer”. At first I wanted to call it “The Hammer of Productivity” but that would probably prime someone into what the object was about, and I liked that the object made people create individual questions based on their background. When designing the hammer I first did it in paper to be sure that the welding of the 3 parts, the two heads and the handle, would work out as imagined. When I was sure of how to make the build I used a miter saw set to a 60 degree angle, and cut the two hammerheads off a bit down the handle. I then glued the two heads together and cut the bottom of the two fused heads, so that it would fit onto an ordinary hammer handle. The object was now put together, but it was fragile due to only being hold together by glue, so I decided to hide the glued joints by molding over a plastic tube that would function as a joint which would give the hammer more stability and strength. The plastic joint also hid the fragile parts which made the overall object become more convincing to the spectator. If I had more time and understand for craftsmanship I would have tried to make

a 7 headed hammer this would explain the Ringlemann effect even better since the 8 hammerhead would in theory give a negative influence to the productivity, I think overdoing it would create an even better effect in communicating to people what my intention in the object. I would also have made it stronger so that people actually would be able to use it, because using the object would make it possible to see how people together would solve the problem and questions that the hammer creates.

anti-heuristic terminal \

Lasse Kjøbeløv, Matthias Da∂ason Materials: \ Machines: \ 41

Lasse Kjobelov Hvordan skabte vi en dankortterminal med en hammer som startobjekt og critical design som metode? Vi undersøgte en hammer ud fra funktion og betydning. Med en hammer kan man slå på et søm, slå på en flade, slå når man som dommer afsiger en dom, slå når man som barn leger med gummihammeren, slå i forlystelser for at vise sin styrke – og endeligt i overført betydning kan man ”ramme hovedet på sømmet” som betyder at man udtrykker sig præcist om noget. Det er denne overførte betydning, der førte til dankortterminalen, hvor koden vil være det præcise udtryk. Fælles for brugen af en hammer og en dankortterminal er tryk – for at hammeren kan bruges må hånden give et tryk. For at dankortet kan virke, må hånden placere kortet ned i terminalen og taste koden. Ideen bag issue. Mange forbrugere har i dag et stort overforbrug. Vi har let ved at svinge vores betalingskort og sige de gyldne ord ”bare på beløbet”, og efter dette bliver pengene trukket fra vores bankkonto. Tanken bag den kultur, den måde vi som forbrugere bruger pengene, som vi på en eller anden måde ikke har, fordi de befinder sig på vores kort som tal. Pengene er blevet dematerialiseret og vi kommer sjældent til at have pengene mellem fingrene. Vi kender alle situationen, hvor man laver et impulskøb, da dankortets hurtighed understøtter tanken om ”Makes us buy” fordi man kører plastikkortet igennem terminalen og taster sin kode. Koden ligger efter egen observation ”i fingrene” hos mange mennesker, og i de perioder jeg har fået en ny kode skulle jeg først tilvænne mig koden med flere fejlforsøg inden. Begrebet ”Makes us think” omkring brugen af Dankortet gjorde os nysgerrige (red. Mathias og jeg). Vi

begyndte derfor at undersøge og udfordre dankortterminalen, problem solving og se om en ændring af terminalen kan have betydning for menneskets forbrug. Løsningen dvs. ”Problem solving” og tankerne bag findes i nedenstående. Den generelle heuristic1 er om folk kunne huske deres kode, hvis man ændrede på displayet på terminalen. Ved at benytte idegenereringsmetoden Lotus Blossom dannede vi flere forskellige ideer til udvikling af displayet. Ideerne spændte fra anvendelse af farvekort, tal fra 0-99, bytte rundt på tallene og anvendelse af fremmende tal. Vi byggede videre på tre ideer, som var en sproglig forandring af tallene på tasterne, en ombytning af tallene og løsninger, der ikke krævede indtastning af kode. Den sproglige forandring kunne ske ved at skrive tallene med bogstaver ”en, to og tre...” eller ved at anvende fremmede tal, så som japanske, arabiske eller romertal. Vi genererede også ideer om at bytte rundt på de forskellige tal, fjerne og tilføje andre symboler. Den sidste ide er næste skridt inden for betaling, hvor vi kiggede på ”NEMid”, ”MobilePay” og ”Rejsekort”, men vi bryggede ikke videre på idéen grundet den tidsmæssige begrænsning på to uger. Prototypen På baggrund af vores ideer indledte vi en dialog om, hvor mange modeller, der skulle laves samt hvordan de skulle laves til Prototypen. Vi var enige om, at vi skulle bruge en lasercutter til at lave vores model, da vi mener, at det skaber bedre resultater og pænere former end, hvis vi selv skulle klippe det. Da tiden spillede en rolle for om vi kunne nå at lave de ønskede modeller, valgte vi at holde fokus på de simple og enkle ideer vi havde. De

ideer kunne stadig give os det ønskede resultat som vi søgte vores forbrugere skulle opleve. Vores prototype, blev lavet i to omgange for at teste materialer. Vores første forsøg blev lavet med 2mm tykt træpap, der var 70x100cm. Da den var færdig, fandt vi ud af, at materialerne var for tykke til, at den blev foldet som vi ønskede det. Det anden forsøg var i 1mm træpap, der har målene 70x100cm. Muligheden for at folde modellen gik bedre end det første forsøg. I alt skabte vi en komplet model med to displays som vi kunne ændre på. Vi lavede også en mindre model, hvoraf en knap gav ”strøm” når man trykkede på knappen ”Ok”. Desværre var det ikke muligt at tilføje tryk funktion på terminalen, da det ville kræve flere ressourcer og tid end, hvad vi havde. Ønsket var at skabe en ”ægte” følelse som når forbrugeren bruger dankortterminal. Af tidsmæssige årsager blev kvaliteten af prototypen vægtet højere end funktionaliteten. Dette udmøntede sig konkret i, at helhedsfølelsen på produktet blev vægtet højere end, at lave funktionelle knapper. Denne tidsprioritering synes jeg var den rette i forhold til dette produkt. Brugerinvolvering Vi besøgte Kødbyen for at få feedback fra brugerne iht. Critical design begrebet ”asks questions”. Vi spurgte tre cafegæster omkring terminalen, for at få svar: ”provide answers” Én svarede i forhold til sikkerhed og overvågning. Gæsten udtalte, at ved ombytning af tal og mønstre ville det være sværere for en tyv at aflæse og dermed hæve penge fra kontoen, hvis den stjæles. Svaret vi fik handlede om sikkerhed, og ikke forbrugskultur, der var intenderet. Dog kunne sikkerheden vise sig at have en central pointe, hvis idéen blev fulgt til dørs. De to øvrige, mente, at en ombytning af tal og mønstre ville påvirke muligheden

for impulskøb. Fx hvis de var lækkersultne og købte slik og kage. Derimod mente de ikke, at større, nødvendige køb såsom ris, grøntsager mv. ville blive ændret. Kritisk refleksion Faget og metoden giver mulighed for at indlede med at tænke kreativt og abstrakt. I denne opgave har vi adresseret den kognitive fejlslutning ”heuritics”, om at mennesker hurtigt tilvænner sig en vane ved simple beslutningsprocesser. Denne fejlslutning har vi i projektet stillet spørgsmålstegn ved at lave en dankortterminal med andre talmønstre. Arbejdet med denne tankegang, har lært mig, hvordan en metode som en designændring kan tilgås teoretisk. Havde vi eksempelvis benyttes ”Hawthorne-effekten”, ville resultatet være anderledes. Disse lærepenge vil jeg tage videre i kommende projekter. Her vil jeg først identificere, hvilke(n) teori(er), der er mest hensigtsmæssige for analysen i forhold til det produkt, der skal raffineres eller skabes. Faget ”Critical design” har givet mig indblik i processen beskrevet, i denne opgave, fra idé til løsning. Dét, at lave brugerinvolvering, har givet mulighed for at få reaktioner fra brugerne, der er et centralt element i denne proces. Ved næste projekt vil det være centralt for mig at lave bedre brugerinvolvering ved at inddrage flere brugere, og dermed få flere nuancerede svar til udviklingen af løsningen.

Matthias Da ason My journey through this course started on a Monday morning. My expectations for the course were that I was going to learn a lot about being critical and looking at designs, products and other things with an attitude of ”Why is it done this way and not in an another way?”. That turned out to be wrong, or maybe not quite right! The class was ready and all excited for the next couple of weeks. I didn’t know what to expect, but I remember the first quote that popped up on the powerpoint and set the tone for the rest of the module: ”Critical design uses speculative design proposals to challenge narrow assumptions, preconceptions and givens about the role products play in everyday life. It is more of an attitude than anything else, a position rather than a method. Its opposite is affirmative design: design that reinforces the status quo.” Hertzian Tales (1999) / Dunne and Raby A couple of hours and examples later, we went through the A/B Manifesto and I finally had understood and formed an idea of what critical design was, and how it’s used. For me critical design is a way of designing/making things that challenge ordinary (status quo) designs. Makes us wonder why things are the way they are. The rest of the week I came up with a lot of strange, funny and provoking ideas. I couldn’t stop thinking in a different way, that to my girlfriend didn’t make any sense and was a waste of time. I challenged and asked questions to things we usually don’t question or spend time thinking about. A good example of that was when I was wondering why we literally throw trash in the trash can. Why don’t we just lay it in there and organize it in the

can/bin? Is it because we don’t have to use it again? Or is it...... Well it made me think about all kinds of ”normal” behaviour that maybe could be provoked with critical designs. The first prototypes of the hammer, which we had come up with using the lotus blossom method, were made quick and dirty using A4 paper and glue/tape. The 20 minutes making my screwdriver hammer went very fast and I hardly had any time to spare. When we then only had 5 minutes to make a higher resolution of the same hammer, I thought Jeremy was going crazy! But the 20 minutes I had used doing the first quick and dirty model, had taught me a lot about the materials and methods, so when it came to it, I had no problem making a ”better”/higher resolution model much quicker. Next day I partnered up with Lasse, and we went through some of our individual idea generations and designs. After a bit of time we agreed on a content, which was the shopping experience, and the mindless buying customers do. Is it really in our (the customers) best interest that shopping and the payment process gets easier and eventually could lead us to buying more? Even things we might even not need? Could we be able to make a critical design prototype (provotype) that makes people think about what they spend their money on, or at least makes it more difficult, so they have greater time thinking about what they’re spending their money on. We chose to work on the payment and pin code process on card terminals in stores. Our hypothesis was that the payment process had become an automated process for people when shopping. People didn’t really pay

attention to what their doing while doing it, and even the when hitting the pin code, it had become so automated that people would have a hard time remembering their pin code if we would challenge the design of the terminal or experience in some way. The next step was brainstorming ideas to challenge (being critical) the card terminals design and/or user experience. When we had brainstormed and discussed the ideas we had, we decided on making a prototype of a card terminal that had a few different display options. One with no numbers or information, one with Japanese letters and numbers and one with the numbers mixed up and in ”wrong” numeric order. We also decided that we were going to make an another prototype that should give the customer an electric shock when pressing the OK (godkend) button on the terminal, making the payment process difficult and maybe painful. The prototypes (provotypes) have in common, that they provoke and challenge the automated payment process that people are used to experiencing. It should make people think more about what they’re buying and if they really need it and are willing to go through ”pains”/difficulty getting it. We made the prototype using laser cutting technology. Using illustrator we designed a foldable card terminal, similar to the ones used in Denmark, so people could recognize it and in the same scale as the original terminal. We laser cut the first prototype in a 2mm thick wood cardboard, but when we were folding the cardboard, it ripped because of the thickness of the material. We realised that we had to make another model, using thinner cardboard because of the sharp folded edges we designed the model to have. We went

and made a few changes/adjustments on the model in illustrator before making the model in 1mm thick wood cardboard. Then we folded the edges and glued the model together with the help of folding tabs like we originally designed. The prototypes were now finished. We made 2 different prototypes, one prototype was the card terminal which had a changeable interface (buttons) and the other prototype was an unconventional card terminal with an OK button that gives a small electric shock when pushed. We took these prototypes to Kødbyen and got feedback and reactions from people. The reactions from people supported our hypothesis. Even though people weren’t shopping they could recognize the card terminal and try it. All of the people we talked to had difficulty remembering what their pin code was (some of them couldn’t at all) with the confusing display design. We also had a discussion with them about the safety issue of card terminals (pin codes) and maybe that it would be beneficial that the numbers on card terminals weren’t always in the usual numeric order. If we would have had more time, I would have made a working/functioning prototype exactly like the ones in stores, in the same materials, and placed it in shops and stores to see the reaction people would have had in the actual moment of buying/shopping. The scene and reaction would then have been genuine and real.

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Mathilde Korsvig Materials: \ Machines: \ 46

Mathilde Korsvig Critical design is a way of turning things around or a way of juxta positioning psychical things together and later finding the right way of fusing them and testing them. I chose this cause because one of my teachers said to me that I would really benefit from this way of working, so I went into the cause with high expectations and butterflies in my stomach, expecting a lot of creativity and mind turnaround’s. I did not have any idea on how to kick start the process of turning ones thoughts around. However, I quickly got the idea on how you could work. One of the methods used throughout the course was the Lotus Blossom (Yasou Matsumura), which I was wherry taken with after using it a few times. It really opened my mind in terms of how broad the possibilities are. You could put anything in the middle and work from there, and keep working and keep working. When we got the assignment to make a hammer, the first thought that came to my mind was to make a glass hammer, because of the contradictory meanings that it would be useless no matter how you would try to use it. I rather liked the idea of a useless hammer, or inverted hammer. The next idea I had was to make a soft foam hammer, but it already exist in children’s toys. After I read the Tobias Ravell article and found out that there is an A side, to make things which is the mainstream way in the service of industry, and there is a B side of making things, which is design as a medium that asks questions, it made me think more constructively and put my ideas’ in the A side or B side so it was easy to discard the ones that

was to mainstream and boring. My first Paper prototype came from the idea that you can fuse or combine to opposite things together. Therefore, I made a hammer that was a shaker so when you hammer it, the alcohol inside shakes back and forth and when you are done working; you just open the bottom of the hammer and drink what is inside. It was hard to make that hammer in paper so I just made a “normal” paper hammer with the bottom open. I did not know what my issue was and I thought that it would be hard to make a hammer that would work as holder for liquid and stay tight, so I discarded that idea. Then I started over and I had this idea with juxtaposing a rattle and a hammer but I did not know how to fuse them together and what the issue was. I made the lotus blossom again, and took the Rattle hammer in the middle and made different issues around it, and actually I ended up finding the issue: adulthood vs childhood, adulthood is focused on serious stuff and not on being play full. Adults need to find their inner child, be more playful and creative, so they can embrace their adult life as well as seeing that one laugh a day keeps the doctor away. When I settled on my issue I made another lotus blossom and put my issue in the middle, around that I put different fusions between a hammer and children’s toys, and that was where I got the idea of both making a rattle hammer and a skipping hammer. There was more ideas but the two was the ones that I could imagine making. The rattle hammer was made by fusing a wooden rattle and a hammer together and the skipping hammer is a fusion between a skipping rope and a hammer. When I learned about Paredolia, (the tendency to see faces everywhere.) I thought that it was

crazy because I do that all the time, e.g. in the sky, in oatmeal, in fruits and so on. Frugal design is a very interesting term, it means to solve a problem very simple and with materials on hand, - I really like that term because that in away is another angle on how to reuse or re-design things, which I am all for. Under this category, frugal design there is the Wabi Sabi, which basically is the same but from Africa and focus also on the “beauty” of mended things, as well as things used in a different way. Actually, one that caught my attention was the Google effect that is that people tend to forget the information if it was easy acquired, like google search. I don’t think I will forget that one, and also it got me thinking that one might study more hours so the things that get lost is at a minimum. The one that I had the hardest time understanding was in the text Hertzian Tales by Anthony Dunne which introduced the term Juxtaposition. I read the text several times but I did not understand the term before we went through it in class, and I got a good understanding of what it means. It basically means to put two different things together, not to fuse them, but to take two things like a rattle and a hammer or a skipping rope and a hammer. After having walked through the different workshops, I was very inspired, and wanted to make something from almost every machine. It was overwhelming all the choices I had and very hard to decide on an issue or a method. I decided to make two prototypes because I wanted to challenge myself. I am not good with big machinery but I overcame several of my fears e.g. I used the drilling machine, two of the sanding machines, and the big saw machine,

and I felt so empowered when I found out that I could do it! Together with the workshop woman, I managed to try out the laser cutter, even though I did not use it for my final prototype. The final two prototypes I made was a reflection on methods learned on the cause. The biggest learning that I take with me must be that there is no wrong just different ways of doing critical design and you do not have to have a big idea before you can start creating, because there is methods to help your mind working in system 2 instead of system 1. For example, the lotus blossom I must say that I am taken by its power to help ones mind generate new angles and ideas. In addition, I got acquainted with the workshop and I am not afraid to use the machinery anymore. Therefore, I will take the making of prototypes with me and maybe do it for my final exam. When we did the intervention I talked with 5 different workmen, unfortunately only 3 of them would talk with me, the rest was afraid that their bosses would be mad. The ones I was able to speak with was very nice and they told me that my prototypes was for play and work, and they kind of laugh, so that reaction was nice, and I got a few nice pictures as well. If I had more time in this course I would have gone out more days to help see my prototypes from different peoples view, to help me see my work through others eyes. Also it would have been nice to get more pictures of people standing with it so it could bring more visuals to the table.

progress book