School

My solution was to design and construct her a robot that cleans and organizes her stuff. I made this out of cardboard, a wine cork, a bottle cap, and an upside down letter V. This robot is constructible out of everyday materials so that you can have be somewhat cost effective, and you can use your phone charger to give it power, The concept worked, but I would have put arms on it if I could have as you can see in the image.

While engaging with a real person helped my direction with the prototype very well, I was able to get feed back based on her lifestyle. I was also able to tell what it was, and describe it instead of just showing them when they might not be able to figure out themselves. Furthermore, it created more brainstorming and required effort to be more creative. Having unfinished work is never desirable. It was hard showing unfinished work because it just wasn’t complete, and it feels kind of embarrassing. It was hard to get everything you wanted to do being under a time limit. It even created some stress trying to finish it. Being under a time limit, you had to work at a good pace and try to not stress and rush. It was also hard because you couldn’t make it as perfect as you wanted, but it did help with thinking on the spot. Overall, if I had to do this again, I would try to improve it and try to think on the spot faster, and try to be more creative. I would most likely work at the pace I did although sometimes it wasn’t enough but it was off by a few seconds.

Who Designs?

For this project, we found a designer of our choosing. We researched them for information about their work and some background information on them as well. Through this, we were able to learn what it takes to be a designer, take samples of what good work looks like, and discover some of the processes behind making their work. We then had to make a write up post about the designer that we chose. We had to discuss why we chose them and what excited us about their work. We were able to use their work as examples for our work in class.

Aaron Douglas was an American artist that had a leading role during the Harlem Renaissance. Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1899 and passed away in 1979. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Nebraska, then went back to Kansas to teach art. By 1925, he had moved to New York City and joined the art scenes in Harlem. He studied with a German artist named Winold Reiss, and received commissions for magazine illustrations. Douglas first illustrated Alain Locke’s book The New Negro. Through his work he was then sponsored by Charlotte Mason. Douglas created many murals in many different states, and became the first president of the Harlem Artists Guild. He challenged the Works Progress Administration to recognize African American artists. Douglas intended to pursue his art career in Paris, and he finally moved to Paris in 1931. He spent a year there studying classical art, and then he moved back to New York City to study at Columbus University Teachers College, where he was then able to meet Charles S. Johnson. Johnson invited Douglas to develop Fisk’s art department. Douglas achieved his masters degree at Fisk, and became the head of the art department. He retired in 1966 teaching art to young people.