grivois_process_summer2011.pdf by Michael LeBlanc

Process Book

Summer 2011

Ian Grivois MDes Program NSCAD University

Summer 2011

Master of Design Program /1 mdes 6200 assignment 1 2 3 4 5 mdes 6030

ongoing

In Search of the Third Nature /3 Three Plants and a Planter /5 Plant as Self-portrait /15 Plant as New Technology /19 Plant as Climate and Culture /23 Plant as a System /29 Design Intensives /31 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Program /33 Critical Thinking and History of Universities /35 The Definition of Design /37 Thesis Preparation /39 An Investigation into Parks Heritage, and the Public /45 Drawing as a Thinking and Presentation Tool /47 Free Lab: Design-Build Project /49 Applied Linguistics and Problem-solving /53 Thesis Research /57

Master of Design Program

/ Summer 2011 1

Students do 15 credits of coursework. In addition, students will begin the preliminary research for their final project. • MDES 6200 Graduate Design Studio (6 credits) • MDES 6030 Graduate Design Intensive (9 credits) • Thesis Research The Master of Design is a one-year program. Over the course of three semesters, beginning in May of every year, students take 42 credits of prescribed Studio and Liberal Arts and Sciences courses, and complete a graduate thesis/degree project. The emphasis of the Program is on practice-led research, hence every student’s degree project will be one that focuses on new knowledge gained through reflective practice. Students will present their research through their design work, accompanied by an extended written paper; by a public presentation, and in appropriate circumstances in a group exhibition.

I have been enjoying the way that we learn through doing in this program. Rather than starting with a fixed brief or question, the question can be discovered or iteratively redefined through the process of the design practice itself. This is a new approach to me, but it is very respectful of the quality and outcomes of “design thinking” and often produces results that are more deeply researched, conceptually sound, and visually evocative, than my past methods. I wondered at how you convince clients to give you the latitude to go on this journey of process. Presentation skills demonstrating the intellectual rigor and research are important if one is to attempt to change or redefine the original project brief. It’s important to build trust in your process and skills (in yourself and clients) as the uncertain and ambiguous stages of creativity can be disconcerting if they are not expected.

MDES PRO GRAM

Semester 1: Summer (15 Credit Total)

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Sensing Nature Rethinking the Japanese Perception of Nature Yoshioka Tokujin, Shinoda Taro, Kuribayashi Takashi Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 24 Julyâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;7 November, 2010

In Search of the Third Nature Graduate Design Studio 1

/ MDES 6200

{

First nature emotional and animal Second nature habit and training Third nature? self-reflective practitioner, design thinker, and system view 3

Five Assignments with data visualization posters, presentations, readings, essays, group critiques and seminar discussions 1. Research and present our three plant choices and planter (to be designed and built) 2. Plant as self-portrait 3. Plant as new technology (with biotechnology applications) 4. Plant as climate (local heritage) 5. The system

It is refreshing to rediscover the artistic “way of knowing” again and to see that it has a place in my design practice. For years I’ve been of the opinion that design is not about personal expression, but that our success is like that of a parent seeing its child flourish and succeed, i.e. the designer is a loyal servant. However, it was not very fulfilling personally and often led to solutions that are that didn’t use the potential of what design can really do. There is a place for the designer-auteur but it needs to be practiced with care so as to not be self involved and remember our audience. I’m still exploring this balance. We practiced writing by working on short papers and reviews. Here is some useful advice I received. Writing a review is always about personal perspective and opinion. You can not ask others to have the same opinion or even to agree. A lot of reviewers describe the photographs in the article, but there is no need for that because people can see for themselves. You can try to communicate feelings and impressions—to put the reader in your place seeing the work. So, try to learn what interests and influences the creator, and try to figure out the underlying principles and reasons why those things appeal. Use your own methods, your communication language, with examples for implicitly talking about and recreating your feelings in the reader.

[Opposite top] Video stills from Tokujin Yoshioka‘s “Snow” via Mocoloco.com <http://vimeo.com/14609322> [Opposite bottom] Tokujin Yoshioka drawing for “Snow,” 2010 via Design Boom < http://goo.gl/NEBu3>

MDES 6200

• Engaging and challenging the understandings of nature • Thematically based on the exhibit Sensing Nature at the Mori Art Museum • Practice analytical reading and critical writing skills through writing essays based on a number of readings and seminar discussions • Exploring global trends concerning nature, contemporary design, and self-reflective journeys • Explore the balance between quantitative and qualitative

Avocado My House in Dartmouth

Round trip walking to Planet Organic 5.3 km 12,583 steps 1 hour 28 min 827 calories

I read the tea leaves

Planet Organic in Halifax Toronto to Halifax 1263.56 km

Dupont has discovered how to refine a concentrated form of catmint oil to act as an

as if they were words

THE AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOKS BY THE WINDOW by Michael Ondaatje

insect repellent with similiar potency to the synthetics like DEET. This has great potential for countries aflicted with mosquito born illnesses

left over from a conversation between two cups…

In the long open Vancouver Island room sitting by the indoor avocados where indoor spring light falls on the half covered bulbs

Toronto, Canada Los Angeles to Toronto 3513 km

such as malaria and west-nile virus.

~ Kenny Knight

and down the long room light falling onto the dwarf orange tree vines from south america the agatha christie books by the window Nameless morning solution of grain and colour

Los Angeles, U.S.A. Lima to Los Angeles 6719.47 km

Plant as new (bio) technology 11” x 17”

Distance from the farmer to supplier?

Grass

Display

History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man. ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

One might collect a jar of sand from the beach or a rock found while walking. We assign value both collectively and person-

ally. Could grass, one of the most ubiquitous “native” plants of Nova Scotia, carry a heritage value if it comes from a historic place and acts as a catalist for transmitting a story?

Now that my ladder's gone I must lie down where all ladders start In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart. ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

Planter (display) 11” x 17”

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Lima, Peru

Plant as self-portrait 11” x 17”

There is this light, colourless, which falls on the warm stretching brain of the bulb that is dreaming avocado

Plant as climate (local heritage) 11” x 17”

Catmint

Three Plants and a Planter Assignment 1

/ Framing the Semester 5

MDES 6030

We planned and researched three plants and a planter for the semesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s projects. The results were presented in four posters.

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MDES 6200

Some of the MDes students worked on their planter designs in the NSCAD wood and metal shops.

My House in Dartmouth

Round trip walking to Planet Organic 5.3 km 12,583 steps 1 hour 28 min 827 calories

Planet Organic in Halifax Toronto to Halifax 1263.56 km

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THE AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOKS BY THE WINDOW

by Michael Ondaatje

Toronto, Canada Los Angeles to Toronto 3513 km

Los Angeles, U.S.A. Lima to Los Angeles 6719.47 km

Lima, Peru Distance from the farmer to supplier?

In the long open Vancouver Island room sitting by the indoor avocados where indoor spring light falls on the half covered bulbs and down the long room light falling onto the dwarf orange tree vines from south america the agatha christie books by the window Nameless morning solution of grain and colour There is this light, colourless, which falls on the warm stretching brain of the bulb that is dreaming avocado

I read the tea leaves as if they were words left over from a conversation between two cupsâ&#x20AC;Ś

Dupont has discovered how to refine a concentrated form of catmint oil to act as an insect repellent with similar potency to the synthetics like DEET. This has great potential for countries afflicted with mosquito born illnesses such as malaria and west-nile virus.

MDES 6200

~ Kenny Knight

History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man. ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

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One might collect a jar of sand from the beach or a rock found while walking. We assign value both collectively and personally. Could grass, one of the most ubiquitous â&#x20AC;&#x153;nativeâ&#x20AC;? plants of Nova Scotia, carry a heritage value if it comes from a historic place and acts as a catalyst for transmitting a story?

MDES 6200

Now that my ladder's gone I must lie down where all ladders start In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart. ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

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The completed display, made from red oak, with the three planters installed

MDES 6200

Plants were a wonderful theme to work with. I loved working with my hands and crafting the shelf. The projects each had many layers of meaning that we had to incorporate, and that often proved to be challenging.

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Plant as Self-portrait Assignment 2

/ Plant and Poetry 15

“The practice of generating meaning…” ¶ “What is the role of language and how do you form devices to bring out your personal ideas and perspectives… design strategies?” ¶ “This assignment gives a way to find personal motivation for the days when thesis work is hard, it gives ways to connect.” Avocado Facts ¶ It is in the family Lauraceae which also includes cinnamon, camphor, and bay laurel ¶ The avocado is also known as the alligator pear ¶ The fruit is botanically a berry ¶ The avocado tree has both sexes in the flowers, manifesting first male organs in the morning then female in the following day (or afternoon in some species) ¶ The plant originated in Mexico and was known by the Aztecs as the “fertility fruit” ¶ 80% of the avocados for sale are of the Haas variety

MDES 6200

Think about the entire range of characteristics of the plant; how it engages with your senses, how it functions and the way it looks. All of the plant’s characteristics should be taken into consideration. How these characteristics represent you should not necessarily be based on literal interpretations. It is not important that when we look at the real plant we see you. The plant is meant to be an abstract representation.

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ing alk ic w p gan to tri nd et Or outh ase u o n rtm R rch Pla to m Da to pu o fr lifax dos: Ha voca 3 a km steps n 5.3 ,583 8 mi 12 our 2 ries g 1 h calo g 150 827 ize Servin S --- ving Per 4 Ser ount 240 Fat 18 on s e m A orie from bas d Cal ories alue iet V Cal aily lorie d % D 00 ca 34% 2,0 l fat: ol: 0 4% r a Tot leste 1mg rate: 1 o d Ch ium: ohy r 10g b e Sod l Car ry Fib a t a t g To Die rs 1 • uga 3g S • in: : 4% te Pro min A : 25% a Vit min C 2% a i V t ium: ole c Cal : 5% cam2011 a u G 2, lass Iron d in ne c --- sume ay, Ju DES d Con hurs CAD M T on he NS t by

Bright green wrinkled leaves, paper washed in the pocket of winter’s machine Cat in the window orange lines of tension...curl mid-air, loud crows part In old wrinkled skin a stirring dream, renewal floats in a green sea

g lkin wa ic trip Organ th to nd e t u Rou Plane rtmo rchas to m Da to pu fro lifax dos: Ha voca 3 a km steps 5.3 ,583 8 min 12 our 2 ries 1 h calo 50g e 1 rving 827 Siz e --- ving Per S 4 Ser ount 240 Fat 18 on Am ries from based Calo ries alue iet V ie d lo a y C ail lor % D 00 ca 34% 2,0 l fat: ol: 0 4% r a Tot leste 1mg rate: 1 o Ch ium: ohyd r 10g b e Sod l Car ry Fib a Tot Dieta s 1g r • uga • S in: 3g % :4 te Pro min A : 25% a Vit min C 2% a Vit ium: le mo Calc : 5% aca 011 Gu 2, 2 s Iron d in June S clas e -- sum ay, DE d Con hurs CAD M T on he NS t by

MDES 6200

Plant as self-portrait portrait poster 11” x 17”

This project was a challenge for me. I love to think abstractly, but tying together all of the abstract approaches used in this project and keeping it all relevant was difficult. Since my inspiration for choosing this plant is from a poem by Michael Ondaatje, it was suggested that I make some of my own poems. I started the three haiku while walking to the store. We derived a pattern from the cell structure of the plants for a background grid.

Synthetic DEET Repellent Range

[long-term exposure to DEET, through skin, has been proven to cause neurological damage]

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Catmint Oil Repellent Range [all natural, no harmful sideffects]

The Threat of Malaria Annual Global Cases 247 million Annual Death Toll 880,000 91% of cases of malaria are in Africa 85% of the related deaths are children

Plant as New Technology Assignment 3

/ Catmint Oil Insect Repellent 19

“DuPont has received [in 2009] registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an insect repellent ingredient derived from the catmint plant, a sustainable resource more commonly known and loved by felines worldwide as catnip. The new ingredient, Refined Oil of Nepeta cataria, is the first new insect repellent biopesticide to be registered by the EPA in eight years.” via PRWeb <http://goo.gl/wpeqv>

MDES 6200

For this plant you are to choose one that provides potential applications in biotechnology, “applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bio-processes in engineering, technology, medicine, and other fields requiring bio-products.” For example rape, also known as rapeseed, is currently being used in the Ukraine to clean soil contamination by the Chernobyl nuclear accident. <http://goo.gl/4KGgV>

catmint oil insect repellent

TRADITIONAL

INNOVATIVE

Topical anaesthetic Antispasmodic Carminative

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Diaphoretic Emenagogue

Process of Refining Essential Oils

Nervine Stomachic

Hydrogenation

Stimulant Anti-inflammatory

Temperature Control

Anti-rheumatic Astringent Carminative He

Sedative

Febrifuge Tonic

wa te

Condenser

Growing

Vacuum Cycled Coola

Harvesting & Transporting neck Fla reesk Th

Extracting Biomass Processing into Energy Pellets Plant as new technology poster 11” x 34”

“DuPont has received [2009] registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an insect repellent ingredient derived from the catmint plant, a sustainable resource more commonly known and loved by felines worldwide as catnip. The new ingredient, Refined Oil of Nepeta cataria, is the first new insect repellent biopesticide to be registered by the EPA in eight years.” PRWeb, http://goo.gl/wpeqv

MDES 6200

malaria control zones Annual Global Cases 247 million

Annual Death Toll 880,000

Refined Catmint Oil

Condenser

m Cycled Coo lant

91% of cases of malaria are in Africa 85% of the related deaths are children

Catmint Oil Repellent Range

OTHER MOSQUITO BORN ILLNESSES

[long-term exposure to DEET, through skin, has been proven to cause neurological damage]

Arboviral Encephalitides

cei

vi n g Fla

Western equine encephalitis

Dengue fever Rift Valley fever West Nile encephalitis Yellow fever

I discovered a way to layer information in complex design patterns but still be able to direct the eye through the composition using colour. This project’s weak point was perhaps that the emotional tone was off: being more playful and joyous, it did not properly communicate the gravity of these arthropod born diseases.

catmint oil insect repellent

TRADITIONAL

INNOVATIVE

Topical anaesthetic Antispasmodic Carminative

malaria control zones

Diaphoretic Emenagogue

Process of Refining Essential Oils

Nervine Stomachic

Anti-inflammatory Anti-rheumatic Astringent Carminative He

Sedative

ate

Febrifuge Tonic

Growing

Annual Global Cases 247 million

Hydrogenation

Stimulant

Annual Death Toll 880,000

Temperature Control

Synthetic DEET Repellent Range

wa ter

Refined Catmint Oil

Condenser

Vacuum Cycled Coolant

Harvesting & Transporting neck Fla reesk Th

Extracting Biomass Processing into Energy Pellets

91% of cases of malaria are in Africa 85% of the related deaths are children

Catmint Oil Repellent Range

OTHER MOSQUITO BORN ILLNESSES

Synthetic DEET Repellent Range [long-term exposure to DEET, through skin, has been proven to cause neurological damage]

Arboviral Encephalitides Re

cei

v i n g Fla

Western equine encephalitis Dengue fever Rift Valley fever West Nile encephalitis Yellow fever

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Plant as Climate and Culture Assignment 4

/ Grass from Three Halifax Heritage Sites

My interpretation of climate and culture involved using grass to talk about historic sites and their relationship to the local culture. Grass at these sites grows with a lot of precipitation and often moves like waves in the wind. I played with the analogy between the human body and the branching veins and arteries that look like branching plants. Grass is like water breaking upon the bow of a grave stone, spurting from a fountain or flowing across a sod roof. This was imagery capable of talking about local climate and culture.

[Opposite] Sketching ideas of heritage with the Citadel fortress battlements

MDES 6200

Climate can be understood as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a key factor within the structure of human existence.â&#x20AC;? With every region of the globe having its own distinct climate, so to do those regions have their own unique culture. Plants too can be seen as an expression of that climate and the culture that exists within it. You are to choose a plant that is native to Nova Scotia. This plant will be used as a window into the climate and culture of Nova Scotia.

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[Top] Old Burying Ground, Halifax, June 2011 [Bottom] Citadel Walls, Halifax, July 2011 [Opposite] Nymph Fountain, Public Gardens, Halifax, July 2011

MDES 6200

Halifax Citadel and the Old Burrying Grounds are founded - 1749 The oldest stone still identifyable in the Old Burrying Ground - 1752

Climate & Culture “Culture has penetrated to the roots of man's nervous system and it determines how he perceives the world.” ~ Edward T. Hall, Hidden Dimensions

but to identify maybe the grains of sand and call anonymous grasses by their name, to find remembrance if the streets run seabound; when the tide enters the room, when the roof gives flower cry Credo to the obdurate weed. ~ Muriel Spark, from Flower Into Animal

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British Major General Robert Ross burned Washington in the war of 1812 Major Ross is killed in an attack on Baltimore - 1814 and interred in the Old Burrying Grounds

Site for the future Public Gardens was chosen from the Commons - 1841 Old Burying Grounds closed - 1843

The present (4th) citadel is completed - 1856 Memorial to the Crimean War, the Sebastopol Monument, erected in the Old Burrying Grounds - 1860 to honour two Halifax men: Major A.F. Welsford and Captian William Parker Halifax Public Gardens were opened - 1867

Sir William Young Urns added - c. 1877 to the Halifax Public Gardens

Bandstand constructed - 1887 in Halifax Public Gardens

Titanic sinks - 1912 Halifax explosion - 1917 Bluenose sailboat constructed - 1921

The Citadel was used as a temporary barracks for troop deployment - 1939 and anti-aircraft defense

Halifax Public Garden declared a National Historic Site - 1984 and the Old Burying Grounds are restored

Halifax Public Garden extensively damaged by Hurricaine Juan - 2003

Plant as climate and culture 12” x 18”

Halifax Citadel and the Old Burrying Grounds are founded - 1749 The oldest stone still identifyable in the Old Burrying Ground - 1752

Climate & Culture â&#x20AC;&#x153;Culture has penetrated to the roots of man's nervous system and it determines how he perceives the world.â&#x20AC;? ~ Edward T. Hall, Hidden Dimensions

27 British Major General Robert Ross burned Washington in the war of 1812

Site for the future Public Gardens was chosen from the Commons - 1841 Old Burying Grounds closed - 1843

Sir William Young Urns added - c. 1877 to the Halifax Public Gardens

Bandstand constructed - 1887 in Halifax Public Gardens

Titanic sinks - 1912 Halifax explosion - 1917 Bluenose sailboat constructed - 1921

The Citadel was used as a temporary barracks for troop deployment - 1939 and anti-aircraft defense

MDES 6200

Major Ross is killed in an attack on Baltimore - 1814 and interred in the Old Burrying Grounds

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Plant as a System Assignment 5

/ Thesis Case Study 29

Use a case study related to your thesis research and develop a data visualization showing the cause and effect relationship. The planter image must be photographed clearly and used as a full-bleed background image. The planter should become the setting or metaphor for your case study. As a visual style, incorporate realistic and graphic space in your rendering of the data.

Case Study: The Karsh Festival The Portrait Gallery of Canada in partnership with the Canada Science and Technology Museum are leading Festival Karsh with cultural and community partners in events and activities throughout 2009 and beyond. As part of the joint exhibition that traveled to museums across Canada, the Canada Science and Technology Museum created a Flickr presence that allowed people who were touched by Karsh to submit their images and stories. It was a collective exhibition socially created and displayed a new online story dimension that the museum could not have accomplished as a real-world exhibit. I chose this case study because of the unique approach to socially constructed narratives. An exhibit not only of the museum collection, the approach extended beyond physical walls into the private collections of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homes. This technique of social narrative is only possible through using the unique strengths of a networked online community. It achieved a collection of stories that demonstrated curatorial rigor while at the same time capturing private oral histories that would otherwise be lost in connection to the artifacts of an exhibit. QR code links to the websites and stories were added to the diagram to put into practice the idea of crossing real world interactions with the virtual world.

MDES 6200

Over the semester you have investigated three plants of your choosing, each plant has provided you a particular insight: yourself, issues within biotechnology, and climate and culture. You are now to rethink your plants in relation to each other and the planter using all of these elements as a metaphor for a complete system of cause and effect.

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Design Intensives Graduate Design Intensive 1

/ MDES 6030 31

May 16–20 • Introduction to the Philosophy of the MDes Program with Christopher Kaltenbach • Critical Thinking Lecture with Rudi Meyer • Defining Design with Michael LeBlanc • Thesis Preparation with Marlene Ivey May 30–June 3 • An investigation into parks, heritage, and the public with Karen Jans June 22 • An investigation of drawing as a thinking and presentation tool with Rudi Meyer July 15-29 • Dalhousie DesignLab August 2-6 • Applied Linguistics and Problem-solving with David Peters

MDES 6030

This course will delivered five modules that function as both skill building and skill evaluating intensives. The term “intensive” is used to describe compressed (not exceeding five days, except for the Freelab) individual teaching modules. As some of the exercises/projects in these intensives may be familiar to students (previously learned in undergraduate study or done habitually in previous practice), it is important that the MDES program establishes the level of design and design thinking that will be expected of the student throughout the next three semesters. These intensives will also provide a true gauge of the student’s competencies. This will provide for a fair evaluation of the student’s ability to successfully complete this master’s degree. In addition, students will meet periodically with the course’s coordinator, Christopher Kaltenbach, to further discuss/clarify these intensives.

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Introduction to the Philosophy of the Program Christopher Kaltenbach

/ Design Thinking 33

Who am I as a designer and what is important to me? We will be working intensely to discover this. This program will have a methodology, but the expression will be personal. A way to get there for us is to move into the world of pure abstraction, a place where there are no boundaries for the mind (except project time-lines). When you and the client recognize that the brief (the design problem) will change after starting the project, you can embrace this process and look for it rather than feeling threatened by it.

• • •

Process for Readings prepare a summary research author and context take notes of quotes that impress you • find what personally applies to you and your practice Intriguing Terms • A durable visual record (what is left behind)… • The built environment… • Haptics is how we understand the world (give meaning) through touch. It’s refreshing to talk with others about how to make better design again. So much of my past dialogue was about educating or defending the value of design itself.

Out of all the research you do, at what point do you choose THAT idea? It’s part of who you are as a designer that explains why you choose it. Once you know your process, you will trust it more. As a designer, our own currency is our methodology. When you start your thesis, you will have to see it from many different ways and you do that by being open and active with your imagination.

[Opposite] Christopher and Michael are having a debate in the studio.

MDES 6030

Success will be how well you can demonstrate the intent, rigour, and research—all of the ideas based on things found in research and translated into form.

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Critical Thinking and History of Universities Rudi Meyer

/ Philosophical Underpinnings

• A lecture exploring epistemology (the relationship between the researcher and what can be known) and “designerly” knowing or ontology (the body of knowledge that can be known) • Briefly touched upon critical theories • Compared scientific knowledge/ research with humanist • Gave us a background relevant to a number of areas that our research method and the NSCAD experience will touch upon. • Discussed the concepts of “action research” and tacit knowledge that we learn through practice

[Opposite] Image based on the path of subatomic particles as transcribed in a cloud chamber, via <http://mrtphysics.co.uk/?tag=tl>

MDES 6030

As a designer “you have to figure out how to become a practitioner rather than a process follower.”

We looked through the book Thoughtless Acts? by Jane Fulton Suri and IDEO. Creative Generalist has an interview with the author at <http://goo.gl/RSv1e>.

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“The artist is not finished until he [or she] has realized their intentions.” Attrib. Rembrant

[Below] Our cover design on Blurb [Below left] My page spread design

The Definition of Design Michael LeBlanc

/ Imagining a World Without Design 37

The project was to create a book that would then be published through blurb.com which demonstrated the value of design by showing a world with the design “sucked out” of it. My spread contribution was for an online banking website. The missing image icons, courier font, intentional spelling errors and many visual misalignments, created exact opposite of the feelings of trust that online banking institutions want their customers to feel when using their interface.

Q: In your experience, what type of personality typically makes the best observer? A: I find that curiosity, openmindedness, and imagination are important. It helps to be nonjudgmental, able to move easily from noticing detail to thinking about patterns and the big picture, perceptive about (their own and other) people’s behavior, motivations, and personally genuinely interested in other people’s points of reference.

We have a situation in design where a regular person can do design (for good or bad). So we have to separate professional design and vernacular design, if not we encompass all of humanity.

“Be mindful that you’re having a conversation with what you are designing.”

My approach to the making an “undesigned” project was to strip a banking website of design and introduce formatting errors to highlight the role of design in creating trust for online clientele. I have to admit feeling really uncomfortable making an intentionally ugly design! It was somehow too much like what I see in the reality and so antithetical to my efforts against that tide.

MDES 6030

This two-day workshop is intended to sensitize you to design: what it is, and what it is not; how it is used (for good and for evil); how design makes your life simpler and then again, more complicated; how you as a designer fits into all this. We explored what is the social necessity of the design profession.

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Thesis Preparation Marlene Ivey

/ Visualizing Our Process 39

Designing for Experience • is free from pre-conceptions • sees opportunity rather than threat from the unfamiliar • creates experience environments We like hunting and gathering, but you also need to know when to stop. Your thesis should be full of visual language, that’s your practice. Your job is to get a research question that is looking forward, has a lot of room to grow… The messy front-end of design leads to discovery. You have to let the mess happen. Just as in fine art, it’s messy and then it gets more refined and methodical. NSCAD masters wants us to “build reflective ability” and “mindful capacity”—to get these skill and then get quick with them (time is money after all). There are benefits to being LOST. What is the role of novelty in discovery?

[Following page] Design Process Visualization: a visualization of the design process using an astrological metaphor. At first there is the colourful nebula, then stars are isolated, named, and formed into constellations with stories and meanings. A comparison to the Orion nebula shows how understanding and observation are the two arms that help clarify for the “head” and help to define the design problem. Ideas, like Orions belt, are a key element that ties the process together. Testing and prototyping are the legs that the process stands on. Everything is interconnected and can circle back if needed.

MDES 6030

Design is not always problem solving. It can solve problems, but not always. Critical design has no function other than to ask questions.

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MDES 6030

Thesis Structure P ROCESS BO O K

1. Title Pages 2. Acknowledgements 3. Contents 4. List of figures 5. Abstract 6. Introduction 7. Literary and Contextual Review 8. Methods and Methodology 9. Analysis 10. Outcomes 11. Conclusion 12. Bibliography 13. Appendices

We were asked to make a threedimensional representation of the thesis structure. My effort came out shaped like megaphone. It was meant to be a mysterious object that reveals itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story when you look into it.

MDES 6030

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An Investigation into Parks, Heritage, and the Public / Applying Research and Marketing & Personality and Process Types Karen Jans

[Top] I worked with Grace and Stewart to develop the concept of a mobile parks experience. [Above] The four personality types/roles at play in the typical creative process and how they usually interact

As part of the team skills presentation, we analyzed our working patterns to better understand ourselves and how to work with other types. The charts opposite are a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of each of the character types.

What did Karen say of me in my final review? The student contributed regularly and thoughtfully to class discussions and proposed a design solution that utilized insightful means of advancing adapting existing technologies to meet the client’s objectives. He was very responsive to constructive input: a collaborative team player and quiet leader. Our group’s idea, The Mobile Parks Experience, suggested that Park’s Canada convert a shipping container to hold three sensory dioramas that could be delivered easily to events and high traffic locations. The idea was to bring a more meaningful experience of the parks directly to the potential audience and pique their interest in visiting the site.

Most project have a cycle where they move forward and then backward for a bit. Karen described it as a spiral looping back on itself, see the diagram below. Working in a groups is always a challenge. Karen feels the inter-personal skills you have in communicating your ideas, leadership, understanding how to work with the personality types of others, etc...will help your career as much as your design skills.

[Above] A video still from our presentation showing the dioramas in the truck. [Opposite page] Some of the illustrations that I made to demonstrate how an electronic device could react with photographic panoramas.

MDES 6030

• Experience working in a group, learn about ourselves and others, design process, justifying design decisions for demographic research, social science, performance measures and marketing • Solve a strategic problem on a time line as a group; prepare presentation about the project • Explored service delivery agreements and business cases • Guest speakers: social scientist, staff designer, group patterns and teamwork, marketing and explorer types • We delivered a final presentation

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Drawing as a Thinking and Presentation Tool Rudi Meyer

/ Context and Process 47

MDES 6030

• Showed how drawing can have different purposes depending on how it is used and whom the audience is • Drawing can be a way of problem solving, thinking out an issue through action, and working collaboratively on an idea on the same page • Drawing can be a tool to communicate with your clients, they will feel more able to change and influence a drawing than something generated on a computer (which has more a feeling of finality) • Don’t neglect layout for presentation drawings • Isometric and axonometric projections • The approach and usefulness of orthographic views in describing objects The assignment was to design a planetary explorer in groups of three to four. There were a number of guidelines and restrictions on how we completed and presented this task to prove the points listed above.

[Opposite] Details of the presentation my group—consisting of Stewart, Hana, and myself—created about an insectiod vehicle

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Free Lab: Design-Build Project Dalhousie School of Architecture

/ Portable Camera Obscura 49

This Free Lab will build a portable, booth size camera obscura, that will be stationed in the city for public to experience. The Free Lab will include the design and construction of the camera, deciding on the possible places where the camera could be stationed, as well as documentation of the process and the response of the public. The image of the city contained in the camera will offer the opportunity to reflect on the role and the body in the process of perception. ~ Professor Maria Elisa Navarro

MDES 6030

The camera obscura is a viewing device where the magical properties of light and the power of the poetic image to transform the mundane enable its user to see the world in a new way.

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conceptualize budget research debate develop materials prototype test build repair document exhibit proselytize dispose

MDES 6030

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David Peters presents

Applied Linguistics and Problem-solving David Peters

/ Communication and Openness 53

Another purpose of the seminar is to introduce and demonstrate useful linguistic distinctions that facilitate communication, such as: request, offer, promise, speculate, declare, accept, decline, revoke, withdraw, counter, assert, assess, cooperate, coordinate, perform, and satisfy, as well as concepts like knowledge, power, action, design, ethics, dialogue, future, ambition, situation, purpose, strategy, tactics, operations, and narrative. This course consists of five allday classes conducted in seminar format plus studio work sessions. Handouts and URLs will be shared as relevant to support conversations about design, linguistics, biology, business, technology, social media, ethics, philosophy, and history.

Upon completion, students will be • capable of assessing and contributing to Wikipedia • better at interpreting situations and making choices as individuals and in groups • more effective in performance of their roles as students, designers, and instructors • aware of prominent figures who are framing issues in the design discourse • • • • • •

Learning Activities Lectures In-class discussions and activities Breakout group activities Online activities Studio project work Personal journal-keeping

MDES 6030

Working in an age of rapid techno-social change compels designers to deal with problems of all kinds while at the same time holding their roles in complex project environments. The purpose of this seminar is to engage graduate students in a practice of applied “problem-solving” and “contribution” to the free knowledge movement (and Wikipedia specifically). We will observe how design is characterized outside the profession, and work on specific opportunities to fill gaps that we identify together.

Chinese Wikipedians at NSCAD University

TEAM MEMBERS

Shu (Grace) Fang Ian Grivois Yin (Lyly) Long Linghan (Lindsey) Zhan Yanyan Zhang

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Ping-pong-athon

Kungfu Hacking

Dumplings & Editing

Photoquest

Cell phone chain

Bookmarks

MDES 6030

Martyn Anstice and I collaborated on making a Wikipedia entry for Carl Dair, a Canadian designer, writer, typeface designer and teacher. Above are some example’s of Carl Dair’s work from Design with Type (1967).

[Above] Jay Walsh, head of communications for Wikimedia, came in to talk with us and view the final “Wikipedian” presentations. [Opposite] I worked with the Chinese students to assemble a hypothetical Wikipedian group and associated page. They designed icons and merchandise to go along with the club activities.

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Thesis Research

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Exploring approaches to online narrative immersion

Experience design Film and sound design Digital storytelling Motion design Flow, optimal experience Aesthetics, poetry, & metaphysics Fine art and critical design Comic book narratives Online journalism Rhetoric & presentation

T HESI S D EVELO PMENT

Pearl divers off the coast of Ama, Japan Image source unknown

Thesis research and refinement has been happening throughout our last semester. We’ve done four drafts proposals of 800-1000 words about our areas of research interest, and I’ve been reading as much as I can. It has changed a lot and expect it to continue to move around drastically for a while as I map out the territory. This development culminates at the end of the Summer term with a presentation of our ideas, a poster, and final essay on the topic. After all of these are delivered we will meet with the advisory committee to discuss our progress.

Pearl diver sculpture in Bahrain National Museum Alan C. Donque (cc)

It all feels rather muddled and vast right now, but the readings are all very useful for my design practice and I sense that there are some very good ideas to be found in this area.

[Opposite page] An illustration playing with the ideas discovered in Gray and Malin’s book Visualizing Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. [Top] A compass, via Wikimedia (Public domain)

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Thesis Proposal Poster 43” x 24”

T HESI S D EVELO PMENT

uccessful creative writing, film, and performance have a tremendous ability to connect to the emotions of an audience. They feel absorbed and immersed in a diegetic story space, suspending disbelief for an experience that is both individual and collective. What is this immersive sensorial experience, and what techniques are employed in the rhetorical vocabulary of writing, film, and performance to weave such an engaging narrative? As a domain for creating immersive experiences, the Internet offers a potential not available in these others. Rather than simply passive receivers, the networked audience is participatory, social, and collaborative. Yet, so often this capacity is not fully engaged as content is moved into this virtual environment. Can narrative immersion techniques be better employed to enhance the teaching and learning experience in a post-secondary online distance education course? Can a narrative vocabulary that belongs more in the domain of fine-art and poetic rationale bring greater value to a university course based in the rigor of scientific quantitative rationale?

[To be continued...]