Design Exploration and Experimentation

Lewis Just

Aalto University

DESIGN EXPLORATION AND EXPERIMENTATION

CONTENT

My Background ........................................................ 2 Path and Process ....................................................... 3 Explorations 3D Explorations ........................................................ 5 Religious Exploration ................................................ 9 Hein채vesi Being in Nature ......................................................... 14 Valamo Monastery..................................................... 18 Ideas Initial Ideas ............................................................. 30 Interview with Kaarle ................................................ 32 Working with wood ................................................... 34 Into the wild ............................................................ 36 Experimentation Wood Workshop........................................................ 45 Exhibition ................................................................ 51 Final Reflections ....................................................... 59

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MY BACKGROUND

My name is Lewis Just, I am 23 years of age, I come from Scotland and I call myself a designer. Just a designer (no pun intended). That is my professional title. I have studied various disciplines within the field (service, experience, interaction, identity, strategy, graphic, audio-visual) though I do not want to be limited to any singular field. Each field has strong ties to the other fields and to try and separate them only blocks off collaboration and exploration of the spaces in-between the fields.

I often question what a designer is. For me, anyone and everyone is a designer. Design doesn’t belong exclusively to people who can use Photoshop. You don’t need a degree or for that matter, any formal training to be a designer.

Studying design definitely hones your skills but we see design all around us made by “non designers”. Designers observe the world that surrounds them, identifying potential spaces/interactions/objects to improve.

My beliefs define the works that I create. For instance when it comes to aesthetics I try to have no “style” of my own. I believe that the final outcome of a project, whether by graphics, interaction or some other means of expression, should be an abstraction set by the goals of the project. The aesthetics of the project should “fit” the problem it is trying to solve.

Design is to invent with intent. If you take away the ‘invent’ bit, you have an engineer. If you take away the ‘intent’ bit, you have an artist. Rebecca Reubens The age-old question arises time and time again. At what point does design become art or vice versa. Distinctions between the two worlds are eroding. In his book “The Language of Things” Sudjic argues that for a design to be called design it should at least try to 1. Solve a problem 2. be democratic and 3. be useful.

So where does Critical Design fit within these two worlds? Critical design is defined as a commentary or critique on modern day culture. It slips away from the norm in which designers face problems and solve them. It is more of an attitude than a style or movement; a position rather than a method. There are many people doing this kind of work who have never heard of the term critical design and would describe their work differently. Naming it Critical Design is simply a way of making this activity more visible and emphasising that design has other possibilities beyond solving problems.

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PATHS AND PROCESS

A few weeks prior to selecting Design Exploration and Experimentation I had a discussion with some friends about the course selection. The “arty” friend argued that if we have the opportunity to explore a new way to design we should take it. The other more pragmatic friend argued that if you ever want a job you have to focus on something at some point. The pragmatic friend didn’t see the point of working on something that couldn’t be displayed in a portfolio. Picking the other course would mean real experience with a client. None of us were truly set on taking one course or the other and in the end we all left the conversation doing the opposite course of the one we first thought we would do.

I wanted to rely on the process as much as possible in this course. A wise man once said to focus on the journey, not the destination as joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. The hardest part for me was to make my own journey. In traditional design a journey can be mapped from what is already given. It’s a logical path that will in the end lead to a logical solution. If there is no starting point for the journey then one must make their own path. Or choose one. Perhaps, if there is not one path, it is more about choosing out of the many paths that lay in front of the traveler.

On reflection I think that the paths that I wondered down took me to new places that I would otherwise not have done. The course closed off the easier, more familiar paths and pushed me to find new ones. Whether I consider these paths more or less affective to reaching the end is in some way irrelevant.

The following pages tell the story of the path that I took. The path less traveled.

“The core of mans’ spirit comes from new experiences.”

Chris McCandless

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EXPLORATION

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The course started with a very personal assignment to knot a piece of string (pictured below) with significant moments of our life in relation to belief, faith or religion.

We then shared the stories as a group. The stories told concentrated on important events, people or ordeals people have had to face so far in life. It was interesting to hear that more than one member of the group referred to religion as a “tool”.

In fact many of the stories were about overcoming a trial, a tough time in life and people sometimes turned to something for help. That “something” was sometimes more concrete and others times vague.

Another common theme of the stories was that of friendship or relationships to others. Someone said in the group that to not believe in anything must be hard and

3D EXPLORATIONS

unfulfilling. My immediate reaction was disagreement but then I thought about it and although I may not believe in a God I do still believe and have faith. Only I have decided to anchor my faith in people. My family, and friends and in a bigger sense, humanity. I think I am a fairly optimistic person, and I strive to see the good in people. The most interesting thing for me to come up was this link between belief and life, people lived they way they believed.

water from the lake nearby.

I tried not to think too much about the process or put too much logic to my actions but this is easier said than done. The task as I understood was to see if our hands could lead us in our thinking. I produced a piece that had a thought behind it, but I couldn’t separate whether the thought was subconsciously there all along or whether I gave it purpose after finishing the piece to justify it.

The group was then challenged to produce a three dimensional sculpture based on one of the stories we had shared. The model could be made of anything but we had a very strict time to complete the task and were given no provisions to do so. I decided to experiment with a discarded (and unfired) clay pot that I had found in the workshop and the

I thought that the temperature outside (around -10) would be cold enough to freeze the water in the clay pot. However I didn’t want to know the result so I put a lid on the pot. The piece paid homage to Schrödinger’s cat experiment. The substance inside was both ice and water at the same time.

3D EXPLORATIONS

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3D EXPLORATIONS

3D EXPLORATIONS

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RELIGIOUS EXPLORATIONS

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1.Butsudan

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2. Lotus Sutra and prayer beads

3. Gohonzon

RELIGIOUS EXPLORATIONS

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RELIGIOUS EXPLORATIONS

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

sight

Buddhahood Bodhisattva Realisation Learning Rapture Humanity Anger Animality Hunger Hell

hearing

smell

4 Noble Worlds

6 Paths

4 Evil Paths

taste

understanding Conscious Karma state of Buddha

touch

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RELIGIOUS EXPLORATIONS

The next stage of the course was to explore different religions. After a lengthy discussion our group (consisting of Lisa Grekins, Sami Kiviharju’ and Carolina Rebelo) decided that we would like to learn more about Soka Gokkai (SGI), a branch of Buddhism.

Our group went to the SGI activity centre and had a long and in-depth talk to one of their members, Tatu.

A lot of the information he was telling us about the religion seemed to make perfect sense. It was about starting with oneself and finding your own strength and happiness and along the journey trying to improve others. Soka Gokkai is based on Nichiren’s teachings, a Japanese monk who reformed the teachings of Buddhism. The main teachings are found in the Lotus Sutra and is a practise based religion.

“The Lotus Sutra affirms that all people, regardless of gender, capacity or social standing, inherently possess the qualities of a Buddha, and are therefore equally worthy of the utmost respect.”

Tatu explained some of the deeper concepts and philosophy of Soka Gokkai with some diagrams depicting the states of consciousness and the sense.

The two teachings that caught the groups attention were the Ten worlds (above diagram) and the Nine Concsiousnesses (below diagram).

Nichiren’s understanding of the Ten Worlds is as follows: Each world contains within it the other nine. As he expresses it: “Even a heartless villain loves his wife and children. He too has a portion of the Bodhisattva world within him.”

Thus, the potential for enlightened wisdom and action represented by

the world of Buddhahood continues to exist even within a person whose life is dominated by the lower lifestates of Hell, Hunger or Animality.

The reverse is also true. The lifestate of Buddhahood is not separate or discontinuous from the other nine worlds.

The nine consciousnesses can be thought of as different layers of consciousness which are constantly operating together to create our lives. The consciousness’ include a wide range of activities, including sensation, cognition and conscious thought.

It seemed like the religion was focused on making change in this life for the better. Their goal is to develop peace, culture and education. Three things that make a lot of sense to promote.

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HEINÄVESI

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BEING IN NATURE

BEING IN NATURE

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VALAMO MONASTERY

“Why do men worship in churches, locking themselves away in the dark, when the world lay beyond its doors in all its real glory?”

Charles de Lint

VALAMO MONASTERY

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On the field trip in the third week we were given the oportunity to visit Valamo Monastery, an Orthodox Church. We arrived early to witness the morning prayers, which were held in Finish and Old Church Slavonic so I couldn’t understand anything but it was still interesting to take in the experience.

What was very apparent was the element of theatrics going on and the focus on it being a multi-sensory experience; the smell of the incense, the singing, the candles. When being shown round the Churches private museum collection one thing really stood out for me. The extravagance of the relics and artefacts.The hypocrisy of it all

VALAMO MONASTERY

made me angry. Angrier than I have felt in a while.

The fact that Monks ould walk around with gem incrusted gold crosses while people are starving in the world really got to me. How could there be such a discord between the churches philosophy and its aesthetics?

The Monk kept on repeating that they wanted to make the house of God beautiful but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I asked how the lavish artefacts where not a problem the answer was “they are for God. I don’t own it, God does.”

What use does God have?

On the trip we also had th chance to visited a Nunnery. The sister that we spoke to seemed to be easier to have a real discussion with. Three points stood out for me. The first was the inequalities in the Church for men and women. The sister said that the church is “not about rights, but about holiness“. The second interesting point was her life story about leaving Greece because of her conflict with the views of the Monks who had preached against Jews. The last interesting point was a discussion the sister brought to our group. She asked what was more important, to have peace or to have things happening? This made me question the very idea of peace.

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VALAMO MONASTERY

When in Heinavesi there was time to have for our own. When I find myself away from the city I often want to go exploring and spend as much time outside as possible. With the help of another student in the group we started constructing an igloo.

The basic construction was not the usual bricks. The igloo was made by piling up a massive amount of snow, pouring water on it so that the snow would freeze (or at least harden) and then digging out the interior. This manual work meant that we could really switch off our brains. I have always really liked being outside and building or making things like this, though it may seem kind of

pointless to some people, by doing repetitive labour it lets your brain rest. To others it may seem a little childish but I have always believed that being a little childish every now and then is a good thing.

The next day we finished building the igloo and the locals who were hosting us generously offered a reindeers hide so that we could sleep in the igloo and not get cold.

I love living in the city but every now and then I think its so important to reconnect with nature. Even just to be in an open quite space allows me to think more clearly. Nature can also be so inspiring for design. Animals

evolve with highly intelligent instincts or bodies that fit perfectly to the problems they face.

Nowadays it is all too easy to lose the connection between what we have and were it comes from. Wood is a perfect example of this. We understand that wood comes from a forest from a very young age but its harder to have respect for a material that often takes years to grow when you are so far away from it.

Wood has been used for thousands of years and it surrounds us in our everyday items, furnishings and buildings. Yet few still work with it by hand and fewer still fully understand it.

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VALAMO MONASTERY

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VALAMO MONASTERY

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1. Donation box 2. Disckos (back left) and plates 3. Golden chandelier 4. Silver tea set 5. Icons with precious gems

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6. Golden Chalice 7. Golden Bible 8. Golden Chalice 9. Pure Golden Cross 10. Censer (incense burner)

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VISITING THE MONASTERY

VISITING THE MONASTERY

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VISITING THE MONASTERY

“The Church is not about rights. It’s about Holiness”

Sister

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VISITING THE MONASTERY

“Our God is perfect beauty.

These items belong to God. So they should also be beautiful.”

Monk

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IDEAS

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INITIAL IDEAS

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INITIAL IDEAS

Sketchbook My sketchbook gave me a space to reflect, criticize, debate and create during the course. Though I often find it hard to keep up to date with diaries, I found myself bound to writing or doodling the thoughts in my head. I felt it was a way of capturing the now, the emotions that I felt in that present, so that I could see how it differed later. Here are just some examples that aided me in my overall process and helped me to define my final outcome.

Final Idea The idea that I chose to go forward with came from the discussion with the Monk at Valamo Monastery.

I wanted to take the relics of the Orthodox church and recreate them to fit with the teachings of the religion. My aim was to make the aesthetics fit with the philosophy. I decided to redesign a cross, a chalice and an incense burner the way Jesus would have made them.

No Picture of the final idea?

Whilst reflecting on the project as a whole I realise that I did not make concrete sketches of the idea that I selected. Usually I will try many variations of forms but for this outcome I wanted my hands to find the form without prior thought.

Material And Process Selection To keep with the teachings of the Church and Jesus Christ I decided to focus on wood as my material, as it is a sustainable, basic and an easy to use material.

Specifically wood (dead or fallen) reclaimed from the forest. My goal was also for the processing of the artefact to have minimal impact on the environment so will so planned to use only hand tools. To implement my idea I needed more advice about the best way to go about this.

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Kaarle was a professor of design in Finland for many years and has a passion for wood. He told me “All chairs are growing in trees. We just need to take them�. He told me that when he walks in the woods he can see so many trees, and that he hates to see dead or fallen trees burned for energy which is the standard practice.

INTERVIEW WITH KAARLE

Kaarle is now an industrial furniture designer. He has his own studio and has won many awards for his work. He explained that nature inspires his industrial work.

He produces one off pieces from wood that he finds in the forrest and then transfers the ideas to his industrial projects. Looking through his work the link is very evident.

Kaarle explained that if you want to work with wood, go out there and get it. He told me about the tools that would be best for hand tooling and the best parts of the wood to use. He also explained the importance of treating the wood before tooling by drying it as much as possible. The most helpful advice was the locations to find dead or fallen trees.

INTERVIEW WITH KAARLE

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The picture (above) shows the map that was drawn by Kaarle as to where the best place to find fallen wood.

This sketch (left) is a brief explanation of the drying process involved for the green (fresh) wood.

He also gave me some references about cutting the lumber a certain way. Each piece of the wood having a different use.

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WORKING WITH WOOD

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WORKING WITH WOOD

I went to look for the dead wood in the forrest where Kaarle had told me and was amazed to see how much material was just lying around, waiting to be used. There have been heavy winds in Helsinki recently which brings down many trees. Too many to be cleaned up by the authorities.

I started off the carving by just trying to get smooth edges. One of the biggest steps I learned was to have the correct tools. It took me almost an hour to split one of the branches down the middle. When I came back later with a small axe

it took me five minutes. I ended up making some knives, a few spoons and a mallet which helps the axe with precision cutting. These first experiments helped me a lot later in the project and I was glad that I started this early.

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INTO THE WILD

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INTO THE WILD

INTO THE WILD

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One bright and early morning was the start of my explorations into the wild to gather the material needed for my wood carving. I felt a bit strange wearing a huge backpack in the city but the further I got away from “civilisation” the more comfortable I felt. I had the feeling that on my return I wouldn’t really care about people’s perception of me. I got to Nuuksio Park at around 10.00 and immediately wanted to get going. I wanted to get as far away from the trails and people as possible. (I ended up seeing one other person in the park that day) This led me to take a path that I probably shouldn’t have.

It started out as being a fairly used path (I could tell by the packed snow. I started to notice the tracks as the trip went on. The crumbled and flicked snow being a sign of people) I was really enjoying the natural surroundings and came across an area of trees that had

INTO THE WILD

curved to make arches which, with some navigation, one could walk under. The track started to fade away and all that was left was one persons snowshoe tracks. The snow got much deeper (up to my waist) and with the weight of my bag I could hardly move. I was alone, it was cold and I had walked for an hour into this mess. I started to sweat due to panic and fatigue.

I tried to work out if it was worth pushing on to the end of the “trail” but decided it was best to turn round and go back to a path I could actually walk on.

I got to the campsite an hour or so before sunset which gave me time to prepare a fire and start cooking.

The campsite was well equipped having a lean to shelter, a wood shed and a cooking stove. A man stopped by and we talked for a while. He offered me some blackberry tea and we discussed what little wildlife there is around the park this time of the year.

When he left the sun had gone down and night began. This was the point when I truly felt alone. I had my thoughts and a bit of wood to hack into with my knife. I started to contemplate the idea of reliance.

I got off the “trail” and stopped What do I rely upon? Can I rely on for some lunch under a frozen just myself ? What makes me feel waterfall. It was an amazingly scared and why? How do I overcome secluded spot just 30 meters off these fears? I tried to let my hands the tracks. I made lunch and by the find the form in the wood. It was time I wanted to leave my gloves had something to focus on and keep my frozen stiff. I put on another couple mind from having more sinister of layers and kept going. thoughts.

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INTO THE WILD

I was happy to wake up the next morning, a little tired but warm enough to crawl out my sleeping bag. Friday was a big day for walking. I wanted to get to Pekka’s place in the woods. I arranged to be there at 16.00 and arrived just after that. I think I may have misunderstood his texts as I thought he would be there to meet me. All I found were 2 empty sheds, a large orange house that was locked up and a sauna round the back. The sauna was open so I decided to have a look. It was an amazing traditional sauna next to a small lake. At 17.00 I needed to make a decision: whether to hike back for an hour and camp at the place I intended to stay or fire up the sauna and sleep there.

The choice was pretty easy. Lighting the fire of the sauna was not. Snow had gotten into the chimney so I had to get on the roof and clear it out. After 30 minutes of struggling I finally got it going. I made some

food and by 9 the sauna was perfect.

I had a great sense of achievement getting the sauna to work, as I had never even seen one being made.

thing was that the underside of the tree was rotten so I couldn’t use it. I was pretty angry with myself for not checking that sooner. I continued to forage for more wood There was a lot of trial and error to and eventually found and axed get the stones hot enough but I got the pieces I wanted. I started to there. It all felt a bit surreal, being in notice the forms in the trees that the middle of a forest, alone, naked Kaarle had talked about. By the in a sauna “working” on a project. end of the day I was exhausted and I had reserved time on Saturday ready to lay my head down. When to find and chop down/gather the I was in my sleeping bag I started wood I needed. I was on the look thinking about how nature is very out for the wood from Thursday but unforgiving. I think that you lose a didn’t want to carry it for too long so sense of that living in a city.

I visited some of the trees that I had noted and mapped earlier. I ended I got up on Sunday, had breakfast up taking a shortcut over the ice of and set off back to the city. When a lake, which I promised myself I I got back on to the main trails I wouldn’t but I couldn’t resist. was immediately annoyed by the sound of other people. I don’t know I found a tree that had fallen and why. I suppose I enjoyed the time started to hack away at it with the by myself. I wouldn’t say I was an small axe I had in my rucksack. antisocial person in anyway. I enjoy Very quickly I realised that I should the company of others but every have taken a saw with me. The now and again I like to be alone. In axe was hard work. The worst the wild.

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INTO THE WILD

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1. Inside Pekka’s Sauna 2. By the campsite on night one 3. Outside of Pekka’s Sauna 4. Two paths diverging on a lake 5. Shattered fallen wood 6. Frozen waterfall 7. The chopped log and axe 8. Arched tree field 9. Collapsed tree with snow 10. My “angel” shadow

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INTO THE WILD

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There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea and the music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more.

Lord Byron

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EXPERIMENTATION

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I spent around 2 solid weeks in the workshop hand crafting the three objects. The first thing I had to do when I got the wood back from my trip from the forest was to dry them as quickly as possible without the wood splitting too much. The bark was stripped off and the pieces were placed in black bin bags with paper to dry the wood out. This process should last for a few months but I didn’t have time for that so I had to take them out after just a few days.

When I did finally get on to making the forms the work was very slow to begin with. I started out sawing the rough shapes in the wood and then came the chiselling. The endless chiselling! I left the workshops everyday fatigued but satisfied.

WORKING WITH WOOD

I just saw it as a nuisance that made working a bit harder.

One afternoon I got a bit stuck securing the bowl shape to the desk so I could keep working on it. A few people (including the staff of the wood workshop) suggested a way around the problem but all the methods would take a long time to do by hand. I was getting very frustrated at this point. 5 minutes before the workshops closed I finally worked out the simplest solution to the problem, which was a big relief as otherwise, I would have gone home extremely frustrated.

I visited the fashion department to pick out some string to hang the incense burner up with. I was slightly overwhelmed by the I ended up getting a mark in the choices on offer in the room. I tried middle of my right hand from the to get into the mind of Jesus (not tools I was using. A student pointed such an easy thing to do when a out that it looked like I had been up little stressed and in a hurry) but on a cross for a while like Jesus. I managed to find a yarn that fit think if I was more superstitious I the purpose of my job. The thread may have read this as a sign. Instead was nothing special, it could

hardly be seen amongst the noise of the others. My mind went to Indiana Jones choosing the simple Holy Grail amongst the golden ones. Though I didn’t measure the thickness of the string to the holes the one I picked fit perfectly.

I couldn’t have measured it any better if I wanted to. This could be interpreted in many ways but logic battled down any sense of wonderment or miracle.

Sometimes it was hard going in the workshops but I think I had to go through some sort of hardship. If you ever want to feel true temptation you should hand sand wood for a few hours next to a machine that could do the job in under a minute.

Working with the wood for just afew days gave me a new appreciation for craftsman that still work in traditional ways. One of the pieces did end up splitting because I didn’t give the wood enough time to dry out but in a way I was ok with that.

WORKING WITH WOOD

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WOOD WORKSHOP

WOOD WORKSHOP

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WOOD WORKSHOP

WOOD WORKSHOP

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EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION

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The string was used to keep the height of the lid

EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION

Cracks started to form as the wood dried out

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The base was left unattached for dual usage

EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION

The inside was sanded spherically smooth

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The pieces were connected with a cross lap joint

EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION

The cross caught by the sunlight

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REFLECTIONS

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FINAL REFLECTIONS

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FINAL REFLECTION

This course has taught me a new approach to design. On the surface critical design seems to have little use or real professional application but by taking this course I can start to see the value that it teaches. Critical design can teach us about the way in which we see the world and communicate what we think of it to others.

How have I explored?

The course reaffirmed my passion for exploration. I have always been an inquisitive person but I feel as my academic and professional life goes on its all too easy to stop exploring. To stop looking over the fence, opening the unknown door, straying from the beaten track. The course also created a space so that I could question my beliefs again. Some where reaffirmed and others may have shifted.

How have I experimented?

By letting go of the routine that can build up in many other design challenges I have been able to develop a solution using techniques that are new to me. I have never really had the chance to work with wood for a sustainable amount of time and I feel that doing something so traditional was a great starting point. I do feel like this is only a starting point though and I hope to continue to work with wood using both traditional and more modern techniques.

I feel like the most important thing within my project was not the final finished objects but the process. How I got to the end exhibition far outweighed the pieces. I think that one of the main problems I had during the project was to fully document the process. I would have loved to make a video or make more photos but at the time I felt that if I did do that the entire experience would change. I would no longer be doing, instead I would be capturing what I was doing. Doing anything through a lens extracts you from the essence of what you are trying to achieve.

I think that the work I have produced during this course is partly a reflection of myself. This is a strange concept for me to allow, as I believe when designing, one should not focus on the self, but on the problem and the people it serves. I feel like the course has given me permission to explore a different approach to design, which I am always grateful for.

I think that I pushed myself to do something different. I tried to test myself and I am content with what I achieved within the constraints of the project. There is no way I could have achieved this all by myself so I would like to thank everyone who helped me on my journey. I took the course wanting to test myself and I believe that’s what I did.

“I know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.�

Primo Levi

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS The King James Bible (Genesis) The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins The Design of everyday things - Donald Norman The language of things - Deyan Sudjic

ARTICLES How Do We Know We’re Not Living Inside A Massive Computer Simulation? http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-10/how-do-we-know-were-not-living-inside-massivecomputer-simulation Bear Meat http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/01/08/070108fi_fiction_levi Some straight answers about the Orthodox Church http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/questions.html FILM Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0 Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence The Spirit Molecule Into the Wild Mastercrafts: Green Wood The virus of faith

Nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.�

Chris McCandless