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future uni 

Our group made a strategy for a future university in 2050. As the educational system around the world is now more online than ever and covid is still a big issue, it is possible that an entirely online university is the future. This would have to be altered to cater for courses that are practical and skill based rather than theory based (which are easier to carry out online). AI or another type of technology would have to be used for students to carry out their practical assignments and work. 

Through systems thinking we saw a potential connection between students who do practical based courses and lack of motivation. Since they can’t do their work as planned, it’s not at the intended level of work they want and it’s almost impossible i todays physical limits. 

We discussed that a cultural probe in a current open university would help give us real answers to tell us if our system we designed is correct/on the right idea. Potentially a happy or sad button in an elevator with a question saying practical or theory,(so we know what course type they are doing) and then options for lost motivation, gained motivation and not affected (so we can see how their motivation was affected in lockdown). 

system thinking

In class this week we looked at systems and system thinking, how everything interconnects and how one thing can affect something drastically different through a series of connections. We were given opportunities to try out and make systems ourselves using Loopy.

Our first task was to connect rabbits and wolves and see how their connections to each other and then to more aspects of life would look. We could then visually see how each ‘party’ is affected. For this first one we were still understanding Loopy so it isn’t as detailed as it could have been but still shows our thinking process.

Our second task was working with ‘Wicked Problems’, a much bigger issue. Our task was to see how damp homes can lead to deprivation. We were then asked to make a hypothetical solution with our agency to the problem. We managed to get a lot of points in our Loopy and we were happy with our solution. We decided that we would campaign for state homes to be made from good standard materials so that there would be less damp homes. By pitching this as a policy for political parties to use it would raise their voting numbers with the young people who feel passionate about this issue. 

1. How could system thinking be used in your creative process:

This could be used for problem solving/creative solutions as it visually shows how a process can go. There is no limits to what can and can’t be added to the system which means that in creative thinking, there are multiple possible solutions to think of, problems that were not even thought about when making a system. 

2. How could this method compliment or contrast with another method explored in ctec500:

Wallet Design

My design for my partner had 2 clear card slips on both sides for cards that scan. It also zips up across the top and inside has lots of smaller card holding slips.

I asked my mum the questions for this blog post:

What did she like? - she liked the fact it had to clear spaces to scan a hop card or an access card since they are cards that are used quickly and can be a hassle to get out of your wallet in a short time.

What would she change? - she said that it might be easier to access cards if the zip went the whole way around meaning that it could flip open and cards would be found and out away easier.

Any questions? - why so many slips ? I explained that this was to cater for my partner in the exercise who said she would often just throw cards in her wallet not in their specific card slips so this design makes it less messy when a card is thrown in, and she can just throw another in but in a new slip avoiding mess.

Any ideas? - “nope”

Here are the changes I made based on her answers

Sectional Drawing

I found this exercise really interesting, I especially liked how we had to make our sectional drawings habitable, I had never really heard of this type of drawing before and it was fun to do. I am not the best drawer so I wasn’t too sure how this would go but I like the end result.

My object I cut in half was a small apple that had fallen off an apple tree in my garden.

Since I am not a great drawer the only ways I really incorporate it into my work is with rough sketches, doodles, maps, etc. I had never really thought too much into these quick drawings but after this presentation I realised that it is vert important and a key part of any design process no matter the skill level. My quick drawings are a way to get an idea out fast and share it with my team mates so they can see what I am meaning and then we are able to develop it further as a group. 

ideate

this week we tested out the lotus method of mind mapping which was a really great tool. I chose to focus my point around our studio project. In the time we had it was hard to get it all filled out but i’m happy with what I got down and have actually developed some new ideas from this. 

1: I think this method is really useful for creative thinking as it enables you to break down your one idea into smaller parts and then continue to break those parts down even further. It helps turn the big idea in your mind into an organised layout of each point.

2: I will definitely be using this in future aspects of work and projects I do. Since this one was based on an ongoing project I will probably continue to work on this and see what more ideas I can get out of it. It is a very useful mind mapping tool.

I wasn’t entirely sure how the 6 thinking hat exercise worked but I filled it out as to how I understood the brief.

LoFi Prototyping

In fort lane I chose the area around the entrance to the nightclub “ROXY”, however if this were to be implemented I think that the whole lane should be included. 

My favourite thing about fort lane is the red neon light that runs from one end to the other zig zagging from wall to wall, moving around pipes and windows, it adds to the atmosphere whilst also looking very flush with its surroundings. 

1: I took inspiration from this neon light and thought that adding some more, in different colours along the walls of the lane could continue to add to the existent atmosphere. Neon lights in different sized circles placed along the walls of the lane.

I didn’t have many materials at home however i did find a piece of cardboard that represented a part of the lane I could showcase the idea on. 

I then created a very basic edit of what it could look like if implemented, obviously at night this would have a much bigger impact as the lights can then stand out. 

Material Interrogation:

This was my selected object. It’s a st Christopher necklace which I got before I went travelling on my OE, it’s meant to keep you safe travelling and I met many other people around the world also with one so it was a good conversation starter and way to make friends.

At first I took that initial photo, then put it into a text editor where the data of the photo comes up.

After deleting parts, adding parts, moving bits around for a while, I saved the data and saw what happened to the image.

Then I added the image as raw data to audacity. As it was pretty much just white noise I played around with the sound first. Sapling wasn’t working so I only got the one sound edited through audacity.

Khartoum Place:

a generator humming in the back of a restaurant kitchen. Muffled voices at surrounding cafes and people on their lunch breaks. Construction crashing, clattering, banging. Faint traffic noises from nearby main road.

I think this place could sound a lot better if the broken water feature was repurposed. It hasn’t worked in years but it is connected to a a memorial of women’s suffrage in NZ. Different sounds could be played so you hear them change as you walk up the flights of stairs surrounding the fountain. 

I think this would change peoples experience in this place, as it is bringing life back to a pretty empty corner of the city where there used to be such a grand feature. It would become more of a ‘destination’ rather than just a shortcut into high st. 

Queen St Cinema :

Stairwell: faint beeping and clicking from arcade games. A phone ringing. The rushing of traffic from outside, movie trailers playing in the background, the rustling or food wrappers.

the stairwell is unique as it is spiral and is like walking down a cylinder, speakers going around with the shape of the stairwell could make it a more interesting experience.

I think this would add to peoples experience of going to the movies, it is a cool building as it is, but adding just a touch more before seeing a film could make it really fun.

Top floor: squeaking of escalators and the high pitch squealing of the lift. Rattling or ceiling fans, rumbling of movies playing inside.

the top floor of this building feels very isolated and when you look over the edge, you see just how high up you are, I think sounds that could add to that feeling of being up in the quiet, close to the ceiling could also add to the experience. Maybe speakers in the ceiling, this would also help block out any unwanted and unpleasant noises such as the lift, escalators and ceiling fans.

Myers Park:

Construction, loud crashing, banging, cluttering, rumbling, drilling. Faint bird song up in the trees. A siren from the road nearby. Grass rustling from footsteps

Myers park is a lovely place however the constant sounds of traffic and construction really take away the feeling of stepping out of the city that this park could achieve. I think a panel of speakers following the path people walk could play sounds that are calm and peaceful and drown out the city noises. This would make it a much more enjoyable experience.

Cultural Probes:

Now you have tested Cultural Probes, suggest another scenario where they could be used (be specific, who and where)

- cultural probes work well in the way that they get research information from people and their real life, day to day experiences. They could very helpful in understanding the lives of elderly with different communities and what could be implemented to make day to day experiences easier such as taking public transport or grocery shopping. Setting up a cultural probe in an area where this demographic is often around such as local markets, rest homes etc would get the best results.

What might be some failings of this method, how might the probes fail to work?

the “shut the f up” exercise we did with Charles which helped us figure out our idea !

In silence each group member puts up as many ideas they have up on the board and then afterwards as a group you connect the ideas in some way and form an idea/concept. We ended up connecting emotions, to family /relationships to religion.

today we did an ideation exercise with Charles and it was super useful ! We ended up using the same technique to narrow down what our concept is going to be for our studio project this semester.

We started really diving deep into one idea (an app) however as we discussed, more and more flaws and holes in the idea showed and so we started fresh and found a concept we are really liking !

These are our groups drawings of patterns all placed on the table.

using walking as a research method:

homework questions: 

in what ways did this exercise assist in seeing things you may have not noticed before?

I found that when we stopped walking to find and draw patterns around us, I saw details, shapes and textures in many places that I walk by all the time but have never noticed. After the first couple stops and drawings, I began noticing patterns all around us as we were walking to wherever we would stop next. 

how might you adapt this method for future work?

20/06/2020

Haven’t been too active on this blog since assignments are getting very close to their due dates. I turned in my studio project on Tuesday and I’m pretty happy with it! Still deciding if I want to put it on display in the digital showcase...

finally (!!!) got to a point in programming where i’m happy enough to turn it in but will keep working on it here and there until I need to hand it in on Wednesday! our group went into AUT the other day to work together and talk to Stefan and it was SO helpful, crazy what being around your peers can do to your work ethic and motivation. 

Kind of struggling with the intro essay, have a few points to talk about but still so unsure if its even close to being on the right track so just doing my best!