Lateral thinking 27/10/22

Lateral Thinking Definition - The solving of problems by an indirect and creative approach, typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light.

source: Oxford Languages / Definition / Lateral Thinking

Don't need to use maths to solve this problem; which at first glance you think you do

Use lateral thinking... If the trains are both travelling at 50m/h they will reach each other in 1 hour. The fly has travelled 967 miles in that 1 hour!

Lego

• First, we were just given a box of lego and I randomly started looking at the pieces with no beginning thought as to what I wanted to make.

• I found some wheels and a window and immediately thought of a car so this is what I began making, I also found a person which I used for the scale.

• Part way through I realised how 'boxy' it was looking and wanted to make it more streamlined.

• This was the point at which Jim (lecturer) asked us to start thinking about what we were making and have a thought process behind the decisions we made. It was here that I took a look at what I was making and re-evaluated it.

• I decided a car was a bit too boring and looked at how I could make it into a spaceship by changing the shape and looking at what sort of wings I could add.

• I wanted to make it able to hover and have the ability to fly backwards as well as forwards, therefore I looked at the shapes that could be used and found some blue blocks to represent jetpacks as shown on the back of the image.

• There are still things I would change about it, such as taking the base apart and making it less square, but overall I am happy with the process that took place.

• We were given a piece of paper with a 'thing' on it and had to make it in as few pieces as possible. I had been given 'horse'.

• I included the lego person on the horse as this gave some perspective as to the size; with everyone getting what it was straight away, however, it would be interesting to see if that was still the first guess if the lego person was taken away.

• It would also be interesting to see how much more I could simplify it by removing some of the pieces from the head/ neck.

• I was really interested in how Josh managed to create a 'shark' in 2 pieces just by making it look like a fin poking out of the water. You couldn't really see the shark, but we all got what it was straight away.

• We found the next word we all got given wasn't a 'thing' but an emotion. I got 'love' and decided to use 2 blocks to make a heart.

• I used the colour red as this is a symbol of love and I don't think the shape alone would work.

• It was interesting to see how a lot of the others also used colours to convey what their words were. such as 'anger' also involving red and 'cold' being presented by a transparent blue piece of lego.

Triangulation

Using triangulation (multiple ways to get to answers/ end results) also known as cross-examination makes the final answers more accurate or stronger because the different routes have all come up with the same output.

If the answers had all clashed the question may need to be rethought.

Question whether I have a problem in search of a solution, or a solution in search of a problem.

The story of thrale cress.

- Cress seeds modified to turn red when roots hit nitrogen (just an experiment done by scientists with no end goal)

- these seeds are used to detect unexploded land mines!

One group had a solution in search of a problem and the other had a problem in search of a solution. It took someone to research and find these two different groups and connect them.

Research 'behind' creative practice 7/11/22

Psychology

- Ability, Thinking, Cognition

- Needs, wants, desires - Motivation, conscious and otherwise

- The psychology of communication

Lots of different types of psychology need to be considered depending on the project but these points are common in all.

Psychologically we have been taught to think 'inside the box'. Especially in the Uk where we are taught to think and do things in a particular way.

Can you connect all the dots in 4 straight lines without removing your pen from the paper?

Many people in other countries would have no problem solving this as they can think 'outside the box' but for most people living in the UK this would be really hard to solve as the thought to draw lines outside of the 'walls' of the dots is impossible.

This psychology is used a lot within design as small details can be used to make a product seem more desirable.

A fridge full of food is more desirable than an empty fridge when creating advertisements for the selling of a fridge.

Ethics

- Virtue based ethics (what is good / bad?)

- Duty based ethics (what should I do?)

- Utilitarianism and its variants (what harms?)

- Pragmatism (what can I do?)

- Environmental ethics

Everyone will have their own different ethics and it will be important to think about this during the design of a product. Religious ethics and cultural ethics will play a big role in the design process as what is ethical to some of the target audience may not be ethical to others.

- Are some forms of creative practice unethical? Why?

- It will depend on my personal beliefs and those of the people around me.

- Is it the creative practitioner who is at fault or are they just trying to earn a

living and the people who pay them are to blame?

Designing vapes / cigarette packaging - making them look fun and a new craze that everyone should get on board with, even though they are not good for you. Contains misinformation or doesn't make it clear what the risks and side effects are. (Cigarette packaging now has rules to stop it from being appealing.)

Designing something used to cause harm such as guns, bombs, shrapnel, gases where the aim is to cause as much harm as possible.

Semiotics

- signs, symbols, icons

- Indexes etc.

- emphasis on communication

- shape, size, colour, form, materials

- visual languages

There is a hidden language in the way specific things are used in design to influence people. The designs may be telling us things subconsciously such as the full fridge mentioned earlier.

looking at what designs tell us and how they tell us these things will help me to look at how I can use a more clever language to enhance my designs.

Designs take influence from what is going on in the world around us. One example of this is the cars produced in America in the 1960s, these featured very streamlined designs with rocket-shaped features. This was because this was the age of the space race and everyone was so influenced by the shapes and designs of rockets that car companies jumped on this to design a new futuristic vehicle.

- What message do they carry?

- What visual language is being used (if any)?

- What does this tell us about the individual who produced

them and the people who 'read' them

Anthropology

- The study of human societies and cultures and their development

- How are objects produced differently in different societies?

- Are they consumed or used differently?

- Do they show the cultural values of a particular society?

Histories and theories

- Materialist histories

- Feminist histories

- Philosophical histories

- sociological approaches

How history is formulated and how this has been affected by / with creative practice. This will depend on the viewpoint and perspective of the witness account to the histories and theories.

We can group contextual problems around 3 points - people, objects and society, but in reality, these boundaries are more fluid.

Creative Practice 31/10/22

Research and Design

- Research 'for' design

- Research 'behind' design

- Research 'through' design

- Research 'in front of' design

Research 'for' creative practice

- Generic skills

- Drawing

- Research

- Presentation / Portfolio

- Communication

- Time Management

- Presentation of the self

- Sources of inspiration

-Faber & Faber

It may not always be a process; the designer may just know something that works.

Faber Music may have needed some research to put the music symbol and name together or it may have just been something the designer already knew so could just put together. There would still needed to be a thought process for the font used and layout with the text.

I need to show some ideas of where my design comes from.

image source: Faber music https://soundandmusic.org/post/faber-music-bursaries-2021-summer-school/

- Specific skills

-Discipline dependent

- product design, illustration, animation etc.

- Project dependent

- Projects may need refinement

- Projects may need acquisition of new skills

- Projects may need skills from other disciplines

- Reflective Practice

- Not just thinking about what you are doing but....

- Knowing what you are doing and why

- being able to record and then communicate that in a robust, informed . and convincing manner.