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Banks, M. (2019). Consumers In The Circular Economy. [online] Eupoliticalreport.eu. Available at: https://www.eupoliticalreport.eu/consumers-in-the-circular-economy/ [Accessed 25 Dec. 2020].

Session 11 & 12: Finals

It’s the end of the semester, and I’m happy that I had the opportunity to go through this course despite all the hurdles that were put forward by the pandemic. I’ve learnt a lot, both in and out of this course, and I just want to thank the professor and students for creating such a positive community for this course!

I’m proud of how our work has turned out, knowing that we have done our best, and I genuinely look forward to be able to play everyone’s games in real life soon.

I’ve discussed this before, but I’ll just say it again: sometimes, I feel that the topics either overlap, repeat or are just common sense? I’m not sure if my friends and I were just born with these skills as an intuitive ability, but to make sure I was not the only one, we had a few discussions, and discovered that the feeling is mutual - some topics are simply obvious logic.

I love how the topic of how design is not taken seriously is touched upon in NR S03E01, and I agree that it sadly occurs. Just because human experiences are subjective, does not mean that it’s any less than other sciences/mathematic-like subjects that have definitive answers. Because I’m in a field that is constantly questioned, I have learned to appreciate other fields that face the same scrutiny - e.g. psychology, sociology, etc.

NR S03E09 reminds me of the circular economy lectures we covered in our foundation year. Again, most of this seem like obvious solutions to me, but it’s nice to learn that they have formal names/labels to refer to in academic settings. I can’t really have an opinion on something that is already correct, right? We can only provide solutions to better the existing models.

Another tangent - I believe that sometimes, eradicating a problem is easier than creating a solution for the problem.

#StW201

Session 10: What Have You Created So Far?

It’s been a pleasure to be able to work with such a lovely team - it’s extremely motivating to work with people who share the same excitement, standards and work ethic as you.

We are very proud of the new BMC game we created, as it now includes a board, integrated ethical sections, and unpredictable dilemmas to get players thinking about how the world sometimes chooses to disregard moral standards for a quick sales increase.

One of the main skills I learned was to compromise - each of us thinks very differently and it helped seal every possible flaw/plot hole of the game. E.g., Amber would hold the logistics of the game accountable, Dalilah would bring the rational aspect into the game, and I was able to provide player empathy. It was an amazing experience to be able to see how different our perspectives were on the same topic.

Kimbell’s paper brought up an issue I’d like to discuss: is it really necessary to follow the rules? We certainly did not stick to the design thinking steps while creating “Dilemma”. Design-in-theory is vastly different from design-in-practice. Sometimes, the best solutions come from breaking the rules. As discussed in a different entry, if we all followed the same template, when will we exit our comfort zones?

I still strongly believe that designers must study psychology and communication. How can we understand the user, their feelings, thoughts and behaviours, if we fail to understand the science behind the brain? How can we, as designers, express our needs to clients if we fail to find the right words to share?

#StW201

Xhienne (2007). SWOT analysis. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis#/media/File:SWOT_en.svg [Accessed 24 Dec. 2020].

Session 9: Individual Work

I love how S03E06 starts off with a discussion regarding news and pop culture! I strongly relate to it as I don’t enjoy watching the news, I prefer to get my information (I do fact check though) through memes and other media that utilizes humour to get the message across. I believe I have this preference because receiving bad news through humour makes it easier to deal with it.

Made me wonder, would it be fun to gamify this? Like, a game in which serious headlines have to be “meme-d” or vice versa? This way, one can increase their general knowledge and laugh while learning.

Also, the discussion regarding the future-oriented thinking reminded me of the SWOT Analysis (pictured) chapters I learnt in my high school commerce classes. I genuinely hope that in the future, topics are not divided based on subjects, but instead, are divided based on how a person is going to use them in their career. E.g., design thinking is not exclusive to design fields - this approach can be used in medical fields. SWOT Analysis was labelled as “business studies” in my mind until now - here, we use the same logic for future-oriented design forecasting.

#StW201

Dam, R.F. and Siang, T.Y. (2020). What is Design Thinking and Why Is It So Popular? [online] The Interaction Design Foundation. Available at: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-design-thinking-and-why-is-it-so-popular [Accessed 24 Dec. 2020].

Session 8: Time Out Dialogue, Amsterdam skyscraper

Sometimes, I struggle to understand why we learn certain concepts. S01E07 was not my first encounter with design thinking (nor will it be my last), and yet every time I learn it, I wonder to myself, “isn’t this just common sense?”. I don’t know if it’s extremely self-centred to say that, or if design thinking is just intuitive to me and other students I’ve discussed this with, but isn’t it just logical to have a plan, empathise with the target audience and test it out before production?

I’ve a similar opinion regarding the Time Out Dialogue, aren’t conversations...normal human interactions? Listening, thinking and sharing are normal everyday actions. Or have I taken our ability to converse for granted? The set of questions from TOD or games like We’re Not Really Strangers help guide the conversations, but that’s about it.

Despite such strong claims, and knowing that this approach comes naturally to most of us, we couldn’t quite finish the Amsterdam skyscraper activity. This seems like a really fun team-building exercise that I was looking forward to, however, one major drawback of this method is that if the team refuses to communicate, one cannot manage to pull it off alone.

Again, I’d love to give these methods another shot in real life rather than having to manage it online, I feel that I haven’t been able to give a fair chance to these exercises - hence the blunt opinions.

#StW201

Session 7: Scanning Cards

I’m going to be honest - I didn’t quite enjoy the scanning cards method. The cards are lovely and informative, but I don’t understand the point in generating futuristic scenarios without a goal.

Maybe I’m biased towards the generic research-based trend forecasting methods, or we didn’t have the time to give this method a fair shot, but after discussing with my friends, it seemed to be a general consensus that this method did not provide much insight - mostly because these were subjective assumptions of the future rather than objective, data-driven predictions.

I genuinely did enjoy reading the little facts on the cards, and would use it as little flash cards to increase my own knowledge, but not as a way to predict scenarios for projects or businesses. It did help us generate new ideas, however, I believe the 6-3-5 method produced better results (if idea generation is the aim of the exercise).

In S01E03, it made me very happy to see the topic of racism and exclusion be discussed so willingly. Privilege is a spectrum (as I have discussed in a project for PrL301 here), it’s not black and white. I agree that we need to get out of our comfort zones and be exposed to diversity to burst bubbles - not just in design, but in all aspects of our life.

#StW201

Session 6: Game One Presentation

This week, we had the chance to present our games - and I was extremely excited. Our team decided to work on creating an “entry-level” card game for people who are interested in working with the Business Model Canvas.

As discussed before, we believed that the BMC was slightly overwhelming and complicated for someone who would use it for the first time. We thought of simplifying the BMC by pairing its categories - bringing the overall number of categories from the original nine, to a modified five.

Based on the 2010s game Top Trump Cards, players get to select one category of their BMC, and win the round by ensuring that their chosen category has the highest number possible. Unpredictable power cards can change the course of the game - simulating real life uncertainties.

The pros definitely include excitement and competition, but one of the major setbacks were the game being slightly too simple. Another issue was our inability to properly address missing categories such as ethics - perhaps integrating it into one of the existing categories was not the best idea.

Nevertheless, we are extremely proud of the project, and would love to pursue it into a more complex genre - by adding a board, pawns or dice.

#StW201

Session 5: Service Blueprint

I enjoyed this week’s method, and I feel that the service blueprint humanises the service process. Sometimes we are so engrossed with being customers we forget that there are humans at the other side enabling our comfort, which is why it's so important to be nice to workers. I’m probably biased to this as I’ve grown up in a culture that expresses gratitude to everyone who has brought comfort to us, e.g., we have to thank the farmers, transport, retailers and chef to bring the food to our table. Each job is important and has to be respected – there is no such thing as a “menial” job.

I think that the method is fantastic, and although has no direct cons, I feel we could come up with a better way to visually present it (like how the business model canvas and impact maps have pre-set maps).

I’m genuinely looking forward to creating the first game and I’m very excited, and Kimbell’s reading does help us steer our attention towards the user. We noticed that sometimes we get so excited over our ideas and obsess over our ideas of creating something good, we push the user experience aside. The reading also made me feel grateful for being able to study psychology in the past, and I personally believe a psychology (design psychology, perhaps) course would be extremely beneficial to make even more effective, user-centred designs as sometimes empathy is not enough. We need to be able to understand the causes and consequences of people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

#StW201

Session 4: 6-3-5 and Golden Circle

Wanted to bring up some comments I made in class in a neater manner, especially when it came to discussing about addiction. I agree that addiction is a serious issue and needs external help when it comes to treatment, however, I feel like people blame inanimate objects for their actions (I’m going to be discussing video games in this scenario. I understand there are other, more dangerous forms of addiction and I don’t mean to generalise).

When people say that video games are addicting, or that they cause violence, I personally think it’s a little far-fetched. Educating young impressionable minds and offering recreational activities better than gaming (e.g. giving kids only one hour of video game time daily, however, playing board games or sports with neighbours are encouraged more) are better approaches instead of just cutting out video games and labelling them as “harmful”.

I’m assuming that the blame is put on inanimate objects to prevent feelings of guilt regarding one’s choices (e.g. from PrL301, we discussed whether "guns kill people". No, it is “people kill people”, the gun is nothing without the owner). "Games cause violence" no, misinformation and lack of monitoring cause violence.

The 6-3-5 method was fun to do, and we came up with ideas that are viable and could develop into something new. I would definitely use this method again as it generated so many beautiful ideas – some even collaborative in nature. This way, everyone feels like they ideated together.

The Golden Circle method helps realign one’s priorities - I feel like it’s the manifestation of “if you can't explain your idea in a sentence, then it’s probably too complicated”. Not sure if that makes sense, but I see it as the action version of the quote. I don’t see any cons with both methods yet, maybe as I use it more, I will begin to see if they have any drawbacks. So far, both were rather simple and straightforward.

NR S01E12 was a very, for the lack of a more professional word, adorable episode. It’s really nice to see such encouraging and positive videos every now and then. I’d love to attend a Slush event someday; the energy of the event sounds motivating. “Impossible is nothing”!

#StW201

Session 3: Business Model Canvas

Today’s discussions were extremely interesting – it brings back a point I had touched upon in my first entry. An element of fun or a positive experience make it easier to remember information, at least from my personal experience. I’ve tried to involve some form of humour or friendly competition whenever I had to remember something for exams in school (even if it meant to crack a small joke regarding the topic).

I thought it was just me, but a quick Google search supports my claims: Henderson, S. (2015). Laughter and Learning: Humor Boosts Retention. [online] Edutopia. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/laughter-learning-humor-boosts-retention-sarah-henderson [Accessed 20 Oct. 2020].

The same logic applies to converting methods into games – people will remember and apply information much more effectively by learning through games. E.g., many children learn the basics of finance through Monopoly, numbers through Uno, trust through Clue, etc. Similarly, since we value experiences and feelings more than materials, I now see why this course is extremely important for any aspect of any career. Why do we need to stick to how things are done currently, especially if they are not tapping into anyone’s full potential?

NR S01E11 got me thinking: the reason we need to think bigger or come up with proposals that are “out-of-the-box", is to prevent stagnation. If we don’t take risks, we would be stuck in our comfort zones eternally. Perhaps that’s why Juska’s thought experiment was noticed – has any political party thought like this before (not sure of how the Finnish government runs, but I’ve definitely not seen anything like this in India nor USA)?

One can go overboard while ideating, there’s no denying that. Some rationale should be there while taking calculated risks. I think when it comes to pros and cons, there should be a general agreement that too much or too little of anything is not good.

As for the business model canvas, I think it’s a great starting point for any projects that are starting out since it covers almost every aspect that needs to be taken into consideration. While filling it out as a team, we realised that some questions or sections were rather repetitive, and in my personal opinion could be replace with other sections that were not covered, such as the moral standards and ethics that have to be respected during the design process. The business model canvas is so detailed, I’m honestly surprised it has skipped certain topics that have to be considered - it’s easy to think of gathering materials and thinking about revenues, but questioning if everything is ethically sourced is harder to face and shouldn’t be overlooked.

#StW201

All My Academic Work, Explained:

As a student in DIDI, we are required to document some of our academic work/assignments in this blog. Over the course of 3 years, the following courses and assignments have been documented on this website:

Ecology of Forms (FoW101):

A first year foundation workshop (which I completed in Fall 2018), in which we learned new software (including but not limited to Photoshop, Illustrator, Rhino 3D, Unity3D, etc.) and hardware (3D printing, using bandsaws, etc.). Process, results and visual aspects of this course has been documented. The journey ends with a 3D video game that we developed in 4 weeks for our final.

Design Across Scales (FoL101):

A first year foundation lecture (which I completed in Fall 2018), this is a documentation of my weekly reflections, thoughts and research regarding the topics covered in class.

Material (In)formation (FoW102):

A first year foundation workshop (which I completed in Spring 2019), this is a continuation of the previously mentioned workshop. Similar to the previous semester’s work, we learn new software + hardware (including but not limited to Arduino, Java coding, laser cutting, CNC, etc.). The process has been documented in similar fashion, and the journey ends with the construction of a “Robopet” for our finals.

Technology and Self - Things and Thinking (SoL301):

A second year General Education lecture (which I completed in Spring 2020), this is a compilation of new words or interesting topics I learned throughout the course. Includes research, referenced work and original writing.

#index

Electronic Arts (n.d.). Road Rash. Softonic. Available at: https://road-rash.en.softonic.com/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2020].

Session 2: Serious Games

One thing that has bothered me for the longest time – is the fact that games don’t receive enough credit. In fact, I grew up in an environment where games (especially video games) were condemned, but I don’t think my family realised how helpful they were for my development. Sure, everything has its pros and cons – games could be addicting, but from what I've seen we should probably hold our self-control more accountable instead of villainising games. At the end of the day, everything is our choice, right?

I started playing PC games at the age of 3, and it helped me expand my vocabulary (either by learning new words from character’s abilities, or being forced to read instructions/plots to understand the games), improve my reflexes and develop my fine motor skills really early on. The first game I remember playing was Road Rash, and I still have the CD with me as a memory.

While I was going through the Statler & Taylor reading, I’ve been in a similar situation before and I have a theory as to why working with clay may create more conflict than working with Lego bricks. When we work with Lego bricks, it is “rigid” – that is, it’s easier to assemble, disassemble and recreate previous structures. So, when you’re working with a team, you can remember the blocks used and recreate your idea (or go back to initial proposals) with ease if as long as you remember how it was assembled. Clay on the other hand, is more “fluid”. It’s harder to recreate an exact replica of initial or dismantled ideas. I theorise that the subconscious fear of not being able to recreate an idea with clay causes more conflict within a group – especially if members have vastly different proposals or struggle to manifest ideas with flexible materials.

#StW201

Session 1: Intro

I’ve always been passionate about games. Whether it was a way to learn something new, to have fun, or to bond with new people - I’ve performed better through fun activities rather than the conventional book and paper methods.

I still vividly remember playing informative games on an application by Britannica Encyclopaedia (2008) - it was the reason I knew a lot more than the average kid of my age. If the information was presented as a book instead of colourful activities, I doubt I would have been as informed or interested in science than I was. My point is: an aspect of fun (i.e., positive emotions) makes it easier to remember information, at least for me.

In class, the online escape room was hilarious, as you can see (pictured above), I was pretty stressed (with eustress, not distress!) due to my competitive nature. It was also a great of getting to know the other students and instilling the feeling of team work. I wish we were physically in class or together while we solved the escape room - the online interface/medium, although convenient during this pandemic, actually created a delay that accumulated and slowed us down. Additionally, I never thought of using a Google form/questionnaire this way, I think it’s genius.

I heard good things about this course and I’m looking forward to learning a lot of new ways to approach our projects!

#StW201

Technology and Self - Things and Thinking (SoL301): Glossary

All Words

Adaptive Capacity

Agency

Aha-Erlebnis

Anomie

Apperception

Baseline Analysis

Bull$#!t Detector

Conflict Theory

‌Cultural Relativism

Cultural Universals

Democracy

Discourse

Enclaves

Epistemic Vigilance

Epistemology

Ethnocentrism

Fatalists

Feminism

Gestalt

The Global South

Hypergamy

Hypogamy

Imago

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence

Liberal Feminists

Mary Douglas

Material Culture

Méconnaissance

Meritocracy

Mirror Stage

Monolithic

Nation States

Neurosis

Organic Solidarity

Orthopaedic

Polyandry

Polygamy

Polygyny

Praxis

Primary Groups

Psyche

Radical Feminists

Rational Choice Theory

Rationalization

Reference Groups

Sapir–Whorf hypothesis

Scatological

Secondary Groups

Semiotics

Signified

Signifier

Socialist (Marxist) Feminists

Sociological Imagination

The Social Self

Symbol

Symbolic Interactionism

Transitivism

Urban Design

Utilitarianism

VAWG

Veil of Ignorance

Verneinung

#SoL301

Notes From Underground (2016). Caste System of India, a Hoax - Notes From Underground - Medium. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@notesfromunderground/caste-system-of-india-a-hoax-b0dffb333696 [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

‌Hypergamy

Imagine you are from the Sudra caste (hierarchy pictured). If you marry someone from either the vaishya, kshatriya or brahmin caste, the marital bond is hypergamy, as you are marrying someone from a higher caste.

Hypogamy

The opposite of hypergamy, hypogamy refers to marrying below your own caste.

In practice, since the wife joins her husband’s caste, men typically look for brides from their own or below their caste, where as women usually get married to grooms from the same or higher castes to prevent falling down the hierarchy. A higher caste woman marrying a lower caste groom is very rare.

Polygamy

“Poly” means many, and “gamy” refers to marriage, polygamy is a marital bond between one person of one gender, to multiple people of the opposite gender simultaneously.

There are two types of polygamy: polygyny and polyandry

Polygyny

A martial bond between one man and multiple woman, i.e., a man married to multiple wives simultaneously.

e.g., Muslim men are permitted to have four wives at once.

Polyandry

A marital bond between one woman and multiple men, i.e., a woman married to multiple husbands simultaneously.

e.g. some tribed in northern India, Nepal and China practice polyandry.

(from eL 12, 13 and 14)

#SoL301

Cinner, J.E., Adger, W.N., Allison, E.H., Barnes, M.L., Brown, K., Cohen, P.J., Gelcich, S., Hicks, C.C., Hughes, T.P., Lau, J., Marshall, N.A. and Morrison, T.H. (2018). Building adaptive capacity to climate change in tropical coastal communities. Nature Climate Change, [image] 8(2), pp.117–123. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-017-0065-x#citeas [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

‌Adaptive Capacity

“refers to the conditions that enable people to anticipate and respond to change, and recover from and minimise the consequences of change”

For example, “Capacity to innovate can be viewed as one component of adaptive capacity”

Cohen, P.J., Lawless, S., Dyer, M., Morgan, M., Saeni, E., Teioli, H. and Kantor, P. (2016). Understanding adaptive capacity and capacity to innovate in social–ecological systems: Applying a gender lens. Ambio, [online] 45(S3), pp.309–321. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5120023/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

(from eL 12, 13 and 14)

#SoL301

Long, M. (n.d.). Four women of different nationalities and cultures standing together. Women’s friendship, union of feminists or sisterhood. The concept of the female’s empowerment movement. - Buy this stock vector and explore similar vectors at Adobe Stock. [online] Adobe Stock. Available at: https://stock.adobe.com/images/four-women-of-different-nationalities-and-cultures-standing-together-women-s-friendship-union-of-feminists-or-sisterhood-the-concept-of-the-female-s-empowerment-movement/306073566 [Accessed 28 Apr. 2020].

‌Feminism

“...defined as the concern with gender equality and the promotion of equal rights for men and woman, the expression of these concerns through theory or action, and the valuing of individuals for their contributions to society rather than their biological or sexual characteristics or roles.”

Allan, H.T. (1993). Feminism: a concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, [online] 18(10), pp.1547–1553. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1993.18101547.x?sid=nlm%3Apubmed [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

‌Simply put, feminism is fighting for equality of both sexes. Currently, it’s a very complex idea now due to the ever emerging complexities surrounding the human gender and sexuality spectrum.

Feminism is often associated with solving gendered issues such as the wage gap (where women are typically paid less for the same job a man does); and breaking down toxic masculinity (such as normalising men to cry and have emotions, instead of bottling it up or having to “be a man”, which cause long term harm towards their mental health).

Liberal Feminists

“Liberals hold that freedom is a fundamental value, and that the just state ensures freedom for individuals. Liberal feminists share this view, and insist on freedom for women. There is disagreement among liberals about what freedom means, and thus liberal feminism takes more than one form.”

“Liberal feminism conceives of freedom as personal autonomy—living a life of one's own choosing—and political autonomy—being co-author of the conditions under which one lives.”

Baehr, A.R. (2007). Liberal Feminism. [online] Stanford.edu. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-liberal/#pagetopright [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

‌ “For example, pretend it's 1913, and you're walking from New York City to Washington, DC, a hike over 200 miles, because you believe in women's suffrage, or a woman's right to vote.Over 100 years ago, participants in the Women's Suffrage Parade of 1913 took a liberal feminist approach by using their democratic right to protest to promote women's rights. And it worked! In 1920, the U.S. Congress ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.”

Study.com (2015). Liberal Feminism: Definition & Theory - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. [online] Study.com. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/liberal-feminism-definition-theory-quiz.html [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

‌

Socialist (Marxist) Feminists

“Marxist Feminists argue the main cause of women’s oppression is capitalism. The disadvantaged position of women is seen to be a consequence of the emergence of private property and their lack of ownership of the means of production”

Thompson, K. (2016). Liberal, Marxist and Radical Feminist Perspectives on Society: An Introduction. [online] ReviseSociology. Available at: https://revisesociology.com/2016/07/11/liberal-radical-marxist-feminist-perspectives-society-sociology/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2020].

‌

Radical Feminists

“Radical Feminists see society and its institutions as patriarchal – most of which are dominated and ruled by men – men are the ruling class and women the subject class. Gender inequalities are the result of the oppression of women by men, and it is primarily men who have benefited from the subordination of women. Women are ‘an oppressed group.”

(from eL 12, 13 and 14)

#SoL301

Russell, J.K. (2011). Praxis makes perfect | Beautiful Trouble. [online] Beautifultrouble.org. Available at: https://beautifultrouble.org/principle/praxis-makes-perfect/ [Accessed 28 Apr. 2020].

Praxis

“Praxis is defined as an accepted practice or custom, or an idea translated into action, or something in reality rather than something in theory.

Fasting as a result of your Christian faith and to atone for your sins is an example of praxis.”

Yourdictionary.com. (2018). Praxis dictionary definition | praxis defined. [online] Available at: https://www.yourdictionary.com/praxis [Accessed 28 Apr. 2020].

(from eL 12, 13 and 14)

#SoL301

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