Chelsea Porter - Third Year Design - Victoria University

The collection of my work produced in the final papers of my Bachelor of Design Innovation at Victoria University of Wellington

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Final Manifestation and Promotional Material

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Initial concept sketches, and swing development sketches.

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My Personal Manifesto

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Creative Manifestation Ideas

Initial Ideas:

Life Size Pin Art Board made from ply board and dowel, painted in bright colours.

Creation of a large black and white piece of wall art that can be built onto and coloured in by viewers.

The interpretation of children’s play items for adult use, such as the interpretation and modification of playground equipment.

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Manifesto

In as many circumstances as appropriate and possible, designers should strive to create, provoke and demand joy. Designers have a responsibility to consider the wellbeing of the people we design for, and the effect that the products of their creativity have on the lives of their consumers. “We should explicitly think about the happiness of the people for which we design. Not as a vague concept but as a core part of our responsibilities to support people’s wellbeing and their ability to participate in society” (Donovan, 2012).

Designers should consider the positive emotions that they can instil in their process, designs and aftereffect. For in the reflection of Donald Norman’s expression, “emotion assigns value” (Norman, 1998), the higher the level of positive emotion, the more value a consumer will place on a design, and the more successful it will be. 

Two emotions that are specifically successful in improving the wellbeing and morale of individuals include joy, and amusement. “Joy is the experience of being pleased about (or taking pleasure in) something or some desirable event”, while amusement is “the enjoyment of a high-spirited state of playfulness, humour or entertainment” (Desmet, 2012).

Amusement and joy can be provoked through the playfulness of a product’s aesthetics or function, when the physical interaction with the product is pleasurable, or facilitates or represents a past joyful or amusing activity or memory. Using these notions as a starting point, designers need to consider how their concepts can express, provoke and sustain these emotions.

Design should encourage happy thoughts, expressions and behaviour amongst as many people as possible. In our structured and repetitive day to day world, design should provide a light hearted and welcome escape, even if for a short moment in time. Design should encourage play and playful thoughts, in the lives of anyone at any age. It should bring out the inner child in those who have aged past the innocent days of blissful ignorance. Design should encourage joyous laughter, and be created with a high priority towards the intention of making people smile for one reason or another. 

Design should be fun and novel, it should entertain and excite. Design should pleasantly surprise and impart a sense of wonderment and awe. Design should be used to improve morale and to spread happiness through family, friends, colleagues and strangers. Design should promote exuberant conversation, and remove the social barriers that restrict human interaction. Design should provide a platform to share and enjoy in sharing, it should be beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and should capture and express cheerfulness. 

Design should offer a sense of delight, and should be created with the intention of leaving a positive and memorable impression on the user. It should spark curiosity. Design should be freeing, and enrich the spirit. Ultimately design should be formed to elate and enchant the user, to create a sense of joy and delight in everyday life.

Bruce Mau stated that “joy is the engine for growth” (Mau, 2010-2014). Therefore as designers we need to consider that the more joy that we feel, subsequently the more we will grow as individuals and as a collective.

Therefore, it would be highly beneficial for us as designers not only to design products that delight our consumers, but that bring us joy throughout the process of conceptualising, producing and distributing the outcome.

References:

Mau, B. (2010-2014). An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. Retrieved from: http://www.manifesto project.it/bruce-mau/ Donovan, J. (2012). Designing for Happiness. Planning News. 38(10), pp 17-18. Retrieved from: http://search.informit.com.au.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/fullText;dn=903241523480594;res=IELBUS Desmet. P. M. A. (2012). Faces of Product Pleasure: 25 Positive Emotions in Human-Product Interactions. International Journal of Design. 6(2). Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands. Donald, N. (1988). The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books: New York

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Draft Manifesto

I believe that design should not harm, or provide the opportunity for harm. I believe that in as many circumstances as appropriate and possible, that design should create, provoke and demand joy. For as Bruce Mau stated, “joy is the engine for growth” (Mau, 2010-2014). Designers have a responsibility to consider the wellbeing of the people we design for, “we should explicitly think about the happiness of the people for which we design. Not as a vague concept but as a core part of our responsibilities to support people’s wellbeing and their ability to participate in society” (Donovan, 2012).

Design should encourage happy thoughts, expressions and behaviour amongst as many people as possible. In our structured and repetitive day to day world, design should provide a light hearted and welcome escape, even if for a short moment in time. Design should encourage play and playful thoughts, in the lives of anyone at any age. It should bring out the inner child in those who have aged past the innocent days of blissful ignorance. Design should encourage joyous laughter, and be created with a high priority towards the intention of making people smile.

Design should be fun and novel, it should entertain and excite. Design should pleasantly surprise and impart a sense of wonderment and awe. Design should be used to improve morale and to spread happiness through family, friends, colleagues and strangers. Design should promote exuberant conversation, and remove the social barriers that restrict human interaction. Design should provide a platform to share and enjoy in sharing, it should be beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and should capture and express cheerfulness. Design should offer a sense of delight, and should be created with the intention of leaving a positive and memorable impression on the user. It should spark curiosity. Design should be freeing, and enrich the spirit. Ultimately design should be formed to elate and enchant the user, to create a sense of joy and delight in everyday life.

 References:

Mau, B. (2010-2014). An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. Retrieved from: http://www.manifesto project.it/bruce-mau/

Donovan, J. (2012). Designing for Happiness. Planning News. 38(10), pp 17-18. Retrieved from: http://search.informit.com.au.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/fullText;dn=903241523480594;res=IELBUS

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Final Garment - ‘Lueur Du Soir’ - ‘Evening Glow’

A wearable technology garment controlled by a light sensor and lilypad arduino micro-controller. LED strips fade on in low light environments to reveal a pattern beneath the layers of fabric, that is projected through laser cut felt.

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Final Graphic Essay

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Literary Reviews of Sources Related to Assignment 3

1. World Famous in New Zealand: How New Zealand’s Leading Firms Became World Class Competitors, by Colin Campbell-Hunt, posed the question ‘how do you grow world-class competitive capability?’ The findings of Hunt’s research and collaboration with ten of New Zealand’s finest companies on the world scale, proved that the answers to that question in a New Zealand context are unique to those that would be expected from anywhere else in the world. As Campbell-Hunt explains, these outcomes are likely due to New Zealand’s position as a small nation at the edge of the world, therefore the answers given by a nation in the Northern Hemisphere would not suit the state and nature of the New Zealand economy. This source is important in understanding why New Zealand needs to have a different stance on design than our much larger counterparts, and may go a way to help shape what New Zealand’s design DNA is, could be or should be.

2. Johnson Witehira’s article: ‘What is New Zealand’s Design DNA?’ explores the notion that New Zealand doesn’t necessarily have a unique standpoint on design, such as the likes of Sweden or Italy. Witehira argues that many will believe that our standpoint on design is linked to our national identity, such as ‘clean and green’ and ‘100% pure New Zealand’ or our presence as a bicultural nation. However, Witehira argues that the likelihood of this being the case is unlikely as the majority of New Zealand’s designer population is likely made up of male Pākehā designers, who are taught in our design schools of the principles of Euro-American design, such as the Bauhaus and so on. And the question stands, is New Zealand design sustainably focused? Or do we just like to believe it is because it fits the image we have created for our nation of ‘clean and green’? This article is an important factor in breaking down the differences between our national identity and our design identity, and whether the two need to be related at all.

3. Judy Hopkinson’s article ‘Kiwi Ingenuity’, tells the story of a group of Victoria University Students and Staff’s entry into the United State’s Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which showcases energy innovation in action. Teams needed to construct a ‘one bedroom, solar powered house featuring cost-effective, energy-efficient construction, incorporating energy-saving appliances and renewable energy systems’ however in the case of the Kiwi entry, Hopkinson notes that the design and construction were worth a closer look. The team was designing the building in order for it to be transported back to New Zealand after the competition, therefore they added the extra constraints of the home needing to be wind and earthquake resistant. In regards to the building and problem solving process, Guy Marriage, Head of Building Science at Victoria University said that  “[The students] were testing ideas which some people with more experience would have said ‘No, no, you can’t do that’, but the students I think, were prepared to try more things.” This is an example reflective of the can do Kiwi attitude and Kiwi Ingenuity, exampled again in the team’s decision to design their own foundation system, as current designed systems would have required compromise to the design and construction. This project is an example of New Zealand design that encompasses all of the elements that many New Zealander’s would believe represent our design identity, including Kiwi Ingenuity, the can do DIY attitude and sustainable ‘clean and green’ design.

Bibliography:

Colin Campbell-Hunt. (2013). World Famous in New Zealand: How New Zealand’s Leading Firms Became World Class Competitors. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.

Johnson Witehira. (2015). What is New Zealand’s Design DNA? Retrieved from: http://www.designassembly.org.nz/articles/new-zealands-design-dna

Judy Hopkinson. (2011). Kiwi Ingenuity. Engineering Insight, 12(3), 30-31. Retrieved from:http://search.informit.com.au.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/fullText;dn=973312867791694;res=IELENG

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Assignment 3 Thesis Statement and Critical Perspective

Cultural Identity vs Design Identity: What it means to be a designer from New Zealand.

New Zealand’s design identity is often linked to New Zealand’s cultural identity. However, it would be misinformed to assume that these two identities are one in the same. New Zealand’s cultural identity is linked to the essence of a bicultural nation, on the edge of the world, developed through a keen sense of ‘she’ll be right’ and ‘can do, DIY’ and Kiwi Ingenuity attitude that is 100% pure, clean and green. However, in an attempt to describe New Zealand’s design identity, it is not feasible to conclude that our design identity reflects our cultural identity to a tee. Therefore, the question begs, what does make up New Zealand’s design identity, and what does being a designer from New Zealand mean?

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My creative concept designed to encourage university students to study, through the application of marketing models and design practice.

On entering the library, a student plugs in their electronic pencil device into the computer, to which they indicate which courses they are studying, and which aspects of each course they need to learn, and which they could teach.

When another student enters details that match those of a previous students entry (’you need to learn this and I can teach it), their pencils notify each student of the match, allowing them to meet, and help each other study.

The aim is to provide excitement through novelty, and encourage the recognition of opportunity, ability and motivation to study at university, with the help of peers.

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Soundtrack Development

After deciding on my final collection of photographs, I began to think about how I could communicate my ideas more clearly through the addition of a soundtrack. I felt that a piece of music would not necessarily add anything to the collection in terms of emotion, and that i would rather use the soundtrack to guide the viewer through the concept of the collection.

Therefore I decided to piece together sound effects in order to tell a story, as if the sounds and images were the experience of the person walking down the street.

I used a steady footstep throughout the collection to place into the viewers mind the notion of a passerby walking down the street. The standard, everyday traffic and street noise then slowly turns into the sounds of protesters, as the passerby approaches the building, begins to take in their surroundings, and takes notice of the messages being communicated through this particular building.

As the collection comes to a close, the protests die down until there are only footsteps left, as the passerby continues on their journey, leaving the viewer to decide whether the passerby was affected by any of the messages they encountered. 

I feel as though the soundtrack was successful and added depth to the collection, in conjunction with the final haiku:

protest standing proud loudly seeking reaction audience walks by

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Final Photo Essay for Project 2 ‘Critical Selfie’

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Third shoot to add some more context to the collection.

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Draft collection of photos towards final essay.

I am unsure of what soundtrack I would accompany these photos with as of yet.

Haiku development 1:

who is watching us

do they believe in our cause

are they listening

Haiku development 2:

passersby like ants

are marching by with purpose

blind to our protest

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Literary Review Summary

Many of my photos contain images of activism aimed at passers by on the street. This lead me to think about who their audience is, and whether this is the work of an individual or a collective, and whether designers should take more notice of such activism when designing for a community.

Community Activism vs. Community Design - by John N. Roberts, highlights the constant search for balance between the needs and suggestions of community activists, and the realities and limitations of community designers. Roberts states: ‘Activism alone will not result in urban designs that will fully address a community’s needs.’

But where does the activism become less about the voice of the community, and more about a smaller collection of individuals political judgements? I believe that this is the time for the flaneur and the ethnographer to become involved in the process, to observe the actions and reactions of activists and passers by to the street art, and determine whether the audience is  is affected by the art in a positive or negative way, or at all. 

And how much of a role should the activism play on the designers mind before the designer loses their voice in the matter? I believe more importantly, that in order to make the decision whether to take into account the point of view of the activists, is to understand what it is they are trying to achieve, and then it is in the hands of the designer whether or not to uphold these opinions and further present them to the community through design.

Roberts, J. N. (2008). Community Activism vs Community Design. Places. 20(2), 80-84. Retrieved from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/1gh5k3kg#page-1

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Concept Proposal for Wearable Technology Assignment 1, Illuminate.