HAPPENING - A Slice of Design Thinking

HAPPENING_

In this segment of our module we were required to create a 24 hour happening. Our sub group comprising of six members decided to conduct a Multi disciplinary workshop


The video in our Workshop was uploaded in YouTube.

A Slice of Design Thinking Part1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKzKz-RtxNM

A Slice of Design Thinking Part2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNn_heNbTs

A Slice of Design thinking

We invited 8 members from varied Faculties of Kingston University and four members of our team joined with them in the workshop. Divided into three four groups of three members each over two sessions of two hours each.

For the participants it was the opportunity to understand Design Thinking and practically apply its tool to a creative result.

For us it was the opportunity to understand creativity and document how people from varied backgrounds work with each other and also an insight into how people approach a problem and express themselves.

Collaborate with Innoversity

In our search for a venue we contacted Corrine Buaumont from Innoversity.
Innoversity is Kingston University’s design thinking research centre of excellence. Their goal is to observe how technology, design and business (in academia) can work together for innovation.
We found that Innoversity was keen on sponsoring the workshop as this was exactly the kind of projects that they wanted to be associated with. They were willing to provide us with the space and equipment to run the workshop as well as provide for food (Pizza) and refreshments for all the participants.

With the venue and equipment in order our next course of action was to rope in the required number of participants. Innoiversity was kind enough to share their data base of contacts with us. In addition to this each of our group members sent out invites asking people to participate.

Simultaneously we started formally organizing the workshop.

We created an introductory presentation that gave information on the workshop and its contents, introducing the concept of Design thinking, Mind mapping and Prototyping.

Prototype Workshop

Once we had decided on the contents we ran a prototype session to flush out all the snags.

We also designed and produced a kit for each participant that comprised of a folder which contained useful information on the workshop, sketching sheets, pointers on mind mapping a name tag and some stationary.

HAPPENING

JUDY_

Traces

Ref. No: 250120 10-kt12qj-103017 00

See the final Traces poster; a minute of the happening:

Below is an example of the happening set up in the lift:

HAPPENING posters

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IDEATION Developments

Following you can see how ideation is developing for everyone in our group!

MINSUNG_

During our visit to Tilbury town through the observation module what caught my interest was the ‘e’ waste recycling plants. I began research on the recycling process in an effort to understand where all the waste was being generated from and what happened to it after reaching these recycling plants. What I found was that most of the waste collected is exported to developing countries where it then finally stays, contaminating soil and water. This is where I felt the role of the designer becomes one with a huge responsibility. Better design can help solve issues such as these. This module has made me more conscious of environmental problems and sustainability and I would like to take this learning forward into my context module.
Also during our systems module we explore a lot with reusing waste material. I took this exploration a step further into the development of structures made out of reused material. I explored with pizza box bases and found that these could be used to create structures for products of daily use.

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LOTING_

My exploration during the system and workshop modules led me to, studying regular pattern and the freeform. I went on to using single elements piled on to each other repeatedly to create freeform volume. I observed that small elements are beneficial to create freeform and curve shape, the piling also produces a repeat pattern. My intention is to explore further with this finding, to achieve diversity shapes of elements with which to create patterns and spaces.

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JACKIE_

During the Systems module I observed that a lot of new discoveries happen through the process of deconstruction. This inspired me on my fashion context project - Zero.

For the Zero projects, we were asked to imagine a situation in the future where there was a lack of fabric and materials for making garments.

We were then asked to develop garments designed out of the materials that were available to us from our surroundings.

My choice in Material was the teddy bears.

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JUDY_

The explorations that I started for Ideation ended up being closely linked with my FashionContext project Zero.
Zero to me is all about sustainability in design (in my case fashion). I was very much interested to cut down waste during the design development as a designer and future waste (once the
product is being used by the consumer).
e.g. As a designer we go through a lot of prototyping long before a product reaches the market. All those prototypes cost a lot more in energy to recycle then if we would just try to develop in a energy saving way.
So to stay true to my concept in Zero I have started to work on Ideation in digitized form.
However, still focusing on the issue of the impact of our actions and how the feeling of
emotional/physical isolation can be overcome.
Following are some examples of my Ideation work:

And finally an example of my graphical print work.

Cockroach Workshop

During our workshop with Nelly Ben, where, inspired by the cochroach we had to 'build' something related to this insect. So one could develop and create anything that reflects the cockroach in some ways by looking at the way it adapts, the way it moves, the way the cochroach lives and survives etc. etc.

MINSUNG and PONG

We approached this project from a Product designer’s point of View. If we were to look into the future at the survival of the human race we would see that as a species we would need to evolve physically to be able to adapt and survive.

Taking from a Cockroach which is an insect that has survived for thousands of years what if humans were to develop physical characteristics similar to that of a cockroach to be able to survive. Assuming that this were to happen Our project was to design a chair for this hybrid evolved human.

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LIANNA_

was interested to see how a simple 2D object (A4 sheet of paper) can be adapted into 3D shape and recreate the way a cockroach transforms to fit into different spaces:

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LOTING and JUDY_

were interested in how to trace and map out a cockroach's landscape so humans can see it by using clay to mould out the corners in the workshop room:

EUNJIN, SHRIYA & JACKIE_

Imagined how life would it be if we were to live in an egg. May be many years into the future when the human race has destroyed the planet, people will have to live in pods that replicate required living conditions.

Our project involved building a simulator for such an environment.

We began by trying to replicate the environment of what we thought would be the inside of a cockroach egg.

The egg was designed in a trolley so that one of us could actually get inside and make a recording of the experience while being moved around to various locations inside and outside the campus.

The data collected was then converted into a movie that was screened to an audience at the end of the workshop.

IDEATION Mini Briefs

During our first Ideation meeting we shared our findings with our group and each of us developed Mini briefs to state how we would be developing our explorations further:

PONG_

During the course of the observation project I realized that there is very popular and interesting business going on at Tilbury which is the business of recycling ‘ e’ waste. This led me to observing waste material more closely and finding new ways to reuse material.

In Systems and Workshop I conducted a few experiments with glass bottles that I had picked up from the streets. I used wires and tape to bind them in different ways taking into consideration shapes, colours and functions, converting these discarded bottles into a piece of art or appealing objects.

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Broken but alive - Tilbury Dock

Broken : Tilburt town was once prosperous and the docks were a part of its history but now it is just a quiet, forgotten and broken down town.

Alive : A second glance at the town on a different occasion,painted a completely different picture.The quiet streets were filled children from the local schools and suddenly this grey city was filled with colour.

What I took back from Tilbury was the coexistance of destruction and life.

This has been the inspiration for my journey through the process module .

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MINSUNG_

Our impression of Tilbury town with its recycling e-waste plants and tall walls was that the people in the town seemed to watch us as if they were hiding something from its visitors.

During the systems section we tried to express these hiding space, using various materials such as bottles, cardboard, masking tape or zipper etc. Strips of various materials seem to express a variety of feeling. Each separated strip sometimes gave a feeling of elegance when hung from the ceiling. When this was duplicated and multiplied the overlapping layers of strips also brought about a sense of mystery, as well as curiosity. I took inspiration from this experiment and applied it to various other materials like metal and paper.

The effect was really interesting and I would like to see the possibility of applying this technique to various product of daily use

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SHRIYA_
During the systems and workshop modules I explored with various materials and developed simple techniques to merge materials together. Most of my exploration revolved around using discarded materials like plastic paper, off cuts of Veneer, old cycle chains and used tape rolls etc.
The following are a few observations made on the manner in which different materials reacted to each other.
· Interesting forms, negative and positive spaces were created.
· The change in the property of a material once it had undergone a machining process.
· The intermingling of properties of contrasting materials when used together.
· The method of joining two materials can change the perceived properties of the materials.

Mini Brief
Using the original intended properties of a machine part to create another object of use.

For example a cycle chain has the following properties
· Strong
· Flexible
· Designed to grip
Can the engineering that has been invested in developing this machine part be put to use to create other simple everyday objects that use its properties after the machine part has completed its life cycle?

(Please see previous entries for more examples)
“Recycled engineering”

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JUDY_

Following my experimentations with plasters and moulds during the past weeks I am intending to look further into the subjects of "impact" and "loneliness":

_one:
Explore aspects of isolations and interactions within emotions, materials and human relations etc.

_two:

Explore the contrasting textures and shapes of soft/hard materials by adding a new dimension time using processes of drying/freezing, breaking etc.

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JACKIE_

In the System Project, I found myself really interested in mixed glass bottles.We did a lot of experiments on these materials, including breaking the glass bottles.

We stuck the pieces of glass on to masking tapes and hung from the ceiling as an installation. The fragments shapes and sizes are irregular but this made them more interesting when they were suspended. We also discovered that when light went through glass bottles at different times of the day the quality of coloure changed casting interesting forms on the floor

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LOTING_

I explored with a variety of materials, such as glass, tape, clay, paper...etc. and found inspiration from working with paper.

My interest was in transformation and creating 3D shapes with a variety of different materials. Something as simple as paper, which is a plane form originally, can become a complicated 3D form by folding, cutting, twisting, and pulling. I also realised that the process of creativity is similar to that of sculpture.

During my explorations, I learned about the different character and limitation of different materials. This will help me in the future to use materials in different ways. In addition, I also found two interesting points relate to space design. One is the shape of curves and the other is regular patterns.

I would like to carry on with my study of free forms using different materials and then apply this to space design.

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LIANNA_

My mini brief to develop in Ideation Lab, focuses on the concept of play and human interaction with objects and shapes.

By creating objects/spaces/outlines/forms and seeing how people physically respond, by using, exploring and creating things with these pieces. Also with the concept of puzzles I have been creating these pieces that can be put together to create a variety of forms, I would like to explore and record the different outcomes that would be created by different people playing with these pieces, how one thing could be many, for example one 'form' could be a chair and a top and or bag?