grivois_process_summer2011.pdf

Process Book

Summer 2011 Ian GrivoisMDes ProgramNSCAD University

Summer 2011

Master of Design Program /1

In Search of the Third Nature /3Three Plants and a Planter /5Plant as Self-portrait /15Plant as New Technology /19Plant as Climate and Culture /23Plant as a System /29

Design Intensives /31Introduction to the Philosophy of the Program /33Critical Thinking and History of Universities /35The Definition of Design /37Thesis Preparation /39An Investigation into Parks Heritage, and the Public /45Drawing as a Thinking and Presentation Tool /47Free Lab: Design-Build Project /49Applied Linguistics and Problem-solving /53

Thesis Research /57

mdes 6200assignment 1

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mdes 6030

ongoing

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Master of Design Program / Summer 2011

Semester 1: Summer(15 Credit Total)

Students do 15 credits of coursework. In addition, students will begin the preliminary research for their final project.

MDES6200GraduateDesignStudio(6credits)

MDES6030GraduateDesignIntensive (9 credits)

ThesisResearch

The Master of Design is a one-year program. Over the course of three semesters, beginning in May of every year,studentstake42creditsofprescribed Studio and Liberal Arts and Sciences courses, and complete a graduate thesis/degree project. The emphasis of the Program is on practice-led research, hence every students degree project will be one that focuses on new knowledge gained through reflective practice. Students will present their research through their design work, accompanied by an extended written paper; by a public presentation, and in appropriate circumstances in a group exhibition.

I have been enjoying the way that we learn through doing in this program. Rather than starting with a fixed brief or question, the question can be discovered or iteratively redefined through the process of the design practice itself. This is a new approach to me, but it is very respectful of the quality and outcomes of design thinking and often produces results that are more deeply researched, conceptually sound, and visually evocative, than my past methods.

I wondered at how you convince clients to give you the latitude to go on this journey of process. Presentation skills demonstrating the intellectual rigor and research are important if one is to attempt to change or redefine the original project brief. Its important to build trust in your process and skills (in yourself and clients) as the uncertain and ambiguous stages of creativity can be disconcerting if they are not expected.

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Sensing Nature Rethinking the Japanese

Perception of Nature

Yoshioka Tokujin, Shinoda Taro, Kuribayashi Takashi

Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 24July7November,2010

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In Search of the Third Nature Graduate Design Studio 1 / MDES 6200

[Opposite top] Video stills from Tokujin Yoshiokas Snow via Mocoloco.com

[Opposite bottom] Tokujin Yoshioka drawingforSnow,2010viaDesignBoom

Engagingandchallengingtheunderstandings of nature

ThematicallybasedontheexhibitSensing Nature at the Mori Art Museum

Practiceanalyticalreadingandcritical writing skills through writing essays based on a number of readings and seminar discussions

Exploringglobaltrendsconcerningnature, contemporary design, and self-reflective journeys

Explorethebalancebetweenquantitative and qualitative

Five Assignments with data visualization posters, presentations, readings, essays, group critiques and seminar discussions

1. Research and present our three plant choices and planter

(to be designed and built)2. Plantasself-portrait3. Plantasnewtechnology(with

biotechnology applications)4. Plant as climate (local heritage)5. The system

It is refreshing to rediscover the artistic way of knowing again and to see that it has a place in my design practice. For years Ive been of the opinion that design is not about personal expression, but that our success is like that of a parent seeing its child flourish and succeed, i.e. the designer is a loyal servant. However, it was not very fulfilling personally and often led to solutions that are that didnt use the potential of what design can really do. There is a place for the designer-auteur but it needs to be practiced with care so as to not be self involved and remember our audience. Im still exploring this balance.

We practiced writing by working on short papers and reviews. Here is some useful advice I received. Writing a review is always about personal perspective and opinion. You can not ask others to have the same opinion or even to agree. A lot of reviewers describe the photographs in the article, but there is no need for that because people can see for themselves. You can try to communicate feelings and impressionsto put the reader in your place seeing the work. So, try to learn what interests and influences the creator, and try to figure out the underlying principles and reasons why those things appeal. Use your own methods, your communication language, with examples for implicitly talking about and recreating your feelings in the reader.

{ First nature emotional and animalSecond nature habit and trainingThird nature? self-reflective practitioner, design thinker, and system view

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My House in Dartmouth

Planet Organicin HalifaxToronto to Halifax1263.56 km

Toronto, CanadaLos Angeles toToronto 3513 km

Los Angeles, U.S.A.Lima to Los Angeles6719.47 km

Lima, Peru

Distance from thefarmer to supplier?

Round trip walkingto Planet Organic5.3 km12,583 steps1 hour 28 min827 calories

THE AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOKSBY THE WINDOWby Michael Ondaatje

In the long open Vancouver Island roomsitting by the indoor avocadoswhere indoor spring lightfalls on the half covered bulbsand down the long room light fallingonto the dwarf orange treevines from south americathe agatha christie books by the windowNameless morningsolution of grain and colourThere is this light,colourless, which falls on the warmstretching brain of the bulbthat is dreaming avocado

Avocado

Dupont has discovered how to refine a concentrated form of catmint oil to act as an

insect repellent with similiar potency to the synthetics like DEET. This has great potential for

countries aflicted with mosquito born illnesses such as malaria and west-nile virus.

I read the tea leavesas if they were wordsleft over from a conversationbetween two cups

~ Kenny Knight

Catmint

Grass

History is a cyclic poem written by time

upon the memories of man.~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

One might collect a jar of sand from the beach or a rock found while walking. We assign value both collectively and person-ally. Could grass, one of the most ubiqui-tous native plants of Nova Scotia, carry a heritage value if it comes from a historic place and acts as a catalist for transmitting a story?

Display

Now that my ladder's goneI must lie down where all ladders startIn the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

1

3

2

4

Planta

sself-po

rtrait11x17

Planta

sclim

ate(localherita

ge)11x17

Planta

snew(bio)te

chno

logy11x17

Planter(display)11x17

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Three Plants and a Planter Assignment 1

/ Framing the Semester

We planned and researched three plants and a planter for the semesters projects. The results were presented in four posters.

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Some of the MDes students worked on their planter designs in the NSCAD wood and metal shops.

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My House in Dartmouth

Planet Organicin HalifaxToronto to Halifax1263.56 km

Toronto, CanadaLos Angeles toToronto 3513 km

Los Angeles, U.S.A.Lima to Los Angeles6719.47 km

Lima, Peru

Distance from thefarmer tosupplier?

Round trip walkingto Planet Organic5.3 km12,583 steps1 hour 28 min827 calories

THE AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOKSBY THE WINDOWby Michael Ondaatje

In the long open Vancouver Island roomsitting by the indoor avocadoswhere indoor spring lightfalls on the half covered bulbs

and down the long room light fallingonto the dwarf orange treevines from south americathe agatha christie books by the window

Nameless morningsolution of grain and colour

There is this light,colourless, which falls on the warmstretching brain of the bulbthat is dreaming avocado

9MDES6200

I read the tea leavesas if they were wordsleft over from a conversationbetween two cups

~ Kenny Knight

Dupont has discovered how to refine a concentrated

form of catmint oil to act as an insect repellent with similar potency to the synthetics like DEET. This has great potential for countries afflicted with mosquito

born illnesses such as malaria and west-nile virus.

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History is a cyclic poem

written by time upon the memories of man.

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

One might collect a jar of sand from the beach or a rock found

while walking. We assign value both collectively and personally. Could grass, one of the most ubiquitous

native plants of Nova Scotia, carry a heritage value if it comes from a

historic place and acts as a catalyst for transmitting a story?

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Now that my ladder's goneI must lie down where all ladders startIn the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

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The completed display, made from red oak, with the three planters installed

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Plants were a wonderful theme to work with. I loved working with my hands and crafting the shelf. The projects each had many layers

of meaning that we had to incorporate, and that often proved to be challenging.

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Think about the entire range of characteristics of the plant;

how it engages with your senses, how it functions and the way it looks. All of the plants characteristics should be taken into consideration. How these characteristics represent you should not necessarily be based on literal interpretations. It is not important that when we look at the real plant we see you. The plant is meant to be an abstract representation.

The practice of generating meaning

What is the role of language and how

do you form devices to bring out your personal

ideas and perspectivesdesign strategies? This

assignment gives a way to find personal motivation for the days when

thesis work is hard, it gives ways to connect.

Avocado Facts It is in the family Lauraceae which also includes cinnamon, camphor, and bay laurel The avocado is also known as the alligator pear The fruit is botanically a berry The avocado tree has both sexes in the flowers, manifesting first male organs in the morning then female in the following day (or afternoon in some species) The plant originated in Mexico and was known by the Aztecs as the fertility fruit80%oftheavocadosforsaleareoftheHaasvariety

Plant as Self-portraitAssignment2

/ Plant and Poetry

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Bright green wrinkled leaves,paper washed in the pocket

of winters machine

Cat in the windoworange lines of tension...curl

mid-air, loud crows part

In old wrinkled skina stirring dream, renewal

floats in a green sea

Round trip

walking

to Planet

Organic

from Dar

tmouth to

Halifax to

purchase

3 avocad

os:

5.3 km

12,583 s

teps

1 hour 28

min

827 calor

ies

---Serv

ing Size 1

50g

Amount P

er Serving

Calories

240

Calories

from Fat

184

% Daily Va

lue based

on

2,000 ca

lorie diet

Total fat:

34%

Choleste

rol: 0

Sodium:

11mg

Total Carb

ohydrate:

4%

Dietar

y Fiber 10

g

Sugar

s 1g

Protein: 3

g

Vitamin A:

4%

Vitamin C:

25%

Calcium:

2%

Iron: 5%

---Cons

umed in

Guacamo

le

on Thurs

day, June

2, 2011

by the NS

CAD MDE

S class

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Bright green wrinkled leaves,paper washed in the pocket

of winters machine

Cat in the windoworange lines of tension...curl

mid-air, loud crows part

In old wrinkled skina stirring dream, renewal

floats in a green sea

Round trip

walking

to Planet

Organic

from Dar

tmouth to

Halifax to

purchase

3 avocad

os:

5.3 km

12,583 s

teps

1 hour 28

min

827 calor

ies

---Serv

ing Size 1

50g

Amount P

er Serving

Calories

240

Calories

from Fat

184

% Daily Va

lue based

on

2,000 ca

lorie diet

Total fat:

34%

Choleste

rol: 0

Sodium:

11mg

Total Carb

ohydrate:

4%

Dietar

y Fiber 10

g

Sugar

s 1g

Protein: 3

g

Vitamin A:

4%

Vitamin C:

25%

Calcium:

2%

Iron: 5%

---Cons

umed in

Guacamo

le

on Thurs

day, June

2, 2011

by the NS

CAD MDE

S class

Plantasself-portraitportraitposter11x17

This project was a challenge for me. I love to think abstractly, but tying together all of the abstract approaches used in this project and keeping it all relevant was difficult. Since my inspiration for choosing this plant is from a poem by Michael Ondaatje, it was suggested that I make some of my own poems. I started the three haiku while walking to the store. We derived a pattern from the cell structure of the plants for a background grid.

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The Threat of Malaria

Annual Global Cases 247million

Annual Death Toll880,000

91%ofcases of malaria are in Africa

85%ofthe related deaths are children

Synthetic DEET Repellent Range

[long-term exposure to DEET, through skin, has been proven to cause neurological damage]

Catmint Oil Repellent Range

[all natural, no harmful sideffects]

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Plant as New TechnologyAssignment3

/ Catmint Oil Insect Repellent

For this plant you are to choose one that provides potential applications in biotechnology, applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bio-processes in engineering, technology, medicine, and other fields requiring bio-products. For example rape, also known as rapeseed, is currently being used in the Ukraine to clean soil contamination by the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

DuPont has received [in 2009] registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an insect repellent ingredient derived from the catmint plant, a sustainable resource more commonly known and loved by felines worldwide as catnip. The new ingredient, Refined Oil of Nepeta cataria, is the first new insect repellent biopesticide to be registered by the EPA in eight years.

via PRWeb

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DuPont has received [2009] registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an insect repellent ingredient derived from the catmint plant, a sustainable resource more commonly known and loved by felines worldwide as catnip. The new ingredient, Refined Oil of Nepeta cataria, is the first new insect repellent biopesticide to be registered by the EPA in eight years.

PRWeb, http://goo.gl/wpeqv

91% of cases of malaria are in Africa

85% of the related deaths are children

TRADITIONAL

Topical anaesthetic

Antispasmodic

Carminative

Diaphoretic

Emenagogue

Nervine

Stomachic

Stimulant

Anti-inflammatory

Anti-rheumatic

Astringent

Carminative

Sedative

Febrifuge

Tonic

INNOVATIVE

malaria control zones

Heated water

Vacuum Cycled CoolantTe

mpe

ratu

re C

ontro

l

Process of RefiningEssentialOils

Condenser

Three-neck Flask

Receiving Flask

catmint oil insect repellent

GrowingHarvesting & Transporting

Extracting

Biomass Processing into Energy Pellets

Hydrogenation

Ref ined Catmint Oil

Annual Global Cases247 million

Annual DeathToll 880,000

Arboviral Encephalitides

Western equine encephalitis

Dengue fever

Rift Valley fever

West Nile encephalitis

Yellow fever

OTHER MOSQUITO BORN ILLNESSES


Synthetic DEET Repellent Range[long-term exposureto DEET, through skin, has been proven to cause neurological damage]

Plantasnewtechnologyposter11x34

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TRADITIONAL

Topical anaesthetic

Antispasmodic

Carminative

Diaphoretic

Emenagogue

Nervine

Stomachic

Stimulant

Anti-inflammatory

Anti-rheumatic

Astringent

Carminative

Sedative

Febrifuge

Tonic

INNOVATIVE


Heated water

Vacuum Cycled Coolant

Tem

pera

ture

Con

trol


Condenser

Three-neck Flask

Receiving Flask



Extracting


Hydrogenation






Dengue fever

Rift Valley fever


Yellow fever




I discovered a way to layer information in complex design patterns but still be able to direct the eye through the composition using colour. This projects weak point was perhaps that the emotional tone was off: being more playful and joyous, it did not properly communicate the gravity of these arthropod born diseases.





TRADITIONAL

Topical anaesthetic

Antispasmodic

Carminative

Diaphoretic

Emenagogue

Nervine

Stomachic

Stimulant

Anti-inflammatory

Anti-rheumatic

Astringent

Carminative

Sedative

Febrifuge

Tonic

INNOVATIVE


Heated water

Vacuum Cycled Coolant

Tem

pera

ture

Con

trol


Condenser

Three-neck Flask

Receiving Flask



Extracting


Hydrogenation






Dengue fever

Rift Valley fever


Yellow fever




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MDES6200

Plant as Climateand CultureAssignment 4

/ Grass from Three Halifax Heritage Sites

Climate can be understood as a key factor within the structure of human existence. With every region of the globe having its own distinct climate, so to do those regions have their own unique culture. Plants too can be seen as an expression of that climate and the culture that exists within it. You are to choose a plant that is native to Nova Scotia. This plant will be used as a window into the climate and culture of Nova Scotia.

My interpretation of climate and culture involved using grass to talk about historic sites and their relationship to the local culture. Grass at these sites grows with a lot of precipitation and often moves like waves in the wind. I played with the analogy between the human body and the branching veins and arteries that look like branching plants. Grass is like water breaking upon the bow of a grave stone, spurting from a fountain or flowing across a sod roof. This was imagery capable of talking about local climate and culture.

[Opposite] Sketching ideas of heritage with the Citadel fortress battlements

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[Top] Old Burying Ground,Halifax,June2011[Bottom]Citadel Walls,Halifax,July2011[Opposite]Nymph Fountain,PublicGardens,Halifax,July2011

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Halifax Citadel and the Old Burrying Grounds are founded - 1749

The oldest stone still identifyable in the Old Burrying Ground - 1752

British Major General Robert Ross burned Washington in the war of 1812

Major Ross is killed in an attack on Baltimore - 1814and interred in the Old Burrying Grounds

Old Burying Grounds closed - 1843

Memorial to the Crimean War, the Sebastopol Monument, erected in the Old Burrying Grounds - 1860 to honour two Halifax men: Major A.F. Welsford and Captian William Parker

The present (4th) citadel is completed - 1856

Site for the future Public Gardens was chosen from the Commons - 1841

Halifax Public Gardens were opened - 1867

Sir William Young Urns added - c. 1877 to the Halifax Public Gardens

Bandstand constructed - 1887in Halifax Public Gardens

Halifax explosion - 1917

Bluenose sailboat constructed - 1921

Titanic sinks - 1912

The Citadel was used as a temporary barracks for troop deployment - 1939and anti-aircraft defense

Halifax Public Garden declared a National Historic Site - 1984and the Old Burying Grounds are restored

Halifax Public Garden extensively damaged by Hurricaine Juan - 2003

but to identify maybe the grains of sand and call anonymous grasses by their name,

to nd remembrance if the streets run seabound;when the tide enters the room, when the roof gives ower

cry Credo to the obdurate weed.

~ Muriel Spark, from Flower Into Animal

Climate & CultureCulture has penetrated to the rootsof man's nervous system and it determines how he perceives the world.

~ Edward T. Hall, Hidden Dimensions

Plantasclimateandculture12x18

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Halifax Citadel and the Old Burrying Grounds are founded - 1749

The oldest stone still identifyable in the Old Burrying Ground - 1752

British Major General Robert Ross burned Washington in the war of 1812

Major Ross is killed in an attack on Baltimore - 1814and interred in the Old Burrying Grounds

Old Burying Grounds closed - 1843

Memorial to the Crimean War, the Sebastopol Monument, erected in the Old Burrying Grounds - 1860 to honour two Halifax men: Major A.F. Welsford and Captian William Parker

The present (4th) citadel is completed - 1856

Site for the future Public Gardens was chosen from the Commons - 1841

Halifax Public Gardens were opened - 1867

Sir William Young Urns added - c. 1877 to the Halifax Public Gardens

Bandstand constructed - 1887in Halifax Public Gardens

Halifax explosion - 1917

Bluenose sailboat constructed - 1921

Titanic sinks - 1912

The Citadel was used as a temporary barracks for troop deployment - 1939and anti-aircraft defense

Halifax Public Garden declared a National Historic Site - 1984and the Old Burying Grounds are restored

Halifax Public Garden extensively damaged by Hurricaine Juan - 2003

but to identify maybe the grains of sand and call anonymous grasses by their name,

to nd remembrance if the streets run seabound;when the tide enters the room, when the roof gives ower

cry Credo to the obdurate weed.

~ Muriel Spark, from Flower Into Animal

Climate & CultureCulture has penetrated to the rootsof man's nervous system and it determines how he perceives the world.

~ Edward T. Hall, Hidden Dimensions

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Plant as a SystemAssignment 5

/ Thesis Case Study

Over the semester you have investigated three plants of your choosing, each plant has provided you a particular insight: yourself, issues within biotechnology, and climate and culture. You are now to rethink your plants in relation to each other and the planter using all of these elements as a metaphor for a complete system of cause and effect.

Use a case study related to your thesis research and develop a data visualization showing the cause and effect relationship. The planter image must be photographed clearly and used as a full-bleed background image. The planter should become the setting or metaphor for your case study. As a visual style, incorporate realistic and graphic space in your rendering of the data.

Case Study: The Karsh Festival

The Portrait Gallery of Canada in partnership with the Canada Science and Technology Museum are leading Festival Karsh with cultural and community partners in events and activities throughout2009andbeyond. As part of the joint exhibition that traveled to museums across Canada, the Canada Science and Technology Museum created a Flickr presence that allowed people who were touched by Karsh to submit their images and stories. It was a collective exhibition socially created and displayed a new online story dimension that the museum could not have accomplished as a real-world exhibit.

I chose this case study because of the unique approach to socially constructed narratives. An exhibit not only of the museum collection, the approach extended beyond physical walls into the private collections of peoples homes. This technique of social narrative is only possible through using the unique strengths of a networked online community. It achieved a collection of stories that demonstrated curatorial rigor while at the same time capturing private oral histories that would otherwise be lost in connection to the artifacts of an exhibit.

QR code links to the websites and stories were added to the diagram to put into practice the idea of crossing real world interactions with the virtual world.

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MDES6030

DesignIntensives Graduate Design Intensive 1 / MDES 6030

This course will delivered five modules that function as both skill building and skill evaluating intensives. The term intensive is used to describe compressed (not exceeding five days, except for the Freelab) individual teaching modules. As some of the exercises/projects in these intensives may be familiar to students (previously learned in undergraduate study or done habitually in previous practice), it is important that the MDES program establishes the level of design and design thinking that will be expected of the student throughout the next three semesters. These intensives will also provide a true gauge of the students competencies. This will provide for a fair evaluation of the students ability to successfully complete this masters degree. In addition, students will meet periodically with the courses coordinator, Christopher Kaltenbach, to further discuss/clarify these intensives.

May 1620 IntroductiontothePhilosophy

of the MDes Program with Christopher Kaltenbach

CriticalThinkingLecture with Rudi Meyer

DefiningDesign with Michael LeBlanc

ThesisPreparation with Marlene Ivey

May 30June 3 Aninvestigationintoparks,

heritage, and the public with Karen Jans

June 22 Aninvestigationofdrawingas

a thinking and presentation tool with Rudi Meyer

July 15-29 DalhousieDesignLab

August 2-6 AppliedLinguistics and Problem-solving

with David Peters

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Success will be how well you can demonstrate the intent, rigour, and researchall of the ideas based on things found in research and translated into form.

Who am I as a designer and what is important to me? We will be working intensely to discover this. This program will have a methodology, but the expression will be personal.

A way to get there for us is to move into the world of pure abstraction, a place where there are no boundaries for the mind (except project time-lines).

When you and the client recognize that the brief (the design problem) will change after starting the project, you can embrace this process and look for it rather than feeling threatened by it.

Out of all the research you do, at what point do you choose THAT idea? Its part of who you are as a designer that explains why you choose it. Once you know your process, you will trust it more.

As a designer, our own currency is our methodology.

When you start your thesis, you will have to see it from many different ways and you do that by being open and active with your imagination.

Process for Readings prepareasummary researchauthorandcontext takenotesofquotesthat

impress you findwhatpersonallyappliestoyou

and your practice

Intriguing Terms Adurablevisualrecord

(what is left behind) Thebuiltenvironment Hapticsishowweunderstand

the world (give meaning) through touch.

Its refreshing to talk with others about how to make better design again. So much of my past dialogue was about educating or defending the value of design itself.

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Program Christopher Kaltenbach / Design Thinking

[Opposite] Christopher and Michael are having a debate in the studio.

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As a designer you have to figure out how to become a practitioner rather than a process follower.

Alectureexploringepistemology(the relationship between the researcher and what can be known) and designerly knowing or ontology (the body of knowledge that can be known)

Brieflytoucheduponcriticaltheories

Comparedscientificknowledge/research with humanist

Gaveusabackgroundrelevanttoanumber of areas that our research method and the NSCAD experience will touch upon.

Discussedtheconceptsofactionresearch and tacit knowledge that we learn through practice

[Opposite] Image based on the path of subatomic particles as transcribed in a cloud chamber,via

Critical Thinking and History of Universities

Rudi Meyer / Philosophical Underpinnings

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Photos:AlbertsonDesign2011

We looked through the book Thoughtless Acts? by Jane Fulton Suri and IDEO. Creative Generalist has an interview with the author at.

[Below] Our cover design on Blurb [Below left] My page spread design

The artist is not finished until he [or she] has realized their intentions. Attrib. Rembrant

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This two-day workshop is intended to sensitize you to design: what it is, and what it is not; how it is used (for good and for evil); how design makes your life simpler and then again, more complicated; how you as a designer fits into all this. We explored what is the social necessity of the design profession.

The project was to create a book that would then be published through blurb.com which demonstrated the value of design by showing a world with the design sucked out of it. My spread contribution was for an online banking website. The missing image icons, courier font, intentional spelling errors and many visual misalignments, created exact opposite of the feelings of trust that online banking institutions want their customers to feel when using their interface.

We have a situation in design where a regular person can do design (for good or bad). So we have to separate professional design and vernacular design, if not we encompass all of humanity.

The Definitionof Design

Michael LeBlanc / Imagining a World Without Design

Q: In your experience, what type of personality typically makes the best observer?

A: I find that curiosity, open-mindedness, and imagination are important. It helps to be non-judgmental, able to move easily from noticing detail to thinking about patterns and the big picture, perceptive about (their own and other) peoples behavior, motivations, and personally genuinely interested in other peoples points of reference.

My approach to the making an undesigned project was to strip a banking website of design and introduce formatting errors to highlight the role of design in creating trust for online clientele.

I have to admit feeling really uncomfortable making an intentionally ugly design! It was somehow too much like what I see in the reality and so antithetical to my efforts against that tide.

Be mindful that youre having a conversation with what you are designing.

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Thesis Preparation

Marlene Ivey / Visualizing Our Process

Design is not always problem solving. It can solve problems, but not always. Critical design has no function other than to ask questions.

Designing for Experience

isfreefrompre-conceptions seesopportunityratherthanthreat

from the unfamiliar createsexperienceenvironments

We like hunting and gathering, but you also need to know when to stop.

Your thesis should be full of visual language, thats your practice.

Your job is to get a research question that is looking forward, has a lot of room to grow

The messy front-end of design leads to discovery. You have to let the mess happen. Just as in fine art, its messy and then it gets more refined and methodical.

NSCAD masters wants us to build reflective ability and mindful capacityto get these skill and then get quick with them (time is money after all).

There are benefits to being LOST. What is the role of novelty in discovery?

[Following page] Design Process Visualization: a visualization of the design process using an astrological metaphor.

At first there is the colourful nebula, then stars are isolated, named, and formed into constellations with stories and meanings. A comparison to the Orion nebula shows how understanding and observation are the two arms that help clarify for the head and help to define the design problem. Ideas, like Orions belt, are a key element that ties the process together. Testing and prototyping are the legs that the process stands on. Everything is inter-connected and can circle back if needed.

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Thesis Structure

1. Title Pages2.Acknowledgements3.Contents

4. List of figures5. Abstract6.Introduction7.Literaryand

Contextual Review8. Methods and

Methodology9. Analysis10.Outcomes11. Conclusion12.Bibliography13.Appendices

We were asked to make a three-dimensional representation of the thesis structure. My effort came out shaped like megaphone. It was meant to be a mysterious object that reveals its story when you look into it.

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An Investigation into Parks,Heritage, and the Public

Karen Jans / Applying Research and Marketing & Personality and Process Types

Experienceworkinginagroup,learn about ourselves and others, design process, justifying design decisions for demographic research, social science, performance measures and marketing

Solveastrategicproblemonatime line as a group; prepare presentation about the project

Exploredservicedeliveryagreements and business cases

Guestspeakers:socialscientist,staff designer, group patterns and teamwork, marketing and explorer types

Wedeliveredafinalpresentation

As part of the team skills presentation, we analyzed our working patterns to better understand ourselves and how to work with other types. The charts opposite are a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of each of the character types.

Most project have a cycle where they move forward and then backward for a bit. Karen described it as a spiral looping back on itself, see the diagram below.

Working in a groups is always a challenge. Karen feels the inter-personal skills you have in communicating your ideas, leadership, understanding how to work with the personality types of others, etc...will help your career as much as your design skills.

What did Karen say of me in my final review? The student contributed regularly and thoughtfully to class discussions and proposed a design solution that utilized insightful means of advancing adapting existing technologies to meet the clients objectives. He was very responsive to constructive input: a collaborative team player and quiet leader.

Our groups idea, The Mobile Parks Experience, suggested that Parks Canada convert a shipping container to hold three sensory dioramas that could be delivered easily to events and high traffic locations. The idea was to bring a more meaningful experience of the parks directly to the potential audience and pique their interest in visiting the site.

[Above] A video still from our presentation showing the dioramas in the truck.

[Opposite page] Some of the illustrations that I made to demonstrate how an electronic device could react with photographic panoramas.

[Top] I worked with Grace and Stewart to develop the concept of a mobile parks experience.

[Above] The four personality types/roles at play in the typical creative process and how they usually interact

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Drawing as a Thinkingand Presentation Tool

Rudi Meyer / Context and Process

Showedhowdrawingcanhavedifferent purposes depending on how it is used and whom the audience is

Drawingcanbeawayofproblemsolving, thinking out an issue through action, and working collaboratively on an idea on the same page

Drawingcanbeatooltocommunicate with your clients, they will feel more able to change and influence a drawing than something generated on a computer (which has more a feeling of finality)

Dontneglectlayoutforpresentation drawings

Isometricandaxonometricprojections

Theapproachandusefulnessoforthographic views in describing objects

The assignment was to design a planetary explorer in groups of three to four. There were a number of guidelines and restrictions on how we completed and presented this task to prove the points listed above.

[Opposite] Details of the presentation my groupconsisting of Stewart, Hana, and myselfcreated about an insectiod vehicle

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Free Lab: Design-Build Project

Dalhousie School of Architecture / Portable Camera Obscura

The camera obscura is a viewing device where the magical properties of light and the power of the poetic image to transform the mundane enable its user to see the world in a new way.

This Free Lab will build a portable, booth size camera obscura, that will be stationed in the city for public to experience. The Free Lab will include the design and construction of the camera, deciding on the possible places where the camera could be stationed, as well as documentation of the process and the response of the public.

The image of the city contained in the camera will offer the opportunity to reflect on the role and the body in the process of perception.

~ Professor Maria Elisa Navarro

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conceptualize budget research debate develop materials prototype test build repair document exhibit proselytize dispose

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David Peters presents

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Applied Linguisticsand Problem-solving

David Peters / Communication and Openness

Working in an age of rapid techno-social change compels designers to deal with problemsof all kinds while at the same time holding their roles in complex project environments. The purpose of this seminar is to engage graduate students in a practice of appliedproblem-solving and contribution to the free knowledge movement (and Wikipediaspecifically). We will observe how design is characterized outside the profession, and workon specific opportunities to fill gaps that we identify together.

Another purpose of the seminar is to introduce and demonstrate useful linguisticdistinctions that facilitate communication, such as: request, offer, promise, speculate,declare, accept, decline, revoke, withdraw, counter, assert, assess, cooperate, coordinate,perform, and satisfy, as well as concepts like knowledge, power, action, design, ethics,dialogue, future, ambition, situation, purpose, strategy, tactics, operations, and narrative.

This course consists of five all-day classes conducted in seminar format plus studio worksessions. Handouts and URLs will be shared as relevant to support conversations aboutdesign, linguistics, biology, business, technology, social media, ethics, philosophy, andhistory.

Upon completion, students will be capableofassessingand

contributing to Wikipedia betteratinterpretingsituationsand

making choices as individuals and in groups

moreeffectiveinperformanceoftheir roles as students, designers, and instructors

awareofprominentfigureswhoare framing issues in the design discourse

Learning Activities Lectures In-classdiscussionsandactivities Breakoutgroupactivities Onlineactivities Studioprojectwork Personaljournal-keeping

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Chinese Wikipedians at NSCAD University

Kungfu Hacking Ping-pong-athon

PhotoquestDumplings & Editing

Cell phone chain Bookmarks

TEAM MEMBERS

Shu (Grace) FangIan GrivoisYin (Lyly) LongLinghan (Lindsey) ZhanYanyan Zhang

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[Above] Jay Walsh, head of communications for Wikimedia, came in to talk with us and view the final Wikipedian presentations.

[Opposite] I worked with the Chinese students to assemble a hypothetical Wikipedian group and associated page. They designed icons and merchandise to go along with the club activities.

Martyn Anstice and I collaborated on making a Wikipedia entry for Carl Dair, a Canadian designer, writer, typeface designer and teacher. Above are some examples of Carl Dairs work from Design with Type(1967).

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ThesisResearch

[Opposite page] An illustration playing with the ideas discovered in Gray and Malins book Visualizing Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design.

[Top] A compass, via Wikimedia (Public domain)

Pearl divers off the coast of Ama, Japan Image source unknown

Pearl diver sculpture in Bahrain National MuseumAlan C. Donque (cc)

Thesis research and refinement has been happening throughout our last semester. Weve done four drafts proposalsof800-1000wordsaboutour areas of research interest, and Ive been reading as much as I can. It has changed a lot and expect it to continue to move around drastically for a while as I map out the territory.

This development culminates at the end of the Summer term with a presentation of our ideas, a poster, and final essay on the topic. After all of these are delivered we will meet with the advisory committee to discuss our progress.

{Experience design

Film and sound design

Digital storytelling

Motion design

Flow, optimal experience

Aesthetics, poetry, & metaphysics

Fine art and critical design

Comic book narratives

Online journalism

Rhetoric & presentation

Exploring approaches to online narrative immersion

It all feels rather muddled and vast right now, but the readings are all very useful for my design practice and I sense that there are some very good ideas to be found in this area.

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ThesisPropo

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S uccessful creative writing, film, and performance have a tremendous ability to connect to the emotions of an audience. They feel absorbed and immersed in a diegetic story space, suspending disbelief for an experience that is both individual and collective. What is this immersive sensorial experience, and what techniques are employed in the rhetorical vocabulary of writing, film, and performance to weave such an engaging narrative? As a domain for creating immersive experiences, the Internet offers a potential not available in these others. Rather than simply passive receivers, the networked audience is participatory, social, and collaborative. Yet, so often this capacity is not fully engaged as content is moved into this virtual environment. Can narrative immersion techniques be better employed to enhance the teaching and learning experience in a post-secondary online distance education course? Can a narrative vocabulary that belongs more in the domain of fine-art and poetic rationale bring greater value to a university course based in the rigor of scientific quantitative rationale?

[To be continued...]

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