Essays week one

Cultural Probes
Dr. Claire McAndrew

Never having heard about the use of cultural probes I was really thankful to get an idea about this new area of research. I must say, it took me in the beginning quite a while of the lecture to follow what the subject Ms. McAndrew presented was about. Despite talking really clearly and giving explanations I think she did not pick me up at the stage I was at at that time.
Another point of critique was the visual presentation. On some slides the amount of text was just way too much. Luckily Ms. McAndrew read the whole thing out loud and clearly so I could follow the content through her voice.
Now about the actual subject, cultural probes. As I mentioned before I have never heard about gathering information through such a method. I find the idea very interesting to use the results as design inspiration. It is a playful way of gathering information for both the participants as well as for the evaluaters.
When looking at the objects mentioned that are used for cultural probes it reminded me indeed of toys for children. This again leads me to a question I have asked myself already many times, is creativity a natural thing for children but is forgotten when growing up and being educated? Do we lose the ability to try out random things like taking a picture of something blue or of the first person we see each day?
Although this kind of research surely meets a lot of criticism I think it is a valuable and interesting approach of getting inspiration. It is the ordinary and real people interacting that make it interesting and worthwhile.

How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul
Adrian Shaughnessy

Adrian Shaughnessy answered in his lecture questions everyone asks him-/herself or everyone is keen to know more about but nobody really can give a straight answer to it. Although many of the things he was talking about, like what kind of attributes a designer needs or how to find a job, were obvious for most of the students it was still helptful to hear it once more.
Before listening to Mr. Shaughnessy‘s lecture I already started reading his book „How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul“. It is a very easy to read book and you could tell that he was talking about some parts of it in his lecture aswell. Listening to him made me definately want to continue reading his book.
Something I found especially interesting about his lecture, and had nothing to do with his book, was his urge of being responsible and having control over all the parts of a project and not just the design. Setting yourself your own brief, designing and then even publishing the object is a much more complete process that might also lead to a higher level of satisfaction. When I am thinking about our major project we are now starting to work on, I can find some similarities. We are setting our own brief, depending on what our area of interest is about, and then have to think about self-initiated projects to get a little closer to our conclusion and in the end we might even be our own „publisher“.
Although I think it is very important to „outsource“ parts of a project and work together with other specialists I consider it as important to be interested in the whole process and it does not harm to have a look into different areas.


Current trends in print technology
Adrian Sleeman

Print takes up a big part in the professional life of a graphic designer. We are expected to become in a sense technicians, which gives us on the one hand more responsibility but on the other hand also more control. When choosing a printer it is essential to look at the technology which suits best the outcome of your project. Therefore, not every job you work on requires the same printer. However, it is very important to have a good relationship with the printer, as this will not only make life easier but most certainly the outcome of your project will be better.
When working for the first time with a printer it is a little bit like entering a new world. They speak a different language. There are many technical terms that have to be learned, and with the help of the printers they might also explain it in a way that normal human beings understand what is going on.
Print is constantly evolving, not only the technology but factors like sustainability get more and more important. As the trend of being environmentally friendly is steadily increasing, many clients - especially bigger companies which are very concerned about their reputation - insist on using recycled paper. Admittedly, recycled paper is not necessarily environmentally friendly, as so much energy has to be used in order to get rid of the ink on a used piece of paper. This, of course, drives the design of a product. However, this does not mean that there are no ways of of being environmentally friendly in the business of printing. There are e.g. wood farmers that produce more sustainable than others.

martha
http://sommersprosserl.blogspot.com/