Design Manifesto

  Becoming a designer is a challenge, but it is definitely worth it. Design is all about the process, and it is filled with ups and downs, successes and failures, but the journey is what makes us better designers.  In the beginning of this program, I was very unfamiliar with the concept of failing, but it did not take long for me to realize that failure in design is inevitable, and you just have to learn to not only accept it, but more so embrace it.  Understanding why one particular design doesn’t work helps to find the solution that does, and more often your failures open your eyes to totally new concepts that you hadn’t thought of before.  Beginning a new design can definitely come with its share of frustrations, but having a specific process can help, which typically starts by looking for inspiration. As designers, we view the world differently enabling us to find inspiration in everything around us.  Once I find something that inspires me, I turn to brainstorming to try and relate it to what I’m currently designing, which essentially for me means my mind is absolutely consumed with thoughts and ideas that plague me until I come up with something that I consider reasonable. Once I begin to narrow down all of my design concepts, I turn to sketching and doing, but I have learned that I am much more of a doer than a sketcher, so typically I try and create little prototypes to see if my concept is even plausible.  After numerous trial and error experiments with various materials and other things, the actual design begins to take shape and the creativity continues to flow to create the final product.  Designing for me is incredibly exhilarating as what I create impacts the world around me.  To be able to make the world a more enjoyable place to live is liberating and it is why I want to design. 

Light Box

For our first project of the semester, we were to take a 12x18x18 white box that we put together and make cuts into it so that when a light is shone through it, the box is divided into four separate spaces.  The spaces could be created by the shadow or the light and were to be enhanced by strategically placed bristol board and/or bamboo skewers.  I took a more simplistic approach to dividing my box by cutting an X in the top from edge to edge which thus divided the entire box into four distinct spaces.  When placing the additional materials, I decided to emphasize the various properties of light--it's ability to create shadows, as well as, be reflective.   The 1x1 bristol board squares are sized to fit within the light ray and create shadows.  They are also placed down pointing toward the center to draw your attention to the middle of the box.  This project was meant to be a transition from designing objects to designing spaces, and I think it did an excellent job achieving that.

Zimbabwe and the Social Network

We are in the beginning stages of our third design project of the semester, which was initially going to be to design a space for a social networking, but after further discussing the topic with our professors, it was determined that one does not need a specific space to social network and that the whole point of a social network is to be able to have access to it anytime, anyplace, without the need of a specific environment.  In my opinion the concept of social networking is to be able to communicate with people without actually having to communicate with them.  Networks like facebook and twitter have been created to allow people outside of your immediate world to have full access into your personal life and thoughts.  It is a way to stay connected with people and get information out to the general public.  Social networks and media are incredibly powerful tools in that there are no boundaries—one tweet or status update has the potential to reach thousands and these sites or comparable ones are, for the most part, accessible and very popular across the planet.  So going back to our now refined social networking space project, we have each been given a country in which we are supposed to research how various social networks or media are used—and my country is Zimbabwe. 

 In order to start this research, I thought it was first important to understand the current social and economic status of the country. To summarize the past decade for Zimbabwe has been one of definite decline.  Hyperinflation, government price and land control, disease, and drought have deeply impacted the country, and it is still in a state of recovery.   The media has also gone through a state of restriction in the past decade.  The Zimbabwean government had suppressed freedom of the press and freedom of speech.  There had been repeated accusations of the government using the public broadcaster as a propaganda tool. There were reporting bans on CNN and BBC, which have now been lifted as of 2009.  The radio; however, is actually Zimbabweans main source of information, despite the fact that it too was controlled by the government.  In the past year, efforts have been made to alleviate the restrictions and diversify the media once again.

With the current socio-economic state of the country, it was of no surprise to me that researching the use of social network in Zimbabwe was limited.  I did; however, find a few sources that discussed the importance of social networking sites to keep in touch with the many friends and family members who have left Zimbabwe in the past decade due to it’s unstable government.  Pending access to a computer, sites such as Twitter and Facebook are prevalently used, as well as, the social networking site Yourzim.com and myzimtube.com, which are sites specifically used to connect Zimbabweans.  Social networking in Zimbabwe is definitely important, but more to connect with people outside of Zimbabwe rather than to stay connected with the people in it.   

http://www.myzimtube.com/

http://yourzim.com/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1064589.stm

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5479.htm

http://www.techzim.co.zw/2010/10/power-of-social-media/

Design Visualization 112

For our first assignment of the Spring semester, we were to re-design the header to our blog with a new image that included a computerized font as well as a drawing of our own creation.  Both the drawing and the font were supposed to compliment our design aesthetic and point of view.  I choose to create a header that was very clean and simple, which is reflective of my design work.  The font that I chose was in the typewriter style, which is a very basic, non-flowery typeface.  It is very clear and precise and has a historic aspect to it that is timeless.  This element is very important to me and my work as my first degree is in historic preservation, and I am hoping base my designs with adaptive reuse in mind.  The other aspect of design that is significant to me is sustainable design/building, which is reflective in my decision to draw a leaf as my graphic.  Overall my header is a good representation of my point of view as a designer:  green, historic, timeless.

Personal Reflection

Throughout the semester we have learned the fundamentals to hand drafting.  Although most of the design work we will be doing will be on computer based programs, having general drafting knowledge is essential to being a successful designer.  We have focused on everything from architectural lettering to orthographic drawings to perspective drawings.  We have learned how to create accurate scaled drawings of basic shapes to more complex real life objects.  Although I had had a brief introduction to drafting in a class I took at C of C, this class was much more detailed and thorough and I really feel like my skills as a draftsman have definitely improved.

3rd Year Studio Critique

On our last day of class, we were able to attend the 3rd year's final studio critique.  They presented two projects--one individual project on a new section to Central Regional Hospital and a group project for a mixed use space in downtown Durham.  The individual project focused on designing a new center for the psychiatric ward of the hospital.  They were to create spaces for the boys, girls, children, as well as communal areas.  It was very interesting to see each designers individual approach and inspiration for the space.  Some were inspired by the seasons while others were inspired by shapes and colors.  I was incredibly impressed with the caliber of work presented for this project; however, the verbal presentation for some was lacking.  Being able to "sell" your work is an important part of being a designer, and it just seemed that it was less natural for some. 
The mixed use space in downtown Durham project was very interesting to me as it is an excellent example of the type of design work I really want to be doing.  With my background in historic preservation, it was interesting to see how the designers chose to design the new space in the old building.  The building is to have a wine bar/commercial space on the first floor and residential space on the second and third floor.  This group project was very impressive as well as each design presented a variety of resolutions to the space.  Overall, I felt the work spoke louder than the presenters, but in general I was very impressed. 

Luminaire Final

For our final project in studio, we were to create a luminaire that portrayed the light effect of the solar light phenomenon we witnessed earlier this semester.  We were able to use a variety of materials that we had worked with throughout the semester.  My inspiration for this project came from a sunset I observed in Charleston.  The sunset illuminated the whole sky creating an array of warm colors that streaked across the horizon.  I wanted to create a luminaire that had a light effect that created an image on the wall that emulated the sunset.  Initially I had imagined creating a hanging light that focused on illuminating the room, but after many trials my light transformed in to a wall sconce with the effect predominately projecting on the wall.  I went through a variety of paper materials testing various options in sheerness and opaqueness.  I wanted the paper to be opaque enough so you couldn't see the light source, but sheer enough so the light could come through.  My final design used a textured cream colored paper that emitted a warm color as the light went through it.  Using balsam wood as the spine, I attached nine strips of paper of various widths a quarter inch apart to it adding another thinner piece of wood to the back to cover the joinery.  The strips of paper formed concentric circles going up and down from the center strip that covered the light source.  Also as I knew my light was going to hang on the wall, I wanted to use a lightweight type of wood.  Going back, I think I would have investigated other materials that were lightweight as well as durable, as I found that the balsam wood wasn't very sturdy.  Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome of my design, as it not only created the light effect I had envisioned, but it was also aesthetically appealing.