I think its about time I started talking about our first project!
We were set a short group
project to get us in the swing of things. The project is part of the first
unit, Design Intentions and asked us to "identify, analyse and present the
next key influences for design in terms of Craft, Materiality and Technology
and to explore these through, the Senses, Collaboration and Play".
Our group included both
part and full time students, all from different disciplines, this meant that we
could all bring our own individual knowledge and personalities to the project.
Being the only member of the group that has come onto the MA straight from my
degree, I found it interesting to see how everyone else was very concerned with
the brief and what they thought the tutors wanted as an end product from
us...and for me, this wasn't really a worry at all. Coming from a
interdisciplinary BA course like Three Dimensional Design, I am used to being
presented with a very open project brief and having to adapt it to your own
work, using research to guide you in a direction that you may not have at first
thought about.
We decided the best
strategy was to divide the areas of interest (craft, materiality, technology,
senses, collaboration and play) between us and research each generally, without
a specific direction in mind. After this individual research, we could then
come together with our findings and take things from there.
I was keen to take on
'craft'...as a maker; craft is something I am very passionate about. I researched
how craft fits into the design world and how sometimes, the actual word 'craft'
is a confused one. To me, the most important aspects from my research were that
craft is growing and becoming more desirable to consumers; in this ever growing
technical world, people like to have original and personal handmade things. The
human contact being paramount. The individual skill of the craftsperson adds
value to a piece, more so than an object made by a computerised machine or
through mass production.
When we met again as a
group to discuss our discoveries (the part time students contributed their
research via email) it was clear that each area linked with at least one of the
others. For me it seemed that the main link was the human contact...new
materials being created to react to the human body, designers creating objects
that stimulate not only sight, but all our senses, technology simulating human
skills, artists using play to allow people to feel involved with their work and
collaborative projects bringing designers and their skills to create new and
innovative work. We then started to wonder whether design would be accessible
and engaging to people without this human contact...and whether it could
actually be possible for machines to work creatively without human input?
We seemed to be steering
down a very technical themed route, and for me this proved a big challenge. I
felt that as the only devoted maker in the group, the project was heading in a
direction that I am not knowledgable and comfortable in. In many ways this was
a positive thing, as I was getting the chance to learn about an area that I had
never concentrated on before...however as things became more and more detailed,
(we spent a whole day discussing AI, which before this project, I hadn't a clue
what meant!) I began to feel more and more uncomfortable and disengaged with
the theme. We came up with a working title of 'AI as the creator'...this was
something that as a maker, who is passionate about the handmade and our personal
interaction with objects, was a troublesome task.
I decided to try and find
some makers that have embraced the technical world within their craft. Michael
Eden was a perfect example. After spending over 20 years
of his life being a traditional potter, he decided to embrace technical
advances in the design world. He strives to create a link between aspects of
the handmade that people love so much, with new innovative digital technologies,
creating meaningful objects that relate to both the actual and the virtual
world.
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Eden's work challenges traditional views that using machines is a case of 'pressing buttons' with instant gratification, some of his pieces take hundreds of hours to create on the computer. He often works between the computer and the potters wheel, allowing him to get a better feel of form and size in ceramic samples, before committing to anything on screen.
Despite this enthusiasm and openness to using digital technology in his work, Michael Eden is clear to remind people that computers are not a quick fix way for people to become creatives; they can only produce interesting a meaningful work, when combined with a innovative, creative and experienced mind...
Despite this enthusiasm and openness to using digital technology in his work, Michael Eden is clear to remind people that computers are not a quick fix way for people to become creatives; they can only produce interesting a meaningful work, when combined with a innovative, creative and experienced mind...
"After this
exploration of how traditional and digital tools can be creatively brought
together, I came to the conclusion that they are only tools and that there has
to be a reason for using them, whether it be a desire to explore, an idea to
communicate or a problem to solve." - Michael Eden
We discovered
drawing robots, one specific example being Paul, created by artist Patrick
Tresset. Paul creates portraits by using a webcam to scan a persons
face, then using a robotic hand he translates the scan onto paper
using a biro pen. But is Paul being creative? It was interesting to see that in
general, the only types of drawing robots weren't actually being used to
create or design anything of use or importance. To me, it all seemed a bit of
a gimmick.
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| Paul - Patrick Tresset https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18451154/book_tresset.pdf |
We adapted our working
title to 'Computers as the Creator?', I was keen to add the question mark, as
from my research it had become clear to me that no, despite robots like Paul,
they aren't actually being independently creative. Any computer that is seen
as being creative, has been programmed by a human to be so, and without the
human, would not function 'creatively'.
We decided to use Prezi for our informal presentation, this is a online software that I hadn't used before, but
it was really effective. It was clear that spending such a lot of time
configuring the Prezi presentation was time worth spent...despite only having
the time to run through the presentation as a group once (then loosing our two
part-timers to a library induction!) I think that because of the clarity of the visual presentation, the progress of our project and the direction it had taken was
clear for others to understand. We even talked about our use of Prezi to create
the presentation, we were using the software to transform our ideas and
discussions into readable form. This lead me to think that technology, when
used appropriately, can assist a designer or maker to express their ideas to
others in an understandable way. In a similar way that I am using this blog to
concentrate and condense my note book scribbles.
A quote that I particularly
liked said by Geoffrey Mann, "its when you give technology soul, that you
start to do something interesting with it". This quote has had a large
impact on our project idea, and we have decided to adapt our working title of
'Computers as the Creator?' to thinking much more deeply about creativity
itself, and whether it can be taught, and in turn how will this effect the
future of design....stay tuned!
Some useful links that have been helpful in the research process...
http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2013/02/article_0004.html
'3D printing and the future of stuff' the potential for customers to be involved in designing and producing objects for themselves.
Some useful links that have been helpful in the research process...
http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2013/02/article_0004.html
'3D printing and the future of stuff' the potential for customers to be involved in designing and producing objects for themselves.
Digital technologies being embraced in craft.
Using digital technologies to simulate human error.
This was of particular interest for me, using digital technology to attempt to mimic the connection a wearer feels when wearing a personal piece of jewellery.
http://www.dezeen.com/2012/06/26/technology-and-design-the-digital-industrial-revolution/ Talking about Milan design week and
designers using more and more machinery in their work.
Geoff Mann’s website and the work he produces combining human actions with modern technologies.
Review on Geoff Mann.
Michael Eden’s blog, discussing the use of
technology alongside craft and why he chose to use it.
