SYSTEM WORKFLOW

PROJECT PROPOSAL: document system

This is a representation of a systematic assembly of various design processes and of a conceptual structure of a reminiscence of the designer, built during the designer’s working process. It is a documentation of designer’s life-long procedure of establishing insights and experiences.

 The system will modify and reorganize resources that were documented during the designer’s working process in systematic fashion; Collected and systematized resources will be visually presented to designers as a designed artifact. The system does not merely refer to documentation itself, but a representation of a procedure of observation and reflection on one’s ongoing and completed design process and past practices. 

As the designer interacts with this system, he/she will observe and examine the collected data, than analysis them. During this stage, the designer will become conscious of his/her own design approach of the past. In the reflection and evaluation stage, the designer will contemplate and appreciate the shown product of the documentation. After the incubation of thoughts, the designer will explore their workflows to discover and define patterns out of them and recycle their own thoughts.

 Through this self-reflective and self-learning process, the designer will be inspired by documentation of his/her own work path. The designer will make a decision whether he/she should preserve the previous conception and the way of treatment on his/her project, or leave them behind and take other directions before they take a next step for their desired goals; the previous perception of the designer will be reinforced or reconstructed at this stages. The designer will deal with problems and constraints by choosing right direction.

 This repetitive process, will affect not only the outcome of the specific design but also the entire thinking method and working process.Through the system, designer will monitor a collected chain of working processes at a glance. The processes are dependent; they are influencing each other.

Like the present is built upon the past, knowledge is built upon pre-existing knowledge. Sharing knowledge of working processes, thinking methods and idea is a pivotal act for the construction of today’s design and its further development. This system can be a communication tool. After the designer decides to publish certain section of the documentation, it will transfer it to the public as a bridge between the outside world and the designer.

Some artists define their idea and beliefs by holding exhibitions, sharing their refined works and reflect on their own artistic path.  Like this, to designers, publishing and sharing selected documentation of work and outcomes will define the intention of the designer and his/her professional pursuit. 

Initial Ideas for Collaborative Tools

Ideation

Refactoring tool:

Takes notes, both written and spoken, and allows the team to re-factor them on the fly to create both large-display representations and documentation.

Takes white board notes and both raw representation and refactored representation allows team to perform the following functions: sharing, storing, cross-referencing based on content and tags, refactoring on an ajacent screen for on the fly documentation and critical discussion.

Connects to internet and the networked libraries of the individuals invovled in the collaboration, cross-refrences with these libraries and posts visual connections on an large format screen.

Computer uses it’s own intelligence to refactor the results of a brainstorm and create it’s own version with meta data that connects to referenced files. This file can be parsed to use in the making process.

Library connector:

Looks at connections between libraries and makes associations between the content to form predictive common interests.
Creates a mood board document from the combinations of libraries surrounding a particular topic,search, or file. Document is set-up for web and print viewing, keeping in mind the excersice of pin-up.

Management

Accountability tool:

A tool that helps organize and establish positive interdepedence and later tracks progress on the project by individual accoutability.

Project phases feature:

A function of tools that is aware of project phases and adapts intelligently to offer assistance according to the particular project phase.

Types of Thinking & Types of Collaborations.

Convergent thinking:

This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

Divergent thinking:

This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives. When fosering divergent thinking, teachers use the content as a vehicle to prompt diverse or unique thinking among students rather than a common view.

Refrenced from this link

Productive collaboration:

Divergent thinking that leads to an abundance of ideas and possible design directions.
Like a think tank. Participants are treated as autonomous producers.

Directive collaboration

Covergent thinking and efforts of a group which is utilized and managed in order to produce a single outcome.
Like an assembly line. Participants are treated as components of a process.

Chris’ Revised Diagrams 1

[View with PicLens]

documentation-analysis-adaptation

OBSERVATION – DOCUMENTATION – ANALYSIS – REFLECTION-EVALUATION - ADAPTATION

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Sharing vs. Collaboration

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Designer > Tools > Project > Audience

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Indiv. Project Proposal: Hunter

Human(Designer’s) Affordances

I plan to develop an understanding and form my own stance on the idea of human affordance as it pertains to the role of a designer. As a part of our group work, this understanding will become a tool by which we can understand the psychology of the designer/tool interaction. This involves researching and reporting on current research surrounding the topic, re-factoring this research to fit our needs and developing an output for the group to use as we make prototypes.

1. Research & Report.
2. Create a conceptual tool as a guide for building prototypes.
3. Use the guide to build my own prototype.
4. Document the process.

Collaboration

Investigate the topic of collaboration through reading, writing, making and testing. The ultimate outcome of this project would be a tool that assists in more productive collaboration between designers. I find specific interest in tools that assist in ideation and brainstorming and would like to investigate how the affordances of these tools change according the the scale of the collaboration. In my experience, the first step in successfully contributing to a collaboration is too clearly understand what unique affordances you as an individual offer to the project. With this you know what you can confidently offer and also what to allow others to contribute. I would like to design a conceptual tool that assist designers in this process of self-reflection.

1. Compile a selection of existing research on the topic of collaboration.
2. Re-factor this compilation through writing and designing diagrams.
3. Approach the topic of scale and experiment with it.
4. Address the idea of self-reflection and create an informative output.
5. Develop a tool prototype that assists in creating productive collaborations.
6. Document the process.

Tools for making tools

I am very interested in helping designers define their practice. It seems that one of the main points of differentiation between stylists and media designers is the whether or not the designer uses their own tools or develops a habit of making their own. To research this topic, I believe I face two obstacles. First, helping designers understand the concept of a practice and the need for tool-making. Second, developing a tool that allows them to make tools. In other words, this project involves both the task of explaining the cognitive concept and designing a tool to help them take advantange of this new understanding.

Project Diagram

I think at the heart of what we are trying to do lies a need to fully appreciate and understand what it is that a project entails, and to then figure out how we want to create, capture, and navigate, and share them. Above is a stab at a taxonomy of the concept of “project”. Each piece and sub-piece of the project is surrounded by a cycle of thinking and making, and each piece is capable of informing or contributing to the other pieces. What is important here is not that the causal process of the project be defined, but rather the basic categorization of the pieces that both support the process and are a product of the process. Also, it is important to note that it is the whole project that creates a bridge between a designer and the audience designed for, not just the final output, and that the relationship between the designer and the project is itself mediated by the tools which allow the designer to work within it.

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