Weekly overview

This week I’ve been collating ideas from the summer holidays and trying to find a project theme I love. It was a confusing week for me because I couldn’t find an specific direction that I keen to. During the week I visited the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art to find some inspiration and ideas. At the same time I am worried about the presentation next week, I want my project to be interesting and creative, the more I look forward to my project the more anxious and stressed I feel.

Life in Edinburgh and thoughts

I began working part-time at a restaurant over the summer break, which let me get to know more thing about the city by talking with more local people during my work, and all the while thinking about my final project continuously. I had a lot of ideas in mind before deciding the theme of the project,  I hope my ideas and the things I do can bring more happiness to the people and society. I’ve just been in Edinburgh for a year,  what I’ve discovered here is how much the locals enjoy whisky, dogs, and life, people living there are really good at finding the balance between life and work, the way that people live are quite different from my hometown. I’ve also learned more about the rich history and stunning scenery of this city after visiting the museums and galleries.

When I was walking through Meadows, seeing the pedestrians, I started to consider how other foreigners from around the world feel about Edinburgh as a foreigner living there. As a international student studying in Edinburgh, I generally just have a superficial understanding of Edinburgh. So I tried to feel the city in my daily life and see how the other people live there while looking for answers.

I found out how the city’s weather likes to play tricks on people from the sudden rainstorm to the instant sunshine, how warm the city is to the strong people from the elderly and disabled people in their electric wheelchairs, and how people and pets are living in the city. From the dog poop I stepped on on my way home I discovered the contradictions and conflicts between people and pets living in an urban environment, and from the homeless people begging in front of supermarkets I discovered that there are actually many people in this city who suffer from the poverty. I want to bring what I see and hear in this city into my design projects.

 

Interested topics

· Cultural Exchange

· A warm haven for the homeless on the street

· Urban Vertical Farm

· Food waste

· Pet Centre

· Community Activity Centre

· Transportation interior design

· Exhibition design and narrative spatial design

 

Interesting news and research

Curated graveyard

I’ve been abandoning a lot of ideas as I search for information, which led me to think about designing for abandoned design ideas, then I tried to search something related to this idea.

There is an concept that I found online: “curated graveyard” is a monument to the good, the silly, the surprising, and the frankly quite terrible work that never saw the light of day. https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/waste-not-want-not-designers-heres-what-to-do-with-your-rejected-work/

There is some words from this article that I really like:

“The design process is an often slow, messy, and frustrating one, littered with dead ends and decapitated darlings.”

“One client’s trash is another’s treasure though: it is, of course, possible to recycle an idea even after it’s been tossed into the scrapyard. ”

“One possibility for your rejected designs: bury them in a design cemetery.”

 

As Edinburgh is a city with a strong artistic presence, it would be interesting to have a place where people could share their abandoned designs or artistic ideas. With this in mind, I thought that the design of an exhibition space or an narrative space would be the most appropriate for this theme. It can be a space where people can come, share and pick up on ideas that have been abandoned. Artists and designers have a place to let abandoned ideas shine through and become a bridge for artistic communication and exchange.

 

Designing with Anxiety

In my constant search for a theme for my project, I have not been able to find a theme that I am happy with and enjoy, and my failure to find an answer during my research process  has given me a deep sense of anxiety. It is with this anxiety that I seek out relevant designs and discussions. It seems to me that the designer’s mood changes at different stages of the design process, and this connection between design and psychology is interesting and sensitive. I really enjoy the times when inspiration strikes making me feel a sense of joy, but most of the time I try to overcome the “anxiety” from making decisions and finding solutions.

There is an article related to “Designing with Anxiety”, really inspiring for me. Here is the link: https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/hard-work-attention-to-detail-and-paralyzing-fear-the-ups-downs-of-designing-with-anxiety/

There are parts of the interview in this article that I can strongly empathise with. “As designers, we are judged by our skill and what we put down on paper for everyone to see—this can eat away at your self-confidence. I may spend longer on a project, over-analyzing and reworking elements. I lie awake sometimes wondering… Have I understood the brief? Do my designs make sense? Is it drawn well? Is it any damn good? Will I get another job? Should I give up!?”–Rob Clarke.

 

Class notes

Guide to choosing a project theme

Scenario

-initial feelings

-does it leave you asking questions

-does it feel focused

Class workshop

Options

A – I want to design a call centre using Biophillic Design to improve

the environment – I’ll put in lots of pot plants.

B – I want to design an office for creatives where there are different zones for different tasks. I will use bold graphics in the reception area

and there will be a fun slide just like Google. I did a project like this in second year so know what I want to do.

C – I want to design the workspace of the future based on the issues arising from COVID 19.

 

My ranking: C A B

My opinions

C：

-initial feelings：C found something that can be improved in designing the workspace based on the social changes.

-does it leave you asking questions: Yes.

Here is some of my questions towards the topic: How the epidemic has brought about changes and problems in people’s office environments? How offline office space will be challenged as more online office methods are used in the epidemic?

-does it feel focused: The subject made me think that it had a focus on a particular issue, but not completely, focusing on the problems that the epidemic posed to the office space, but without making it clear which aspect of the problem it was.

 

A:

-initial feelings: A may have found something lacking in the existing call centre and therefore wrote that he/she wanted to improve the environment. The way in which the improvements are applied is also described, but there seems to be no mention of the social issues to be addressed to emphasise the motivation for the design.

-does it leave you asking questions: Yes.

Here is some of my questions towards the topic: Why did you choose the call centre and why did you choose Biophillic Design as a design guide? Which aspects of the environment need to be addressed and improved?

-does it feel focused. There are specific functional spaces and references to the design methods and theoretical guidance she wants to use, but there is no specificity and focus on the social issues and conflicts that he/she wants to address.

 

B:

-initial feelings: This student is not willing to step out of their comfort zone to learn and challenge themselves to something new. Many things are too specific and do not give any freshness.

-does it leave you asking questions?Yes

Here is some of my questions towards the topic:Why it is an office? Have you observed or learned that people who use office space have problems with their daily work? What design ideas and theories made him want to use bold graphic?

-does it feel focused. It is too focused and there is no more room for any divergent imagination.

 

Guide on choosing a site

Summary

Related to theme

CAD drawings

Smaller than 1000m2

Interior features

No extensions and anything architectural

in need of adaption/ restoration etc

Historic and site info

Things need to be thought of the site

-location

-size

-condition

-age/era

-features

-access and information

-history

-style

-current usage

What are current issues around the following topics

-diversity

-equality and inclusion

-poverty

-social change

-sustainability

-climate emergency

-pandemic/post pandemic

-UN goals

What are the current trends in the following topics

-work environment

-hospitality

-retail

-learning environment

-healthcare

-housing

-exhibition and the art

-material

 

Nov 23, 2022