A student project from Standford Institute of Design. Their 'extreme affordability' class, which focuses on challenges in the developing world, were working with a partner in Nepal looking at developing a lower cost incubator for premature babies. Through spending time with families in Nepal they were able to reframe the problem and come up with this simple low-cost solution...
Empathy is they key to their solution!
From ForaTV via BoingBoing
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
One thing about being a designer
Just found this fascinating series of videos featuring a whole host of digital designers who had been asked to give just one piece of advice to anyone entering the field of design. Their responses vary from the very practical "having a camera, taking it everywhere, taking pictures" to the subtle "find the middle ground between clever and stupid." They are here on a blog from the School of Visual Arts, New York.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Bobby McFerrin and the pentatonic scale
A joyful video ... but also a fine example of communication skills:
World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.
See how little he had to do and the audience just 'got it'. Inspirational!
World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.
See how little he had to do and the audience just 'got it'. Inspirational!
Dunne & Raby
Dunne & Raby - Huggable atomic mushroom
I just rediscovered Dunne & Raby whilst looking for some material for a new 'Design Thinking' course I am doing some work on for Open University. They use design as a medium to promote debate between designers, industry and the public in a way that is provocative and often humorous. I am also fascinated by their web site because it does not behave in a way you think it should ... take a look and see http://www.dunneandraby.co.uk/
Friday, 24 July 2009
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Want one!
That is my son's standard response when he sees a desirable gadget and my instinctive reaction to seeing this plug concept:
What I liked even more was the video the student had made to explain the concept. It was such a simple production just using some stills and CAD animations, but so effective. I particularly like the image of the vanilla envelope with the plug prongs sticking through (I'm a MacBook Air user myself):
What I liked even more was the video the student had made to explain the concept. It was such a simple production just using some stills and CAD animations, but so effective. I particularly like the image of the vanilla envelope with the plug prongs sticking through (I'm a MacBook Air user myself):
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
The peapod
I recently had a meeting with a small group of lecturers from some of our different design degree courses to discuss possible applications for my research to help with their teaching. Jane from our fashion design course highlighted the problem of many students lacking very basic sewing skills when they start. They struggle to undertake what should be simple making projects and there is limited time within the current curriculum for this level of teaching. John from our furniture design course said they had just the same problem.
As the discussion progressed, Jeff from metalwork & jewellery came up with "the peapod" as an analogy:
So, we have this idea that students need a repertoire of basic skills, that's the pod. We need to identify a set of key skills to teach them as a basis (the peas) and these will provide the students with a foundation from which they themselves can expand and fill out their repertoire.
It sounds like potentially a good application for a multimedia learning resource and I think it will fit in well with my next research proposal. I also very much liked Jeff's concept of "peer leakage" and will have to work that one in somewhere too!
As the discussion progressed, Jeff from metalwork & jewellery came up with "the peapod" as an analogy:
So, we have this idea that students need a repertoire of basic skills, that's the pod. We need to identify a set of key skills to teach them as a basis (the peas) and these will provide the students with a foundation from which they themselves can expand and fill out their repertoire.
It sounds like potentially a good application for a multimedia learning resource and I think it will fit in well with my next research proposal. I also very much liked Jeff's concept of "peer leakage" and will have to work that one in somewhere too!
Monday, 13 July 2009
Vacuum casting
The folding knives research project demonstrated that well motivated independent learners working in physical isolation but supported by an online community could acquire complex new skills and use them in creative ways. This project applied our existing methods of eliciting and representing skills to a process used by undergraduate design students in University workshops and resulted in the production of an online resource and a set of proposals for how such resources could be developed in a more widespread manner.
In the creative disciplines, where learning is often based on practical projects, the craft skills of each discipline are both a crucial prerequisite for successful learning, and a learning problem in themselves. This tends to create a complex situation in which teachers and technicians are supporting both skills learning and intellectual development at the same time. While this can be very productive, pressures on resources can lead to concentration on skills at the expense of advanced thinking.
The vacuum casting process was chosen as a pilot project to test the feasibility of producing multimedia learning resources to enable students to work more independently in the workshops. A series of workshop sessions were arranged to enable a technician with expertise in the process to teach an expert learner, one of the design lecturers.
These were observed and video recorded by myself working in collaboration with the expert learner to generate prototype learning materials. These were developed and tested by two further learners who had no prior knowledge of the process and ultimately made into an online resource which would allow students to preview materials supported by selected video then print out worksheets for use in the workshop.
The online resource developed during this research is available here
This research was carried out with Prof Chris Rust and funded by Shefield Hallam University.
In the creative disciplines, where learning is often based on practical projects, the craft skills of each discipline are both a crucial prerequisite for successful learning, and a learning problem in themselves. This tends to create a complex situation in which teachers and technicians are supporting both skills learning and intellectual development at the same time. While this can be very productive, pressures on resources can lead to concentration on skills at the expense of advanced thinking.
The vacuum casting process was chosen as a pilot project to test the feasibility of producing multimedia learning resources to enable students to work more independently in the workshops. A series of workshop sessions were arranged to enable a technician with expertise in the process to teach an expert learner, one of the design lecturers.
These were observed and video recorded by myself working in collaboration with the expert learner to generate prototype learning materials. These were developed and tested by two further learners who had no prior knowledge of the process and ultimately made into an online resource which would allow students to preview materials supported by selected video then print out worksheets for use in the workshop.
The online resource developed during this research is available here
This research was carried out with Prof Chris Rust and funded by Shefield Hallam University.
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Whittling away
So, before I talk more about craft knowledge I think it is important to say that this is not just based on theory and observation. My own craft is Scandinavian-style greenwood carving, with axes and knives and I primarily carve spoons, a craft I learned with friends about fifteen years ago.
The major appeal is that it is a very accessible craft. The raw material is small diameter branchwood, often prunings from my own garden or waste from a local tree surgeon. The tools are inexpensive and a special workshop is not necessary, just a large log to act as a chopping block. I do most of my carving in my front room in front of the fire. At the end of the evening most of the shavings get scooped into the log burner and the hoover quickly removes the rest from the carpet!
A ladle in cherry wood showing my distinctive tooled finish - I use no sandpaper or other abrasives.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Folding knives
This research was carried out in association with Prof Chris Rust at Sheffield Hallam University and was funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
This project focused on the skills of traditional folding knife makers in Sheffield, once a significant part of the cities famous metalworking industries but now declined to just a few master craftsmen. In our research we undertook case studies with two of these craftsmen, a blade grinder and a folding knife maker, to demonstrate the tacit nature of such craft skill and reveal the methods we used for elicitation and interpretation.
Contemporary knifemaker and co-resercher Dr Grace Horne acted as an expert learner, working alongside the craftsmen, observed by myself as designer, and then through experimental making and collaboration together prototype learning materials were generated. The materials were tested and developed into an online resource using a small group of learners who come from a new generation of creative metalworkers whose interests lie in adapting traditional skills to new craft practices.
As a result we were able to demonstrate that the principles for craft transmission developed in previous research could be applied to a specific example of craft knowledge with useful results for the learners. We also developed a more robust methodology for the elicitation and design development methods needed for this form of design practice.
Multimedia outputs
FoldingKnives: a public version of the learning materials developed during the project.
TransmittingCraft: online documentation of the project; its background, the work undertaken and outcomes, including video and images from the research.
YouTube channel hosting video clips used during the research.
In this video Russell White makes a folding knife at Taylor’s Eye Witness, one of the last Sheffield manufacturers to still make folding knives.
This project focused on the skills of traditional folding knife makers in Sheffield, once a significant part of the cities famous metalworking industries but now declined to just a few master craftsmen. In our research we undertook case studies with two of these craftsmen, a blade grinder and a folding knife maker, to demonstrate the tacit nature of such craft skill and reveal the methods we used for elicitation and interpretation.
 |
| Traditional Sheffield folding knives |
 |
| Knives made by Grace Horne |
 |
| Knives made by a learner using the online resource |
Multimedia outputs
FoldingKnives: a public version of the learning materials developed during the project.
TransmittingCraft: online documentation of the project; its background, the work undertaken and outcomes, including video and images from the research.
YouTube channel hosting video clips used during the research.
In this video Russell White makes a folding knife at Taylor’s Eye Witness, one of the last Sheffield manufacturers to still make folding knives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)