How I Learned to See Again
As the semester has ended we have been asked to reflect and share our thoughts on the past semester. Specifically, what did we learn in our first year of a new program. It would be easy for me to name the assignments I have completed or the number of programs and concepts I have been exposed to. To me this would be missing the true nature of the assignment and the value of what I have begun to understand. I believe that the overall gain of the past semester is in how my thinking improved or changed as a designer. Half way through the program I can’t say that I have mastered any of the lessons I have been exposed to, but they have all begun to make me think differently.
What can I use from my previous education in what I am learning today and how can I apply principles of design to a new area?
In both degrees a designer must think like a designer. What I mean by this is that they must design their approach to creating. This has been my big part of the semester. I think previously I had assumed this to be true and it wasn’t until now this notion had begun to be understood. At some point during this semester technology was seen as the same lens I had used when looking at the built environment. I saw how hardware and software combined to make a single experience. Now I see how virtual reality and augmented reality can possibly complete the experience. My understanding of technology has expanded a larger sense of design. Technology is no longer just a piece of equipment that completes functions according to inputs. I don’t just see it a tool or a cool experience. It also has the value of a crafted artifact made with intent. Everything is pieces of a larger framework, much like the components of a building. Each piece is spec’d and considered for it’s compatibility with the other components of the whole. The system is only as good as it’s weakest link and is optimized by the appropriateness of each piece. It is this relationship that defines good design. The meaning of technology in our daily lives has also become important to me. How can the human to technology relationship enhance the human to human relationship. I now see everything in this way.
Everything is designed the hard part is for who and why. Who is your user and how will it be used? What will it look like and how will it be made? Some designs fail in this respect and only take some of these aspects into account. In many instances no design is necessary. Do we really need another building or another piece of technology to improve our lives? This is where good design comes in and can make a positive impact on our lives.
Not too long ago I read an article about how Dieter Rams took some regret in all the designs he made and in some ways wished he had done something else. This was profound to me and made me think. If one of the best designers in the world looks back at his body of work and considers some of it a waste, it should be noted by all designers.
Although, most professions require a sense of making I think a designer has opportunity in connecting. In technology we have created then recreated, making a world of waste and inefficiencies. My assumption is that this was done out of ignorance of not being able to create systems that were more optimal for the future. This can also be related to a city’s infrastructure. Many older cities around the world have dated road systems that cannot be changed. They still serve a purpose, but no longer do it well. This is also do to poor initial planning of what the future will look like. It probably also has to do with not having a clear understanding of why to build in the first place. Technology has the same problems today, where the why is not always clear. As problems eventually become bigger we’ll start to answer those questions out of necessity. This is also a time when some of the best designs are created. The constraints of a problem usually demanded good design. I think a designer can be successful if they can understand this dynamic and make connections to what already exist before re-creating.
I will have to say that this past semester has only scratched the surface of learning skills and has become about how to see. I think this is the most important thing that I have learned. In order to become a good designer we must be able to see all aspects of what we create. The after is just as important as the before or during the creation process.
