Monday, October 22, 2012

Art and Democracy

On bad days, I feel like an alien invader struggling to understand local language and customs, whose ideas (meant for good) are met with biting criticism and contempt.

Luckily, today is not a bad day.  As I struggled through a piece by Chantal Mouffe called Art and Democracy: Art as an Agonistic Intervention in Public Space, I found myself rapidly developing a series of tabs in my browser window that made clear what a novice design researcher I am:   "hegemony," "dissensus," "Krzysztof Wodiczko" and wondered over phrases like "sedimented social practices," I also started to grasp something of what the author was saying and better, started to take joy in the not knowing, let my know-it-all facade fall, because that is where real learning begins.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Design is not a science

I am nearly one month into my MA Design course and I would struggle to describe the whole range of emotions that have washed over me. Firstly, I am energised by working in such a dynamic field and nearly daily find how this path of study has brought together ideas and inspiration from my past that, at the time, I didn't even realise was design-related. The title of this blog, for instance, was something that struck me even though I wasn't quite sure how to carry it out. Spending my days now researching people who drastically downsize their lives to live in very small spaces, it has become much clearer.

However, I struggle on a daily basis with the subjectivity of it all. For all its drawbacks as a career for me, in finance, at least for the most part, you knew when you had the right answer. The financial statements balanced, the investment was returned, or at the very least, your business pitch had that certain little something you were sure would catch the eye of your audience.

In design, I have been thrust into a world of subjectivity and have not quite yet learned the metrics of evaluation. What makes a good design good? It turns out it is not as simple as sitting down with a sketchbook and pencil and a bright idea. Good design is researched, studied, mulled, marinated, and shaped, and even then may not take the familiar form of a product ready for market. To paraphrase Bruce Sterling, good design is increasingly about the interactions between objects and people in a complex and dynamic world of low attention spans and high opportunity costs. In short, design is not a science, it is an art.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Dreaming

A friend recently reminded me that putting voice to your dreams often helps them along their path to fruition.

I have many dreams right now -- working with a kick ass design firm, designing something that improves lives, running a marathon, spending a month in reflective silence trekking and meditating my way through the Himalayan forests.

But my dream today is climbing Mt Rainier.

I visited the Pacific Northwest for the first time over the summer, and in my new quest for taking on physical challenges, became smitten with the idea of tackling the snowy peak.  What sealed the deal was a special fly-by in the plane from Seattle to Salt Lake City.  High in the air, but below the level of the summit, it felt like I could reach out and touch the mountain.

And with views like this, who can blame me?

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Just like riding a bike

I am starting my new chapter in London, and in many ways, the title of this blog is even more relevant these days than when it first started.

More on my new chapter in the coming days.  Today, I just wanted to brag that I finally rode the Barclay Bikes (aka Boris Bikes) through London.  These will definitely be my new favourite way to get from place to place quickly, barring inclement weather (of which we seem to get in spades in this city...)

It was a little wobbly at first, but just starting out (again), really is just like riding a bike.