Week 4: Read | Watch | Listen
Guest Lecture by Martin Hosken: The Self
Notes:
Core values. How technology has influenced the feeling of ‘self’: The art of self observation – the About Us page of a website = me as I’d like to you see me.
Social media. Online version – vs – the actual self all influence by personal integrity, “how do I want people to see me?” “is it the real me?”
The Selfie. “I was there, look!” No longer just as memories, but reassuring proof to others.
Response:
Quick = Auto-reaction, auto-response. Actions without consideration: under pressure, confrontation, reaction to mistakes. The fear of getting things wrong is at it’s highest, especially on refection to actions taken.
Slow = Thought guides decisions: studio planning, referring to diary & notes, timetables and schedules. The fear of getting things wrong is at it’s lowest, problems solved along the way and backup plan may be in place.
A Giddens: The Trajectory of the Self
Key points taken from the lecture and resources.
It’s hard to read and understand, some things made sense after I’d looked up the keyword. I did manage to pull some things out of there which I could relate to (at the time at least)
Are you aware of your breathing right now?’, at least when it is first posed, usually produces an instantaneous change . The raising of such an issue may make the person ‘aware that she is inhibiting a normal full breathing cycle and allows her body to say “Whew!” in relief, take a deep breath; and then exhale it.’ ‘And’ , Rainwater adds parenthetically to the reader, ‘how is your breathing right now, after having read this paragraph?
How our reactions change once we have been made conscious of an action. Something as simple as breathing – once an action is pointed out you become doubtful: “Why did they say that? What was wrong?”.
If your life is ever going to change for the better, you’ll have to take chances. You’ll have to get out of your rut, meet new people, explore new ideas and move along unfamiliar pathways.If we reject deliberate risk-taking for self growth, we will inevitably remain trapped in our situation.
It’s easy to accept a life-course and continuously complain about it, it’s not easy to take a risk. Big decisions can be made as an auto-reaction which you then have to catch up with to be able to carry on on the new path. Can a massive change be made through planning or do you just keep on planning waiting for everything to be just right?
Week 4: Workshop Challenge
Distill from your understanding of your practice and your character, your values as a designer (aspirational, honest, negative). Make an initial list of 20 words you can then edit down to five words.
Create a visual mood board for each word.
20 Core Values
Determined
Dedicated
Helpful
Accessible
Creative
Practical
Encouraging
Patient
Pride
Alternative
Thorough
Control
Original
Genuine
Curious
Positive
Passionate
Trust
Respectful
Resourceful
Reduced to Five
Practical
Magenta represents practical, encouraging common sense
Encouraging
Green represents growth and self-reliance
Resourceful
Yellow stands for the mind and the intellect
Curious
Orange colour represents communication and optimism
Determined
Red is action, ambition and determination
Notes
Task 1 Reflection
Narrowing down the list of 20 values to a core of just five sounded daunting at first, how to decide which are the most important, the most applicable?
I approached it in reverse. It was more obvious which of the 20 values I broke more regularly, day-to-day: we’re not always dedicated, helpful, accessible, etc., but we have to be the other just to get through tasks faced as a designer.
You have to be practical, you have to get on with the work. You have to be encouraging, even if it’s to yourself. Resourcefulness – without it there would be no way of fulfilling the brief from a less-than-helpful client. Curious, try different things, see how things work. Determined…
Task 2: Create a single visual expression that conveys you (eg a film, 3D, typographic, an artefact or an experience).
My single visual expression
I collect things. No one thing in particular, some things because they are unusual or just because they look good.
I keep things. Things which have a meaning or a memory attached: an old toy, a souvenir of an event, an achievement.
My single visual needed to show a variety of items from work and home, both places are crammed with ‘stuff’. I wanted a way of showing the selection which would bring some surprise to viewers as things appeared, and rather than just being a selection of stills, one after another, I chose to show the items being placed into view, there’s more to them than just being a stationary ornament gathering dust.
Task 2 Reflection
Stop-frame animations take a lot longer than I thought…
1,223 photos later…
Two things to consider if I chose stop-frame again:
- Control the number of photos per item
- Take it easy on the number of items to include
Taking the photos is the quick part so it’s easy to get carried away, it’s the processing of the images which took the time.
If I had chosen a coloured board instead of white paper I think there would have been less work to do to the images, the white background needed retouching in some areas to remove marks and shadows on the page.
I’m happy with the result, I was thinking of adding titles at one point, but thought it would be more engaging for the viewer to have to draw their own conclusions about the meanings of the objects.
