Partners in Design? – Collaborations across Different Disciplines
In the old days, the term ‘design’ implied that the end result is something concrete and tangible, like a book or a piece of furniture. If one looks at how the history of design evolved, one will find that all design movements had a distinctive style that made them different from one another, however, they all followed one core principle, that of making things ‘with a purpose’ rather than art for art’s sake. That being said, the ‘purpose’ has had multiple meanings during the course of time. Whereas before the ‘purpose’ was a specific end product, now it is more a question of experience as well as a process.
As the meaning of design, including graphic design has transcended a number of meanings, so have the specific disciplines that fall under the creative industry umbrella. In previous weeks, we have looks at terms such as ‘anti-disciplinary’ and ‘co-creating’, which is an evidence that conventional disciplines – graphic design, videography, fashion design etc. – are bridging into one another. Such trend is also occurring in other industries outside the creative world. It is getting to the point where even industries are joining forces to create even better solutions. Seeking perfection perhaps?
A note on this week’s lecture and my view on Bio-Design…
This week continues on last week’s theme, with a focus on collaborations across different industries. Lots of material to digest in this week’s lecture. The lecture was a podcast between one of the course’s lecturers – Susanna Edwards and Louize Harries – a graphic designer with a background in fashion and textiles. It was interesting and there where a lot of topics discussed – all of them insightful in their own right. But I have to admit that I found one of Harries’s project the ‘My Subconscious Shopper’ a bit too creepy for my liking. I kept thinking about Orwell’s 1984 and A Clockwork Orange the whole time. Not to mention Scientology’s auditing sessions…
I liked the fact that Louize kept iterating that one should be careful with overstepping of boundaries when dealing with very personal information, and that confidentiality is important. However, I still found that piece of equipment and its purpose to be invasive. The piece of technology she created can definitely a fun gadget used for recreational purposes and can help a lot also in the neuroscientific field, but despite that, I am still slightly skeptical on the concept of bio-design and how it will impact us in the near future.
On a completely different note, I liked the fact that the importance of visualisation of ideas and the way of communicating them were discussed thoroughly in the podcast,kept going back to these points whenever different case studies were presented.
As for Augmented Geography…
The concept of augmented geography is something worth exploring indeed, both from a design as well as scientific aspect. Augmented reality is already catching on pretty well, and augmented geography takes that to the next level. Unlike augmented reality, augmented geography has a more tangible feel to it. Installations and ope- air exhibits can be considered as a form of augmented geography, as they are altering the ‘natural’ form of the earth, even if it is for a short period of time. The studio mentioned in the lecture, Smout Allen take on such projects. Most of their projects are still speculative at this stage, but and technology advances even more, there are looking into implementation.
Bridging the Gaps
Following this lecture and looking at some of the resource material so far, the world is indeed heading towards an interdisciplinary way of working. Collaborations are becoming more common and with good reason. It said be said that ‘demands’ are becoming more complex, sometimes identifying the problem is a separate task before designers can work on finding a solution. The public looks for a holistic experience in any product. It is not a question of making ends meet anymore, but rather a question of being the best in the market, providing the best products, high quality and ecologically conscious materials as well a lasting experience.
