The Nature and Design of Aesthetics

When it comes to design, many people look for the “cheapest” way to make a new product. We often say “better” when we mean “cheaper.” Design seems to be set on limitations. A designer can present a shape to workman and they can make it for them but only with the given materials they have. The economy has had a major influence on design whether we may recognize it or not. Many techniques are taken into use when making a design piece. Techniques of altering materials, such as constructing, shaping, wasting, forming, and casting have been used when designing pieces out of certain materials. More techniques are used because most know, you can cut almost any shape out of a material and join anything to anything. Processing materials are the only way to extend the limitation on materials. Altering their properties, like hardening steel with heat or making fiber out of glass is processing materials but it is still rudimentary. For wood, the design of an object is endless. The restriction is the amount of wood we have. This ties to our project because we really have endless oppurtunities when working with wood. We can cut and shape the wood to any figure we want, it all just depends on the materials we were given in the first place.

Summary of Tim Brown's Video

Tim Brown, the speaker in this video, realized that design isn’t about making something beautiful and easier to use. He wanted to focus more on design thinking and not what you make from it. With design thinking, you are able to solve wayfinding. But since early design, design has grown bigger again. Designs important and works better when it is taken out of the hands of designers and put in the hands of everyone else. This helps to make a bigger impact on our world, not just the design world. Design works better though when building is used in order to think. Prototypes of design helps speed up the process. But in times of change we need new ideas. Questions are new choices so we need to start to ask the right questions.

Cocofinding Website Reflection

This website gives exact description of this project and how we are suppose to deal with it. It talks about each specific part of the project and how we are suppose to do it so it will be a successful wayfinding. It gives very helpful information about orientation- maps that are legible, directional information- involves signage, destination information- which gives on point destination signs, and situation and object identification- graphics hat show local hazards. Reading this information helped our group identify what we wanted to do with our wayfinding for the bike paths and racks and provided us with some good fundamental strategies.

Ethnography Reflection

Ethnography is an approach to understanding people. Ethnographer’s know the right questions to ask and when to ask them. From this they can come up with compelling stories and incredible insights. Ethnography relates to this wayfinding project because ethnographers find a problem and in the end fixes it. For our project we are initially suppose to do the same thing so we are ethnographers ourselves. The steps in ethnography is something important to look at and know for our wayfindings because it will help solve our wayfinding problems in a successful manner. Tips such as making observations, making and having conversation, and capturing data in ethnography are important parts in the researching we must do for our wayfinding project. This will help report a better outcome and have a more correct insight.

Verplank Designing Interactions Summary

Bill Verplank was a man who could do what most can’t; he had the ability to draw while he spoke. His drawings are interacting designs with the words he was saying. In his interaction designs he comes up with three important questions to answer; how do you do, how do you feel, and how do you know? “How do you do” is really how are you affecting the world in the actions you are taking. For the person you are designing for, are you doing something for them? The next question asked, “How do you feel” is really asking how do you get feedback? Does the person you’re designing for feel a good feeling from your work or a bad feeling. The last question you must ask is “how do you know?” For this question you provide the users exactly the right amount of information to understand how to use your work. Maps or just giving something identification is a good way to help the users understand. With these three questions answered successfully, that’s how you’ve identified your product as a success.

Final Bike Map

Bike Rack Map