Writing for me has always been something completely separate from the designing aspect of things but this semester that was not the occasion. Patrick almost always challenged us to write and think about things before we physically did any of the designing. Looking back at my first blog entry for studio I illustrated my goals for the semester which included furthering my ideas, engaging people in my creations, and having fun as well. My list included more but these were some of the most crucial ones, but I realize I should have possibly added another which would definitely be the writing process. I know that writing is just as vital as really making it in reality but it’s putting my thoughts in my head onto that paper where the challenge arises. Aside from writing I would say my other goals matured, not yet reaching their full potential but getting developed as I myself develop and grow as a designer.
I’ve always been a bit nervous of group work, having not worked in that situation too much throughout first year but Patrick forced us to work in groups throughout five of our seven assignments. And I can say I have quite a biased opinion about them now after doing them all semester. I would say all my group projects I liked, it’s just that I liked more than others. In the early stages of 3.0 working with Abigail and Austin I really appreciated because we all shared similar work ethics and worked and fed off of each other. We would constantly say “WE’RE JIVING because we really were which was both fun and ironic. Joining with ALLURE in 5.0 we formed [E] MERGE which was still a positive adventure but this is where that group dynamic clearly started becoming more visible. When more people become involved it’s harder to divvy up work and harder to arrive at the same decision when facing anything really. By the time we got to 7.0 and being with twelve other members forming PORTMANTEAU, we knew we weren’t going to make everyone happy. A lot of it came down to time, we might not all have collectively decided the same thing but we had to just agree and move on for times sake.
So what I’m really striving for is that as I grow my writing will become more of an integral part of my overall design process. Another problem I tend to have as I’ve heard is that I basically write the way I talk which is probably true. It’s always easier for me to write things down essentially as I see them in my head without adding the wordiness of an English dictionary. Right now I know that it’s still easier for me to sketch something out or just do it versus writing things down or talking about it. However I know that needs to change, both have there own time and place, and I need to learn both worlds. Being skillful in both realms can help me and others see my vision in a more holistic approach rather than being solely words or vice versa. Writing also requires thought and patience and I feel like designing I don’t think about as much as I have to when I sit down to write. It allows you to take a step back from the construction of things and focus on smaller details and work those things out before a problem arises. So writing is most definitely something I will continue to work on and strengthen as my ideas strengthen as well, both will become integrated together to hopefully be something that intuitionally makes sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment