Making Sense and Meaning¶
Abstract¶
Firstly, I want to note the following abstract is based on my observations. I grew up and learned design in Eastern world, Japan. The sense that I learned in Japan, design is more recognized as something small in society. Since we have these Shinto based thoughts; everything has gods in it and everything has a meaning in it, it brings up that design is not a solution at all but it can be a small approach to society in some context. I have realized that I am totally embedded with eastern way of thinking since I came here to Barcelona. When I compare it to western way of thinking which is more dedicated to western religions such as having only one god, the way of thinking is more like someone(the god) makes everything with one click. So the design here seems to be more like one thing that makes and solves everything. I often feel this way is a common thing in western world. Because in my opinion, people are having this way of thinking that they believe one design will save the world as it can be a solution even though they know the wicked problems. I feel more comfortable with eastern way of thinking even right now I am studying at IaaC. Though, I still feel like both ways should be fusioned so that it can have an alternative approach to the current state of society in some context. In this sense, for me design means a way/tool of creating alternatives in living. Design is not the last thing that comes out of the process as an output, it is the process for researching/exploring the world. It gives me some chances to find out how I can live in this world without following what has been there in the system because it is the topic I always want to follow and know. So that design always helps me to achieve my purpose by bringing opportunities to collaborate with others since it is a process of making/achieving something when I follow something I want to know. When I am designing something, I get to know so many things around me- people and things and that whole thing and process is helping me to achieve my purpose of living alternatively.
Essay¶
What Design Means for Me?¶
What design means for me? I think, to me, design is a tool that opens up myself to connect to the world and society. It is a communication. It is a connection. It is contextualizing. It sounds like the definition or meaning for graphic design, but I am not talking about it. I am talking about generally what “design” means for me. I think this simple explanation is enough for my definition of design or how it means for me in the way I design. I will connect this definition or explanation later on to my perspective towards the design world nowdays. Design in nowdays. I think the design, generally taken by most people, is something that enriches lifestyle such as product design or architectural design that makes concrete three dimensional things with practicalness and beautiness. Also another thing that the design to them is something that makes information useful and simple to be more understood like graphic design. I think only these things are considered “design” by most people in the world nowadays, at least in Japan, people tend to recognize design that way. Or they don’t really know about the design industry. Because it is true some designers still pursue to achieve that kind of design, and only those fields of design are praised by people because it is easier to understand. This kind of design recognition still happens especially when those designer communities are really closed and sometimes split from the actual world of the normal citizens. They are probably too privileged to not realize what is happening in this world.
Though after some decades those kinds of designers had extreme prosperity with economic growth, we all have come to face this reality where so many problems are tangled and couldn’t ever be solved. Which is now called a wicked problem. The earth is screaming that she cannot hold all humans up anymore, so the climate changes rapidly causing a lot of disasters everywhere. Capitalism has gone too far, now many developed countries are collapsing because of the economic growth that would finally slow down while many social issues happen. Though there are still conflicts and war occurring despite many people talk about diversity, feminism, and racism must be banned. Like now, everyone is talking about different things, suffering at different things. There cannot be one single solution that changes the world or saves people. Some people have come to realize that we should do something for it, instead of only pursuing the way of modern designer dreams. (Sadly there are many left behind designers who only pursue the practicalness and bautiness in design) But I think many designers have been approaching the wicked problem from a variety of perspectives, just like us MDEF students and IaaC people have been trying to do. Looking at an atlas of weak signals, what is the scenario for the future? I, as an MDEF student, have been through this phase to deal with the wicked problem. Through this journey, especially I feel there are two big ways of approaching what designers do to face and deal with the wickedness.
Two Approaches to Design¶
One is a big approach such as trying to make the world better by proposing a new system that takes over the previous bad one, or introducing new inventions to make a previous lifestyle change. It is mainly radical and breakthrough for some problems. For example, Fabcity is a big approach that can change peoples lifestyle by introducing digital fabrication skills or methods as well as making fab lab in many different international cities. So the people will have access to making and they can be designers and makers instead of just being as a consumer. This big approach is not really designing one big solution, but designing small nodes to make a whole new network that can make changes in the system. Analyzing and tactically working on a big scale to be effective to wickdness. I think somehow this approach is really western way. I feel IaaC or MDEF wants to raise students to be able to make a big approach as I was asked to be radical in the project. Even though this big approach is not meant to be one big solution, I still feel the design here in western world seems to be more like one thing that makes and solves everything. I often feel this way is a common thing in western world because in my opinion, people are having this way of thinking that they believe one design will save the world as it can be a solution even though they know the wicked problems. I think it is related to religious cultural background in society. Like christiany which only has one god and people believe god created everything, it is natural for people behaving like that way. So I have realized that I feel more comfortable with eastern way of thinking even right now I am studying at IaaC. The other is a small approach such as answering one by one subjects. I think what I have been doing is this approach. It is not making a system nor changing the system. It is more like changing “ inside the system”, which is influencing people, or small sectors that play a role in the system. I believe that this way of thinking, which is changing or influencing the small stakeholder in a better way is my purpose of doing design. Because I believe, even if the system changes, the same problem would occur while “ inside the system” remains the same. For this I want to point out that actually normal people could really participate in the fabcity movement while they don’t know how to use 3d modeling or even the computer. People could be changed in some way by learning how to use them in order to be a maker or a designer. Though I think not everyone can be a designer nor a maker since there are still some people who don’t own their computer. This approach is more like eastern way for me, facing reality and embodying what we are surrounded by. I want to pursue more of this way, even though I am criticized as not radical. I want to question why it wouldn’t try to help people buy computers first or teach them how to be a designer and a maker without computers. I think it is a small approach and is important for me. Because this is more real to me.
What I Want to Do as a Designer¶
Taking the topic back to my definition of design, this is why I am saying design means for me is a tool that opens up myself to connect to the world and society. It is a communication. It is a connection. Being real is always what needs to be communicating and connecting. It is contextualizing. I grew up and learned design in Eastern world, Japan. The sense that I learned in Japan, design is more recognized as something small in society like I said earlier it is only recognized in the field of product design etc. Since Japan has these Shinto based thoughts; everything has gods in it and everything has a meaning in it, it brings up that design is not a solution at all but it can be a small approach to society in some context. I have realized that I am totally embedded with eastern way of thinking since I came here to Barcelona. When I compare it to western way of thinking which is more dedicated to western religions such as having only one god, the way of thinking is more like someone(the god) creates everything with one click. Though, I feel like both ways should be fusioned so that it can have an alternative approach to the current state of society in some context. I want to try integrating both approaches. Critically looking at a big approach and rethinking a small approach like taking good parts from both Eastern way and western way then combining them together. Or sometimes doing both would be really progressive as the project can be. Because for example, gender balance in a group is important, but when it is hard to change the big system (like society) to think gender balance must be equalized or fairly balanced? Some people just need to make a small affirmative action to make gender balance equal at the moment in the group even though not everyone agrees to it. It is important to do both, for while also trying to make the big system (like society) change in order to make the balance equal. So I want to take both approaches for my design project. Currently I am working on the compost project which is to make more people get involved in the process of composting. I am working on a small approach to making a local community garden as a place for composting for neighbors and restaurants in the area by communicating with them. Also designing some open source data of compost bin and compostable bags to let people work on their own by parametrically changing and adjusting to their own cases. (For this, I am not expecting everyone to use their high tech skills, I also want to introduce them how to be low tech and still do it like bricolage with what they have) By doing both approaches, I believe that I can achieve the goal of compost as our companion in urban areas. This is how design can help me achieve my purpose. My purpose of changing or influencing the small stakeholder in a better way could be achieved. So for me, design is not specifically making physical products, architecture, or graphics. Design is not the last thing that comes out of the process as an output, it is the process for researching or exploring the world. It is communicating, connecting, and contextualizing the world. It gives me some chances to find out how I can live in this world without following what has been there in the system because it is the topic I always want to follow and know. So that design always helps me to achieve my purpose by bringing opportunities to collaborate with others since it is a process of making and achieving something when I follow something I want to know. When I am designing something, I get to know so many things around me- people and things and that whole thing and process is helping me to achieve my purpose of living alternatively. In this sense, for me design means a way or a tool of creating alternatives in living as well.
How the Design Transforms My World¶
Now, finally going back to writing about my world to transform by design. Firstly, noting my world is like I was, looking for small intersections that I can take a part of to make things better. Because the real world is in a big black box, since everything in our life is not being seen by everyday life, I want to reveal what is inside it. Infrastructure especially is fully in black box. I want to know how and where water comes to my kitchen water tap and to where and how it goes back from my kitchen sink. My world is in black box. It is full of intersections or triggers to open, and I want to see each of them by trying to open. Design, in my sense, can help me do this. Researching through designing and designing through researching. Like what we do in MDEF, that we are able to find atlas of weak signals, I am able to find the key factor to dig into the deep and closed ground of black box to give a small light. By communicating, connecting and contextualizing, which is how I define design, that I am able to at least break one side of a black box. It always requires a long term of time to do though it can transform the world a bit by bit by breaking out the box. So my world will be more open and free while the pre existing systems start to change by what I do to reveal. Design transforms my world by opening and revealing black box that I want to see inside. The process of opening and revealing is the design for me.