EXPLORER
DESIGNER
Neo Kah Siong
WEEK 10
Personal note
Things for the past 2 months or more had been really fun & hard for me but I say that it is worth it as the things that I had learned is far more valuable than I thought and I am happy that I had taking part in BADP as my degree of choices.
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I had always thought that design is something that is just like face flat but I guess I was wrong and it is something more than I expected.
ON LEARNING WITH DEEP DESIGN INSIGHTS
1. What are the 3 most important lessons, takeaways or design skill-sets have you learned from the distinctive ‘Design Insights’ module? How have the module allow you to explore across specialisms to develop as versatile artists, designers and researcher of tomorrow? Please elaborate your answers.​
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The 3 most important lesson, takeaways or design skill for me that I had learned from design insights is:
1a. Learning to communicate your ideas and your own voices as you can have the greatest mind as a designer but if you are unable to properly share your ideas, it wouldn't matter regardless. Through the design insight lesson and working in groups with my classmate allow me to learn to communicate my ideas and thought which then allow my group to further our research to a level I never thought possible.​ The art of the exchange of ideas is where the magic can truly happen!
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1b. A takeaway that I learn from Bernard in one of his class is that "question everything" as if we just happy go lucky and live our daily lives without asking the "why" & "how" in all the small little things.....then things won't get better.​ I understand that most people are comfortable with what they have that did that question, how can we make this better? For me I believe as a designer, we not just have to question things but ask ourselves "how can we be a game changer"?
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1c. The most important design skill that I had learned from design insight is learning how to imagine myself in another role's school as designers we have to be empathetic in order to understand the need of others. As it is important to understand & be aware of what is the current situation of things before trying to design a solution.
ON TRANSDISCIPLIANARY INTERACTION AND COLLABORATION
2. The progressive module adopts a trans-disciplinary approach to train future arts and design practitioners to position their work within contemporary, cultural, social and historical contexts. How have the module's trans-disciplinary approach inspire your learning and growth. Specifically, which 2 or 3 students did you learned the most from? ​
What specific lessons did you learn from them? Elaborate.​
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How did other students gain from their interaction with you? Elaborate.
2a. Ritz – I learn from Ritz that when I am in a team I not just focus or concentrate on the project but rather, I also learned the important of socializing, understanding and prioritizing my team's welfare. Work is important but welfare is important too. ​
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In turn, Ritz also gain how to focus and synthesize data as I did spend one weekend helping him with his trend report and gone through with him how to do triangulation. I also fell happy that he also learned that as I believe that one can achieve so much more when working with others.​
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2b. Justin – I learn from Justin to be more open about ideation as not everything is narrow or focus. There are times where we have to unfocus to see thing & situation from a bigger picture in order to see more of a situation. ​
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In turn, Justin I believe he got some take away to learn from me which is to also focus more into things to go deeper into a problem. Plus Justin is my complete opposite as I believe and told by from Dr. Bernard. ​
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2c. Joey – The rainbow of group F Joey, she lights up the day in everyone and what I learn from her is that where there is a problem, try to at least look at it from the most optimistic point of view as it can yield perspectives previous not seen.​
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From Joey reply she learns to ask the right question as she imply that our class is slience at times when we are being told to have any question to ask. From her perceptive at least, I am the one to ask good question and for her, to ask the right question can be hard at times. Randy did say that if you ask silly question you get silly answers.
ON TEACHING WITH YOUR FUTURE DESIGN PRACTICE IN MIND
3. Dr. Bernard and Dir. Rand come from the world of art, design and academia with capabilities to take students to the next level. How have their creativity and exploration, daring students to push for exciting design frontiers by challenging them to pursue their dreams change your perspective of what design is, or could possible be? Specifically, how is the quality of their theory-practice led lectures and tutorials, teacher-student interaction, and above all, how have their 'design practice' pedagogical approaches impacted your own learning experience as an aspiring artist and designer practitioner? ​
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Elaborate on your student-teacher support and mentoring experience with examples.​
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What would you like to say to each of your two lecturers: ​
i) Dr. Bernard Tan​
ii) Dir. Rand Ang
What Bernard & Randy change what design really means for me is that designers are never about simply solving problems on the face level but rather to see deep on what the actual problem is and questioning everything to find the truths.​ Of course, finding the truth itself is not easy. One example a question that I come across, it's a simple but got me thinking. The question is "How the colour yellow taste like", you can say its lemon, banana or pineapple but what it really should taste like? All 3 of the listed fruit are not wrong if any is being choose to represent yellow as a taste but what is the real taste of yellow? This can be said for many situation out there and many argument as well. People can't deny there are multiply truth to a case, situation or topic. However, it doesn't change the fact that we are always striving for answers and the truth which is beyond our grasp even. I can't thank Bernard & Randy enough to how much they have propel my learning but I do try to simplify it as best I can.
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The quality of Bernard & Randy theory-practice are "STELLAR" as the lectures & tutorial are not only enlightening but also rich in terms of teaching us to understand what design is truly capable of and what we know are nothing but the tip of the iceberg. The "design practice" pedagogical approaches impacted my learning experiences as it gives me a clearly idea of who I am as a designer as an explorer that walks the vast plain of undiscover realm of design. Once example is that on Week 5 I consulted Randy on a question I had regarding my question of trend report and he had given me a small quote "What is my take, on the role of a designer, what my practice means, what is my manifesto as its all connected." This simple sentences to me, it meant that what my values, manifesto & practice as a designer affects what my outcome will be. This sentences is what allows me to question myself, to ask myself what is my manifesto. That is why led me to discovering myself as an "explorer", as it is a start on my great journey to me finding my manifesto and the true meaning.
MY GOAL
AS A DESIGNER
My goal to be honest is to answer this question that is always in my head "How to make or give designers do more purposeful & seen as a more purposeful role that it is today as compare to doctors & programmers".
Even though we know we as designers are and what are roles are, the general public are still convince that designers are no different than artist and from what I learn from my research for my trend report. People thinks that with AI will replace us eventually but the way I see it, I think it gives us the opportunities to be able to break free of this sigma as the reason this sigma exist is because of the mundane job that most designers do and are being portrayed this way. If AI takes over these "Mundane" jobs, I feel it gives us as a designer to re-brand ourselves in what role we play in society and to change the way the general public see our role and the work we do.
Change however also requires a degree of action if I wanted to re-brand the role "designers" in a new light that won't depict us as mere "artist" but something that actually plays a crucial role in tomorrow's society.
Message for Lecturers
Dr.Bernard:​
Thank you, Dr Bernard for bringing clarity to situation where I am totally unclear and being the guide that shine bright like a lighthouse on a stormy sea as there are times where not just me but my classmate as well. Dr. Bernard you are like the most wholesome lecture that we met and I am grateful that you are teaching us in insight.​ The way you give us advices is in a way that I can only describe it as "enlightening" as I don't know what is the magic behind the advice you give but I can say I am able to understand it the best I can and I feel that I have learn more than what I had expected from this module.
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Dir Randy:​
Thank you, Randy for being a cool influential & inspirational lecturer to an extend gives me an impression of a character from a movie I watched which is "Matrix" and the perfect character that fits you would be "Morpheus" as though you can be harsh to some of us. I know that you meant us well in terms of your teaching and opinions. I admit it is not easy for some of us to decipher the learning and the meaning behind your work as I would say when most of us consult you its a kin to having a judo match with you and only after you had beaten us then you show & tell us what went wrong. Personally I don't think this is a bad thing and I believe the best way to learn is to get beaten up. No, I am not a "masochist". After all, all you did is offering everyone of us the "blue or "red" pill, which pill we take is up to us.
