We ended last week with advice from Kristin that we were thinking too small. …

We ended last week with an outline of our exploratory research presentation. It took viewers through our redefined territory map, research methods, research synthesis, and research insights, which we had narrowed down to five key takeaways: Proactice mindset: be proactive so as to not delay and exacerbate a disaster scenario …

After getting to know each other’s working styles goals for the project, we each discussed topic areas related to decarbonization that interested us. These areas included: The unseen environmental impact of AI The destructive mining for metals used in electronic devices Sustainable food systems Personal cap and trade policies —…

Personal Weekly Reflections January 23 — Week 1 Since entering grad school, I’ve been a bit skeptical of the traditional designerly methods of group collaboration. Seeing everyone posting virtually identical pictures of post-its, whiteboards, and illustrated maps quickly made me cynical about the effectiveness of these methods for delivering real results. In many cases, I…

Reactions to a section of Escobar’s Designs for the Pluriverse What does Escobar mean by describing design as a situated and interactive practice? Do you agree with this approach to design? Escobar argues that interaction design adds a sense of place or situated-ness to technology. I took situated to mean…

Design and Crime, and Other Diatribes is a 2002 essay collection by the art historian and critic Hal Foster. Although I will consider the entire collection as context, the concentration here will be on the title essay. “Design and Crime” is a reframing of the 1913 essay “Ornament and Crime”…

Communication Studio Project 3 — November 4 After looking over the data, I’m seeing an opportunities to ask questions about food access as compared to neighborhood characteristics, such as percentage of renters, age distribution, income level, and health indicators. There could be interesting insights into how food access is different between rural and urban areas, and how…

September 30 What have you identified as important pieces of information relative to your topic? Include sketches where warranted. I’ve been assigned the federal budget for my project two topic and there are several interesting subtopics I’d like to explore. One subtopic is the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending. Few Americans…

September 2 What did you learn from today’s class activities and how do they impact your thinking of communication design? Our first Communication Design studio class began on the floor. Grouped in a circle on the carpet, we inspected a dozen or so plastic and metal objects. The objects varied in size…