DeSE Assignment 03
March 4, 20102) Designing Sustainability
The existence of courses such as “Designing Sustainability” at UC Berkeley is a good sign that people are becoming more aware of the fact that design needs to be sustainable and head in that direction if our children and children’s children are to have an enjoyable life. But rather than make sustainable design its own category that is separate from other concepts of design, Sustainable design should be THE way to design and the primary approach to all design problems. This will probably happen over the course of time, but at this point its great that there are minds out there thinking and designing courses such as Designing Sustainability. And we should have more of them!
Metrics for Measuring Ideation Effectiveness
The idea of a set of equations to measure the success of a design doesn’t sit right with me. The extent to which this article introduces multitudes of variables and other quantities that “measure” and evaluate designs seems way too restrictive and almost seems more of a hindrance than an aid. The effectiveness of a design shouldn’t be measured in equations on paper but rather real world experience and first person impact that is clearly visible to the eye, and experienced by the body. Personally I find all these criteria intimidating, I am glad this is not how the success of our school projects are measured.
Creativity as a Design Criterion
Creativity is an interesting criteria for evaluating design. A design may be seen as creative because it introduces new ideas that have never-before been considered, for innovation. But a design may also be creative in relation to the designer on a more personal level, in that their latest design is something that is new and creative in relationship to the designer’s own body of work. I’m not sure where I stand on how valid creativity is in terms of evaluating design.
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Areas of Social Interest
Church Outreach
As a Christian, I believe in the church getting involved in the local community and supporting it. Rather than sending missionaries over seas to remote countries, I believe that change happens locally first, and that churches should spend resources on supporting the are directly around them, and out of that can spur national and international impact. I am interested in investigating how local churches are getting involved in Providence, and how I, as a designer, and help that involvement.
Educational Need
As a student that has gone through 12 years of public education, I would like to do what I can to help prepare other students for what lies ahead in college. Mentoring and tutoring seems like an appropriate area to my interests. Social organizations that help to prep students for College not only academically, but socially and mentally preparing them as well are areas where I would be interested in introducing strategies from a design standpoint.
Local Organizations
West Side Arts
http://www.westsidearts.org/
Renaissance Church
http://renaissance-church.org/
Trinity Presbyterian Church – Love In Action
http://www.trinitypresri.org/tutoring.php
Brown University – Mentoring program at Hope High School
(looking for the website)
its j4s0n's blog! 