Dec 6
There are deadlines in every aspect of our lives. Some we create for ourselves, and others are imposed upon us. In preparing students for professional practice, interior design educators can make the deadline more than a Doomsday Clock; we can harness it as a teaching tool. To do that we need to understand the different types of deadlines at our disposal. Read more
AUBURN – For the annual survey, “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools 2012,” DesignIntelligence magazine has ranked Auburn University‘s undergraduate Interior Design program in the College of Human Sciences as best in the nation and Industrial Design and Architecture programs in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction in the nation’s top 20 degree programs in their fields. [Read more]
For more information on Auburn’s CIDA-accredited Interior Design program in the College of Human Sciences, go to http://humsci.auburn.edu/cahs/bs-inds.php.
For more information about the Industrial Design program in the Department of Industrial and Graphic Design, go to http://cadc.auburn.edu/DIGD/Pages/default.aspx.
For more information about the Architecture program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, go to http://cadc.auburn.edu/apla/Pages/default.aspx.
Continued from The Hidden Costs of CAD (Part 2 of 3).
When and how is CAD best used in the design process? Let’s consider a couple of student-centered scenarios through the lens of design technologies.
Scenario 1: Pre-Design Research and Programming
Say I assign a new commercial design project to my second year interior design students and ask them to demonstrate evidence of their precedent studies, fleshed out program, analysis of the existing space, criteria matrix, and adjacency matrix by next week. How could computer-based tools best be implemented?
First consider precedent studies, for which most of my students will begin by googling the topic.
How some teachers view Internet research
Wikipedia and Google images are not the best sources of scholarly information, but that doesn’t mean we should write off all digital resources as a waste of time. In fact, much of the students’ precedent research can be completed online through the University library website and other reputable online sources. In order to facilitate their success we should probably spend a class period with a trained University librarian who can explain online resources and help them to locate – and assess the legitimacy of – information related to their topics. I can also provide the project description and program as a digital document that can be edited and fleshed out as they do their precedent studies.
Is there any limit to what I think can be done through computer-based tools? Yes, there is. I do have some concern regarding the analysis of space because this requires a certain degree of hand-eye coordination to trigger intuitive design drawing. The increased availability and accessibility of tablet computers (e.g. apple ipad, blackberry playbook, samsung galaxy tab 10.1), as well as the incredibly sexy Wacom Cintiq, has made it possible for some artists and designers to completely replace traditional drawing with digital drawing. Notice I say it’s possible for some. For the rest of us, because of cost or preference, doodle diagrams will continue to be an analog method for a while longer.
The pre-design research scenario demonstrates how a digital-traditional hybrid method can be successfully applied. For a fully digital deliverable, the student can scan spatial analyses to add to the digital research; for a fully print deliverable, the student can print the digital research to turn in with hand sketches. If it fits the project schedule you could also have students summarize the pre-design research and programming in a simplified deliverable, like an 11″x17″ sheet (print or digital).
Scenario 2: Schematic Design Phase
True story.
Now let’s look at the schematic design phase of a third year residential interior design project and consider how computer-based tools could best be implemented. In the schematic design phase we’re doing basic space planning, making preliminary design decisions, generally translating the design program into designed space.
Specifications and Cut Sheets
My students actually introduced me to this one. Old dog <– new tricks. Tools like Specify let designers create spec books and cut sheets quickly and easily. In studio we use the time saved to more fully explore their material and ff&e options and give critical feedback on their preliminary choices. Sure, they don’t individually copy and paste each piece of information into a word document template but I don’t think they’re missing out on anything educational.
Study Model
I’m of two minds about the digitization of a study model. I, for one, find physical study models incredibly helpful for visualizing the shell of a building. However, I have allowed students to experiment with digital alternatives. Hand drawn or digital plan obliques and digital models (Revit, AutoCAD 3D, SketchUp) can be substituted for a study model when the learning outcome of a study model is intended to be a better understanding of the space – such as its scale and architectural character. However, if the craftsmanship and construction process are important learning outcomes then I do not recommend digitizing this part of the project.
Conclusion: The Traditional-Digital Hybrid Workflow
Know your process. Know how you think and how you work most effectively.
“The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.” – Milton Glaser
There are many possible ways to insert digital technologies into your design process but first you must understand your process well enough to know when it’s going south. Sure, every new tool is going to have a learning curve. Sure, the more complex the tool the more challenging the curve. But if you pay attention to how your mind and your drawing hand(s) respond to the tool you can tell when something is working and when it’s not.
For example, if I pick up a ball point pen or a 4H drawing pencil I can feel my hand-eye coordination start to fail. My thoughts come slower and there’s a low level of frustration humming in the back of my mind. Take a moment to ask yourself if you have had an experience like this. What was the tool? Why do you think it didn’t work for you?
Retail display sketches in ink and colored pencil (schematic)
And consider this: Some designers prefer to work from the macrocosm (big picture) to the microcosm (details) of a project. Others begin with a strong concept that guides every design decision. Personally, I am most creative – and ultimately successful – when I bounce back and forth between the big picture and concrete details. During the early stages my big picture is almost philosophical, some might even say impractical, but it is the theory that guides my design decisions. On the other hand I am grounding that theory in action through sketches, vignettes, and diagrams that explore specific portions of the larger design whole.
Exterior concept
Interior detail concept
The development of Glowbug 2.0 was completely digital, from the big picture right down to the details. For me, it worked because the design began with known parameters – a shipping container – and every inch / millimeter counted. The images above are from the schematic phase, developed in SketchUp.
Now take some time – you may want to write this down – to consider your own design process. Do you begin with the big picture or an inspiring detail? Are you a linear thinker – point A to point B – or do you jump between ideas seemingly randomly? Where in your personal design process is it most logical to begin experimenting with digital technologies? If you are a teacher, how can you create low-risk scenarios in which your students can experiment with digital workflows?
Work in progress: digital ink and traditional colored pencil
I have spent the last five years being disappointed with most of the hand-to-digital textbooks I’ve come across. (Apologies to my friends in publishing). As a result I’ve begun to develop my own traditional-digital hybrid workflow.
That is not to say that I haven’t found a few good books along the way. I recommend the following to those who are interested in developing a strong traditional-digital hybrid workflow for their own design work:
In adopting too quickly any new tool we disrupt our creative and productive workflow. Our profession has adopted – relatively quickly – these new tools and we have not yet reached the apex of our collective learning curve. That is the hidden cost of CAD.
It is imperative that the informed designer (or design educator) understand that CAD is only one of many tools available for design communication and can not yet replace all the traditional methods at our disposal. In other words, we talking monkeys still benefit from the intuitive hand-eye coordination of good old-fashioned ink and papyrus (and their descendants in all analog forms).
The talking monkeys will evolve, just as we have with the transition from carriages to cars, and typewriters to keyboards. The relatively sudden boom in digital design technologies has resulted in a schism between the technophiles and the Luddites, yes, but given time, patience, and prudent application we will eventually adapt and find equilibrium. In the meantime, I am leaning toward the future. Cautiously optimistic. Proactive in self-education. Adaptable. Where will you choose to go from here?
As an environmental symbologist I am interested in the symbolic aspects of human-computer interactions, in particular design-related applications of virtual and augmented reality technologies. See my most recent augmented reality project: PowerCat Enhanced
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) is the accrediting body for interior design programs. Every six years, CIDA sends a team to evaluate the strength of its accredited programs based on their success in meeting a set of 16 professional standards…
This is the first week of classes, here at K-State. The new cohort of interior design majors is…
My current research study is well under way. At the start of day 4, this morning, I have over 100 respondents. I have decided to release some preliminary trends…
American journalist Gene Fowler said “Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead”. Yep, I think that about sums it up.
Yesterday I finished an article and submitted it for consideration. In addition to the last year and a half of reading I also spent the last few months piddling around with some ideas, the last month casually typing, the last two weeks frantically writing and the last week editing and getting feedback. So really it was quite easy. I’m still not sure whether it will be published but I’ll let you know how it goes. On the bright side I have at least three other topics to work on in the scraps I discarded from this piece.
In other news I’m reworking ID 210 from a lecture course to a team-based learning course. I’ve hardly touched 225 or 325 yet, nor have I worked on the student handbook reformat. And yet I see that June is quickly waning… where did the summer go?
Now back to the drawing board. I have a few things to finish up before the end of the day; I’ll be out all next week for our family reunion.
Thus ends year one of teaching. I’m sitting in my office, surrounded by student projects and research articles. Outside my window its warm, humid and raining – reminds me of Florida – and the world has turned green and lush in the afternoon. In between the occasional student drop-ins I’ve been working on mapping my scholarship. I need to get a plan for the summer.
Last year was full of divergent collaborations; this year promises to be more focused. Although EDRA‘s “Meaning in the Material” was canceled at the last minute, I have three regional presentations and one international presentation under my belt this academic year. I have yet to produce a journal article. ::Sigh:: No matter how many times they tell you they value other forms of scholarship it all comes down to the journals. The plan, then, is to write an article that is in line with my major focus: symbology.
P.S. – not sure whether the field of symbology should be thanking the character of “Robert Langdon” (Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons) for making us so popular, or cursing him for getting way more action and explosions than we do?
Where was I? Yes, focus – that’s it. In an effort to regain my focus I’m reading Starhawk’s “Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex and Politics” – outlining her views on power-over vs. power-from-within very nicely and giving an introduction to themes of spirit/matter duality in modern society and ritual magic as social activism – and Erich Fromm’s “The Forgotten Language: an Introduction to the Understanding of Dreams, Fairy Tales and Myths” – a pretty reasonable link between Jungian archetypes and literary/societal mythology. Fromm’s work is most interesting in that it discusses symbolic language and explains the sign/symbol difference in a much more convincing way (IMHO). Also on the reading list for the summer are works by Christopher Day, Michael Pollan, and Paul Hawken. Where am I going with this? I’ll let you know when I’ve figured it out myself.
At home, life continues to grow and change. I found a potato yesterday on my potato plant (which would have worried me if I’d found it in the mint, or the tomatoes). I’m making plans with a friend to start walking/jogging this summer. And we’re buying a house (whoot). We had planned to close today but a paperwork messup on the sellers’ end means we’ll have to delay until next week. Until then we’ll be living out of boxes and eating cereal and sandwiches on our few remaining dishes.
It looks like the weather’s clearing up. I think I’ll head over to the union for coffee and carbs.
I sent this email to a few colleagues a good long while ago. I recently came across it again and thought it might be worth mentioning here. Begin forwarded message:
I don’t know if y’all have seen this before, but National Geographic is conducting a survey of peoples’ sustainable behavior and their opinions of environmental issues. It’s very interesting to see the results.
Greendex Map of the World: http://event.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/index.html
I got a personal score of 56, which apparently puts me well ahead of most U.S. respondents. Very very sad if you look at how I live. Methodology of the Survey also available online (http://event.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/about.html). The survey itself takes a little time to complete but seems much more thorough than most I have seen (http://event.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/calculator.html).
What interests me is how they follow up the survey with a few “helpful” articles like “What You Do Counts —A New Way to Think of Ourselves as Consumers” (http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/Mag1/whatyoudo). It claims that we have a duty as consumers to buy and invest responsibly. Admittedly, not all of the suggestions are directly consumer-directed… but I still wonder if the proper response to environmental concerns is to buy “better”. What’s the alternative? Perhaps Americans shouldn’t think of themselves first as “educated consumers” and could instead think of themselves first as human beings or citizens. I know it is just a word… but it has become our identity, I think. And I cannot escape the blame on that accusation.
Jul 31
It has been a long time since I’ve kept up an LJ on a regular basis and I was hesitant to come back at all. I have come to the conclusion over several years of blogging that I have no particular wish to share my life with the world. I do, however, confess a strong desire to write with more depth and passion than the robotic prose required for scholarly journals and conferences. I’ve written a lot of decent things in the last two years, but rarely have I had the opportunity to casually wax philosophical on the topic of the day. Conversely, my former journal – though dramatic in its timely content – only rarely displayed enough literary quality to be worth the read.
In 2007 and 2008 I co-authored two papers with a colleague, Veronica Fannin, on the positive interrelationship between the method of blogging and the design students’ mind (Clark & Fannin, 2007; Fannin & Clark, 2008). Ironically, that period of time saw little of my own blogging. This could have been due, in part, to a growing desire for privacy in my personal life coupled with looming job interviews in which both my RL and LJ lives would be on trial.
As educators, one of the things we try to impress upon our college-age students is that your online life is very much a part of your real life. Potential employers do not want to hire kegger_meister and will certainly not appreciate the pictures of you hugging on your girls at the club. Do I agree that someone’s personal activities should have anything to do with their employability? No. Do I think that your inability to judge appropriate public content on a website may indicate a similar inability to judge appropriate behavior in the workplace? Yes, I do. So whether it is reasonable to do so or not, your – my – our – behavior online is part of how others perceive our character.
Rather than run from my online persona, I would prefer to reconnect reality with virtuality and bring my online life up to date. With that goal in mind, I am reclaiming my live journal and my right to roam over the Internet (teh intarwebz). I assert that these are not mutually-exclusive statements:
* I can lead by example and use technology in ways that would be appropriate for my students
* I can have a web log divulging my personal thoughts and opinions on topics deep and varied
I fully intend to journal personal issues as well as topical commentaries. And I wholeheartedly embrace letting my personality show through. This LJ is about everyman’s right – a right to roam. I am reclaiming that freedom for myself and cultivating the scholarly blogger voice my colleague Vern and I have so ardently advocated.
-LC
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