http://laptop.org/en/vision/index.shtml
This is another example of storytelling. This site also has a short animated film to explain what the NGO does.
What’s interesting is that the Logo itself is self explanatory
You had me at “Once upon a time…………..” October 27, 2009
It’s amazing how some stories can capture you and convince you of things you thought you couldn’t ever be convinced of; and then there are those that help you see things that you had never seen before.
Let’s admit it, as humans we all suckers for stories!!
We are born and brought up with them.
Our parent and Grandparents told us stories when we were children. We have grown up watching Movies and Television; listening to Music and Reading books (all forms of storytelling).
The most interesting people we know are those that can tell a story well.
Our priced processions have stories behind them.
And so on and so forth……………
As Creative Practitioners how could we not use storytelling as a tool?
Our story…………
“What we need is a darn good story and a pinch of good luck” this is how our last team meeting ended (well, maybe not in so many words but what the heck this is my blog!)
The success of our project completely relies on how well we convince people.
- The student Union – For their support
- The University – For their approval
- Investors – For their funding
- The students – For their involvement.
It would be wonderful if all parties involved could see the big picture through our eyes; but that would truly be wishful thinking ……………. or maybe not?
Our next step is to create this story or series of stories that each of the above mentioned parties can watch/listen and relate to.
How well we do this also depends on how well we understand /Empathise with these People.
Our advantage – We are students of Kingston University.
Competition October 22, 2009
1 http://extranet.kingston.ac.uk/kuvirtualtour/output/page191.asp –
In campuses the student union Bars would be considered competition. Drinking and social interaction are two things that definitely make people happy.
The internet and sites like Google, Facebook, Twitter etc. could be considered competition as they are all about social networking and interaction.
People today are so involved with themselves. We see people hooked on their i pods busy with their phones or laptops, absolutely disconnected with the world around them. This could be considered competition.
4.https://www.bearwithastar.co.uk/
This is an interesting way to make someone happy; also it is something that has long-lasting value. A sense of history and uniqueness.
A Confluence October 22, 2009
Our group comprises of 5 people
Two men and three women.
From 4 countries
Italy, China, Greece, India.
With 5 different backgrounds
Political Science, Management, Architecture, Software engineering and Furniture Design
And we are here to study
Music, Management, Galleries and Museums, Product +Space and the Creative Economy
The possibilities are infinite!
Working in a group as diverse as this is not always the easiest of tasks but one thing is for sure the experience is extremely dynamic and worthwhile.
As a group we are open to each other’s ideas and views. The larger picture is something we all try to keep in mind.
What each of us bring to the group
The manager – To the point, keeps us on track
The Politician – Ruffles things up but has a valid point in there somewhere.
The software Engineer – Has information at his fingertips.
The Architect – Full of ideas and enthusiasm.
The Designer –Connects the dots.
In the two weeks that mace group 1 (name as off now) has been a group we have discussed our business project at length. What we have also done is to try and understand where each of us is coming from. Our discussions have ranged from Political history to Music to Art and Design and Culture.
Our first business idea took root from music; we were interested in looking at incorporating music into a product of daily use for e.g. a piece of furniture.
During our second meeting we realised that we had arrived at our product too soon. We were looking at how we could combine our skill into one product rather than developing a product or a service that people would want or use.
This brought us back to the drawing board so to speak.
The second time around instead of relying purely on our skill sets for an idea, we decided to work with a subject that we were all passionate about. In the search for a good business venture we stumbled upon certain similarities within our group
- We are all students of Kingston University.
- We all come from different countries (no one from the UK)
- We all study at the Business school.
- We are all happy people.
This led to us asking the following Questions, the answers to which helped us arrive at our venture:
What do we want to do? – Bring people together and make them happy, create a sense of belonging.
Where can we start? – How bout Kingston University
Why the university? - The university comprises of five campuses. Very few people have visited all the campuses or know about the kind of work being done at or the people from the other campuses.
So how can we change this? – Could we organise an event of sorts that brings people from the various campuses together?
What kind of an event? – Something to do with expression maybe.
Why would students come? – What if we gave them a chance to be a part of the history of this university, to be more than their Student ID no.?
Would the university permit such an event and why? It could work to the benefit of the university as well in terms of publicity; a greater sense of community would mean more students interested in joining the university.
Proposed names for our project
United Kingston
The great wall
My first BRUSH with mace………. October 6, 2009
When I found out that we had to bring our toothbrush and paste to class my reaction was “Are u kidding?”
Apparently not, this was serious business and also my introduction to the Creative Economy class.
Empathy as a tool and IDEO cards demonstrating various methods to use this tool to gain insight on a topic is what summed up the class.
The topic – Brushing your Teeth.
The exercise was divided into two parts – being the subject and studying the subject.
To be subjected to brushing………………
As a designer, I would say that collecting information by speaking to/studying a subject can be difficult as most people tend to get on guard while they are being questioned or observed. The same happened to me when I was asked by Cynthia to answer questions about my brushing habits. I was firstly embarrassed to be brushing in front of a total stranger and to add insult to injury I had to answer questions while doing so.
What Cynthia did was to first understand my brushing routine and then to present scenarios and ask me how I would go about brushing under the circumstances. One of the scenarios was to imagine brushing without a basin. This started a discussion that also helped us understand different traditional methods of teeth cleaning and cultural differences for e.g. In West Africa people use coconut husk to brush teeth and in India the bark of the Neem tree. In both these countries in rural areas using a basin is not common and people tend to rinse and spit out into the open.
Observation :
There are so many ways of doing a task as mundane as the brushing of your teeth. All one has to do is be receptive and open to ideas. It’s not necessary that the method that most people adopt is always the right/only method.
Self infliction……………………..
The IDEO card I picked read “Bodystorming – to set up a scenario and act out roles, with or without props, focusing on intuitive responses prompted by the physical enactment.”
For the exercise I decided to brush my teeth in four different ways and asked Magdalena who graciously agreed to be my study subject to respond to what I was doing.
- I lay down flat on my back and brushed my teeth – She reacted saying this could be very dangerous as someone could choke.
- I stood on one foot and brushed my teeth – she thought I was modelling in front of a mirror while brushing.
- I brushed my teeth with my finger and toothpaste – She reacted saying I was on a night out with friends and had forgotten my brush.
- I brushed my teeth with a toothbrush but no toothpaste – She said that there must be some sort of toothpaste shortage.
All of the responses I got were immediate/intuitive reactions to what I was doing.
This form of data collection can be really interesting as the subject is reacting to what u are doing; this I feel would be a lot easier than having to do the task themselves .It also makes the subject less conscious and more forthcoming.
Now having said all of this if you were to ask me what my conclusion from the exercise was, I would have to say “nothing concrete” but what is important though is that each response I got from Magdalena opened up new avenues for innovation:
- Could there be a device that cleans your teeth while u are laying down. Would this need to be a method of dry brushing so that the person does not choke?
- Could a dry brushing method be combined with a mouth freshener which could be in the form of tablets/ powder/ spray or any other substance that is edible? To swallow instead of spitting.
- A disposable teeth cleaning device as simple as a chewing gum in case u forget your tooth brush at home on a night out.
- Use and throw brush heads that can be fitted on to the stem.
- Can the tooth brush and the toothpaste be built into one product, seeing that the two products are usually not used in isolation? This could also help keep tab on how long you should use your brush and reduce the number of items you would to need to carry when you travel.
Observation:
- It is important to keep the big picture in mind or it’s easy to get side tracked (as I was initially focused on the role playing more than on the reaction to what I was doing).
- Being a study subject or roll playing (getting out of your comfort zone) can help unlock your mind.
A little bit bout myself to begin with………… October 5, 2009
I apologise for not having gotten on sooner but this whole blogging thing is new to me.
Okay so I am a Furniture Designer from Bangalore, India. Was born there but brought up all over the country including a short stint of two years in Iran.
Design came about by accident and thank god for that!
I graduated from Design school (Srishti school of Art Design and Technology Bangalore) in 2003 and since have worked with two firms, both back in Bangalore.
I have experience working in a Design and Manufacturing setup ( largely wood work) for 3 1/2 years and with a Design consultancy for 18months.
I enjoy Ideating and am good with materials and detailing. I have also worked with Space and Retail Design.
I am unfortunately extremely challenged when it comes to running a business but hopefully this course will help remedy that.
The reason I am doing this course is because I needed a Whack on the side of my head!!(It’s the title of a book by Roger von Oech check it out) which basically means I was stuck in a rut and needed something to dislodge me.
