Design Process Project, 21/10/09

End of project, design process evaluation.

The "theme" of the day as it concluded was the process as opposed to the final product. There have been some good products, illustrations, logos, storyboards and even videos there, but they were only part of the bigger issue that was: how we got there.

Great lesson for postgraduate study approach to things. In the course of three Fridays, I managed to value the evidence of process at a higher level than the end-product's one, in effect realizing that when the end product is well informed by not only contextual research but also manufacturing procedures, it shows and it works because it communicates correctly.

This is very practical for some of us who tend to look at our initial response and ideas like they were our offspring. When we come to being real professionals, our attachment to our first or our favourite solutions can lead to conflict with the customer at best and disfunctionality of the work- waste of time and effort and money - at worst. For the process to be right and evident and functional we have to be detached and clear and thorough with exposing the marks we make in the beginning and all the way to the final piece and we also need to be constantly alert and checking our co-ordinate points in relation to the brief, the research and both our intuitive and intelectual responses. I wonder if this is a pattern that works with bringing up children and playing the role of the educator, too.

I keep realising with this MA that words like in the above paragraph don't make much sense if one is not in the same or similar exercise and it is so with the briefs too. We have to get involved with the briefed project to understand what is going on.

I've learnt so far that involuntarily, a great number of us block the process from the start by refusing to admit that we don't quite comprehend it. We pretend we know exactly what is going on and then get frustrated and upset when it isn't working. When this falls into place with the previous issue of us being emotional with our offspring, the whole course is blown to pieces.

It's very accurately titled Design Process and I'm glad to have taken this project. I'm going to be a lot more conscious about many things in the future.

In fact, I'm now realising how important it is to share the process with peers and I'll be posting more things related to it so that others can make sense of it too.