Final Critique Reflections

So following the final presentation of this design I figured it would be a good chance to reflect on the overall outcomes I have achieved in this design, as well as areas that may have been better done a different way.

The main critical feedback I received for my project was based more on the final presentation choice of 3 panels rather than the concept itself it seemed. I think its an important lesson to take away that despite having nice looking panels, they shouldn't be there if they don't really need to be. I guess what I was aiming for was one detailed panel describing the detail of the design, and two mood boards that more or less set the scene for the project, diagramming some theories that the design is heavily based on. This can be one of the real traps of presentation work, as a lot of time is spent into creating the panel, and often, once it is complete and reflected on, it is hard to not show it despite the now apparent lack of use for it. Maybe this is why we blog? To show those things we put work into that don't make the presentation. Or maybe, this is a part of becoming a real designer, and essentially, being more committed to the idea and project than to the work you put into it. This is definitely something I will have to face in the future and I guess now is a good time to be learning these lessons. 

Aside from this, Robert seemed really happy with my outcomes and while Adam had some questions regarding the unobtrusive nature of a potential listeners encountering with the program, I felt I was well justified and happy with my choice of making it a non-aggressive design. The critique went for quite a long time during the question time, but I think this is testament to the detail and thought that was put into this project. I felt not many of the questions I was asked were things that I hadn't already considered and decided upon so that is a good sign to the time and thought I put into this project.

It's an interesting thing to end an architecture degree with the design of an app, however, I am really pleased I had the opportunity to do this. I feel while it is important to have practice at designing buildings, the skills used and learnt in this project as just as applicable to an architectural problem. I would even go as far as saying it really makes us question what design is. By this I am meaning more what part of a project is research, what is reference, which is presentation, and in which part are we actually using our design thinking to problem solve. Looking back on all the class projects, it was easy to see which of these most people had been spending the most time doing, often confusing referencing (in most cases defining a potential technology which no designer was going to ever be able to make - this is why scientists exist) and actually creating systems which use that technology in a unique way that does require a designer to problemsolve and troubleshoot. 

As well as all these things, I think the scale of this project was a lot better for the university course structure. Usually we are asked to design 6 story public buildings (which take a team of 20 architects a year to design!). I find this scale really limiting for actual design as I have a strong belief design really lies in the details, and there is just no chance of getting into any detail or creating a cohesive building system even in the 6 weeks or so. That is what I really enjoyed about this project though. The scale was manageable and really enabled me to think hard about the entire project comprehensively. I feel I can really come away from this with something that isn't just beautiful or well diagrammed. I feel this could actually work without a whole lot more design needing to go on. This is a feeling I haven't had when designing buildings in this course and in a way it is actually quite unfulfilling. This may be one of the reasons I am fed up with the scale of architecture and looking to pursue furniture design instead. 

I suppose to come full circle with this post, I have found this to be an incredibly engaging and revealing design project. I'm glad we have had the opportunity to do something like this and am really happy that I put the workload I did into it. This has been a really good way to end my degree at QUT.

Where to take this project further

I feel now I have done all this work and compreshesively thought about this design it would be sad to just stop it here. I think next year, given some time I would like to actually look into developing this app. One of my friends who is an app developer has expressed interest in doing this project, and as well as this, given the nature of the program, funding will hopefully be available to realise this. 

While this blog is reaching its conclusion, perhaps next year a new post will appear and (hopefully) this project will become a reality. While I have painted this scenario as fiction, it is based on real problems we have currently and I do personally believe we do need to start action towards curving these dangerous scenarios before they become a reality.

Final Movie

My final movie for this project. I really wanted to draw on an emotional response, not only highlighting the need for this design and its purpose, but also to show the power of the format I have designed for Re:Map stories to be told and listened to. 

Overall I am really pleased with how this worked out and the low-fi nature of the imagery meant that I could spend more time scripting and sourcing my friends and colleagues to voice the parts. I still find it hard to believe how strong a voice is when there is no face to go with it. In a way, I think it breaks down our first judgement of somebody and really makes us focus on what they are saying. 

In ambiguously showing the actual design of my system in this video, I was aiming create a presentation that really worked together. I didn't want this video to repeat what was on my panels, nor did I want my panels to evoke the same emotional feelings of this video. I believe too often we tend to show the same things, but just on different media. I believe when presenting we should play to the strength of each medium and only show information once. Panels for me, are really efficient in explaining things diagrammatically, however movies have the opportunity to really stir more core feelings which really excite, or captivate the audience. Both of these are needed, but I think should be separated out. 

Design Final Poster

The design of the RE:MAP system has been based on a series of aims and objectives of the project. The core aims are to increase tolerance and cultural understanding, provide an accessible program to the largest number of users and counter the negative direction of traditional mass media.

Geo-location is a fundamental component of this system. Firstly, it bridges two cultures via a shared physical location in the listening experience.  Placemaking is also achieved via the users recognition of a story with a particular location they may frequently pass, reigniting the feelings felt while listening.

Geo-location also provides the system with co-ordinates to access the relevant media to that area in order to establish hit hierarchy for all accessible stories in that location. This has been done so that when 2 or more stories are available from a particular location, the one presenting similar topics to the main negative articles from mass media will appear first, as a way of counteracting the negative data that user has experienced in the past 2 days. 

Emotional Change through access to variety of viewpoints

The traditional media of Australia has been driving a message of blame and fear on the immigrant and refugee population of this country. The attitudes and emotions towards these groups by the general society have reached extreme levels of negativity across a large emotional spectrum.

RE:MAP provides an alternative to this negative labelling, and is a program designed to reorientate the country’s emotional spectrum to positive feelings. Stories bring about understanding that lessens emotions like fear, blame and anger. A personal connection means that these changes occur on an individual level, slowly bringing about change in the entire community. 

Discovery Based Learning

Discovery based learning has been researched into and found to be a highly successful delivery system for the education sector. Many teaching practices are based on its theories as it promotes individual thought and a comprehensive system for data evaluation based on learnt experience.

Adhering with the aim of individual thought and a higher level of self reflection, discovery based learning is at the core of RE:MAP. Experiences from listening to a story combined with personal experiences that person has had, as well as other media input, will bring a unique shape to their value system while maintaining a constant state of flux.

RE:MAP aims to educate through curiosity, emotional understanding, and a diversity of experience.

Physical Marker

As a follow up to my thoughts in week 11, I have continued to include a physical marker at the site of each story. This is a tool for sparking curiosity and not a direct link to the app like a QR code would be. This is to tie in with and strengthen my idea of providing a discovery based learning experience. With enough of these symbols popping up, I think most people would become curious as to what they mean and actively search out their explanation.  As well as this, I think it is important to bring a physical link which is tangible and substantial to a virtual landscape.