Podcast with Louize Harries
I really enjoyed this podcast chat between Susanna and Louize - especially the tangents as it is always interesting to hear someone's thought process.
The drone project was a really interesting collaborative speculative design, it was especially hearing about this in the context of the city I live in, London. I know London has terrible air pollution quality so this design really hit a cord with me - using a combination of design and technology to improve the lives of people all over the city is essentially what I want to do with my career so seeing this collaboration is pretty inspirational.
What also struck me in this podcast was the variety of people Louize has collaborated with over the years and the massive variety of disciplines they come from. A lesson I will take from this podcast is it is always valuable to talk to the experts and conversations can go a long way.
The My Subconscious Shopper project was interesting too. I have done a CIM Diploma in Digital Marketing so have some experience in the area and I know how important impulses are. The visually of this project I think were really strong, especially making the ears in the form of Disney - perfect for kids!
It also struck me that all of Louize's projects are done with an aim of bettering the world around her - they have strong morals at the core - could this be what drives innovation and collaboration? Surely people are more likely to want to collaborate on morally sound projects that could make people's lives better? It's an interesting thought because it makes me wonder if there are any recent projects that go against this gain - for example a tobacco company doing a project just to benefit them who in turn kill people. The closest I found was this:
British American Tobacco announces enhanced partnership with McLaren Racing [4]
British American Tobacco's partnership with MacClaren was announced in late 2019 for the 2020 Formula 1 season. To me this is in no way making the world a better place and instead making the world worse in many different ways. As a collaboration goes, I think this is a pretty soulless one A company helping people die of lung cancer teaming up with a sport renowned for harming the environment. So in conclusion, yes, immoral collaborations definitely still happen!
I thought the ethical implications of My Subconscious Shopper were really interesting because although Louize was saying she takes great precautions like anonymising the date and not keeping data from children, the implications if big companies started doing this is worrying. This kind of neuro-technology could be very dangerous in the wrong hands - could shops start requesting you use the headset when shopping there in order to enter for free? It's similar to having to pay to be ad free on youtube for example. Or you could get discount on shopping for wearing it, either way, it's bribing people to collect their data which is morally wrong.
Anab Jain: Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures
I absolutely loved this talk from Anab Jain. [1] It really captured my imagination. I think sometimes I get too caught up in what is happening right now and don't think about what could happen in the future, but this took me out of that and allowed me to consider it.
I was also pretty inspired by the fact that the whole talk was about using your imagination to create the tools. When Anab talked about a future living with drones, she described the way they built the drones, flew them but the hard work came when they imagined the rest of the future with them, not just the immediate experiment. It also allows you to understand the potential impact now of something that hasn't happened yet.
I am left with the idea that even though the future creates a sense of anxiety, it is continually being shaped by what is happening now, so in that way, we do have some control.
The collaboration between art and science is pretty inspirational in this talk, they clearly both bring a lot to the project - science in a practical way and design which helps people to visualise the speculative ideas. The interaction between science and design has always been of interest to me - for example the Pioneer plaque sent out through radio waves by NASA.
Pioneer plaque
To me this is one of the pinnacle moments of the collaboration between graphic design and science. The plaques show a pair of gold-anodized aluminum plaques that were placed on board the 1972 Pioneer 10 and 1973 Pioneer 11 spacecraft, featuring a pictorial message, in case either they were intercepted by intelligent extraterrestrial life. The plaques show the nude figures of a human male and female along with several symbols that are designed to provide information about earth. [2]
The idea originally came from Eric Burgess who was an English journalist writing about the Pioneer programme at the time. He then approached Carl Sagan, an astrophysicist and suggested the idea, Sagan loved it and got NASA to agree to adding the plates to their spaceflight. They had three weeks and between them designed the above plaque, Sagan's wife (at the time) Linda Salzman put the artwork together and the project was good to go. [3]
This collaboration became a much recognised symbol of the space programme for years to come. I think this is an impressive collaboration across three separate disciplines - journalism, design and astrophysics. Not three specialties you would expect to be put together. The project was successful in the way it was praised by people across the world however we still haven't heard back from the aliens!
This kind of cross disciplinary collaboration is something I would love to do in my career - combining science and design is such an interesting subject and one that I am interested in exploring in the future.
Typo Talk - Dinner for One
I've been to Blackpool and seen this comedy carpet so it was really nice hearing the backstory behind it. Not only was this a collaboration between Gordon Young and Andy Altmann but also between the artists and all of the people who made the carpet. It was such an extensive process that even when I was there I didn't really consider. Seeing all of the 116,000 pieces of the carpet really puts into perspective all of the different people involved in both the design and making of it.
I loved how they use the fonts of the city was a major part of it because the carpet really feels like a product of its environment - it is perfectly placed in its situation - something I think could have only been achieved by careful consideration of a lot of different voices.
Art and Science - Aerospace
To me, art and science have never gone more hand in hand than in aerospace design. They are incredible feats of engineering wrapped in beautifully designed aluminium cases that achieve amazing things in air and space. Whether it's the sleek Concorde, the Space X boosters landing like something from a sci-fi movie or Apollo 11 that carried the first people to walk on the moon, it is hard to deny they are beautiful sculptures as well as excellent technological advancements.
Embedded in the Royal Aeronautical Society’s mission statement is a curious line: ‘to further the advancement of aeronautical art, science and engineering’. Advances in science and engineering in aeronautics are relatively easier to categorise – humans have been trying to fly faster, higher and further since the first balloon lifted off. But ‘art’? How does one advance the ‘art’ of flight? [6]
Each vehicle is a masterclass in multi-disciplinary collaboration - from the engineers to the designers, from the ground crew to the test pilots, everyone brings their different expertise to make the flights successful.
Artist David Bent Hon CRAeS explores this collaboration between art and science through painting. In the image above you can see not only the Red Arrow soaring through the circus tent but also the ground crew and engineers on the ground, watching the culmination of their efforts take flight. I think this image shows the multi-disciplinary nature of flight perfectly. I love not only the style of Bent's paintings but also the composition and what they are saying about the beauty of science. [7]
While his art celebrates the beauty and freedom of flight and the ‘lonely impulse of delight’ above the clouds that W.B. Yeats spoke of, it does not shy away from the dark side of military aviation – the deadly purpose for which these machines are built – making his paintings thought-provoking and demanding of reflection. [6]
Bent's partnership with aviation experts give his paintings a realistic feel with depth and feeling running through the paint. The show not only what it looks like to be soaring through the air in these magnificent machines but also how it feels and that is really a unique quality in painting.
STEM to STEAM?
It has also been suggested that art should be added to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) making it STEAM. [8] I think this is a great idea and the more multi-disciplinary collaboration the better we can make the world. It's great being able to understand climate change or the equations that make space flight possible but the creation of 3D components and illustrating data in an understandable way can be just as important.
A prime example of this is Elon Musk sending a Tesla into space with an astronaut (mannequin) inside set to a David Bowie soundtrack. To some, this was just an extremely expensive publicity stunt, however, what if we looked at this in a different way? Elon Musk was collaborating with astrophysicists in order to put an art installation into orbit. It suddenly takes on a larger meaning. This feat, along with Space X's other achievements over the past decade or so, will hopefully inspire a generation not only of engineers, astrophysicists and scientists but also of artists and composers, sculptors and architects. Space flight inspires people and makes them realise that things they never thought possible can be done - why would this not have an impact on design?
I want to explore the relationship between design and science and technology more in the coming weeks because I think it is one of the most important and exciting multidisciplinary approaches of the modern day.
Workshop Challenge
What are the advantages of interdisciplinary provocation and how could you utilise this approach in your practice?
Put theory into practice and spend an hour brainstorming ideas based on the following challenge and who you would choose to work with.
Identify a discipline and specialist who could help you to reflect from a dynamically opposing position on a specific problem.
Pick one of the issues below and discuss with your chosen individual how you may solve the challenge. This should ideally be recorded as an audio podcast. Our interest in this also relates to the way in which different disciplines discuss an issue and their manner and approach in communicating differently, as well as how you would capture this.
As a guide, please evolve your own strategy for bridging the questions. Equally, you may wish to also consider the core issues: how would your specialism solve this and how different is this to the expected design thinker?
Do not forget to consider the communication style you would use to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue.
Finally, how do you summarise these findings in a way that is acceptable to both collaborators?
Improving mental health in young adults.
Reducing pollution in inner cities.
Encouraging greater engagement with galleries and museums.
Reducing isolation and loneliness.
Promoting greater community cohesion.
Possible specialists
The first thing to do is think about people I know and would like to talk to and which of the areas would be best to talk about with them.
Name: Cheryl Nicols
Job: Registered Nurse in an elderly care home
Topic: Reducing isolation and loneliness, specifically in the older generation
Name: Matthew Greenfield
Job: Tech Journalist and writer
Topic: Reducing isolation and loneliness.
Name: Laura Lowe
Job: Human Resources Manager
Topic: Improving mental health in young adults
Name: Issy Robertson
Job: Architect
Topic: Promoting greater community cohesion
Name: Melissa Milner
Job: Communications Director
Topic: Encouraging greater engagement with galleries and museums.
Name: Chris Wright
Job: CEO of a not for profit
Topic: Improving mental health in young adults
Name: Leona Batten
Job: Scientist
Topic: Reducing pollution in inner cities
This exercise made me realise how many talented people I know in such a wide range of fields. All of these conversations would be interesting to have but I need to make the decision based on what would be an interesting inter-disciplinary collaboration. Considering my research this week, I think talking to Mat, the tech journalist will be a really interesting conversation, especially regarding technological advancements in combatting loneliness.
The next step is to consider what questions would be beneficial to discuss. I thought as this was a collaborative task, I would write down five talking points and ask Mat to do the same before we have the conversation, that way we can discuss from both perspectives.
I chose isolation and loneliness to talk about because I am interested in technological solutions to human problems. This is the going to be the bases of my discussion with Mat.
My five questions:
Do you think technological solutions can ever fully solve a human problem such as loneliness?
What is the most interesting tech solution to loneliness you have come across?
How important do you think the design of these solutions are compared to the technology side of it?
Do you think design and technology can exist independently of each other?
Can technology actually make us more lonely?
Mat's five questions:
Should design lead technology or technology lead design?
How flexible are the rules of design?
How much design would go into creating virtual/augmented reality tools and would they combat loneliness?
Can you ever see design evolving into sensory and tactile experiences?
How much did the confluence of design and technology affect people's mental health during the pandemic (doom portending information posters and covid tracking apps, for instance)?
Here is our conversation in full:
Analysis
The first thing I found interesting was when I asked Mat if he had any questions, all of his questions were about design and all of mine were about technology - clearly we both have curious minds! I thought the brainstormed set of questions would lead to a really interesting conversation looking at both design and technology and how they can work together to help reduce isolation and loneliness.
I wanted the communication style to be very conversational - using the questions as a guide I want it to feel like a natural discussion between people from two different industries. I feel like Mat and I had collaborated before we even started the conversation. I suggested 5 talking points and asked him to do the same. I think this was a good way to start because I could check we didn't both have the same questions and also that we were sticking to the topic of isolation and technology.
Staying on topic was the first challenge we encountered while making this podcast! As two naturally chatty people the conversation flowed and after drifting into the creation of the internet and Apple design we managed to stay on track quite well.
I found Mat's view of robotics particularly interesting - their application in helping to reduce isolation and loneliness is as limitless as the technology. I thought an interesting part of this conversation was the way design comes up with solutions to the uncanny valley problem. This (as explained by Mat) is the idea that the closer to being human a robot looks the less trust people have. Design is a tool used alongside the technology to help people trust the robots more - for example the PARO baby seal that is a biofeedback device designed specifically to be cute and cuddly rather than human. This is such a great example of a multidisciplinary collaboration between design and technology.
Final Workshop Challenge
Reflection
I found this week really interesting - especially my research about design and technology in relation to aerospace! This is what made me choose Mat as the person to talk to for the podcast - my interest in the application of technology in relation to design. The content this week really allowed me to explore my interests and dig deeper into science and design. I had no idea it had been suggested that art should be added to STEM so this was a particularly interesting discovery this week.
I really enjoyed this conversation with Mat and I think it was an interesting insight into the role of a technology and design collaboration to help combat loneliness and isolation. The podcast format was interesting and not something I had ever experienced before. I found it very hard to cut it down and still retain the main points so this is definitely something I need to work on. But overall I think it was a successful response to the workshop challenge this week.
References
[1] Jain, A. (2017). Why we need to imagine different futures. April 2017. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/anab_jain_why_we_need_to_imagine_different_futures. Last accessed: 10/7/21
[2] NASA. (2018). Pioneer Plaque. Available: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/706/pioneer-plaque/. Last accessed 10/7/21.
[3] Wikipedia. (2021). Pioneer Plaque. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque. Last accessed 10/7/21.
[4] Hill, W. (2019). British American Tobacco announces enhanced partnership with McLaren Racing. Available: https://www.bat.com/group/sites/UK__9D9KCY.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DOBJBMWU. Last accessed 10/7/21.
[5] TYPE Talk, Andy Altmann (2012) Dinner for One?, [online]. [Accessed 11 April 2019].
[6] Robinson, T. (2020). Capturing the Art of Flight. Available: https://www.aerosociety.com/news/capturing-the-art-of-flight/. Last accessed 11/7/21
[7] Maatk, A. (2021). David Bent Out of This World. Available: https://swindonian.me/tag/david-bent-artist/. Last accessed 11/7/21.
[8] Milgrom-Elcott, T. (2019). When STEM Becomes STEAM, We Can Change The Game. Available: https://www.forbes.com/sites/taliamilgromelcott/2019/11/07/when-stem-becomes-steam-we-can-change-the-game/?sh=3412a6946905. Last accessed 11/7/21.
Commenti