Ponoko 3D Printing Challenge

Ponoko 3D Printing Challenge: "

Ponoko is an online marketplace for everyone to click to make real things. They host tens of thousands of user generated product designs, ready to be customized and made into real things.

To coincide with the launch of their new Personal Factory 4 services, Google SketchUp is announcing the Ponoko 3D Printing Challenge. Basically, the challenge is to produce a piece of instructional content that’s equal parts enlightening and entertaining. Each entry must be titled “How to use Google SketchUp for Ponoko 3D printing,” but aside from that, the format is pretty open. Text, images and video (or some combination of the three) are all fair game.

All three winners will each receive SketchUp Pro 8, a 12-month Prime subscription to Personal Factory 4 and a voucher for having something made. The prizes for first place alone are worth $1500. The competition deadline is four weeks from now; all entries are due December 17, 2010. Visit the official announcement page for all the details.

Ponoko 3D Printing Challenge originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 27 Nov 2010.

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Test Two marks + blogs assessments

Congratulations DSDN171 students! You have made it through all the required readings, blog posts, and tests for your first year history/theory paper. Well done. I was very pleased with the overall performance and would like to thank you all for your hard work. Especially for your thoughtfulness responding to blog post 10.

Now as a reward: TEST TWO MARKS + FINAL BLOG MARKS maybe be picked up at Reception (Student Admin) between the hours of 11.30am - 1.30pm, Mon. - Fri.

Have a great summer everyone!

NO TUTORIALS THIS WEEK

As indicated on the course outline, there are no tutorials this week.
Our final meeting for 171 is this afternoon's lecture. Any further class announcements will be posted on this blog.

Tomorrow's lecture: Q & A

Don't miss tomorrow's lecture period: Student Advisor Hillary Reid and a number of upper year students will come to LT1 at 4.40pm and offer advice about selectinga specialisation and what courses you should take or that might be most helpful. This is your opportunity to ask important questions about your immediate future. Don't miss this Q & A session if you have any questions or doubts about your classes next year.

Final blog assignment: your turn!

Below is the final blog assignment brief. This assignment is intended to give you a chance to reflect back over the issues and themes covered in this paper and to offer your opinion about the course. There is no right or wrong response -- but I welcome your sincere comments and criticism.

Reminder: test 2 today

Don't forget to bring your note page, stay calm and trust your instincts with the multiple choice.
Good luck everyone!

This week: RIP

In addition to the assigned reading for this week, "Pop to Postmodernism" also watch the flim clip below from "RIP: A Remix Manifesto" (9 mins) and if you like it, you can (optional) watch the entire movie here:

Special tutorial session: test notes

Nan will will be holding extra tutorial session to help you strategically prepare your 'notes page' for test 2. This special session will be held in VS318 2.40 - 3.30pm Tues 5 Oct (the day before test) All are welcome! (at least until room capacity is met)

Next week's materials posted

As I will be away next week, I have posted next week's reading, "Pop to Postmodernism" by Jonathan Woodham and lecture pdf to the 'Readings' and 'Lectures' page of this blog. I have also posted the test 2 review pdf and next week's blog assignment on the 'Tools+Briefs' page of this blog. Please make sure to stay on top of your work for this course. Only one more lecture before the test. Contact me (margaret.petty@vuw.ac.nz) if you have any questions.

Announcement: movie night!

Next week, Wed. 29 Sept. at 6pm the School of Design will be hosting it's first official 'Movie Night' hosted by Culture+Context, Studio, and ACS. Come join us and see the award winning "Cats of Mirikitani" -- drinks and nibbles provided!

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the politics of design

[Design and the Cold War] next week's reading has been posted. If you have trouble reading the pdf online you can also find the original file in our course R-Drive DSDN171 (2010).

blog assignment 7: brief

The brief has been posted, review it here (or on the 'briefs+tools' page of this blog).

Campus Coaches: Info

Kaupapa Maori design

Tracey Gardner's lecture has been posted as a digital recording and PDF on the 'lectures' page of our blog. Be sure to review the Maori terms and concepts.
Week 10: Kaupapa Maori + design education

Week 10: optional reading and further information

You can find supplemental reading materials supporting our guest lecture this week by following this link to our issuu page. Also further information and sources for Maori design can be found below:
NGA AHO
Awatoru
Te Aranga

Our theme this week:

Kaupapa Māori and alternative design frameworks

This week Tracey Gardner will provide a guest lecture for DSDN171, presenting her research into Māori graphic design, and more specifically, kaupapa Māori visual communication design and process. Tracey’s research includes experiences from practising Māori designers and examines their work in order to highlight apparent differences in process and practice when design is undertaken from a kaupapa Māori perspective. Importantly, Tracey’s ‘by Māori, for Māori’ or kaupapa Māori cultural framework differs from the current predominant ideology of New Zealand’s design schools. Throughout Tracey’s research, a recurring underlying theme is the interaction of two world-views, that is, design and Māori ‘ways of knowing’, and focuses on the synthesis of both world-views and the space where these two intersect and meet. If you would like to read more about Tracey's research follow the link.

More on Bauhaus and Design Education

To help you with this week's blog assignment, here are a few links: on Johannes Itten's teaching method and studio explorations, on Moholy-Nagy (the section 'the educational project) on and on the Bauhaus and here.

Welcome back!

This week, "Technology and Progress" -- be sure to complete this week's readings (part I-II) before the lecture on Wed.
We will discuss the test results briefly in lecture as well. See you Wednesday.

László Moholy-Nagy, photogram, ca. 1926

Make-Me: The Emergence of Butch-Craft in Contemporary Design

from Core77 -- contemporary craft exhibited at Moss in NYC

Oscar Magnus Narud's Keel collection: tables in rough wood and iron.

Make-Me is an upcoming exhibition at Moss, running from September 15th through November 14th, that brings together an set of artists and designers producing what Moss has coined 'Butch-Craft.' Maybe there is no better way to describe this than the words they use themselves: 'a cerebral yet virile narrative applied to rough work crafted in wood, iron, steel, marble, rush, paint, boiled leather, clay, baked agricultural waste, plant-life, gypsum drywall, and blood, sweat and tears.'

(more...)

Readings: Technology and Progress

We will be discussing the notions of technology and progress and how these concepts have informed the development of modern design when we return from the break. Please read the excerpted text from David Raizman's chapter on the Bauhaus from "History of Design" and the position statements from Muthesius and Van de velde given during the 1914 Werkbund debates [pages 1-3 only].

Herbert Bayer's "Universal typface" 1925

4.40 pm today: test one

Don't forget. Come early, get a good seat.
Bring your notes!

study break: photography and the UK pavilion

The UK Pavilion from Shanghai Expo Timelapse Machine on Vimeo.

typed, handwritten, or pictographs...

For the test tomorrow, you can compose your A4 'notes' sheet in any way you like -- handwritten notes, typed notes, images, etc. whatever you think will be most useful for you and your working method. It is your study aid -- use it to your best advantage.

No Tutorials this Thurs. + Friday [19, 20 Aug]

As a reminder, because we will be having our first test in class on Wed. afternoon, there will be no tutorials this week. You can transition right into your mid-term break...

Reminder: Test 1, Wed. 18 Aug. 4.40pm LT1-2

Don't forget -- this week test 1 will be given during our normal lecture period on Wed. (4.40 - 5.40pm) in LT1 and LT2. You can bring ONE A-4 SHEET with notes (double sided if you like) to help you with the test. Remember that the test is geared for you to illustrate your knowledge, not your memory. So prepare yourself by making sure you understand the key concepts covered so far this term. Return to your readings, lecture notes, and blog assignments -- these are good examples of potential essay questions.
Good Luck!

Annoucement from your Student Rep, Cameron Greatorex

[Please read and respond if appropriate to Cam at cameron.greatorex@hotmail.com]

1. Are you representing another course, if so, would you introduce yourself to me ? I would love to get to know you, and see if you are encountering any obstacles or if is there anything I can learn from you.

2. Have you submitted or been nominated for the Benson & Cooper Sustainability Challenge? Nominations close on Monday 16 Aug.

3. In training to become a rep I have realised...

- You don't have to be A+ student to represent a class.

- Student communications with lecturers at this level is exceptional, but down the track in lvl2, lvl3 and hons communications can be strained or difficult. If english isn't your first language, you may need help communicating.

- Sh*# happens. Leases on flats expire, evictions can happen, passing of a family member and injury can impede study. Being swift to communicate and get help early is critical -- whether you decide to halt academic pursuits or dig deep and push through the tough times.

In Sum: Universities and their relative institutions/associations are structured to help students succeed. All you have to do is be upfront and ask for help when you need it. That's what I'm here for.

End note - Did you know Studylink offers students $300 pa. for dental services? And there are many more ways in which Studylink can help you get what you need to succeed.

Questions? Comments? -- email  cameron.greatorex@hotmail.com

Review guide: test one

The review guide, which will form the core of this week's tutorial sessions, is availble online here (and under "briefs+tools on this blog). Please have a look through the slides before your tutorial stream and be prepared to participate and ask questions where you are unclear on key themes/theories/etc.

Blog assignment 5: brief

The brief for Blog Assignment 5 is up -- have a look here. Also, note that I have changed the hand-in date to Sunday evening to allow more time for thought and reflection (especially for those with the later tutorials on Friday)

Anatomy of a blog

For those of you who have received your mark for the first three blog assignments and would like to know, specifically, what makes a great blog assignment have a close look at the "Anatomy of a blog" below. My comments illustrating the key elements of the post are highlighted in yellow and appear in bold.

S

Should construction be decorated or rather should decoration be constructed? Post begins with the question posed in the brief--building a response DIRECTLY in relation to the principle themes of the week. This was a central issue during the design ‘reform’ of the 19thcentury. Designers began to think about the beauty and utility of an object, and how these factors should be taken into account. Owen Jones argued in his writing of ‘The Grammar of Ornament’(1856) that “Construction should be decorated. Decoration should never be purposely constructed”, Jones was looking at the function of a design before the form and how the decoration of the design should not take away from the function but rather add to and strengthen the idea of its function.Here the student refers to one of the primary theoretical figures discussed in lecture and in the week's reading, illustrating an understanding of Jones's philsophical approach to design reform and the role of ornament in relation to structure. A.W.N Pugin had the same idea in his head when he created his principles of design. His principles circled around the idea that design should respect the characteristics of materials, not imitate them. These principles provided a standard for many 19th century designs. Student also discusses Pugin and his role in the foundation of the principles of the design reform movement--again illustrating a clear understanding of these ideals and thier historical relevance. Why were Jones and Pugin creating these standards for design? Partly because of the industrialisation of their country. The Industrial Revolution saw the invention of mass-production, this gave the middle class the opportunity to obtain goods easily. And ‘one of a kind’ hand made, goods began to diminish. Here historical context--describe in detail in lecture--is used to provide critical background for the development of design reform.

The 18th century wallpaper pictured above does not adhere to A.W.N Pugin’s true principles of design but rather to his false principle. The design shows depth and a soft style of decoration. Here the selected image for the post is directly discussed and critially analysed in relation to the principle tenets of the design reforem movement--with reference again to key figures--Pugin + Jones. Whereas one of Owen Jones’s or Pugins’s designs would have showed a stronger, stylised pattern of nature rather than the soft bush scene seen here. Because it is a wall the decoration should also be strong to support the idea of a solid wall. I agree with Owen Jones argument , because if an object is designed with this aesthetic it has a stronger sense of its function. Student presents his own opinion on the question of appropriate design 'principles' but in relation to the readings and key themes of the week--used to substantiate his position--and illustrating a sophisticated understanding of these ideas/ideals. Observers of the design will either be able to understand it better or their idea of what is will be reinforced by its decoration rather than misconceived.

Library workshops this week [free!]

Topic: Referencing

Times: 

            Monday 09 Aug. 4pm   

            Wednesday 11 Aug. 12pm

            Tuesday 10 Aug. 11am 

            Thursday 12 Aug. 10am & 2pm

No need to book--just drop in!

World Sweet World

To bring the contemporary craft discussion back to Wellington's doorstep, here is a link to a local blog (formerly a locally produced magazine) for DIYers and MIYers. http://worldsweetworld.com/

PDFs of required readings available

If you are having trouble reading the weekly required texts on Issuu you have two options: one, you can download a PDF file from Issuu (you will need to register as a user) or two, you can access the original PDF from the School's R-drive (under 'course materials' and 'DSDN' and 'DSDN171 [2010]'). Any questions contact margaret.petty@vuw.ac.nz

Marks for Blogs: Anton's streams A+B

If you are in either of Anton's tutorial streams, A/B your assessment sheets and marks for Blog assignments 1-3 can be picked up at the Reception Desk from 11.30am-1.30pm.

Thank you Jason

Many thanks to Jason for a great lecture last night. If you missed Jason's talk on 'Craft v. Design' watch the recording and download the lecture here

Help needed!!

A volunteer note taker is still needed for DSDN 171--why not help out? 
If you volunteer you will receive a koha book voucher and certificate, free training by professional note takers and you get to make a difference for a student your class. This role is also counts towards Victoria Plus and you receive additional points if you attend the training.  All you need to do is photocopy or email your notes to the Disability Services office once a week, simple!

So to apply simply click here: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/st_services/disability/getinvolved/vicvolapply.aspx

Blog assignment 4: brief

This week's blog assignment has been posted. Have a look...

Brian Boldon, "Dactyl", 2001: mylar, ink-jet on vinyl, silicone

Next week's readings: part I and II

Please note that for next week there are TWO readings. The first is by William Morris, "The Revival of Handicraft" -- this is a 'primary source'. The second is by Rafael Cardoso, "Craft Versus Design: Moving Beyond a Tired Dichotomy" -- this is a 'secondary source', that is, one which reflects upon and analysis or responds to a primary source. Please read both for next week's lecture.

What do you think?

What would Pugin say: true principles or false?

Thumbs up or down? Comments? 

Carpet at Wellington Airport

Suggested Reading: new!

A list of supplemental readings has been added to this blog under the 'Information' tab-- please take a moment to browse the titles. You may find something of interest. This list will be updated regularly.

Blog Assignment 3: Brief

View the full brief here:
This week, 'construction decorated' or 'decoration constructed'??

http://tordboontje.com/projects/wardrobes/fig-leaf/

Tord Boontje Wardrobe "Fig Leaf" 2008

Student Learning Support Services: Special ESOL Session

SLSS is running an ESOL Group for 1st year international or non-English speaking background arch and design students in Trimester Two. The programme aims to further develop the language ability of such students and offer them opportunities to discuss academic issues such as understanding assignment questions. The group meets every Tuesday 11-12 in the Group Study Room in the Architecture and Design Library and will run until the end of the trimester.

For more information email Dr.Xiaodan Gao at  xiaodan.gao@vuw.ac.nz

Devon D'Aoust: Sensuous Impulse: A Kantian View of Design

Blog assignment 2: from Devon D'Aoust

"Sensuous impulse" is one of two terms coined by Immanuel Kant in his philosophy of aesthetics, specifically relating to the way in which we perceive something. If an object is created with only the sensuous impulse in mind, it is purely aesthetic, created only for beauty. Conversely, if an object is created with only the "formal impulse" in mind, it is purely logical, or functional.

The Rococo movement of the eighteenth century is perhaps the peak of sensuous impulse in design. Its elaborateness was a simple by-product of the wealth of the burgeoning upper class in France, and the prolonged period of peace the country experienced during that time. Items with such elaborate ornamentation and frivolous detail, such as the "table d'appartement" by Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (pictured above), could be easily afforded, and were considered an outwards expression of one's wealth and security. In modern times, however, as humanity realises the world is no longer brimming with the natural resources it was in past years, conservatism and sustainability is the predominant trend in design, appealing to our formal impulse. Therein lies a question, though: in a modern world in which form follows function, is sensuous impulse in design relevant, or even appropriate? The answer is yes, and though sustainability and conservation of natural resources are dominant factors in modern design, the world needs things that appeal to the sensuous impulse. Clothing, for example, is designed primarily with aesthetics in mind, and is a large component of self expression. Beautiful objects keep society happy; functional objects keep society running.

Revised hand-in time: blog assignments due midnight Friday

To give students in Friday afternoon tutorials time to revise blog assignments following feedback from their tutorial sessions, the blog assignments will now be due AT MIDNIGHT on Fridays (rather than 6pm). Please note this change applies to all streams.

Blog Assignment 1: selected posts

Examples of great responses to Blog Assignment 1 are now posted on each tutor's blog page. Please have a look at these to see the kinds of responses that we hope to recieve from you. Also, please comment or offer feedback to these post (or any others you find inspiring or disturbing) on this blog.

from Caila Anderson:

THE CLOCK

There have been a  number of clock designs throughout time beginning with the sundial, the hourglass, the water clock, and then then pendulum and quartz clocks.  The invention of the clock has changed the world by allowing us to measure our day in increments that were impossible with just the sundial.  Moreover, it has separated our movement through time from that of nature and has contributed to a number of other world altering innovations; global time zones, mass-production, the 9-5 work day, and eating at a particular time rather than eating when we are hungry, to name a few. Interestingly, for such an important innovation there appears to still be much contention on the actual civilization responsible for it’s original design.  However, that being said, Galileo is cited as the inventor of the pendulum clock, though as he never built one the credit for the first built model goes to a Christian Huygens, 1656.

References:

Bellis, Mary. . The Invention of Clocks. InventorsGuide. 

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa072801a.htm

Images:  http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/object_images/535x535/10308827.jpg

Blog assignment 2: brief

This week's blog assignment asks you to consider the role of the "sensuous impulse" in design. You can find the full brief here:

theverymany: Marc Fornes and his studio are blurring the boundaries of architecture and design using advanced digital design technologies and manufacturing. This process allows fluid compositions and the irregularity of the "sensuous impulse" to emerge.

Check your blog link!

Everyone who submitted blog assignment one has been added to his or her tutor's blog, under "student blogs." For example, if you are in one of Nan O'Sullivan's two streams, your name should appear here. Please check to see if your link is working and that it appears on your tutor's blog. If it is missing or the link is broken, please email margaret.petty@vuw.ac.nz immediately.

Digital recording of week 1 lecture

Now available, here or under 'lectures' tab on this blog.

Design in a Time of Uncertainty

[optional reading]

The importance of critical reflection in design today (from Designobserver):

"Meditation on the doubt creeping into today's design practice."

By Constantin Boym


Postcard image by Ken Brown.

Since the beginning of professional industrial design — throughout the entire 20th century and into the first decade of the 21st — a designer has been a figure of confidence and authority. He (rarely, she) provided answers, solved problems, knew more than the public could possibly knew. A notion of an unsure designer, a questioning designer, or, heaven forbid, a doubtful designer would appear almost oxymoronic, and certainly unprofessional.

Perhaps the new decade will go down in history as marking the outset of Design Uncertainty. For the first time ever, designers are willing to question, openly and publicly, the nature of their profession and whether they are doing the right thing. This year, for the first time, an interrogation mark appeared in the title of the National Design Triennial at the Cooper-Hewitt. In the Netherlands, Eindhoven Design Academy’s 2010 exhibition in Milan expressed the same spirit of inquiry with an even more succinct title, a simple “?”

The reasons for self-searching and doubt are obvious, and they are not pretty. Two seemingly never-ending wars have contributed to political uncertainty and fueled fears of terrorism. The economic meltdown of 2008 continues to reverberate around the world. An unimpeded flood of oil gushes out in the Gulf of Mexico, in spite of the feats of the world’s best experts to stop it. Alice Rawsthorn, writing in The New York Times, recently captured the spirit of our time when she referred to design as “a quest for meaning in a dystopian era.” This existential mission, rather than a pursuit of new shapes, is going to define the design effort for years to come. And any search for meaning always starts with a question.

Read the full post here.

Welcome to DSDN171: Design in Context

"Seed Cathedral" Shanghai World Expo 2010, Thomas Heatherwick

Design in Context explores the many ways in which design and technology mediate and contribute to changes—social, cultural, personal, political, and ecological—in the human environment. To understand and contextualise these engagements, this course will focus on core issues and ideas found at the intersections of design and culture—presently and historically. Investigating these nexus points and looking for common threads connecting design thinking historically, DSDN171 will consider such themes as: the curve and the straight line, design as cultural reform, the crime of ornament, standardisation/rationalisation,  modernity, media, and 'modern vision'; as well as the debates around craft and design, teechnology, and post-modernity and 'remix' cultures. Please review the course outline for details of lecture and tutorial times as well as course aims and expectations (including hand-in dates).

Blog Assignment: 1

Moon Capital Competition

Utopia or Distopia?

Moon Capital Competition:

On April 15, 2010, President Barack Obama announced an ambitious strategy for expanding human presence out into the solar system. On the way to Mars, the nations of the world will demonstrate solution for living in deep space indefinitely, and for building on planets. The discovery of water on the moon fundamentally changes the practical value of our nearest neighbor. After learning about where it is and how it is concentrated, we can learn to collect and purify it. And then we can use it to support human life and for rocket propellant. Now is the time to re-think the moon as a destination for human enterprise.

Photo: NASA

What could be a better study model for renewable energy – thinking about how to build a self-sustaining city on the moon may help us break free of our dependence on fossil fuels here on Earth. How about the moon as a laboratory to prepare for exploring other planets and as a new tourist destination? SHIFTboston calls on all architects, artists, landscape architects, urban designers, engineers, and anyone else who would like to tackle the question: what if – what, when – these things happen on the moon?

This competition is intended to collect and inspire. Through sources such as blogs, editorials, advertising and exhibition, SHIFTboston will promote the most radical ideas gathered in this competition. The goal is to attract greater public interest in future possibilities for human expansion into the solar system, and in elements of self-sustaining cities of the future – efficient cities – that no longer rely on fossil fuel.

The honorary recipient will receive a cash prize and present at the SHIFTboston Moon Capital Forum celebration in Boston on Thursday, October 21, 2010. The winning entry will be displayed in a new online virtual moon tourism world, in addition to a post cards series and book. All eligible entries will be promoted on the SHIFTboston blog and website and will become part of the SHIFTboston Moon Capital Exhibition.

Submission deadline is September 3, 2010. Click here for more information about the Moon Capital Competition.

Reposted from Volume

Design in Context

Welcome. This is the official blog for DSDN171: Design in Context at the School of Design, Victoria University of Wellington (NZ). Everything you will need for this course can be found on this blog.