The Social Issue for me is Local Recycling

In my previous post I made a list of social issue that plague our world. For class I had to pick one and focus on what I could design to make a difference with this issue. I picked recycling and narrowed the focus to local recycling as I would like to make a difference in my immeadiate world that affects me most. I chose to focus on Baltimore County Recycling. The main reason people do not recycle is that there is no program in their area or if it is provided it is at a cost. Luckily Baltimore County does provide a free curbside recycle program. The question then becomes, why isn't everyone recycling? It seems to be a matter of attitude. The two main reasons is that it is too hard and it requires too much effort. So my mission is to address what makes it hard to recycle in our area and how I can make it easier without adding any expense. Changing attitude means showing recycling in a postive light with a fun twist rather than as a chore. Check out my new blog to see what I came up with.

http://homemaderecyclebox.blogspot.com/

Project II for Jewelry

I am pumped about this project. I have been wanting to using a combination of materials combining photography and metal or glass for awhile now and this project gives me the venue to do it. There is a product called liquid light that creates an emulsion layer on a material of your choosing and into that you burn the image you want. I want to create some sort of locket that keeps a precious image close to your body. I think the outside or die form will be copper and the inside plate with the image will be silver. I have mapped it all out in my sketchbook. In the morning I am going to call the local supplier to see if they carry the product, if not I will order it online. I have several different ideas on how to incorporate the image into the form, certain ideas may cause some distortion we will just have to wait and see! I have a back up plan if this blows up in my face. I call it the Anti-vessel, but I am saving that for back up. I can't wait to see how this turns out. I love the idea of wearing a literal image that is important to me. You provide the image, I make them. They make great Christmas presents!

The mortgage bailout, from a former employee

The first time I graduated college my degree was in business. My first job out of school was in the Mortgage business. ( I will keep all company names out of this in the interest of fairness) I worked in the mortgage industry as sales through underwriting for five years during the housing boom and the beginning of the wain. I have seen a lot. In the beginning it was great because there was lots of money to be made for me and most of the time I was helping people refinance and save money. It was a win win situation. As my career progressed and time moved on the loans began to change and there was a huge market for BCD loans as they are called, high risk loans. Borrowers with very low credit scores buying houses with little money down or refinancing almost all or over the equity of their home. Most loans we did were 2/28 adjustable loans meaning they would begin to adjust after the first 2 year period. People were barely qualifying on the intial low rate. I saw so many shiesty things go on. Income was pushed up, debt pushed down, comps that weren't really the best comps but we needed the value and other things of other sorts. We pushed through loans that I knew in my heart people would soon not be able to afford. It no longer felt good to do my job. I was combing through pages and pages of bad credit reports to try and give people loans they weren't going to be able to pay. It was false hope. I watched this go on for a while before I moved on. I knew this was coming. The situation we are in now with tons of bad mortgages and a $700 billion bail out plan as the NY Post proclaims today, is no fault but our own. If I saw this coming then those who are many years my senior and wiser than me had to see it too. But we pushed for every last dollar we could make, until most of the companies I used to work for are now out of business, people are out of their homes and America's finances are in a very bad place. All over the headlines every day is how this bad debt is effecting our economy. I hear people around me discussing that they haven't seen things this bad since the depression. In a way I hope so. I hope this pushes us back a little bit and maybe forces us as Americans to see things in a new light. To learn to live more simply and spend less. That we don't always need more, bigger, and better that we can be happy with the small things and it is not our possesions that will bring us the kind of joy we are looking for. I hope the CEO's loose their ridiculous salaries and their excess lifestyles. I hope hope hope we can all learn from this.

Die forming, attempt 1, review.

Well my first die forms came out OK. I wouldn't write home to mom about the form itself but my goal was to learn the basics well and that I think I achieved. I blew out most of my first set of pressings and after some research I learned that I wasn't annealing properly. I was afraid of pushing the metal to far with heat, in reality I wasn't pushing enough and I was causing more blow outs. I ran out of 24 gauge metal because of my early mistakes and in the rush to finish the project I had to switch to 20 gauge. The funny part about that is that I found the 20 gauge easier to work with and I could push it deeper than the 24. Again fear of the 20 gauge metal kept me from it, and then in the end it worked better!! In rushing to get done I pressed too many front sides and not enough back sides so I wound up one form short of where I wanted to be. Being sick for four days threw a monkey wrench in my schedule so I focused on the quality of the forms I had rather than pushing for one more and leaving my finishing completely sloppy. In the deconstruct of the form I think I did keep my cuts conservative and predictable. I did so intentionally in the interest of lack of time, If I reached out to far and completely screwed something up I did not have time to go back and start a new form and fix it. I'm ok with where I wound up. The final forms were simple and clean. I think I gained alot of knowledge and skill. I think (hope) I am done with any illnesses for the semester. I am ready for the next project to take these new skills even farther, I've got all sorts of ideas swimming around my head.

to anyone who watches what they eat or their weight

great article in the NY times today. I have done various diet and exercise program through out the years. About a month ago I finally went to a nutritionist and all the foods I eat now are whole foods, nothing processed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/dining/17diet.html

weekend update

After 3 days of a fever of 103 and a miserable existence I am back on my feet. I blew out 3 out of 4 of my die pressings last week. I think because I was a little bit over aggressive, but that tends to be my nature. In adding my brass plates to my die i made a bad cut. The marker tends to smear on the brass, I think i should have sanded it a little first, so I had to alter the design slightly. I wonder if that will make a difference in the pressing. I am going in to try it today.

I would like to add to my bug list, even though this is not a product so much. CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS! The Dr.'s office, the cable company, the retail stores. I think it goes back to attitudes, but man people are bad sometimes. Leaving you on hold. Asking me to call my insurance company to figure out the co-pay (lady I'm sick isn't that your job, sure, let me breathe on your phone, HA!) and just a general overall sense of incompetence and lack of caring. It's a rare treat, such as when I went to wal-mart yesterday. The check out girl flagged me to her empty lane even though it was express, she had the items bagged and in my cart before I could finish my credit card transaction, her mannerism were polite and thoughtful. I could have hugged her. CHEERS! To you Miss Customer service lady who does her job well, you are a bright spot in my day.

I loved the post on Scrapper Bikes. What a positive and uplifiting story. Why do we not here about more things like these in the papers in the news??

Social Issues and BUG list (so far)

My top ten social issues

1. US Economy/Housing
2. Election
3. Health, epidemics, obesity, diabetes, etc.
4. Basic standards of living for all countries
5. Learning to live together peacefully
6. Waste/recycling/sustainability
7. Attitudes
8. Education
9. Long term effects of genetic modificaitons
10. Code of Ethics for mankind

BUG List
1. Kitchen scrubbers and sponges. They sponges get stinky and don't last. Propose making something like a bath poofy that has enough texture to scrub but can be hung to air dry and does not collect mold and mildew.

2. Budget making software

3. Hair ties (rubberbands) they always break! They always stretch and break at the seam. Propose that we make them in one solid piece out of a better longer lasting material.

desing thinking, skills and creativity

Design thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that look for an improved future result. There are 7 stages to the design thinking process:

Define

• Decide what issue you are trying to resolve.
• Agree on who the audience is.
• Prioritize this project in terms of urgency.
• Determine what will make this project successful.
• Establish a glossary of terms.

Research

• Review the history of the issue; remember any existing obstacles.
• Collect examples of other attempts to solve the same issue.
• Note the project supporters, investors, and critics.
• Talk to your end-users, that brings you the most fruitful ideas for later design
• Take into account thought leaders opinion

Ideate

• Identify the needs and motivations of your end-users.
• Generate as many ideas as possible to serve these identified needs
• Log your brainstorming session.
• Do not judge or debate ideas.
• During brainstorming, have one conversation at a time

Prototype

• Combine, expand, and refine ideas.
• Create multiple drafts.
• Seek feedback from a diverse group of people, include your end users.
• Present a selection of ideas to the client.
• Reserve judgment and maintain neutrality.

Choose

• Review the objective.
• Set aside emotion and ownership of ideas.
• Remember: the most practical solution isn't always the best.
• Select the powerful ideas.

Implement

• Assign tasks.
• Execute.
• Deliver to client.

Learn

• Gather feedback from the consumer.
• Determine if the solution met its goals.
• Discuss what could be improved.
• Measure success; collect data.
• Document.

This was of thinking offers no judgment and out of the box thinking is encouraged. It is a fresh way of re-framing everyday projects and problems, involving creativity.

Creativity is defined as a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts.

The design thinking process involves design skills, where the designer considers aesthetic, functional, & many other aspects, requiring research, thought, modeling, adjustment and re-design.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_thinking

http://www.redhat.com/magazine/019may06/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity

What about social design?

What is social design? A design process that contributes to human well being and livelihood, causes change through good design, and takes into account sustainability. (It's is NOT as some links led me to, the design of fabulous parties, and weddings, and the bashing of Vera Wang designing for Kohl's) Social design also to me seems to be a collaborative effort, not the brain child of one CEO, but the contributions of many people, from many places in life who these designs will affect. It is not about charity work, but a profession that will benefit all. Wikipedia is a great starting point with plenty of further links that will take you all around the field.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_design

Social design is a growing phenomenon and the list of Who's Who is not very small. Some names I recognized from in class and reading:

David Kelley, Mike Nuttall, Bill Moggridge- the founders of IDEO. A leading desing consultantcy who's logo is "We create impact through Design" It is their brainstorming platform we just reviewed in class. Check out http://www.ideo.com/

Bruce Mau. The author of "Massive Change" which I read most of over the summer and we are scheduled to use for class. He founded The Institute With Out Boundaries and ID Magazine, both influential factors in social design.

John Thackara. Author of "In the Bubble Designing for a Complex World" In my reading one of my favorite excerpts from the book, "What purpose is served by the technology we are releasing on the world?"

The following sites that were great to learn about some high profile examples of social design, depicting how social design can and has impacted social issues.

http://www.socialdesignsite.com/

http://www.design21sdn.com/

From the above site:

DESIGN 21 asked Jeffrey Sachs about how design fits into his global fight to end poverty. Here’s what he said:

D21: Solutions to the epidemic of extreme poverty require cooperation and collaboration across many disciplines, countries and borders. Open source collaborations seem key to creating comprehensive solutions; not only can they create more informed “products” (based on the comprehensive knowledge of many), but they create a sense of collective morale, a sense of togetherness and unification. How can you see design tapping in to open source initiatives in the quest to end poverty?

I did the work on my first die form for Metals and Jewelry class, and I blew it out..... I like the form and am going to keep it, now I just need to work on finding the right PSI's for optimal form. I would like to rant for a minute; there must be an easier way to cut things out rather than using a jeweler's saw!!! The blades are ridiculously flimsy and I think I broke 5 just cutting out the Plexiglas. There has got to be a better way to do it. I understand the purpose of the jeweler's saw, the precision it offers. Yet,in this instance where the form is relatively simplistic, there has to be some way to do it that is less time consuming. Time is to a college student what water is to a man in the desert!

The Penland chapter on die forming was amazing. My mind is thinking so simple right now and to focus on developing the skills to create a minimal form. I had no idea it could go so far. I strongly agreed with the statements about the natural desire to ornament the body. I do it mostly through my many tattoo's, my jewelry is normally rather simplistic. I had never thought about jewelry as such a spiritual statement before. Adding in the salt element for some reason endeared it even more to me, I am trying to find the words to explain it. My favorite thought from the second reading was "High quality show pieces with the added capability of limitless production." You can have both and shouldn't be afraid. Awesome.

I have been eating up all the coverage on Gov. Palin. It's funny I find having a woman involved has gotten me more interested in what is going on in the election. I find a lot of the coverage about her to be superficial. Most of it questions whether a woman can be vice president and have a family. I don't think that is a question at all. Gender rolls and stereotypes of the past need to be left there. We live in an age where one-legged men can become track stars thanks to the advances in technology and the will power of men who will not be beaten. I can't wait to see what the coming months are going to bring.

In the begining

In the beginning, there was only darkness. That's how I feel right now. Stumbling, running, fumbling in the darkness trying to stay ahead of whatever is behind me because I know it will hurt me. It's been a whirlwind couple of first days back to a new semester and Sr. year. I just know if I get far enough ahead now, I will find the light, and things will settle in a little better. Not only back to school changes but so many life changes going on right now too it's CRAZY!! All of it for the best though. I am not the kind of person who functions well on five hours of sleep and that is how it is right now. I am looking forward to it all though, no matter how bad the stress is right now, because this is what I gotta do to get where I wanna go. Eat my dust!