Week 8 Lecture & Resources Side Projects It was really interesting to hear the design practitioners talk about their views on side projects in this week’s lecture. I think allowing your creativity to explore different media and (potentially non-commercial) self-initiated projects can be extremely valuable. Giving yourself the freedom to create and making space for… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 8: Skills & Making
Author: Cat
Contemporary Practice – Week 7: Research & Theory
Week 7 Lecture & Resources Thoughts on Resources …Design is… a means of organising ideas. Design is thinking made visible.” – Andrew Howard In reading the extract from Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design, I came across Andrew Howard’s “Manifesto for Higher Learning,” originally published in the Design Observer in 2013.… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 7: Research & Theory
Contemporary Practice – Week 6: Noticing the Ignored
Week 6 Lecture & Resources Thoughts on Sketchbooks I really related to Paulus M. Dreibholz’s comment in Sketchbooks; The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives that his sketchbooks form a kind of personal visual history. I have been keeping sketchbooks since I first began studying art during my secondary school days. Many of them… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 6: Noticing the Ignored
Contemporary Practice – Week 5: Thoughts on Ideas
Week 5 Lecture & Resources I particularly liked the idea of “thinking through making,” as highlighted by Kristoffer and Tom from Regular Practice, that Thomas Heatherwick uses as a method that’s central to his design and idea generation process, and also a way to overcome getting stuck in a creative rut. I think there’s a… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 5: Thoughts on Ideas
Contemporary Practice – Week 4: The Self & Identity
Week 4 Lecture After watching the guest lecture this week, I found a Ted Talk about the infamous Rorschach inkblot test and how it works: I also discovered an interesting podcast which touched on the topic of how the Rorschach perception test, used in psychology, has an overlap with the dawning of Abstract Art. German… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 4: The Self & Identity
Contemporary Practice – Week 3: Fields of Practice
Lecture 1 – The Effect of Globalisation on Design It’s clear that globalisation comes with both advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, it’s possible to collaborate in a much broader way than ever before – a cross-fertilisation of ideas, language and culture can result in some really interesting design. One of the negatives can… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 3: Fields of Practice
Contemporary Practice – Week 2: Industry Today
Workshop Challenge Part 1: Design Practice Leith Agency – leith.co.uk The Leith Agency is based at Commercial Quay in Leith, an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is a hotbed of creative agencies and design studios. Their motto is “bold ideas that work” and they employ around 110 people, with steady growth since they began in… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 2: Industry Today
Contemporary Practice – Week 1: Introduction
Workshop Challenge Who are you? My name is Cat McLaughlin. I was born in Scotland but I spent time living overseas in Europe growing up, which has shaped me and broadened my horizons. Being exposed to different cultures and learning new languages at a young age had a massive impact on how I view the… Continue reading Contemporary Practice – Week 1: Introduction