Week 1

Today we looked at the different meanings of products. We studied how particular products have been redesigned to communicate more effectively about what their function is and what their materials originally were. We studied the denotive, connotive and normative meanings of a product. Deeper study into products can help us to understand more about commodity fetishism and why many people want certain produtcts so much.

Week 2

There were two main exhibitons that were viewed at the Powerhouse Museum Sydney.  The Australian International Design Awards 2011 section featured a number of top designs including a joeycan for recycling shower water, a lightweight flip bike and a piece of medical techonoigly designed to treat obstructive sleep apnoea. The awards aknnowdedge excellence in design and innovation. The packpack bed was a highlighted design. The backpack bed is a lightweight back pack that rolls out into a full length, mesh protected bed.

Backpack bed by Swags for Homeless

Designs from the Engineering Exellence Designs Awards 2010 were also on display including The articultated head, the Aldar headquarters building, The Gated Auto-Synchronous Luminescence Detector and The Crucible Carbon Pyrolysis Process Engineering Prototype. The articulated head was a particularly popular design. It is a conventional industrial arm that has been converted into a pleasing installation piece. The piece interacts with audiences with human-robot interactions. 

The exhibition ‘Love Lace’ included a number of playful and inventive works that present a provocative challenge to traditional concepts of lace. These artists take lace to new and innovative levels by working with hair, steel wool and other unconventional materials. However made, lace creates very interesting visual effects with its interplay of light, space and shadows. This exhibition pushes lace from just textiles into different areas of design. 

Design on a truck by Ingrid Morley

Week 3

Last week the class went on trip to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to view a number of exhibitions.  Although very visually pleasing and fun to look at, the objects in the exhibitons also have a particular meaning and function. The objects can be given connonative, denotative and normative meaning. 

Congnitive Dissonance theory suggests that people seek consistency among their cognitions. When something happens to create an inconsistency betwen attitudes or behaviours (dissonance), something else must happen to free them of the dissonace. Dissonace often occours when a person must choose between two incompatible beliefs or actions. The strongest dissonance is created when two alternatives are equally attractive. Sometimes advertising can be the source of cognitive dissonace.

Week 4

Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused when someone is confronted with two conflicting ideas at the same time. The theory suggests that people have a motivational drive to reduce this dissonance. This is done by changing attitudes, beliefs and actions.

Adbusters are a canadian based not for profit anti-consumerist, pro environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz. Adbusters produces a reader supported advertising free magazine which is devoted to challenging consumerism. They are known for their subvertisments that spoof popular advertisments. Culture jamming is the primary means through which adbusters challenges consumerism. The goal is to interrupt the normal consumerist experience in order to show the underlying ideology of an advertisement.

Adbusters Issue 98

Marty Neumeier is president of Neutro LLC, a company specialising in brand collaboration.  Neumeir looks into how to bridge the gap between strategy and design.  His book ‘The Brand Gap is an overview that presents his theory of branding in a clear, direct and visually entertaining way. Naumeier states a brand as a persons gut feeling about a product, service or organization. “The brand isnt what you say it is, it’s what they say it is”.

The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

Week 5

Narrative Theory

Humans communicate alot through the telling of stories. Storytelling in an organisation and delivery method for communication. Children are raised with stories that communicate a message of good always triumphing over evil. However for people to be able to cope and manage is this world this ideal has to be broken at some point. 

Attribution Theory

Attribution theory suggests that we do attribute to the cause of certain events to internal or external influence. Rhetoric is the theory that we constrct our reality with communication. Meta-theory is the underlying belief about the knowledge and values that structure and guide scholarship. 

Social Theory

society was divided into happy and unhappy people. The bourgeoise, who control the means and production; and the proletariat who are in productions for the wages. Society has a substructure (economic/modes of production) and economic conditions underpin the society such as capitalism or communism. It is also underpinned by the class structure.

Week 6

Jane mcgonigal is a game designer who asks the question “Why doesnt the real world work more like an online game?” In her work she creates games that use moblie and digital tecnology to turn everyday spaces into playing fields. Her game-world insights can explain and improve the way we learn, work, solve problems and live our lives. Mcgonigal released a book called Reality is Broken which looks as why games make us happy and how they can change the world. In 2010 Mcgonigal gave a TED talk that discusses this topic. She explained how games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds and incentive to learn certain habits for success. She talks about how to harness the gamer power to solves real world problems.

Reality is Broken by Jane Mcgonigal

Week 7

Cultural Studies is an academic field based around the ideas of critical theory and literary criticism. Cultural studies involves looking at the political nature of contemporary culture as well as historical foundations, conflicts and defining traits. The underlying belief about reality, knowledge and values that structure and guide scholarship multifaceted intellectual area that explores the idealogical interconnections among media politics economy and practices on individuals in a cultural system. It attempts to think about the mass media as elements in a whole way of life, a complex unity held together by culture, by the production and reproduction of systems and symbols and messages. Culture is the weaving of values and belives that undergird a particular society or group. 

Week 8

Presentations

consisting of a 10 minute class presentation accompanied by a well researched and illustrated report of 2000 words on the relationship between possible future design styles/trends and issues and the writings of current design or social theorists 

Week 9

Online Games Will Change the World

Online gaming is one of the biggest growing trends around the world in the last decade. We spend approximately 3 billion hours a week playing online games. There is a wide concern that this is too much time to be playing games. Many people feel that the growing gaming trend is having detrimental effects on the development of our society. People are spending more time playing these games and less time focusing on real world problems. Game designer and design theorist Jane Mcgonigal believes the opposite of this is true. Her research has suggested that online gaming is actually one of the keys to solving major world problems, hoping to see 21 billion hours of weekly gameplay by the end of the next decade. 

This may seem like a crazy and counter-intuitive idea to many as the word ‘game’ is often associated with ideas of fun and not contributing in any real way. The key to understanding how games will be used to contribute to the continuing development of our society is to look closer as these games and why people are spending more time in game worlds and less time in the real world. Online games are seen by many as a way to escape the failures and frustrations of the world around them. The numerous missions and stimulating collaboration with others provides gamers with a sense of urgency, a small amount of fear and intense concentration while tackling these problems. Gamers feel like they can achieve more in these games. Somehow the feelings of anxiety, depression, frustration, uncertainty and doubt felt my many do not exist in game worlds. Individuals spend so much time playing online games because they feel they are better in game worlds than they are in the real world. Game worlds provide an optimal environment for not only succeeding at what you do, but feeling motivated and confident in what you do. Gamers are more likely to help at a moments notice, and to try again and stick with a project even after failure, for as long as it takes. 

One question that has been asked is how can we take these feelings from games and apply them to real world work. Studies have shown that many people living in a country with a strong gamer culture will spend 10 000 hours playing games by the age of 21. This is roughly the same amount of time a student will spend in school from grade 5 until graduation in the US. Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist who wrote a book called Outliars. In his book he suggests that if an individual puts in 10 000 hours of study at anything by the age of 21 then they will be a virtuoso at it. These facts put together show that we are looking at a generation of virtuoso gamers, which leads to the next question. What exactly are gamers getting so good at? Advances in wireless technology and telecommunications are allowing gamers to access gameplay through mobile devices using mobile phone and wifi networks. This makes it much easier to escape the real world while waiting in line at a cafe, on a train or whenever there is a free moment. 

The Sims Social for iPhone

These online games equip people with a set of skills and ideas that can be used to help tackle real world problems. Gamers have a sense of urgent optimism. They have the desire and motivation to tackle an obstacle, combined with the belief that they have a reasonable chance of success. Online games also help people to become part of a stronger social fabric. Research shows that we like people better once we have played a game with them, even if they have beaten us. Gamers build up trust, bonds and cooperation skills. 

Online games such as World of Warcraft also provide gamers with a tremendous sense of meaning and purpose. World of Warcraft players become involved in meaningful missions that have tasks and goals that need to be completed, often in teams. People are always much happier when they feel they are productive and are successfully contributing to a meaningful cause. The World of Warcraft Wiki is the second biggest wiki on the internet with over 80,000 articles. 

All these facts add up to a group of super empowered and hopeful individuals who believe they are individually capable of changing the world. The only problem is that these people only feel they are capable of changing game worlds, not the real one that they live in. 

Future trends will involve the inclusion and increase of online gaming in the education of young people. Research has clearly shown that people have a much more enthusiastic and confident approach to getting involved, working hard and trusting others in games.   Games will not only help to educate young people in academic subjects such as english, maths and science but will also contribute to development in areas such as communication, team work and problem solving in young people. Future trends will see the education and training of people in skills required in the real world through these games. Computer games are already being used in schools to help educate students in areas such as maths, english and science. Future trends will change the current view of online games being a waste of time. These trends will see gamers as a human resource and a positive contribution to society. Games will also help to reinforce and create habits and actions. Gamers will continue to use the skills they master in games in the real world. 

Edward Castranova is an economist who through research has looked at why people are investing so much time and money into online worlds. “We are witnessing what amounts to no less that a mass exodus to virtual worlds and online game environments”. As a way to escape the suffering and failures of the real world, it makes more sense to spend more time in these game worlds. Mcgonigal’s approach is to use online games to get closer to world problems, not get away from them. Her approach is also not to predict the future but to get in control and make the future. Just like a game she aims to imagine a real world best case scenario and equip people with the skills and knowledge to make that outcome a reality. 

Mcgonigal has already been apart of a few online games that help equip people with the skills and knowledge to tackle real world problems.  World Without Oil is a game that was made my Mcgonigal and the Institute for the Future. The object of this game is to try and survive through an oil shortage. Enough online content was made available to gamers for them to believe it was real. The game closely simulates what it would be like in the event of a real oil shortage. Gamers are given real time news and data feeds about the shortage, including information on oil costs, what is not available and about how food supplies and transportation is being affected. The overall aim of this game is for gamers to learn how to survive the oil shortage by gaining different skills and knowledge. Research showed that after 3 years many of the gamers have kept their habits that they learnt in the game. 

World Without Oil

Motivating people to take world changing actions through telling them it is the right thing to do or through fear is unreasonable and ineffective. Research into games has shown that connecting a strong sense of meaning and achievement to these actions is the key to getting people motivated and involved in solving real world problems and contributing to the development of our society. 

Week 10

This week we worked on assignment 2. I began to research ways in which games will be used to help develop skills and habits in young people in the future and develop 3 ideas for TV infomercials.

Idea 1

Two boys playing ball, who are using the teamwork skills they learnt in online games.

Idea 2

A girl out shopping, who makes the descision to study instead from the time management skills she learnt from online games.

Idea 3

A boy working on a maths puzzle, who continues to work on the puzzle after failing as he has learnt to keep trying again from online games.

Week 11

Culture jamming is a tactic used by many including Adbusters to disrupt or subvert mainstream cultural institutions. Culture jamming is seen as a form of subvertising. Culture jams draw attention to the questionable political assumption behind commercial culture. Tactics include re-figuring logos, fashion statements and product images as a way to challenge the concept of what is popular, along with assumption about the personal freedoms of consumption. Culture jamming often involves using mass media as an ironic or satirical commentary, using the original mediums communication method.  Although most culture jamming is critical, some jamming focuses on delivering a more positive message that brings together artists, scholars and activists. 

American Corporate Flag

Week 12

Occupy Wall Street consists of a series of demonstations in the Wall Street financial district and was initiated by Canadian activist group Adbusters. The protest is mainly focused on social and economic equality, coporate greed, corruption and influence over gonvernment.  The protests include a number of different political orientations including liberals, political independants, anarchists, socialists, libertarians and environmentalists. Adbusters has suggested the idea in mid July and was spontaneously taken up by people. Adbusters promoted the prostest by releasing a poster with a dancer atop the Wall Streets iconic Charging Bull. 

Occupy Wall Street Poster

“We are the 99%” is a political slogan and internet meme used by demonstrators in the Occupy protests. The idea behind this slogan is a large portion of wealth in owned by 1% of the population. The top 1% of the American population owns 40% of the total wealth in the country. It started as a blog and became an internent meme that went viral, showing a picture of a person holding a piece of paper with their story on it. 

Photo from the We are the 99% blog