year 2 Technical studies
Recognising the meaning and importance of technical studies in a designer’s practice is as important as acquiring new skills in order to utilize them effectively. In this reflection, I aim to focus on reflecting how the new technical knowledge I have learnt in the second year have integrated into my practice and future development. This year, I have learnt about the properties of techniques and in-depth knowledge of film, wood and digital fabrication. This has increased my contextual awareness and ability to perceive design in daily life. It also aids my professional practice with making and thinking skills to increase the quality of work and solving practical problems.
contextual awareness
I have built up a deeper understanding of the properties of mediums and techniques leading to a better application of my technical knowledge. Each medium and skill are particularly useful for a specific context or achieving a certain goal with their specific functions, impacts and usages. Regarding medium, films are good for communication and documenting purposes, while 3D printing is suitable for creating prototypes. As for skills, using film language as an example, different camera ranges, angles and compositions serve different purposes and mastering which technique to use takes a lot of learning and practice. This is important for a multidisciplinary designer as we have multiples skills set and learning when to use certain medium and skills are the key to be successful in this approach.
Understanding the potential of a medium for a designer has helped me deliver my ideas more compellingly. From the workshops, I learnt that film is useful in building a fictional world as the audience can only see subject within the frame. Thus, for my studio project on hate, I created a series of commercials, to embody my hate for paperwork and create a fictional world where bureaucracy exists in your own flat.
Short films from the film technical studies workshop
The final outcome of my hate project
A series of short commercials
Making sense oF
Daily life designs
Technical studies have become a stepping stone for me to understand design in my daily life and view subjects surrounding me on a different level. When I went to the gift shop, I will imagine how the product I saw is made based on the tools and machinery I have learnt from the wood workshop. I learn from my daily observations and draw influences from them, which further consolidate my technical knowledge. I start to be able to figure out bad and good applications of skills and the intention of using certain techniques. My hate project took a reference to the two videos that I have watched in the past, learning how their film language works and scripted in order the storyboard my own film. I start to understand how techniques are used by professionals to achieve their outcomes and making-sense of professional’s creating process. The learning transactions in technical studies have developed my awareness of how my individual’s skills pertain to my surrounding environments that construct new technical understandings.
Video references for my hate project
I took influence from their camera shot and their film style
Quality of work
Technical studies have improved my quality of work and helped me to create more professional outcomes. First of all, the key to creating professional work is the attitude. A professional designer should have an attitude of paying attention to details. During the wood workshop, I was taught to measure things to the millimetre. If we neglect small details, they add up severely impact the level of work. Secondly, professional work requires skills in dealing with details. The workshop has taught me a lot about detail treatments. I learnt a variety of tools and machinery from the wood workshop that helps designers to create work with accuracy and closet to the finest detail. Details such as the final touch perhaps seems a very small step in making, however, it is crucial for presentation as it can make your work more visually appealing and professional looking. I learnt how to polish wood and it can really make a difference in your work. After realizing the importance of final touches, I applied it to my design work by considering what skills and steps are needed for it to be presentable. During my ZAO project, I created an array of souvenirs that aims to represent London more authentically and to subvert current souvenirs. Rather than just showing the souvenirs during the presentation, a photo shoot was carried out with consideration on the lighting and photos editing to make it more visually appealing. Furthermore, professional work also needs more in-depth and specialized knowledge. For my hate project, I filmed a sketch for experimentation, which details on lighting and sound were neglected during filming. After learning related knowledge on these details, such as how to use a sound recorder, sound syncing techniques during editing and position of lighting, my final outcome looks more professionally.
Hate project Sketch Experimentation
The sound and lighting in this video is not very good
Learning skills on dealing with these details have helped me improve my work
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ZAO project photos
Making stool in wood workshop
However, this is tricky for a multi-disciplinary designer as it is impossible to specialize in all the design fields. So, how can I become a Jack of no trade? One of the ways is to obtain multiple crafting professions as much as possible. A multi-disciplinary designer has a lot of skills to learn and to handle. From the digital fabrication workshop, I learnt how to create a 3D model by figuring out individual functions of the software one by one. I realized by breaking down complicated skill sets into small tasks can facilitate my learning. Also, learning by doing is essential. Another way is to understand the advantage and disadvantage of being a generalist when compared to a specialist. Without in-depth technical knowledge, generalist, however, can obtain skills very quickly based on previous learning experiences. Technical studies have helped to master the learning mechanism of design skills.
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3D models built during the digital fabrication workshop
Making as a thinking process
My thinking process in my practice has also been improved. Making designs is a thinking process. A designer’s ability to decision-making and problem-solving skills can affect the level of work as these thinking skills are required to find and select potential options for the task at hand. Learning new techniques and practising them can nurture these thinking skills. Experience using these is also an important factor as the more we used to create designs, the easier it is for us to find a practical solution. New techniques acquired from the workshop have developed my thinking process and help to create more sophisticated work. During the rapid response project, my problem- solving skills were utilized to create a film within a week. During the filming, we were caught in many unpredictable situations, such as the difficulties in figuring out how to film the props. With what we have learnt and based on previous experiences, we were able to control the matters and meet the demands of a new situation.
Conclusion
Through learning extensive knowledge, details treatment and the properties of mediums on the technicalities of the design world, my design practice is open to new opportunities to visualize my ideas. With this technical knowledge, I am able to experience designs around me and understand how to apply them properly. It also aids the development of my professional practice with skills to increase the quality of work and solving practical problems.