Future Talks¶
Audrey Desjardins¶
Autobiographical Design - Approaching failure - Revealing Tensions in Autobiographical Design
Reflection¶
During the Future Talk series with Audrey Desjardins, my key takeaway is to use design as a mode of enquiry, and also using design to articulate questions rather than a final product. This is very relevant with my learning experience in the MDEF program. As an experienced designer, I spent the first five years in my career and academia using design to create a desired product. Ever since I started my interventions, I noticed that I am using design as a tool to enlighten doubts that I have. Now, I trust the design process and see what the output would be.
I have the opportunity to share some of my doubts with Dr. Desjardins. One of my main concerns is what would be the boundaries or guidelines when we are doing research on mental health. While currently there is no clear board that states the rules and regulations for executing research as such, from what I learnt, it is important to understand and be very mindful of which community we are working together with.
Oscar also raised the issue of when do we actually set the boundaries and choose what to show and what not to show as a professional. I have actually been reflecting on this frequently, and this is part of the reason why I am slowly taking a few steps back from what I have been sharing, not because of the fear of confrontation, but because of the clarity of my state of mind.
I noticed that when I first joined this masters program, I was in a chaotic situation. I am not mentally unstable, but I felt very lost and had no clear sense of purpose. People might perceive me differently or even be intimidated by my disclosure of some part of my drive that could be too personal for an acquaintance to access. However, I am grateful for my honesty and openness that brings me to make decisions that lead me to clarity.
There is a saying where in order to rebuild, you have to destroy first. Destruction is all part of creation. I think by ‘destroying’ my existing beliefs, being open to vulnerability and exposing my wound to acquaintances, I could see myself in a better light. I can tell what is for me and what is not for me with clarity. Figuring out what you really want is not easy, but knowing what you don’t want would certainly help paint the picture better.
With that note, I will make sure that my heart is aligned with my head, trusting the design process and be very mindful of what I will be involved with in my personal life from the upcoming process.
Resources¶
Design Research as Pyschotherapy Article
Laura Forlano¶
Autoethnography and Living Intimately with Machines
Reflection¶
This has open-up a whole new perspective in designing machines in the care industry. As designers, we often carry a perception on how things should work. However most of the time, we expect too much from our design and the results are too far-fetched from reality. Overall, this has been a really insightful sharing on designing for disabilities.
Another thing that I remember from the lecture is the question: can AI be disabled? It is an interesting topic to discuss and reflect among our peers. Having experimented with chat-GPT, an online AI chatbot, this raises the concerns of ethics in AI. I wonder what would be the benchmark or trigger for us to measure when AI will be enough. Do we have enough understanding in AI to use it safely? What would make AI accessible to all means, when it is so powerful that it could change the way we use online services and affect our daily activities? What happens when a student can use AI to generate an essay or an assignment, can we call it plagiarism? Do we have enough control of this powerful tool so that it will not bring more harm rather than good?
I still don’t have an answer to all the questions, but I would keep all these questions in mind while doing my exploration.
Resources¶
Frederik van Amstel¶
El Hacer Como Que Hacer
Reflection¶
This talk reminds me of my country background as Malaysia is a country that was colonized by the British. Personally, both of my grandparents from both parents’ sides work for and against the British government. It made me realize how powerless we were and had to fight against each other.
If we celebrate colonization as a notion of “remaking”, it is an opportunity for change. However, the western world has ‘unmade’ the indigenous culture. Colonizers changed the way indigenous people live by force, they steal their resources and torture the people. While I agree that colonization might still bring some sort of benefit to the country, for example, the British left the law and education system behind; it is still important to recognize the harm that it brought and how it was rooted from selfish desires.
While colonization seems like something that happened in the far history, it is still happening here and now. Even until today, modern day colonization comes in different forms, for example tourism colonization, big brands and chains sweeping all over the world.
Ultimately, as a designer, we have the power to create and change systems. Therefore, it is important to design with conciousness. We have to recognize what is already there first before implying or imposing our ideas to avoid being that ‘colonizer’ to our subject. As the speaker says, freedom is something that is not born, but something we make. When designing, it is crucial to recognize that we are only suggesting, not imposting.
Lastly, we are remaking our past with every present decision that we made. This makes me feel hopeful and content to continuously fight for what I care about.