1. The Mau Reading was about applying free-form creativity to the design process. The Davis Keynote Reading was about how teaching design needs to change with the times due to technological advances. The Blauvelt Reading was about the stages of design from form to content to the current stage of context. Blauvelt further proposes that there is no clear current design trends and that the future of design will be based on a combination of styles. The IDEO Reading was about a design project intended to help farmers based on community feedback and human centered design.

2. Design thinking is a broad topic. It could range from how something works to how it looks. It depends on what is being designed but the general concept of design is constantly evolving. Much of modern design is influenced by past design and also incorporates modern styles, concepts and technologies.

3. My own design process begins with an idea and is usually followed by sketches so I can get a rough visual idea of the design. Usually, as I begin to develop my design, it continues to change, evolve and improve. I prefer to work with traditional hands-on materials and techniques over computers.

    For the Re-Cap Project I was most influenced by the Mau and IDEO readings. The Mau influence came from finding inspiration for the project in an unlikely place – tacked to the wall of the classroom. The IDEO influence on my project is that I wanted to design something useful and functional that would also benefit the community based on the needs and capabilities of Dignity Village.

 1.The umbrella in use with the Dignity Village website logo displayed.

  2.Aeriel close-up of central logo.

3.Close up of Dignity website logo.

4. Close up of moon graphic.

     5.Full aeriel view of umbrella logo.

6.  Umbrella as it would appear in use.

7.Umbrella as it would appear in use.

8.  Umbrella as it would appear folded up.

    The logo used on the umbrella is based on the official flag of Dignity Village. An umbrella was chosen for the subject matter because it serves a real life functional purpose and also represents the idea of shelter from weather.

    This logo was painted using spray paint with taped borders for the simple shapes and paint pens with stencils for the more complex shapes. This could be easily and cheaply replicated and mass-produced. It would be necessary to further experiment with paints on the umbrellas in order to find the correct weather and fold resistant paint.

     This project is an idea for a fund-raising product that Dignity Village could produce and sell through supportive local shops or through their website. My idea for the project is that Dignity Village could officially set up an umbrella donation through their website in order to obtain the umbrellas. When enough are collected they could easily and cheaply hand paint their flag logo on the umbrella as part of the mandatory work contributions that are required from Dignity Village residents. This umbrella project could help Dignity Village in two ways: 1. Raising funds to help pay for the camp costs. 2. Help spread awareness about Dignity Village. The website is included in the umbrella design and the umbrella could potentially serve as a walking billboard for the encampment. Information about Dignity Village is also included on the umbrella hangtag.

  The second frame is the text which would be on the back of the tag, including a brief description of Dignity Village, a website link and a price with a barcode.

  My responsibilities for the project were compiling the text and arranging and making the presentation board. Using a homeless sign as a backdrop was intended to give the project a realistic homeless aesthetic and feel. The raised Dignity Village icons in the center of the layout were intended to imply rising above homelessness. If we could expand the project I would turn it into an interactive website that would ultimately help out Dignity Village. I would also use the cardboard homeless signs as imagery for an advertising campaign.

  We ran into technical problems with file links and were unable to print the images on time for the original presentation.

  Overall, I found the open-ended format of the project more difficult to work with than I had anticipated. While there were many options open, it was also difficult to choose the right ones.

  Members include legendary professional skateboarders such as Natas Kaupas (http://www.myspace.com/designariumskateboards ) and Steve Caballero ( http://steviecaballero.blogspot.com/)  and include examples of their artwork and retrospective views of their roles in the history of skateboarding. 

  Also featured are influential skateboarding photographers, such as: Grant Brittain (http://www.jgrantbrittain.com/ ), Bryce Kanights ( http://www.skatedaily.net/), Lance Dawes ( http://lancedawes.blogspot.com/), and Michael Burnett (http://www.michaelburnettphoto.com/ ).

  This website is well designed and easy to navigate. It features a broad range of artists and has a lot of information and images to look at. One of my favorite examples of skateboard graphics is: http://www.elephont.com/decks.html

  I enjoy looking at this website and the variety of artists and work represented is inspiring.

  The toolkit is composed of three different booklets: Hear, Create and Deliver ( HCD ). The Hear booklet focuses on preparing research through community interviews and feedback. The Create booklet uses data analysis to design prototypes for solutions. The Deliver booklet turns ideas and prototypes into plans and solutions featuring revenue and cost modeling and implementation planning.

  Three of the main points of HCD ( called “lenses” ) are:

•  Disirability – What do people desire?
• Feasability – What is technically and organizationally feasible?
• Viability – What can be financially viable?

  This seems to be a pretty good idea for helping out farmers primarily because one of the main points of the program is that the farmers are the experts. Lots of people around the world could benefit from outside help but it is a fine line between helping and imposing foreign values and beliefs. Also the underlying motives of some “charities” are questionable. Are they involved to actually help people or rather to promote their own agendas or religions? 

  A good example of a sustainably designed structure ( also a well designed website ) is:    http://www.sustainabledesign.com/index-5.html

  The design of the toolkit itself is well presented and easy to read and understand. The designers used large typefaces, graphics, photos, negative spaces, color and numbered points  all in combination to clearly and stylishly convey their message.