WEEK 2 TUTORIAL

In the tutorial of the second week, which is actually the first of tutorials for the whole unit, the students were asked to think of a sample of any daily activities which we think, have any resemblance to design activity. Some of us thought of hedge trimming or writing, while some others came up with activities such as planning a wedding or even “garnish” foods.  As for myself, I think of bodybuilding as a daily activity which share common aspects with design activity.

I came up with the idea because in my opinion, bodybuilding is an activity which involves stages such as the analysis of the goal, the process and the crafting, which can also be found in design activities. However, when I came up with the idea, my ways of thinking about the design process activity is still limited to the traditional design activity, where design is mostly about the making, which has no planning beforehand.  Therefore, after attending the first tutorial, I began to question my idea about the resemblance of bodybuilding to design activity, as at that time, I think that since bodybuilding has no planning before the crafting process, it could not be related to design activity.

After reading the material of the second week lecture, however, I regained my confidence of my idea, that bodybuilding can be actually classified into an activity of design. The same thing goes for other activities such as planning a wedding, or adding garnish to food. This is because the design activity itself, according to Bruce Archer (1984), is an activity of making an artifact which requires planning before the crafting process, with an outcome that is original and novel. Therefore, bodybuilding, planning a wedding or garnishing foods, as the activities which involve planning and crafting with outcomes that are distinctive and original, are actually fit into the category of an activity of design.

When I finished reading the second lecture’s materials, I enhance my understanding of the concept of design activity. While my comprehension of the activity prior to the lecture is limited to the traditional concept, whereas the design activity fall into the same category of crafting, which has no planning or modelling beforehand, now I realise that the modern day design activity is more complicated than it used to be, where an activity could not be classified into a design process, unless it goes through the stages of planning, modelling, crafting, and resulting in a striking, original, and novel outcomes.

Reference:

Archer, L. B. (1984). Systematic method for designers. London: The Design Council.