The education system has often…
taught us that form follows reason, meaning that research comes first. We are expected to understand the materials, context, and references before creating. In Unit 1, being asked to create as a form of research was difficult to grasp at first. However, I began to notice that the ideas and visuals we produced, both my own and those of other students in the class, were different from the designs we created when following the form follows reason approach.
When research happens through making, the process becomes more open. You are not as restricted by assumptions about what could or could not be. Instead, the main limitation becomes the context in which you choose to situate your work.
The education system has often…
taught us that context must come before the design, and that adding context halfway through a project is considered superficially justifying the work. However, through my projects I have realised that additional reading and discovering new references later in the process can actually strengthen and ground my practice. It is not superficially justifying the work when it deepens the enquiry and expands the research.
What could be considered superficial is forcing connections that do not genuinely relate to the work. But when new ideas and references contribute to the development of the project, rather than simply covering it like a coat, they become part of the research-through-creating process.
The education system has often…
taught us to prioritize clear outcomes and polished results. As a consequence, the process, the enquiry, and the experimentation, is often sacrificed or oversimplified to make it more digestible to the audience. Yet, if we critically examine the information we aim to present, we can design specifically for the audience that will engage with it.
In this context, the emphasis on flawless results becomes secondary. While clarity and refinement are still important, the focus should be on finding the most effective way to convey the message using the right visuals. This approach is far more impactful than simply prioritizing a final outcome.