October 8, 2020 by Effie H., Rachel C., Sarah R., and Teddy F.
Driving Question: How might we collaboratively implement a design-thinking process to meet the needs of the community we serve?
Explanation of Summative
Our summative product is the concept design and layout for an app designed to help households cut back on their domestic food waste by providing them with an interface to better manage the contents of their fridge, their dietary needs, and trips to the grocery store. The app would address some of the main reasons for domestic food waste that we identified – overbuying of food in general and poor storage of it in the house (i.e. forgetting about it in the fridge, letting it exceed its expiry date and having to throw it away, etc).
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
Our primary goal as a team was to learn how to collaborate effectively online, especially when deprived of the intimacy and information exchange of real human contact. Our meetings were casual yet productive, and we made the most of our situation by calling each other frequently in between to compensate for the lost opportunities we would have had if we were physically together. Another of our goals was to learn how to properly conduct interviews with users – we achieved this first by researching the nuances of good and bad interviews and then interviewing members of our families, the TGS community, etc.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
A large part of our creative process had to do with accommodating various people in our team. This meant scheduling meetings, which included keeping in mind a distance of 7 hours between two of the members’ timezones. In another sense, though, this involved designating roles based on different people’s abilities and expertise, largely to do with technology and software design. Therefore, we learned the importance of using the strengths of the people on our team and assigning them to the areas that they’d be most effective in.
What did this project mean to you?
This project was meaningful in that it brought a group of us students together who didn’t necessarily interact very much outside of school before; it also taught our team much about the real nature of collaboration as something that can be both online and in person.
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
I wanted to reflect people’s thoughts on Covid-19 by including various world events, situations, and feelings I’ve heard of or experienced myself. Whenever I feel a strong emotion, I like listening to songs with the same vibe, and I hope others feel the same way. My second goal was to grow my creative confidence. I achieved both of my goals by writing a song – and presenting it on this website.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
I learned that it’s effortless for me to start the creative process, but difficult to finish. I also like to write many songs at a time, and that slowed the process of “perfecting” one song. That’s why I’m open to any feedback on the song – to me, it still sounds unfinished. From the resources we were provided by the educators, I learned that judging someone’s skills vs. them is an entirely different thing – a person whose skills are being judged shouldn’t take it personally. And although it’s crucial to receive some type of feedback in songwriting (as it should be creative, but not too alienated), one should still be comfortable showing their artistic style and not make every little change people are telling them to. It’s good to finish a song with a similar tune you used in the song, as it will make people come back again and again. For example, The Weekend’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” I still have a lot to learn about songwriting, producing, singing – all of that. I’m definitely going to continue writing songs and receiving feedback. If I do write some release-worthy songs in the future, I’ll let all of you know!
The Lyrics
Verse:
Yeah, sometimes I don’t talk to people for a reason
It’s never a good place to begin with
When I’m laying on the bed with my headphones on
And imagining every possible scenario
Of people coming and going, leaving and staying
And when the only thing we thought about was playing
And praying for the people we have lost in the chaos
of the world bringing hatred towards different people
Yeah, looking at the news, I guess that’s what I’m best at
During those times of social distancing acts
On the front page, furious (yeah), they think I am hilarious (yeah)
“Let’s get you a bible”, the situation seems precarious
And honestly, I must say that they’re making me mad
Before you didn’t even care, but now all you do is so fad
“Can we go outside?” I hear a voice while keeping distance
“Sure, my love”, and I hope what she says I didn’t just listen
I still can’t hold my head down, oh no,
I just want to let the truth out and scare them with all
The things happening in front of their noses
I’m straightforward, but sweet and you
Want to hear me whisper all this nothingness I see
Chorus:
Everything’s gonna be okay
We’re gonna see a brighter day
And it goes ay, ay, ay
Thank you to the doctors and the nurses
Thank you for being so diverse, yeah
Now all we gotta do is observe
Let’s not hope for the worse
Verse:
You can do what you want or whatever you’re best at
Obeying the rules isn’t the best, huh?
For achieving herd immunity please stay at home
A vaccine will come out, “at least let’s all hope so”
And if not, then what will going outside give you?
Covid-19, so please maintain some hygiene
Flattening the curve might take some time
But washing those hands might help achieve it faster
“I will do it all for the people, not for the fame”
Well, finally, someone’s got some common sense
All those celebrities go viral singing Lennon’s “Imagine”
As if we’re all dreaming of winning and survival
They’re kind of right though, aren’t they?
Because “hey dude, real people are dying!”
“Okay-okay, I’mma head outside for some fresh air”
Look ahead, man, there’s nothing to flair
The economy is failing from the left to the right
They wouldn’t care much, would they?
Unless they couldn’t take another flight
And fight because “there’s no food at sight”
“I guess that’s not a problem for us, eh?”
Chorus:
Everything’s gonna be okay
We’re gonna see a brighter day
And it goes ay, ay, ay
Thank you to the doctors and the nurses
Thank you for being so diverse, yeah
Now all we gotta do is observe
Let’s not hope for the worse
Verse:
I promise I won’t leave, I won’t leave you behind
I will fight every time for our human rights
But if we’d all die, (laugh) no, not just once or twice
Wouldn’t it be nice to say that at least we tried?
If you’re told what you’re doing is wrong,
Why keep doing it?
You only have one body and mind, one life to live
Keep living it, and hope for the best
Oh, you’re stressed and not impressed
By the words I’m rapping as you cannot digest
So you just guess and participate in a protest?
That’s weird, man…
But in 1920, things worked like that…
Yeah, we can learn from it, but let’s not forget the fact
That tomorrow’s not yesterday, we can’t dive that deep
Today’s medicine, techonology aren’t the same
We should all reflect on what the experts say
I know you have a brain, and you seem pretty smart (small voice: intelligent)
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
In this module, I wanted to delve into the old East Asian Buddhist tradition of using art as a form of meditation, freeing the mind of its rational constraints and leading to samadhi or meditative awareness. I did this by both developing skills in calligraphy itself as well as attempting a form of meditation while practicing those skills and making the pieces above. The result, I hope, is some appearance of spontaneity and creativity, the two terms that anyone would use to describe the works of calligraphy that Buddhist monks in China, Japan, and Korea made while immersed in their happy, cheerful meditation.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
The most interesting thing that I learned while painting the Chinese characters was how challenging it is to attain any sort of balance or beauty with them. A simple downward brushstroke takes many months or perhaps years of practice to look even half-decent to a person who knows calligraphy. I did not get to this stage over the course of the project; what I did do was get a very brief look into the complexity of this medium – how the characters that you paint with the brush are not so much those that you paint but those that are left behind by the brush itself. Any stroke, whether it be a horizontal line or a dot, can very candidly suggest the calligrapher’s state of mind when painting it, meaning that any frustration or hesitance is immediately visible in the forms of the characters. This is perhaps the harshest aspect of calligraphy – each stroke is permanent and irrevocable, and cannot be embellished afterward. Not only does each brushstroke reveal your skill with the ink, but it will also reveal your ability to leave distracting thoughts behind and pool all of your mental energies into a single movement of the hand.
Poem Translation
The pieces above are renditions, in various styles of calligraphy, of three poems that I composed in a kind of bad Classical Chinese; the English translations are here:
Regular Style Poem
In the snore of my dog and the sound of my Mother cooking dinner, I hear Buddha’s joyful laugh; Just as there are many drops of water but only one Pond, So are there many Buddhas but only one Dharma.
Semi-Cursive Poem
Alone I walk to the pond, Looking for solitary ducks to feed with my Brown paper bag.
Cursive Poem
The perpetual sound of hail on the window – Instead of my friends’ happy chatter, Every day I hear only this.
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
My goals were a mixture of self-discovery and creative growth. I wanted to learn how to trust my creative instincts while also trying to understand them. I let my creativity flow with this project and managed to map that out in some mind maps and drafts. I spent the term slowly building on this artwork, which was initially going to be a much softer floral piece, and I am super happy with what it has become. You can see my process/growth below.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
I learned a lot about the watercolor paints I was using. I practiced with them a lot and tried different techniques. I also learned that I come up with my best ideas when I’m not trying to come up with ideas, so I took breaks and made lunch or something when trying to come up with an idea. This is called ‘incubation time.’ My biggest takeaway is that I enjoy being creative, and I will continue to build on my artistic skills.
Driving Question: How might I grow my creativity during the COVID-19 crisis through exploring the science of creativity and innovation and experimenting with art?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
Learning about something my parents are passionate about and learning the basics about photography and applied geometry in nature was my objective of the module. I also wanted to grow my creative confidence and challenge myself to try something new. I did this by taking lessons from my dad, getting ideas, and researching. I think my final products and process portfolio reflect such.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
I learned I have a hard time going with the flow and not planning photos. I thrive when I plan and trust myself. I challenged myself by trying something new and showing my work to others, when it’s not my strength and by mixing two areas of improvement in one summative and module. I met my expectations and went above them by taking photos that I am proud of and clearly show my progress. I’m impressed with what I achieved in some of my photos, the math and geometry in others, and how I saw the world finding more shapes. Photography is a great form to capture life and emotions, and it’s quite a complicated art form for me.
Driving Question: How might I grow my creativity during the COVID-19 crisis through exploring the science of creativity and innovation and experimenting with art?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
My goal for this module was to grow my creativity by learning more about my creative process through something that I like and that I’m passionate about, which is fashion. Through my process, I was intentional about exploring different things that affected my creativity, such as my environment, and in the end, I created sketches of five dresses each inspired by traditional Moroccan fashion and elements.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
This module allowed me to grow a lot creatively, especially when it comes to things I wasn’t necessarily confident in or didn’t have a lot of skills at. I feel like I’m a lot more comfortable experimenting and taking risks than I was before. I also learned a lot about sketching specifically. It was something very new for me, and there was a lot of trial and error before I managed to create the final product.
Driving Question: How can I use a video format to effectively communicate the many facets of the LGBTQ+ community to someone who knows nothing about it?
Project Description: This project is a 5-part video series explaining the LGBTQ+ community for a beginner audience. The intention of these videos is to be a resource for anybody who would like some more information on the community. You can find all five videos below.
Driving Question: How can I use webcomic style art to convey a message about mental health during quarantine?
Project Description: Daydream During Quarantine is a short story about a girl getting lost in her garden while thinking about her future, her goals and life in general.
What were your goals for this project? I really wanted to grow both my digital art and Japanese skills. Through this project I was able to grow both.
What were your takeaways from the project? Digital art is hard for beginners! I would really like to continue working towards making more digital art and bettering my technique in general.
Project Overview: In this mastery project, I made a photo essay on people in my life who contributed to who I am today. I wanted to photograph family/friends/teachers/and relatives. This wrapped up my senior year and the last year of a six-year journey. I also added written reflections and poetry to each of the portraits I took.
Driving Question: How might I create an uplifting documentary that shows how deafness adds value and diversity to our society?
Project Description: For my second mastery project, I decided to improve my filmmaking skills by making a documentary about deaf artists living in Melbourne. The main objective of this was to tell a story of a group that’s not often talked about and to portray it in a positive, inspiring way. The film sheds light on what it’s like to be a deaf artist in a hearing world and the struggles that come with it. But most importantly, it shows that deafness brings a valuable perspective to our society by showcasing the talent and passion of two Australian artists.
What are the biggest lessons you learned through the process of your mastery project? I think the main thing I’ve learned through this project is the importance of being adaptable and flexible when things don’t go as planned, and knowing that some things are just outside of my control.
