examples of scarves students collaboratively made in India, process to come soon.
OSU/artisan collaboration
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Category Archives: education
Institute for Creative Technologies
Really interesting collaborative, multidiscipliary institute that fouces on ways to train those enlisted in the army as to how to deal with situations. Could be an example we use at the end of the book.
From their website- http://ict.usc.edu/about
ICT was established in 1999 with a multi-year contract from the US Army to explore a powerful question: What would happen if leading technologists in artificial intelligence, graphics, and immersion joined forces with the creative talents of Hollywood and the game industry?
The answer is the creation of engaging, memorable and effective interactive media that are revolutionizing learning in the fields of training, education and beyond.
We bring together the people who understand what makes compelling content with the people who understand how to develop realistic simulation technologies.
At ICT these disparate groups are pioneering new ways to teach and to train.
Historically, simulations focus on drills and mechanics. What sets ICT apart is our focus on human interactions and emotions—areas that are recognized as increasingly important in developing critical thinking and decision-making skills.
an example of how their AI experience works- http://www.youtube.com/uscict
================ZVEZ adds:
http://ict.usc.edu/
The University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies is revolutionizing learning through the development of interactive digital media.
Collaborating with our entertainment industry neighbors, we are leaders in producing virtual humans, computer training simulations and immersive experiences for decision-making, cultural awareness, leadership and health.
Engaging and effective. Powerful and portable. Our innovations help save lives, resources and time.
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The MedVR labis a project of the ITC, designed to use VR for clinical purposes. …using VR for mental health therapy, motor skills rehabilitation, cognitive assessment and clinical skills training
Virtual Reality Iraq/Afghanistan Exposure Therapy — an immersive program designed to help veterans cope with PTSD, and equip clinicians to provide better support to them.
Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan
Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan
Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan controller view
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Email correspondence with Glenn Storm, ICT game designer:
Sure. Design Thinking is that near-buzzword that can get off track, but what I mean specifically is the idea that anyone can contribute to the design, that proper design processes are inclusive (design “with”, not “for”), that the responsibilities of design innovation can and should come from everywhere. It is the idea that by changing the way groups and organizations think, we approach a more design-friendly environment and greater involvement by all members. The roles and responsibilities of designer, as traditionally viewed, would then morph to manage the array of ideas, using their expertise to shepard a design process that makes sense for the needs, to make the necessary connections that bring innovation to light, and to reduce complexity by maintaining a focus on the design requirements. This is a really rough description of a broad topic that’s part of a larger debate on what design thinking is all about. If you’re familiar with the original concept, as from IDEO’s Ted Brown, then you’re in the ballpark. For an organization like ICT, who is coming from a much more traditional (non-design) culture, this means getting design more involved at all levels; a culture change. (see Switch, and other good books on culture change to a get a sense of that challenge)
Thanks for your feedback on your project. I agree that graphic design, as being part of a design culture with that kind of perspective, is a valuable part of innovation and input at higher levels. That’s a neat aim you’re going for. Hi, Nancy.
I hope this helps to give a sense of what is going on design-wise at the ICT, and to provide a little more inside info on our organization that isn’t apparent from our website or youtube channel, for example. Pleased to meet you both. Please stay in touch.
Best,
Glenn
From: zvezdana stojmirovic [zvezdanas@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 7:55 AM
To: Glenn Storm
Cc: nancyfro@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design
| Hi Glenn, Your answers are great. Here’s a little bit about our research:I’m coauthoring this book with my colleague Nancy Froehlich (ccd here), graphic design professor at Oregon State U in Corvallis, Oregon. We’re looking at the role of graphic design in interdisciplinary practices. We recognize that new knowledge often happens when disciplines intersect. We also see how in some instances graphic design is moving from being a “servant” (client gives you brief, you fulfill it), to getting “a seat at the big table” as it were, becoming a core process that can help all kinds of teams achieve all kinds of results. Our book, aimed at students, professionals and design enthusiasts, attempts to answer the big question, “what is interdisciplinary graphic design?” by capturing a broad range of examples, as we look to the future of our ever-shifting profession. In addition, we want to offer readers sample projects and tips that will assist them in becoming more “interdisciplinary”.
Our examples are diverse, from self-initiated artsy collaborations, to client driven work, to work done for social change, all both in and out of academia. From Bjork, the singer, to IDEO, the design giant. The clinical/military work of the ICT is interesting to us in that it is part-academia, and yet has such real-world applications that help solve pressing social problems. The graphic designer’ career path is changing, and basically, we want to show how being “interdisciplinary” can lead to great jobs in all kinds of industries. What you’ve written is right along those lines, particularly this segment: “an internal infrastructure of design, spread widely through the organization, would help all aspects of what we do, from grant proposals and presentations, to more efficient production practices, to building a more robust culture of innovation by way of bridging gaps between cultures and fostering ‘design thinking’ across the institute,” If I may ask, what part of “design thinking” would help bridge gaps between cultures? And what part would assist innovation? I hope you’ve gotten a sense of our project. Best, Zvezdana —–Original Message—– |
From: Glenn Storm
Sent: Mar 23, 2012 9:07 AM
To: zvezdana stojmirovic
Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design
Hi Zvezdana,
Our research institute is part academia and part development, as applied research. The ICT’s mandate is to take core research and combine it with expertise from the entertainment industries of gaming and film. As such, there has been a need for our organization to recognize design as a way to help bridge gaps that span these two different worlds. Some needs include the recognition of design, and quality in general, as a valuable boost to gaining funding for further research, gaining cultural recognition for the institute as a whole, but probably the biggest gains involve efficiency brought about by applying best practices in design and development.
When I started here some years ago, the production practices were exclusively a kind known as Waterfall; in short, plan first, follow plan until it is complete. One of the major best practices that I’ve championed is the use of Agile development; in short, identify the priority needs, adjust that list constantly with input from end users and stakeholders, always tackle highest priority needs first, work until time runs out. A brief, but somewhat entertaining primer on Waterfall vs Agile can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDDO3ob-4ZY
Since we have begun to implement development methodologies such as this, those efforts have shown significant efficiency gains, significant quality boosts, and generally much more relaxed and enthused teams. Using this kind of methodology in during the design processes (from UI development, to tool development, level design and game design) has been somewhat of a game-changer, in terms of how development can then be targeted to core needs, with less waste, more time to focus on the unknowns. And for a research institute, that last one is a biggie.
All this is to say, as I research Design with a capital “d”, I find ways to bring the kind of valuable knowledge back to the ICT and champion its application (with some modification for our unique needs), demonstrate the value through action, and in the process, try to gain momentum on a greater design focus at the institute. I have made formal a proposal as well, to leadership and stakeholders, to highlight how an internal infrastructure of design, spread widely through the organization, would help all aspects of what we do, from grant proposals and presentations, to more efficient production practices, to building a more robust culture of innovation by way of bridging gaps between cultures and fostering ‘design thinking’ across the institute, to name a few of the ideas proposed.
Hope that helps to illustrate what I meant.
Arno Hartholt is project leader of the Art Group here at the institute, and that sounds to me like the most likely group that would have needs involving graphic design in particular. Allow me to ‘introduce’ you in another email.
Perhaps you could share with me some of the reasons you were drawn to the ICT, what you hope to see in the ICT and how you might see contributions you make that can benefit the Art Group in particular? That will help in my introduction.
Hope this helps.
Glenn
From: zvezdana stojmirovic [zvezdanas@earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 10:13 PM
To: Glenn Storm
Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design
Glenn,
Thanks so much for your answers.
I had a couple of q’s regarding this comment you made:
“I do champion design best practices, and encourage further development of the ICT’s use of design as a more formal part of our organization.”
What do you mean by “design best practices”? Could you give me an example?
How do you think design could become a “more formal part of ICT?”
And, yes, I’d love to get in touch with your colleague.
Thanks so much,
Zvezdana
—–Original Message—–
From: Glenn Storm
Sent: Mar 22, 2012 8:57 AM
To: zvezdana stojmirovic
Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design
Hello Zvezdana,
Thank you for getting in touch and for your interest. Yes, I happen to be on a couple of the projects that use virtual reality for clinical purposes; projects called Bravemind and STRIVE. These employ Head-Mounted Displays, biometric harnesses (a cap with electrodes) and game engine technology (Unity and Gamebryo, currently) to approach immersive experiences that can be used for research, exposure therapy and stress resilience training.
We have an Art Group, sort of an internal art production studio, that handles the many projects’ art needs, including graphic design. Most of the work done by the AG is in production of the game engine assets, including 3D modeling, rigging, and animation. On occasion, there will be tasks that require graphic design, such as in poster design for conferences, print and online media design for publication, or in service of special needs for projects, such as training materials.
If interested to hear more from our Art Group, I would be happy to put you in touch with Arno Hartholt, who is the Project Leader who manages the AG. I do champion design best practices, and encourage further development of the ICT’s use of design as a more formal part of our organization. Graphic design is one area of design which would fit into what I imagine our design organization to one day be.
If there is any more information I can provide, or if you would like to be put in touch with someone here at the institute, based on the above, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Hope that helps
Take care,
Glenn Storm
Game Designer
============
From: zvezdana stojmirovic [zvezdanas@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 5:20 PM
To: Glenn Storm
Subject: greetings and question about graphic design
Hi Glenn,
My name is Zvezdana Stojmirovic, I am a graphic designer teaching at MICA in Baltimore.
I’m working on a book about interdisciplinary grpahic design, and was really compelled by the work of ICT, particularly the projects that use virtual reality for clinical purposes (Iraq/Afghan project, for example).
I’m interested in what is the role of graphic design in this work? Would you be able to tell me a little bit about that?
How do you rely on graphic designers to help accomplish the work? If there is a graphic designer you could put me in touch with, I would be most thankful.
Best regards,
Zvezdana Stojmirovic
Tim Brown urges designers to think big
TED talk by Tim Brown of IDEO, worth watching for inspiration on larger design projects.
Design is too important to be left to designers.
Tim Brown of IDEO suggests a different view of design- less on objects and more on design thinking. He calls for a shift to local, collaborative, participatory “design thinking.” Integrative thinking- ability to exploit opposing ideas and opposing contraints to create new solutions. Application of design thinking to tackle new kinds of problems. Design is human centered as it always starts with what humans need.
Project Masiluleke
Here’s a pdf of the project’s brief: Project_Masiluleke_Brief
Key contacts: Leetha Filderman, PopTech, leetha@poptech.org
Krista Dong, MD, iTEACH, woodil.iteach@gmail.com
Zinhle Thabethe, iTEACH, zinny.iteach@gmail.com
Gustav Praekelt, Praekelt Foundation, gustav@praekeltfoundation.org
Robert Fabricant, frog design, robert.fabricant@frogdesign.com
From PopTech site: http://poptech.org/project_m
Project Masiluleke is a signature program of the PopTech Accelerator – a social innovation incubator designed to foster breakthrough, interdisciplinary solutions to pressing global challenges. The Accelerator aligns world-class companies, foundations, NGOs, funders and thought leaders to collaborate on outcomes none could achieve independently. Each PopTech Accelerator program will focus on using new technologies and approaches to effect scalable, replicable and sustainable social change.
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When Krista Dong and Zinhle Thabethe came to the 2006 PopTech conference in Camden, Maine, they hoped to expand their fight against HIV/AIDS, one of South Africa’s greatest problems. They were the founders of iTEACH, an HIV/AIDS and TB prevention and treatment program in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Impressed by their story, conference organizers and Robert Fabricant of frog design came together with iTEACH to address these real-world challenges through the conference’s vision – accelerating social innovation through technology.
http://www.frogdesign.com/work/project-m.html – more photos and a video
http://poptech.org/project_m
Almost 90 percent of people in South Africa own a mobile phone, allowing Project M to use mobile technology in three crucial ways: to encourage use of low-cost diagnostic test kits (which frog created; see video, below); to walk patients through the at-home testing process; and to guide people into care should they need it and encourage healthy preventative behaviors if they don’t.
1 Million Texts Per Day
Project M launched its first phase in 2009 when a text message was sent to 1 million phones to encourage people to be tested and treated for HIV/AIDS. The Economistcalled it “the world’s largest field trial in mobile health technology.” This campaign helped triple the average daily call volume to the National AIDS Helpline, encouraging more than 150,000 people to reach out for information.
Since the initial launch, we’ve done more extensive user testing and added treatment and compliance reminders in the form of an SMS-based alert system for HIV and TB patients. Our long-term goal is to show how mobile technology can positively influence healthcare issues in Africa, so we can build a series of alliances around the world that bring together mobile operators and distributed diagnostics.
The Future of Digital Healthcare
We see a future in which local healthcare providers, NGOs, and government agencies can log onto a website and configure a cost-effective diagnostic solution tailored and scaled to their needs. They will be able to increase access to diagnostic tools and regimens in some of the world’s most under-served regions.
Article from the Economist
Project Masiluleke, or Project M for short, has been a cause celebre in several design subfields since its primary announcement last October. The project, which centers on text messaging to distribute information about HIV/AIDS treatment in deeply afflicted parts of South Africa, has been warmly praised by interaction designers, proponents of socially conscious design, advocates of technological leapfrogging in the developing world, and much of the design and innovation press as well (like Fast Company…and us).
If there were any concerns that this was a well-meaning but impractical solution that succeeded better in the minds of designers than the hands of users, though, they can be confidently put to rest, as this special reporton health care and technology in April 16th’s Economist points out.
The article, aimed at as pragmatic an audience as any publication on earth, introduces the project with a touch of skepticism, observing that “modern wizardry like molecular diagnostics and digital medical records seem irrelevant” in much of the developing world, and describing initial doubts about the effectiveness of high-tech to improve lives in the poor places of the world, by none other than Bill Gates.
It then proceeds to note that “the response has been spectacular,” and outlines numerous related health care projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere that are succeeding in providing services to populations that had formerly been written off as unreachable:
The most promising applications of mHealth for now are public-health messaging, stitching together smart medical grids, extending the reach of scarce health workers and establishing surveillance networks for infectious diseases. The use of the technology is spreading: a recent report funded by the UN Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation, two charities, documented more than four dozen projects across the developing world.
It’s truly wonderful to see such an idea catch on and gain traction — one that’s both clever and full of conscience — but a little bit of a bummer that the design expertise that’s made it so successful gets such short mention. Project M is introduced as a co-operative project between South African outreach program iTeach, mobile carrier MTN, and “American academics and several other innovative groups.” Careful followers of the project will recognize that frogdesign is one of those “innovative groups,” and the extensive effort the consultancy has put into the structure of the project and some of its future extensions (like a locally appropriate testing kit, which the article does mention) has been key.
Still, we’re not complaining. In a design environment where the most awarded products rarely make an impact on more than a handful of enthusiasts, a project with this kind of global reach and positive influence is worth a little short shrift.
COOPA-ROCA
COOPA-ROCA in Brazil is similar to Kala Raksha in India in that they combine craft and design to generate income for poor communities.
COOPA-ROCA, Rocinha Seamstress and Craftwork Co-operative Ltd., is a cooperative that trains, manages, and coordinates the work of female residents of Rocinha, who produce artisanal pieces for fashion and design markets.
The Cooperative was established in the early 1980s, with the mission of providing the conditions for its members, female residents of Rocinha, to work from home, thereby contributing to their family budget without having to neglect their childcare and domestic responsibilities.
The work developed at COOPA-ROCA has allowed the craftswomen to improve their quality of life and, indirectly, that of their families. In addition to allowing Artisans to work from home and supplement their family income, COOPA-ROCA contributes to improve their vocational skills, and to foster growth in self-esteem and collective learning.
With a professional approach, COOPA-ROCA values artisanal production based on the continuous improvement of cooperative members. COOPA-ROCA’s vision is to expand the social impact of its experience in Rocinha, becoming a national reference for the social integration of low-income communities. Today the Cooperative includes approximately 100 Artisans.
YOUORLEANS
YouOrleans is an identity system developed by a team of students, alumni, and instructors from Art Center College of Design, formed to brand the Katrina Furniture Project. The identity graphically represents the resilient and ever-optimistic citizens of New Orleans as well the craftspeople at the Katrina Furniture Project, who are using their talent and determination to effect recovery and reclaim their lives. In collaboration with Art Center’sDesignmatters initiative, a United Nations–designated non-governmental organization (NGO) which acts as an educational laboratory for best practices and social engagement, the project based its design solution on the typographic identifier of “Re“―as in Recovery, Revitalization, Reformation, Reuse, Redevelop, and Redeem―embodied in the furniture.
- DESIGNERS: Graphic Design department, Art Center College of Design; alumni Jae Chae, Ayumi Ito, Atley Kasky; students John Emshwiller, Janet Ferrero, Matthew Potter; project director and department chair Nik Hafermaas; lead instructor Paul Hauge; in collaboration with the Designmatters initiative
- Recycled cypress, recycled e-flute material, recycled paper stock
- United States, 2006–07
Working with a diverse team
The Design Difference: Using Design to Conduct a Problem-Solving Workshop
This article describes the process of working with a diverse team, where not everyone at the table is a designer.
http://www.good.is/post/the-design-difference-using-design-to-conduct-a-problem-solving-workshop/
Relevant to us? outlines a method of working with diverse people
“The timeframes gave great guidance for narrowing lofty ideas into what would be possible to achieve. Each group was given about 30 minutes in which to tackle a specific combination, then we’d be asked to switch to another assigned category and timeframe. This prevented potential burnout from banging our heads against the same problem all day.
The format of the brainstorming, or ideation, exercises moved from an unedited, uncensored burst of ideas (divergent thinking), into more actionable, physically-oriented solutions (convergent thinking). Each group began the brainstorming period by layering a page with quick ideas—or pieces of ideas—jotted on Post-its. Over time, common themes or similar trains of thought were grouped together and built upon, and the best three to five ideas were drafted into more specific concepts.”
Learning from each other
“What Gutenberg did for writing online, video can now do for face to face communication.” Chris Anderson
Streaming video online has changed the way we work together and exchange ideas. Chris Anderson of TED speaks about how a crowd can accelerate improvement, the bigger the crowd the greater the innovation. Global recognition is initiating huge amounts of effort. It works by people sharing their biggest secret (radical openness), their greatest talent- they make a video of it and post it to the web. People across the entire planet see that video, get inspired, learn that skill, improve upon it, and then post their innovation. Video offers something the printed word and photographs cannot. It is an exchange beyond words, and talents such as dancing can thrive. Video offers new ways to learn and respond, building ideas in a participation age.
How does this relate to Interdisciplinary design projects? We don’t have to be in the same room to work together. Streaming video online has opened doors to new ways of collaborating and gaining knowledge.
James Victore
“One would think that having no design education to speak of, having never learned the proper way to do, well, anything, would tend to be a major handicap. Instead, it allows me to forgo the formalities and head right to the good stuff.” (James Victore, Victore, or, Who Died and Made You Boss, New York: Abrams, 2010. project 40, no page number)
He writes compassionately about teaching, how students come to him “standardized,” and he has to break their molds, as it were, to allow them to believe that they can really make a difference and that “love always wins.”
He got together with a bartender/actor friend to create a non-profit called the Shakespeare Project that staged plays for diverse audiences. (Example of interdisciplinary work!)
It’s important to be steeped in culture!
Finding inspiration in community
http://couragefaithandcocktails.com
A dinner series seeking inspiration-
More and more we spend our lives staring at screens not only for work, but play and entertainment. Even walking outdoors we’ve become zombie-like, head bowed, connected to the great wide web and cut off from the world. The TV, the computer, the internet, websites with cute cats, these are all a part of our lives, but they are not the meat of our lives. Most of it is actually candy. And there’s a time and place for candy, but we need nourishment. We need meaning. Where are the apps that nourish the soul?
Instead of looking outside of ourselves, to the buzzing and jigging of modern life for inspiration, we need to look inside. Contrary to the pandering-to-a-demographic mentality of advertising, the truth is that the only way to genuinely connect with an audience, is with your own story—your ideals, your histories, with your humor and sex appeal. Ask yourself “what do I have to say?”, “what’s my opinion?” The more personal and specific you can be will speak to the widest of audiences because in the particular lies the universal.
It’s no surprise that many of us are on a search for meaning in our lives and works. It is in this spirit that I’ve created The Dinner Series. (Rick Valacenti)
