From the very first week of this project I was really interested in using the process of research as a means to create a series of modular elements that can be rearranged in different ways to generate a variety of modular models. However, as I started this process, I slowly began to realise that this process was going to be very hard if I just had a set outcome and had to create my research from this.
In previous projects I was really drawn into the process and this was the determining factor of what I made In the end, so this process of being stuck on the final outcome but not knowing the process was very strange to me. However, I decided to dive into the process headfirst to see how and where this would lead my research.
Starting with the words Raw, Processed and Standardised ad ingredients to generate a series of models this “methodological” method became increasingly more apparent as I started to made models. That this method of generating a series of initial drawings and models from a very large and open context was something that I have always been very drawn too.
Add in the processes and methods of Substitute, Subtract, and Reconstitute I began to work up my initial models and concepts of what it would be like to compile someone’s life and values into something as small as a book. Having a metaphorical “home” in the form of a book and this book being the thing that contains all the love, value, comfort, and life of a nomadic person.
Add into this the contexts of something that Composes and Contains… well as my metaphorical book contained all of the life of a home for a nomadic person this idea of contain was very evident in the works that I was already creating so to challenge and explore new areas of design I decided on the contexts of composes as this I feel is another way of saying bring together and join with. In a very beautiful way this expresses what it is like to bring in more materials in to the things that I am designing and how these elements bring in their own challenges and needs. Much the same as different locations and people that a nomad would meet along the way would bring challenges and different needs into their life.
Finally finding a Target Audience and Distribution Channels for my research to get to would definitely have to be someone or something that is used to moving around a lot and understands the values that something that moves around a lot has to have included in it. This research must highlight the struggles and the successes of what it is like to live as a nomadic person and how this “object” could help eliminate their challenges and hopefully bring them a bigger sense of love and connection through the means of a “carefree” lifestyle.
After these 5 weeks of studying this design practice paper I have come to realise that even though I was very stuck in my thinking of wanting to design a modular system that can be packed up and transported from place to place with a nomadic person. Instead my thinking has moved toward creating a portable and somewhat modular metaphorical home for a nomadic person through the means of a pop-up scrap book like thing.
Also under the current circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic that is going on around the world this has shifted my view on what it would be like to create a somewhat large structure and how awkward this would be for someone who is weak and sick to carry with them when they travel from place to place. Instead this time has made me realise that life is far too important and its not so much the physical things that we have with us that matter the most at the end of the day it is instead and love and connection we have with our families and loved ones that is what makes us feel safe and whole again.
Georgia Christina Grace 