sudeepa - learning so far

Respected sir,

This week has been a very learning experience for me. In the beginning I had no clear idea about this course and had certain doubts in my mind. On the first day the course started with a surprise note when instead of the usual routine introduction process we were asked to describe our fears in the form of a memory game. This interesting game not only tested my memory power but also taught me to communicate better in a group. It brought us closer and we came to know more about and understand each other better. It helped me to better my concentration power and ability to work in a group. Sharing of ideas and perceptions on the same issue has made our group more cohesive.

Discussions on important subjects like the need for designs and designers as a profession, people involved in a product’s life cycle and the identification of possibilities in a product cleared my thoughts and doubts on certain things like the need for design process and role of innovation. Then we were asked to design combs and give a presentation of our concepts before the class. We were given no constraints and were allowed to use our creativity at our own free will. The discussion and criticism of my concepts clarified my ideas and helped me to identify and learn through my mistakes. I have learnt that innovation in appreciable only when it is useful to and feasible for the final consumer. I have now understood that before making any design one should gather information about the needs and preference of the user and try to incorporate them in the design.

We also had certain assignments like buying an interesting product for ten rupees and noting down on our observations on eating icecream. These exercises not only sharpened my observation skills but also taught me to identify the problem areas in a product. ‘Deep Dive’ was an eye opening movie that gave us concrete picture of the design process. I learnt how to build on others ideas and also be more focused on our objective. After this movie we were asked to run our imagination wild and come up with unique concepts of the product we had chosen. Frankly speaking, I was quite unsure as to how to make changes and improvements in the existing object. But when I searched and bought the raw materials and started making my prototype, my ideas and concepts got clearer and I developed a more concrete picture in my mind. Moreover making the prototype was quite exciting I was happy at the end.

Thus, I have understood the importance of biassociation of products and materials and the ability of visualizing and actualizing the vision. I am happy with the end results of this week because I have gained more self-confidence and the willingness to venture risks. I have learnt to understand and convert the constraints into guidelines for building my design. I now look forward to more of such interesting exercises in the coming weeks and I hope to improve on my mistakes committed in the past week and give a better performance.

With regards,

Sudeepa Karmakar.