nathanielfinaudesignthinking
nathanielfinaudesignthinking
DesignThinkingNathaniel
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Design Thinking (Minor)
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nathanielfinaudesignthinking · 3 years ago
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Week 4: Collaboration
In this week's class we will learn about collaboration. We'll explore the unique attributes that you bring to groups. We will discuss the conditions that make collaborations successful and why they don't work.  You will understand why collaborating and working with others is an important part of design thinking. 
What is Collaboration?
Partnering up
being part of a team
People putting working together to produce something
CO - LAB - O - RA - TION
two or more people working together towards shared goals.
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Why should we collaborate?
I think we should collaborate because when there are many people there are twice or triple the ideas that can help with producing work or towards a shared goal. Working together can also help with being included in something.
These are the benefits of collaborating
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What do people do when they work effectively together?
They each play a part
contribution
Sharing Ideas
Putting in effort
Collaboration
"Collaboration and not co operation"
When you are co operating you are not really contributing new ideas but helping someone with their idea (I think that's what she said)
What Contributes to a bad collaborative experience?
People would have different expectations
People being too assertive and others not being assertive (dominant and submissive)
Someone having lack of motivation in the group and also someone making false promises.
Belbin's Team Roles
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We checked our roles through a website that gives you a test, based on the answers you give they tell you which team role you are most likely and least likely. My Team role was 'Team player'
Team Player
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Activity 1: Tower Construction
For this activity, we were told to bring a 50 pack of paper straws, A2 cardboard paper, and masking tape in our week 3 class. I chose to bring 50 pack of paper straws for my group.
Group Members
Mhairi
Flinn
Nathaniel
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Reflective questions
Did the group use its expertise? (Some people may have built towers like this before)
I think we had some broad knowledge about this since we had probably done something like this in high school but I don't think we had done this activity of the marble taking the longest to get down the construction. Though there were some ideas that seemed like the obvious to do but it could have been prior knowledge from me and my group.
How did the group handle disagreements? (Do they face it openly, use voting, or suppress it? What was the effect of this?)
From what I can remember we never really had any disagreements it was more of building off of ideas that we had suggested. Everyone gave their ideas and we all listened and agreed on what we thought would be best. If someone was to suppress having a disagreement I think we would ask them If that was okay or not to make them reassured?
How did you make decisions? (By consensus, one person or a pair, by voting, or do they avoid making them. What are the consequences?)
Basically we just gave our ideas as we went along like at the start of planning out the layout we each had different ideas of how we would have the marble drop down and because all our ideas were good I think we just hoped on to whatever idea one person chose? we gave our ideas and the decision I think was based off the idea that was built off from that idea given.
Did you listen to and follow the instructions or just dive in? (People differ in their learning style, action people tend to do first and think later, thinking people prefer to think first and do later)
I listened to the instruction but im not quite clear if my group members did but I am pretty sure they did. I think we only listened to a little bit of the instructions and just started talking about planning and how we would use the equipment we had. We all were thinking in the moment.
How does leadership emerge? How involved is everybody in the activity? Do others bring people in or is it everybody for themselves?
I think leadership emerges when most of the group isn't giving ideas or working that well together and there will always be someone with a higher leadership complex in the group. In my group, I think we were all equal at times and would contribute to the plan but I feel maybe I could have been more open and talkative but then a again I didn't really have things to say at the time but I did voice my opinion on how we should go about building.
What have you learnt about working effectively together?
I've learnt that when we all contribute to the task we all have our different ideas and because we did work effectively and didn't take this task that seriously we were able to feel freer and be more comfortable with each other.
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P.S. My group won the tower construction activity and we each got certificates LOL!
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nathanielfinaudesignthinking · 3 years ago
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Fixed Mindset and Growth Mindset
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nathanielfinaudesignthinking · 3 years ago
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Week 3: Creative Embodiment
4 July
What is Creative Embodiment?
I think creative embodiment is the materialising something with your own creativity
Being a creative sponge (person on my tables thought)
"The Creative Process resembles an alchemical cycle whereby creative 'gold' is generated from the mind and the body" -Peat (2014)
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The body is in sync with the brain to become more creative, and more creative ideas come through.
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Creative Thinking
Creative insights come from new associations discovered by our brains
Most people have them when we are relaxed
We cannot force creative insights to come to us, but we can create the most favourable conditions for them to come.
Mindfulness is known to improve our creative thinking skills.
Enhance creativity through mindfulness
Studies show that mindfulness enhances creativity by reducing the brain becoming "blinded" by prior experiences (unconscious bias)
Allowing the brain to rest enhances its ability to understand new ideas and create new solutions as you are present.
Most people don't know how to relax their minds.
Mindfulness improves divergent and convergent thinking
Focused attention
Open observation | Open awareness
Mindful activities can cultivate altruistic qualities such as compassion, loving-kindness, gratitude, joy, and equanimity.
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Mindfulness: Breaking patterns
“The way you react has been repeated thousands of times, and it has become routine for you. You are conditioned to be a certain way, and that is the challenge: to change your normal reactions, to change your routine, to take a risk and make different choices”
State of Being VS Doing
Activity 1 : Doodle
We were to doodle/ draw/ fill in the 20 little boxes with whatever we wanted.
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Reflective questions
What was that experience like for you?
Drawing what you wanted at first seemed easy then as you start to go through more boxes I realised that I was having a pretty hard time trying to think of what to put in the boxes now. I think I was having a hard time because I was probably unconsciously trying to make the drawings and doodles close to perfect which could also be why I hadnt finished the rest of the boxes before the timer went off.
How was it different to how you draw or sketch?
I don't really draw or sketch but I have done some art and its different because for me I wasn't really looking for quality yet I was in a way, whereas if I were to do a sketch and draw I would have thought more on what I was drawing and how I would draw it eg. composition, etc. It was also different because drawing and sketching is just what ever I want to draw and they usually come to me from inspiration of whenever I am not really listening and this task was demanding of 20 doodles and that was hard because I didn't have that many ideas of what I wanted to put on in the boxes.
Did you learn anything new?
I learnt more about building off ideas you have where in the activity I just took inspiration from the lines and integrated that with a different types of lines eg. twisted lines, scribbles, wiggly lines.
Activity 2: Movement
We listened to audio on conscious movement and followed the instructions from the audio.
the activity was basically like yoga and meditating with your body, We did stretches and focused on the stretches we did, reflecting on how it felt and the difference between each movement.
Reflective Questions
What was that experience like for you?
I thought the experience was great yet a bit difficult for me because I couldn't keep still at the beginning because I was standing maybe because I was at the front but later on really got into the exercise
How was it different to how you normally move?
It was different because I don't normally stretch or move those parts of my body (eg. hips, waist, shoulders) I could feel those parts of my body feel more relaxed and at ease when I had done the exercise. normally the only stretching is from walking or when I'm in bed and I wake up to stretch.
Did you learn anything new about yourself?
I don't know if I learnt anything new about myself or maybe the fact that I don't stretch enough?
Simply moving your body makes you more creative
"Walking requires more of your attention than sitting or standing does. When you’re walking, you’re dividing your attention between moving your body, what’s going on around you, and whatever you’re thinking about. The result is defocused attention - when it comes to divergent thinking, variable attention can improve creative ability. On the other hand, convergent thinking requires focused attention.”
Activity 3: Breathing
Just like the last activity, we had to listen to audio but on conscious breathing, following the instructions.
In this exercise, we sat in our chairs and closed our eyes listening to the instructions from the video. I cant really remember what happened because I had closed my eyes and was about to fall asleep.
Reflective Questions
Was this the first time you had meditated?
No this wasn't the first time I have meditated but this was the first time I had meditated this year and I can't really remember the last time I had meditated.
What was the experience like?
It was very relaxing and a bit uncomfortable. We had to had to support our own backs and that was kinda uncomfortable because I was tired and closing my eyes had made me sleepy and trying to stay awake but also keep my back up straight was a bit uncomfortable.
How do you feel?
I feel calm and relaxed as well as feeling like I got some sleep in even though I was just closing my eyes. Breathing in and out had made it relaxing because it was fresh air going in and out that made me feel kinda energised and happy.
If you have meditated before how did it compare to the previous time?
I can't really recall the last time I meditated but I do remember a time I meditated in high school and I think this time and back then they both felt relaxing and refreshing because they both were instances where I was sitting down and I felt more comfortable that way.
I also think that my previous meditation was more comfortable and relaxing because I was in an environment where I felt that I could be more relaxed and because I was kinda new to the design thinking class I still had my guard up making it not that relaxing.
Did you learn anything new about yourself?
I learnt that Meditating and breathing in and out really relaxes me and can help me with times when I feel stressed or other times that require me being relaxed.
Activity 4: Talking and Listening
this activity required us to pair up with a partner, one person was to talk for 3 mins and the other person was not allowed to say anything but listen for the whole 3 mins. After their time was up the roles were reversed and for another 3 mins do the same thing.
What was that experience like for you?
I did not like it at all, listening to the person was okay for me, I did want to ask him questions at times but I remembered I couldn't talk but listen. When It was my turn I did not know what to talk about so I just started talking about what time I got up and how I got to the campus and that wasn't enough time so I had to come up with something else so I started talking about how last semester was hard because I didn't really take it that seriously. I was getting anxious and it felt like those 3 mins were really long. I was changing my story every 15 seconds because I thought of something else I wanted to say and I wasn't sure he was keeping up with what I was saying, I also realised that he wasn't supposed to say anything which is why it was awkward because I was waiting for him to ask questions.
How did it feel to listen to others without giving feedback?
I think me listening and not giving feedback was the easier part of this activity, I did want to ask questions but I think me being shy stopped me from asking questions as well me knowing that I couldn't be asking questions or anything.
What was it like being uninterrupted and having the other person just listen?
Honestly, I hated it but also I just don't like talking to people so it was bad either way. I don't like making eye contact because I feel awkward so I was always looking away from his eyes, I also felt like he was really listening which was good but I don't really like when someone has their full attention on me.
Did you learn anything new about yourself?
I learnt that I can't talk for three minutes while looking the person in the eyes, I also learnt that Im not a very good talker and I cant hold a conversation for very long.
Activity 5: Your Senses
We listened to a video on mindful eating, The teacher put raisins on paper on each table, and we then had to listen to the audio and inspect the raisin on how it felt, looked, smelled, tasted, and texture.
Activity 6: Hot Drink
In groups, we had to come up to the font and on a table, there was coffee, milo, and a variety of tea. I was part of the first group and I chose to get the blood orange tea bag as my beverage, at first I was going to choose the coffee but I didn't want to grab the spoon by the face of it and make people think it was dirty lol
With the beverages we had, we had to inspect them just as we did with the raisins, being mindful of the smells, colours, textures, sounds, etc. While drinking the beverage we had to think about the temperature, the sensations on our lips, tongue, and teeth.
What was that experience like for you? (for all five of your senses - Taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight)
The smell of the drink smelled of orange combined with probably raspberry. The colour of the drink is a combination of purple and red with a texture just like water as well as the sounds being just like water since only the taste and the sight of it is different.
The temperature of the cup in my hand was hot and warm but when I drank the tea it was warm and soothing on my tongue. It was soothing because of the warmth and the flavour of the tea being fruit. The tea on my teeth was warm as well as on my lips.
Why did you choose the beverage that you did?
I chose blood orange because It stood out to me and I hadn't tasted something like that making me curious, the name also had me hooked 'blood orange'
How did this experience differ from how you normally drink a hot beverage?
It was different because we had to really look at the details of a beverage and how it feels and looks where as I would normally not look too much into the details of me making my beverages at home only at the flavour and not using all of the ways to describe the beverage.
Did the social component enhance or diminish this experience for you?
Did you learn anything new about yourself?
I learnt that I liked fruit-flavoured tea and would probably make it more
Creative Dates :
"A creative date is a block of time for you to nurture your spirit or creative flame. As the years pass, its all to easy to forget the small things that used to make you happy and feed your soul. The pressures of life and work can erode life in myriad, subtle ways. Think back to a time when you were half you current age. Were you more spontaneously creative? Were you ruled by serendipity? A creative date gives you the necessary time and space to discover this serendipity” - Dr Danny Penman
Name 10 Potential Creative dates
Bedroom
Walking out in the public
reading books
scrolling online
sleeping
beach
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nathanielfinaudesignthinking · 3 years ago
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Reflective Writing
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nathanielfinaudesignthinking · 3 years ago
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Week 2: Creative Intelligence
Class 2 (28 July)
What is Creative intelligence to you?
Your ability to come up with things
Piecing one thing
(PowerPoint Presentation on Creative Intelligence)
“Creative intelligence is that which emerges when you combine intellect (mind, ratio, reasoning) with imagination (the ability to conceive something new, see in a different way and make connections) and you start using this for progress and improvement. The combination of these two enables you to come up with relevant new ideas.”
Paper clip activity
This activity was to help us figure out ways to build off ideas into creating more ideas, I'm pretty sure. We had to think of different ways we could use a paperclip in 2 mins.
How many ways to use a paperclip?
Paperclip
Hairclip
Hair tie
Decoration
toothpick
pick
“Convergent and divergent thinking are the two types of human response to a set of problems that were identified" - J.P Guilford (1967)
We looked at divergent and convergent thinking, looking at the multiple and different ideas or information which is divergent and then converge into looking for the best idea or bit of information.
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Inspiration Material
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Think of the many ways to use this material. (Group Activity)
Packaging
Bag
Furniture Material
Tarpaulin (Coverage)
Curtains
Insulation
Placemat
shade
Clothing
Sushi roller
flooring/mat
Art
the material was revealed to be from a sail of a boat and was discarded, students from AUT used this material to create a variety of things eg. bags, and baskets. The material was too fragile to be used for objects that would be repeatedly touched so they came up with the idea of lamp shade.
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Blending Ideas Activity
choosing two random objects from an envelope we had to write down 7-10 keywords we would associate with both of them, selecting one word from both lists we would have to try and come up with and create a new business in Auckland showing the blend strategy.
The objects I picked from the envelope was a telescope and music notes
Telescope
Glass
View
Space
Stars
Nasa
Eye
Extend
Meteors
Planets
Music Notes
Songs
Rhythm
Artists
Genre
Instruments
Lyrics
Events
Party
Business ideas:
Stars/ Artists: A business that creates events, bringing performers to perform eg. Coachella
Eyes/Events: Business that shows different types of art for people to view and listen to eg. Light shows, Illusions, Interactive art, etc.
Reflective Questions
What was the process like for you in generating ideas?
The process of generating ideas was probably the easier part of the activity but I did struggle with trying to come up with more ideas for keywords, I felt that I had done the obvious ones.
Which objects were easier? Which objects were harder? Why?
I thought both of them were fairly the same with both being easy and hard, I had the basic words come to mind and trying to find more words had me stun locked and made me think more hard rather than letting them come to me.
How did you feel?
During the activity I felt calm yet I felt a bit shy because there was a new person on my table that I hadn't talked to or known but this did not affect the activity of trying find words or come up with a business.
What have you learned from this activity that you could take into future creative ideas generating sessions?
I've learned the way of combining ideas to create a better one and the many ideas you can come up with.
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Do electronic devices increase or decrease our creative intelligence?
I think electronic devices can both increase and decrease our creative intelligence. Increase by finding new ideas and inspiration through other peoples or interesting images that can add on to your own ideas but then the decrease is electronic devices being distracting and can steer you away from what you are focusing on.
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Play dough Activity
We were given play dough and instructed to build a family of an animal we choose working as a group. My group chose whales because we wanted to do something a bit different. We made play dough whales and then we had to make a stop motion film with our play dough for the whales.
Our storyline of the play dough whales was to show three whales (Mother, Father, and child) swimming together in the ocean, the child whale swam off further into the distance meeting a different type of whale (One of our group members made their whale and we thought it looked cute and different so we made that whale a different looking whale who was an outcast) they bonded and soon came the parents of the child whale, meeting the outcast whale they chose to accept the whale as one of their own becoming part of the family and they swam off into the wild together.
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nathanielfinaudesignthinking · 3 years ago
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Week 1: Introduction and Tasks
21 July 2022
This was the first class of Design Thinking and we introduced ourselves and what our majors were, most of the class was full of communication designers.
We were told to mix into groups with max of four people in each group.
We got to know the people at our table which was really fun, we worked together and learned more about what we will be doing in this minor.
The first task I can recall was answering the question of 'What is creativity' we answered and discussed in our groups and shared
What is Creativity?
I think creativity is Any idea you have from your imagination that is expressed.
"To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong" -Joseph Chilton Pearce
"You can't use up the creativity, the more you use, the more you have" - Maya Angelou
What do you think a creative person looks like?
A creative person can be anyone
Everyone has ideas big or small that can be expressed through many ways
"There is no such thing as creative and non-creative people, only people who use their creativity and those who don't" - Brene Brown
We also looked at videos explaining different art movements and what makes them different where this relates to the task of putting pictures into the categories of the art movements.
After we built with legos in our groups trying to build the tallest tower with the less amount of bricks as well as other rules. The purpose of this task was to see the different ways each group would try to come up with their own ways of building the tower, using creativity.
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Reflection:
What was your experience of this activity like?
Did you collaborate effectively? why or why not?
Did you learn about anything new about yourself?
If you were to do it again what would you do differently?
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