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Final Blog Post

I found Sam Badoo’s interview with Lara to be very insightful, especially paired with the reading about Decolonization by Russell Pinkston. Sam’s company, which I believe it spelled “Flurry” streamlines protection in financial transactions for immigrant’s families in their respective countries. I enjoyed how he described himself a result of micro-influences, and how who he is is a direct correlation of what he has experienced in his life. His idea of building relationships and educating others on the immigrants money chain is really important for his cause. His outlook and stance of every encounter being an opportunities is inspiring. 

Russell Pinkston’s writing was quite spot on and did a great deal in breaking down how numerous dark point in history are connected to the overall idea of design and the globalization that was bene taking place for centuries. I agree with Pinkston, good design does as result empowers the user to be problematic, solvers themselves, and that as a designer you should always be designing with empathy towards being & making sure that the broad population is benefitting the same as you. 

The multiple connections made to western history and the horrific events surrounding the notion of “ethnic cleansing” highlighted not only the twisted mindset of these individuals but it erased entire cultures & histories. The “White Savior Industrial Complex” is actually not something I have ever been presented with relating it to design, but the connections are laid out extremely clear in this reading. The “systemic justification of colonialism via dehumanization” is clearly riddled throughout North American history and continues to this day, and in some cases is assisted with design. Its so crucial to highlight the importance of designing for and with humanities. 

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Channeling talent & passion for good

After watching MarcX’s interview with Lara I felt inspired by the opportunity that designers and artist have to work with almost every industry or working type. All organizations or companies can benefit from proper branding and self identity and thats where designers come in. I found it cool that MarcX as a graphic designer is able to sort of work in assisting a field he is passionate about without going to school for ethical or environmental studies. Through creating advertising content for these pro green deal companies he's contributing to the movement behind it and assisting it in gaining exposure. I liked his explanation surrounding how we can identify as agent of change and the dive into what our potential purpose could be. I appreciated how authentic MarcX was in his interview it terms of his journey to get to this point. I related to him speaking about multifaceted designers like Virgil influence his work and that wanting to not confine myself to one sort of outlet. I find that because of accessibility to resources, many many creative famous people are doing work in different categories from interior to crafting liquor to creating beauty lines to writing books and coming out with furniture collabs. It’s a very crossed-over world that can sometimes even feel overwhelming. I found myself having fear of underperforming in a career by only focusing on one thing. It’s almost expected now that as a creative you're really talented at multiple things, not just your focused medium. I do commend designs who are able to juggle so much in so many fields of design/art/etc. 

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Environmentalism & Consumption

I really enjoyed Brent’s interview with Lara, I found the passion behind someone working on behalf of betterment within an organization is note worthy. I think his entire take on creating ripple effects and change within the social justice system was really useful to hear about, and I commend him for choosing a less monetary rewarding job in exchange for a more morally rewarding one. “Educate, organize & agitate” were words repeated a lot to explain how to create positive movement, and I think it helps as sort of a layout for people to follow to make the necessary steps. I found it an interesting take to see self servant volunteerism a positive due to it actually getting volunteering done, and creates positive momentum. 

The reading regarding consumerism & the ways in which we use it as a reaction was really informative. Understanding that we use consumption to make us feel better, to celebrate someone, to show off, to pass time, etc make it because sort of a baseline for every emotion and every event. The article talking about how levels of excess can dictate happiness, I want surprised to read that having a lot of things can make someone even more emotionally unfulfilled than those who had less. It seems and reads as a ruthless trap of unsatisfation. I found a lot of what the reading was about to seem straightforward and made sense, but it still surprised me. The physiology surrounding consumerism and the want for more things is deeply rooted in pretty much every part of our day to day. It seems that anything that is “popular” or widely liked is not operating for monetary gain.

Environmentalism and consumption reminds me heavily of the recent documentary “seaspiracy” regarding climate change & commercial fishing. I highly recommend it to everyone who hasn't yet seen it, it touches deeply on the socio and environmental issues and how they pretty much all relate to one another. I think the documentary is part of the “educate” section of what Brent was talking to, but I also think the imagery and clips themselves proved to be agitators, as they provoke strong emotions in everyone watching to be better, do better, etc. 

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Architecture as a Social Art

While watching “Citizen Architect”, I found myself really inspired by Sambo Mockbee, but also by the many students he taught at Auburn College who had the opportunity to go to Alabama. Right off the bat Mockbee raises the question of designing vs. building and the importance of an architect student doing both before graduation. I could relate, being an interior design student I found my authentic experience in the field sort of positioned me to be a better design student than I would have been. But then he goes on to explain the program, and it certainly made me wish I had worked somewhere similar to the Rural Studio. 

 I think almost immediately upon seeing where Music Man lived, theres this sort of disbelief at conditions of living. It’s something we perhaps knows goes on, but seeing the human being associated with the home, it really breaks you. This entire community shows extreme perseverance in their lives. I think the Rural Studio is an idea that should be adapted for all architecture programs in college. Just this documentary taught me so much about designing for reality. That people aren’t taught to design for 85% of the population. Theres a large problem in the building world due to the turn-of-cheek to the majority.  I really appreciated how Sambo and one of his students described the difference between designing for the wealthy versus design that comes with human need & appreciation. They described it as invoking passion in the the communities but also for the students, learning the difference between abundance and necessity. 

The “spiritual comfort” that was described with architecture also was sort of eye opening for me. I agree that it is as important as the functional comfort aspect of a space. Feeling positive in a space, being able to have pride in your space, it allow yourself a sort of respect that you will then go into your day with. People who don’t have the means to have a space in which they feel pride, it already position them at a disadvantage before even leaving their home. I hope going forward, especially in our current social climate we can really push the conversation surrounding the local versus global architect, and the importance of designing for those who haven't been designing for in the past. Shifting the focus on the 90% of people who aren't going to afford the buildings that are being focused on. Shift the focus on the bottom 30% in an effort to at the very least begin to allow people some respect in their lives.  I really commend Sam Mockbee for building this network and opportunity for all of these future architects. It seemed like it did just as much for the communities they were building for that it did for the students who then took these values with them and applied them.

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I really amend people like Ameer who are genuinely fighting a good fight for the complete sake of others. As a non-menstruator, he is standing up as an ally for the people who cannot voice their own struggles surrounding the issue. He is helping amplify the voices. 

Especially when it comes to the topic of menstruation, I find cis men who are willing to even do an interview and talk about the details surrounding periods have courage but even behind that that, immense passion. You can tell in the way he spoke about these mentations issues that he is wholeheartedly behind the change, and doesn't let things like “gender” norms sway his desire to do good for the betterment of others. I find the situations he spoke about, especially when it comes to lack of access extremely upsetting, but in the same breathe eye opening. Even as someone who does menstrate, I never found myself thinking through the lack of access to tampons/napkins to those who cant afford them.  It’s absolutely unacceptable that were are menstarators who can’t use/access period products every month. I find no excuse or reason for them not to be absolutely free, especially considering the half of the population that doesn't use them has probably set the prices for them. Thankfully, its people like Ameer who are bringing the awareness and making the forward motion towards change. And people and organizing that Ameer spoke about who are fighting for the cause for the betterment of EVERYONE, rather than confined financial gain to make the shifts necessary. This interview gave me both realistic and upsetting insight, but also light within communities thanks to organizers making the necessary change. 

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True to Brand/Axios

 I thought the video discussion this week was so awesome, and super impactful. I was blown away by Ashleighs accomplishments, but additionally how down to earth and authentic she has stay throughout her career path. My favorite part about the conversation was actually learning about Ashleigh herself, and the meaning behind not only her name, but also who she is as a person. She explained herself in such a way in the beginning of the video, that as a viewer, I felt connected and already impressed by her nature. I think Axios really describes her well actually, in the sense of what she taught me, and what she talked about in the video. The biggest take away that I heard was really staying true to self, true to brand and always name your values when heading into another project. I found the civility of her turning down that job she spoke about because of the possibility of it’s negative uses super telling about the type of work she does. I honor her and the people who work with her for having the strong sense of self to turn down a job due to the possibility of it falling into the wrong hands. As a designer, you can tell she really thinks through the whole possible outcome, before commenting to a project, which is something I actually think we should see more of. There are a lot of creatives out there selling their soul/values for projects, without thinking of the negative effects it could have on the American people as a whole. I also loved hearing about her time working for the Obama Administration, and her roles there. Ashleigh seemed super humble about the work that she’s done, and made it clear there is always work to be done. This was really a fantastic conversation to watch.

In thinking about our wicked problems assignment, this conversation really helped me made the shift into working on something I was passionate about. Ashleigh made it clear they prefer working with people who are from the community their projects are focused on, and how having that connection to the issue can propel it in the right direction. It inspired me to work on a wicked problem that was somewhat familiar to me, because it allows me to start talking about the issue, already having knowledge in that department. I’m looking forward to delving deeper.

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Voice of the People

I found the whole idea of the Pie Shop inspiring, especially seeing that it became a successful place for the people in their community to congregate for a positive shift. I think often volunteer work, or organizations feel they know a community better than the community does, and doesn't take the time to learn what their actual needs are, and end up doing less good than they could have. I think that self fulfillment has a lot to do with this, the human desire to feel like you're doing a good thing, helping a cause, and I think whole organizations can fall into this sort of surface level assistance. I found the pie shop was such a strong element because it was directly catered to the people in the community. It wasn't a “lets do what we think this community needs”, it was “lets collaborate with this community to understand what they want to see, and work with them to make it happen” It’s a huge shift that I dont think it immediately obvious. I am really interested in helping create connectors for those struggling with hunger and/or poverty. Some catalysts & connectors I know surrounding this topic are things like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, “Free food” fridges in cities, community food banks, subsidized housing, etc. I do however know that both these problems stem much earlier than any of these connectors would be relevant for. They’re systemic wicked problems, and its necessary to look at almost every part of our society when explaining poverty. It’s a race class narrative story. You cannot see the root of poverty & hunger without looking at all aspects of our communities & governments. It reminds me of what Colleen said and what was a really strong point is that when politicians are having conversations about communities, there so often aren't truly impacted people sitting at that table. Real working class people are so often rarely heard or seen by their local & nonlocal governing bodies, which is exactly the opposite of what they were elected for. A voice of the people, not a voice of the top 10%.

Colleen was really great, I really amend her for dedicating her life to a bigger cause. Learning about roles of activists and their responsibility of holding government accountable to their promises, exposing misinformation, etc was actually somewhat new information to me. I thought some of the educational stunts she's been involved with have been funny & really strong, with direct & clear messages. I think also her point about viewing a single politician as a “savior” being dangerous is super true as well. Her conversation with Lara really gave me a lot to think about. 

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Week 4, Seeing Perspectives

The largest thing I took away from Nadia’s conversation was the idea that we are ever learning, evolving, changing. The idea that there is always still more to know, and that the learning journey is never over. It reminded me of the scientific principles of fact, and how scientific facts can and always are changing, even though at the time of discovery they seem like absolute truths. Nadia Ismail spoke to the journey of solving a problem in the work place, and talked about the importance on identifying the issue before you can start to design solutions for it.

I loved her take on overall companies strength & weaknesses and how to play into them. How a companies work is never done, and an employee is never done learning. I really like how we have seen in the past few months, a large surge of diversifying workplaces for the better. We have seen representation come to light, but what we haven’t seen as much, is companies/brands taking responsibility for being part of the problem prior. It took world-wide outrage for some companies to change their ways, and even know we don’t see any responsibility from these brands for perpetrating the problems. 

When it comes to working in the future and having the skills to converse with people around social issues and design, she taught me a lot. Knowing there is always more to learn, knowing that approaching a situation with grace is the best you can do. I think knowing that there are always going to be things you don’t know about is a huge step. As a young interior designer, I had to accept that yes my clients so far have 100% been older, wiser, more cultured than me. The median clients Ive work with are in their 40s, but that me not knowing an old phrase, word, or meaning to do with design doesn’t not make me unqualified, it just shows that im in the process of learning. As in most jobs, you don’t become great until you’ve been doing for a long time. 

The same can be said for more political, racial, gender, etc insensitive comments in the work place. I think approaching every situation with calmness is the best way to go, but I’ve learned first hand this isn’t always possible. Being able to explain to someone why their comments are insensitive without getting upset with them as people is a hard trait to learn.  It can be hard to differentiate the person from the comment, and a lot of the time that person won’t see what they did wrong, but its the explanation of what they said from you that can weigh the heaviest. I think the from of educating around the comment rather than the whole person, can help feel as though this is a changeable habit for this person, and can also keep them from getting defensive. 

After this year, conversations like the one Nadia has given is so important. I feel like a large portion of our society (myself included) is hyper sensitive to the issues that were brought to light this year (and always), that so often we are quick to verbally attack anyone that doesn’t seemly stand for exactly what we do in the same ways. It inability to see other perspectives. I am 100% guilty of this, and have found myself actively hating people that show support in the other direction. The inability to see other views is what has made the USA so polarized in the last year. Its hard to imagine trying to understand someone who supports the exact opposite as you, but I think the way we are right now, the “I’m right, you’re wrong”, is why its going to be so difficult to move forward together as one country. I think these conversations like we saw with Nadia, are a great step towards compassion and inabsolutism. 

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2020

I was in NYC during the toilet paper frenzy, and only went out once to get paper supplies. I do remember there being plenty when we were there, but we only took what we needed. I never feel comfortable wasting or over buying products (especially because our apartment in Nyc was small). We did watch the news about the frenzy. On one hand, “stockpiling” can mean different things. I want to believe that people who grabbed a 12 pack or 2 weren’t thinking about the effects, but only that they didn’t want to venture out again. On the other hand, the people that filled their cars full of TP are assholes.

When it comes to the BLM movement, and the many injustices going on and having light shed on them this year, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed, guilty and anxious. Overwhelmed by the mere amount of racism, inequality, and horrible inexcusable injustices. Guilty by the tremendous and immeasurable amount of white/wealth privilege….and that frustrating and inexcusable fact that I was unaware of the blatant racist tendencies I was and still am unconsciously perpetuating.& Anxious to do more…anxious I've never been (and probably never will be) doing enough.

I found myself this summer, maybe two weeks after George Floyd’s passing, feeling no other choice but to drop everything I was doing, to do more for people around me and not immediately around me. I wanted to become an activist and fight the right fight but I didn’t know how, and felt like people around me just found it hard to talk to me about anything. I found myself fighting with family and friends, challenging their language surrounding current events, and left being called “sensitive” or aggressive. I felt mad at the adults around me for not doing better, for not feeling the immense need to do more, or wanting to challenge their now thoughts. I felt frustrated that there weren’t many people to talk to about it where I am. I did most of the processing of the event of the past year via text with friends or talking to my boyfriend. I disengaged & disconnected from anyone who didn’t have the same views as me. I blocked all my trump supporter social media “friends”.  During watching “When They See Us”, I started audibly yelling after seeing Trump on the television calling for these boys to be put to death. The entire movie was the most upsetting, and I’ve really never felt so helpless watching something. The Cory character absolutely broke me, and the idea that this is a common story makes you question absolutely everything the justice system has ever stood for. The Oprah special with the Exonerated 5 also shed an incredibly sad light on the effects of the prison system on young men. I could write a whole paper about the school to prison pipeline, but in short its the most despicable infrastructure I’ve heard of.

I think what happened this year was long overdue. Its inexcusable that it took the decades, lives, families, traditions that repeated to get us to this moment in history, but I have faith in my generation that we can make more progress in this generation  towards equality than there has been in a long time. 

In this moment, I find myself wanting to learn more, and in return DO more. I’m incredibly privileged, I know that after this year more than ever, so now I need to learn how to use that in turn to benefit those who due to systemic & unjust racism weren’t given the same opportunities. 

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Thinking Wrong & Social Impact

I feel like the combination of these three sources of media, the two videos and the book read all tied in really well together to describe how to feels to be creating in the world right now. In the middle of the pandemic, I’m sure design students everywhere feel the pressure of coming up with solutions combating the issues that have arisen both in the pandemic, and in the social changes that have begun to sort of erupt as soon as the last year. As an interior architecture & design student, I have felt the pressure of both trying to solve the prolbem, and gauge if it’s right to design around it. The break down of wicked problems is such clear and concise type of issue, though I’d never heard the phase, or been able to use it. I think so many things as a designer we treat as solvable when they really are deeply rooted in wicked problems themselves, and it really about designing for the issue. This year, inparticular this past semester I found it hard to focus on the work that was in front of me often. As someone who works predominantly with houses and structure, it was hard to find real purpose in that when there seemed to be such bigger problems rooted when it came to racial inequality/injustices, sexism, politics, etc. I feel like I was processing so much information about social rights and issues in 2020, that working on anything other than immediate good for people felt inadequate, and guilt was associated with that. I think that’s large reason why I and so many other students in my class chose to focus on the pandemic for senior thesis. Though we are studying it in all different levels and capacities, it feels almost impossible to design anything without covid-19 or social injustice concepts being at the forefront.

As for “thinking wrong", I feel like I can greatly relate. I often start out really big when given an assignment, or asked to come up with an idea. I find it hard to start small, to not design the structure before I’ve worked out the requirements or who its serving. As for being rejected, shut down, or belittled in the work place or studio I don’t often have those feelings. I have always felt really supported by my instructors and peers, often being given advice on how to integrate the big picture into a digestible presentation. I think those around me only make a point to stop me if my idea seems unrealistic, or doesn’t make sense conceptually. I feel lucky to have an intelligent group of creative people in our studio group. I have had the opportunity to make some really out of the box projects, and have never actually felt like any of them were impossible to construct. I do think that I for the most part, my work is rooted in reality, I’m not someone who was ever into mystical or out-of-this-world concepts so I guess I don’t feel limited because of that too.