It may be helpful to begin by talking in your small group about the reading first in broad strokes: what did you glean from the reading, what did it make you think about (rabbit holes), what aspects of your life or experience did it spark, and what did you disagree with or find confusing?
The end of the reading poses “The idea of the proposal is at the heart of this approach to design: to propose, to suggest, to offer something….it’s about meaning and culture, about adding to what life could be, challenging what it is, and providing alternatives that loosen the ties reality has on our ability to dream. Ultimately, it is a catalyst for social dreaming.” How can we use design, art, and our practice to understand the present, and provide speculative futures? How can we world-build from our reality?
How can we pull items from our present reality and might these selections become “historical markers” or “time capsules” of current life–i.e. How does what we select or pull, become testaments of our current society, morals, values, etc…
Are these societal values intrinsic or embedded in these “objects” or“surfaces?” Or does the maker or user intentionally inject these values? Do these things develop over time? If so, what are the implications of all the\ ways values find their way into “objects” and “surfaces”? What does this say about us? How can we use this as a way to think towards the future or think about possible futures?
Introduce yourself! Who are you, what’s your story? What do you love to do? As a group–talk–get to know one another a bit! *Do you have a favorite band? Favorite movie or tv show? What are you listening to, or reading right now? If you were a reality TV show, or on a reality tv show, what would it be?
Schedules! What do you have happening this semester? Be very transparent with your studio, about your class load, work load, and external load (i.e. all those things we have going in our lives outside of school–things like family obligations or care).
As a group, have a conversation on these things and set up (at a minimum) a designated chunk of time as a group you can meet. This time you meet may be in a shared space, or in a shared digital space. The point is, you are scheduling now, when you will be working as a group on homework for this class.
Talk a bit about roles in the group! You won’t be locked into a role, but conversationally talk about, who is good at note-taking— they can be the scribe for group conversations. Who is good at organizing, scheduling–they might be the studio manager and help the group communicate and organize their thoughts and work. Who is good at ideation? Who is good at execution? Who feels comfortable with code? Who feels comfortable with design? Who feels confident leading discussions? Who feels like a wallflower in group situations? Make space for your studio-mates. Remember, listening–and making space for others–is just as important as speaking and actively doing the work, especially in collaborative projects. Again, you are going to be *working collaboratively, but be honest with your studio about yourself. Being honest up front, keeping lines of communication open, listening, and holding yourself and your group accountable will be critical moving forward.* *We have all been in a group project where “we do all the work”. It sucks–right? Don’t be that person. Don’t ghost on your responsibilities and your group. BUT, collaboration is a two-way street. How are you positively engaging to avoid these situations? In a professional setting, you will continually be asked to work collaboratively. This is really no different.
Set up a collaboration space. This includes: exchanging contact Information, setting up a group chat/email thread/slack/etc… And includes agreeing upon & setting up a shared workspace and flow.
Next, begin tackling brainstorming for the project. Instead of trying to name the exact thing at the start, have a conversation on what the reading sparked, what the examples sparked, what comes to mind when the prompt is read. What overlaps do you see and what themes emerge? Brainstorm, find the infinite ranges of possibilities for addressing the prompt of the project. Then, edit, clump, reduce, overlap, blend, refine. Next Steps For Workflow - Readings: