Reflection on Project 6: What-Why-How-What if

How did I behave?

On Monday presentation, I presented the first Intervention of Unit 2—-“Comfort Zone” Coffee.

After primary/secondary research of homelessness in Islington, I have several findings. Firstly, most homeless people live in isolation, and have little positive connection to society. They hope to be cared. Secondly, generally, most citizens sympathise homelessness, and keen to give them different support. However, there are little creative artefact, or events that can unite homelessness and other citizens to participate in meaningful activities about the community.

Also, remarkably, homeless people are overwhelmed with negative emotions. Many of them tend to narrowing their thought process and concentrate upon aspects direct to the problem(Norman,2004), these aspects usually involve negotiation of health-damaging extreme activities. For me, the main aim of this project is to use design to discover and try to build positive link between homelessness and public. Since positive emotions are critical to learning, curiosity, and creative thought, it allows us to see the forest rather than the tree, to discover creative and collaborative solutions of homelessness problem (Norman,2004).

In western society, coffee/cafe is usually associate with subjugation, reform, resistance, intense debates, but also family value and friendship (Tucker, 2011). More precisely, it’s a common ground, an encapsulation of society.

On “comfort zone”, however, “leave the comfort zone” are one of the zeigeist in this era. For example, we would like to “think outside the box”, look ahead and push forward, and we see the car light at night but forget the moonlight at the back. Since we are living in the time of “second modernity”, distinct from the first modernity, the “structures of full employment, the nuclear family, clear class, gender, and national identities”, become increasingly fragmented, uncertain and fluid(Giddens,1992), with new culture and economic have been developed, and remarkable changes have taken place in the social/political context (Mcnaughton, 2008). 

So we are now facing the problems about “self”. For example, what is our sense of belonging? What is the home to return to? What is our DNA? I plan to use this intervention to open up the dialogue/debate around these matters with public.

In the presentation of project 6, I am much confident than before. I am able to practise lateral thinking to build up a creative idea, to use artefacts to communicate question fluently, and to respond to Richie & Richards question with conviction and criticality.

Key findings(Feedback from both tutors)

—Specify level of “connection”

During the presentation, Richie ask me to clarify the word “connection”. Connection can be very vague and challenging, since there are different level of connection. In the situation of helping homeless people, connection can ranging from give homeless people money/ food directly, to give time and energy to help homeless people overcome their life barriers. It is too broad to simply put “emotional connection” in a epistemological research question.

—The act of “giving”

Richard talked about his charity donation experience. He received email of gratitude with his name on it and he did not feel very happy about this. Like Richard, to many people, the act of giving is very individual. We tend not to ask for any returns for volunteerily helping others in difficulty. The experience of doing a good deed to the community is very special, emotional and private.

What I need to next?

Clarity the level of connection: base on the feedback from stakeholders and secondary research, I specify the word “connection” in to “constructive and meaningful dialogue”. Since the context of my project is on social capital—–it’s a network, together with shared norms, values and understandings, that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’. Dialogue is essential to foster the social tie between different groups of human being(Thackara,2006), is central part of what I did and plan to do to help homeless people and is also a untapped gap in this field. Also, my project is to use design and creativity to enhance the real-world interactivity and communication, in order to help homeless people back on life track.

Also, I will be aware of anonymity and confidentiality issues when I conduct my research.

Reference list:

Beck, U. (1992) Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage

Brown, T. (2009) Change by Design. HarperCollins 

Baudrillard, J. (1968). The System of Objects. London. Verso

Carol McNaughton (2008) Transitions Through Homelessness–Lives on the Edge. Palgrave Macmillan UK

Creswell, J. W. (2002) Research Design: Qualitative,

Quantitative, and Mixed Methods. Thousand Oaks, California:Sage

Dean, M. (1999) Governmentality: Power and Rule in Modern Society. London: Sage

Giddens, A. (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy. Cambridge: Polity Press

Norman, D.A. (1988) The Psychology of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books

Norman, D.A. (2004) Emotional Design. New York: Basic Booksa

Thackara, J. (2006) In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World. Cambridge Massachusetts: MIT Press:

Tucker, M, C(2011)COFFEE CULTURE–Local Experiences, Global Connections. The Routledge