At the beginning of the semester, I was overwhelmed to be sitting in a Parsons class on the 12th floor of a 5th Ave New York City building. I felt like I wasn’t talented or accomplished enough to sit beside my peers and truly belong (a strong case of imposter syndrome) until I realised that almost everyone around me felt that way. Now, the crazy work that I see my classmates and…
As designers we have to work consciously not just keeping end users in mind, but also the various implications our project has on the environment. How sustainable are we being? The use of recyclable or natural materials is one way to go. While working on our 7 in 7 prototypes, how many of us bought new materials versus repurposing found objects? The High Line is an example of a repurposed…
Who we learn with makes such a big impact on ‘what’ we learn. For example, in this class: Design for this Century Recitation, week after week we read the prescribed content individually, reflect on it (again individually) and come together to discuss our thoughts and opinions. At the end of every class, what we gain is not only from the readings, but we also absorb different perspectives and thoughts, a…
View my WIP manifesto here. These are my mindmaps that I used as the foundation for my manifesto.
To begin working on our individual research project, we quickly brainstormed design and research topics that we were interested in. These fell under the following categories: social problems or phenomenon you’ve found compelling (recent, longstanding) personal challenges or passions people in your life are engaged with (elders, roommates, peers) new ideas, terms or questions that have come your way in DT/NYC fantasy tool/ toy /experience you wish you could invent…
The Creative and the Technical: In high school, I made the unconventional choice of studying the sciences with art. This nurtured my natural inclination for mathematics and science, and introduced me to traditional rendering skills with different media. In India, pure science and engineering are considered ‘professional’ streams while art and design are generally looked down upon. I was often asked how art would benefit me as a science student…
Sturken and Cartwright’s Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture largely reminds of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, a book that I read a few years ago. Berger’ talks about how seeing comes before words. This indicates how visual representations always have a greater claim over verbal or written representations. What is seen is usually put into words in an attempt to describe it, but during the process some…
