Week 4: Design Process and Project 1 Introduction

In this weeks tutorial we discussed our homework in groups of three. Our homework in the Week 3 lecture: Design problem was thinking how to to approach 'redesigning a watch', thinking of questions like what the problem is and how to reformulate it. I initially thought of the problems and functions of a watch. It is a functional portable device that tells the time. I thought a problem with the watch was that it was bulky and uncomfortable to wear on a daily basis. From this I developed possible solutions.

However as I discussed this with my classmates the idea came up that to redesign a watch, the watch itself has to become obsolete for the sake of progress and innovative solutions. We need to look at the original problem that caused the watch to be made. We have to move backwards to truly understand the nature of the problem. A watch was made to be a portable device to tell time. Before it was portable, clocks and sundials were made to tell time. Why do we need to tell time? To schedule/plan our day and adhere to it. Therefore to reformulate the problem we are looking to design a personalised item or means of scheduling or planning your day. We further discussed the importance of the watch and how it has become an item of style rather than function.

In understanding this concept we were given the brief/outline for our first project that looked at how a bank wanted to change the mind set of youth to start saving money now to prepare for the future. We discussed some of the major problems this posed such as less disposable income with a higher standard of living, the perceived value of money at a younger age, lack of knowledge, additional debts (university), diminishing trust in banks, alternative means of spending money (travelling and material items) and overall socio-cultural influences (media). In response to this we suggested the information we thought we would need to address this problem such as economic statistics, census data, surveys to further understand youth phycology, benefits of saving and bank rewards.

Sarah McGill
u3115075

Reference: 
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 3, Week 3: Design problem. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754.