Get a Life

On the 30th of January, Liam kindly commented on one of my rants, which—I have to admit—were starting to perhaps make me look more miserable than I am, but I think I mentioned that. And I hope that people who know me, understand where I'm coming from. Anyway, instead of just posting a counter-comment on this post I decided to post the reply here, since this is more likely to be read by others who might also share Liam´s concerns.


Liam wrote:

What is the point in complaining as much as you do? Just get on with it. Also you state that “[...] people sending me e-mails [...] and there was a discussion in the discussion board on facebook for 2 months about how confusing and unclear it is.” Does this not sum up your previous observation of “I know that a lot of not so bright people choose to go to design school, because they’re no good in other areas (eg. areas that actually involve intelligent thinking).” I believe this does.

[...] I have found your rants and constant complaining extremely disrespectful and also fucking annoying. You obviously have no idea as to the links between the projects we were given so maybe you are among those few with no ‘intelligent thinking’ as you so nicely put it.

If this is that much of a problem why don’t you just fuck off else where? Not only have you wasted hours of time preaching on deaf ears and making pointless and patronising books you have also built and ever growning bad reputation for being a dick.

Get a fucking life.

Thanks for your response, Liam.

The point in complaining is I suppose the slight hope that things might change. I personally think people should speak up when they're unhappy about something, that´s an integral part of a democratic society and a university is no exception. A side effect of complaining is also that it acts as a vent for frustration that builds up over time. Perhaps this might even be the reason for your response. Feels good, doesn't it? See, it works. Particularly since this is a personal website and blog, it´s a perfect platform for personal rants.

To answer your questions: You are implying that people who feel lost after being given completely nonsensical instructions and tasks are the not so bright ones which I was referring to when I said that art education attracts people that perhaps aren't necessarily suitable for academia. You might have a point here, those students would certainly count to the group who have problems interpreting these briefs (given that they are willing to 'do it right'). However, the reason for misunderstandings is not on the student side here, it´s on the side of the university that provided the brief. Beside the ambiguous writing style, there were some obvious factual errors in this document. A student, regardless how smart or dim, can and should not be expected to make sense of this scrap of paper as it was. The point that I made in the sentence that you quoted was that the person in question claimed that "noone had a problem", which is blatently a lie and just used as a polemic attempt to defeat my point.

Furthermore, you find my rants annoying—fair enough. It´s your free will to read them or let it be. You find my rants disrespectful, this I would ask you to explain further. Disrespectful towards whom—the people whose wages I pay with my fees and who call me and the rest of the class a "pain in the arse"? Disrespectful towards the people who are trying to teach me something that they don't understand themselves? I have the highest respect for people that deserve it. If someone wants to patronise me, they—at least—have to be better and be able to prove this. Otherwise I will treat them the way they treat me.

You are right, I have no (or hardly any) idea as to what the links between the given projects were supposed to be. I couldn't find it in the so called 'lectures' and neither in any material we were given. I call that bad teaching. At the end of a quiz show the answers should be revealed. All I got was questions and the impression that the answers are "somewhere out there" but certainly not in the mind of the tutors in regards to this particular module. You may call this a teaching style, but for the money I pay, I'd expect more than this—at least that the teacher has an answer that I can compare my own solution to.

And finally: Why don't I fuck off elsewhere? Well, guess what—that was on my mind more than once. I am grateful for the opportunity to go away for a semester and see how things are being run in other places. Perhaps it´s the same story elsewhere, maybe I'll get some ideas that I can feed back to the tutors at UWE, or perhaps it will be worse there and I can appreciate what I've got here. I don't consider running away or 'fucking off'—as you so nicely put it—a solution for anything. It was on my mind as a possible consequence if worst comes worst and when nothing actually changes. I am aware of my options. Don't you worry.

The fact that you and others—and not only students—have read and responded to this blog is an indication that I have not wasted hours (it´s hardly hours to be honest with you) preaching on deaf ears but a sign that raising issues can perpetuate debate, discussion and—if we all keep praying—initiate change.

But as long as you're happy with the situation, I apologise for disturbing your peace. By the way, the only remotely patronising book I can think of is the 'Typo' one, which generated—without exception—very positive responses throughout, from fellow students as well as tutors and lecturers. A fact that even surprised me.

Again, thanks for your response. I appreciate debate.

Fresh from the press

Well not really, but when I first intended to post this, the title would have been something like that. I love it when I open the clamps that had been holding a newly bound book in place and give it its final shape. It´s a truly rewarding experience, it´s like harvesting the fruits of hard work, experimentation and risk. Another project that worked out well, like a newborn child, ... ok perhaps that´s going too far. I just enjoy it when the final stage of production doesnt fuck everything up and when taking the pressure off the book also takes the pressure of myself. The product is finished and usable.



In this case I'm talking about my new book "How to Make a Paper Hat". It´s a beautiful little square format book with 56 pages, hand manufactured, printed on 90gsm Luxo Samtoffset, cold glue perfect bound in signatures of 4, quite cute in design and suitable for both children and grown-ups. Go on, flick through the digital version and see for yourself.



It´s the result of a university brief entitled "How" where we were asked to provide clear written instructions how to make a paper hat. A good exercise in clarity of information and user experience. We were also asked to test our instructions to teach us about the process of usability testing—or that´s what I assumed but perhaps I was yet again giving them too much credit. Well, let me share this little anecdote with you ...



The scenario was as following: We were waiting in a room, watching a very old and very boring silent movie. One after the other was called out without knowing what was to expect. To be honest, it was quite an intimidating experience. Questions were going through everybody´s minds. What was going on? Why didn't they tell us? Why do we have to watch this movie while others are being called out? What will happen to us? The exercise appeared to be designed to deliberately create anxiety and distress. Some people may call this psychological torture, but this is obviously to our own good, so I won't complain about these surely very well considered and absolutely necessary means of education.



Three hours later (yes, three hours!)—meanwhile a second silent movie was playing and the room was considerably emptier than before—it was my turn to be called out. Together with a second student I was taken to the corridor where we were asked to wait until we're called in and not to tell anybody once we're done. What was that all about? Sexual experiments? Drug tests? Still no information.



Minutes later we were called to enter the room. Now this would finally all make sense to us and we would understand why it was necessary to keep us uninformed and waiting for three hours. Right? Wrong! Here´s what happened: A table, a video camera, a white decorator´s overall and sheets of newspaper. We were asked to wear the overall—including hood—sit down at the table and perform the task on camera while the second subject is reading out their instructions. In my case I had to perform to the instructions of "how to tell a lie convincingly"—on camera. How to tell a lie convincingly, yea right: a very useful thing to demonstrate the effectiveness of written instructions. In a white overall, on camera—an exercise designed to humiliate us rather than teaching us anything about the clarity of written instructions.



Here´s what I've learnt—
This was a really useful exercise. It was well worth waiting for 3 hours. I'm very grateful to experience an absolute amplification of the modules non-information policy in a setting that really didn't freak anyone out let alone piss anyone off. There was no other way this user testing experience could have been performed. Simply including the line "test the clarity of your instructions with an uninvolved person" really wouldn't have done the job. Wearing the silly suit and performing on camera without knowing what exactly happens to the footage wasn't in the slightest humiliating. Whoever made this up really understands a) how to teach adults and b) what usability testing means. And last but not least: the university does really respect people´s privacy and personality rights and therefor didn't make the footage available to anyone else after the performance, as expressed by a number of students.

Anzug zu tragen und die Übung vor laufender Kamera auszuführen ohne zu wissen was mit dem Material passiert war nicht im Geringsten erniedrigend. Wer sich dies ausgedacht hat versteht wirklich etwas davon wie man a) erwachsene Menschen behandelt und unterrichtet und b) was ein Usability-Test ist. Und zu guter letzt: Die Universität respektiert die Privatsphäre und Persönlichkeitsrechte der Studenten und hat deshalb—wie von vielen ausdrücklich gewünscht—das Filmmaterial niemand anderem zugänglich gemacht.

Did I tell that lie convincingly? Judge for yourself.

Fun with posters

Today I have two examples of one of the supreme disciplines of print design: posters. The first one is  a bit older from the last semester, where design debates were a topic. The poster about CCTV surveillance communicates a controversy; it´s meant to raise awareness, to polarise and to encourage debate. Is it positive or negative to be seen as a potential criminal? Does CCTV help to prevent crime even when it´s mainly catching harmless everyday activities? What is private and what is public?



The second poster is from the stuff I handed in last week. It´s about Southville, the part of Bristol that I live in. In this typographic experiment, the people of Southville become type designers. The glyphs were collected from different corners in Southville. Insults carved in park benches as well as handwritten shopping window decorations or vandalised road signs contributed to the typeface that was then used to spell out the name of the place and thus convey its diversity and character.



Both of these posters were screenprinted on coloured paper.

Starved out and sleep deprived

Finally all work is handed-in. After pulling an all-nighter and staying up for 34 hours to add some final touches to the 7 projects (and watch some trash TV), I lugged the A1 portfolio to uni, dumped it on the table with the rest of the shebang and could barely resist to say a relieved "Phew, that was a waste of time wasn't it?".

E

All there is to do now is wait for the feedback in a weeks time, get some sleep and eat proper food. BTW I wonder how they assess 80 odd students' work—80 times 7 projects—within a week, they can't possibly read all the obviously very important blah I wrote in my module file.

I will post the rest of the projects over the next few days, so watch this space.

Ich werde die restlichen Projekte im Verlauf der nächsten Tage hier posten, also dranbleiben.

In the meantime you might be interested in flicking through the digitial version of the 50 photographs booklet and imagine how nice it would be on environmentally friendly paper.

In der Zwischenzeit könnt ihr durch die digitale Version der Gedächtnisdokumentation von neulich blättern und euch vorstellen wie schön es sich auf Umweltpapier anfühlen würde.

Bedtime.

That´s how to play the Flash trumpet

I figured it out. It took me a little while but Flash isn't that hard after all. It´s still an annoying piece of software though. My idea to interpret the book "How to Play Trumpet" by supposed jazz legend Digby Fairweather with kind of an interactive caricature was compromised by my lack of technical knowledge—which normally isn't a problem because I'm very happy to learn new things, but the time frame available was so tight that it was virtually impossible to produce anything decent. Which annoys me a lot actually, but that´s how it goes sometimes. Nonetheless the result is a funny piece of software which you might wish to try out. Have Fun!

The Wrong Door

I don't watch TV a lot—usually only when I have problems to fall asleep or when I'm procrastinating. Both of which seems to happen a lot lately. Anyway, I stumbled across this TV show which has been going since August 2008, so some of you might already know it. The Wrong Door is a sketch show on BBC three that is "set in a parallel universe where the special effects you see in the movies and on TV are part of everyday life". This means that all of the sketches have a CGI element which makes it incredibly funny. It´s like all the hilarious things that the sickest mind could possibly make up are suddenly real. A great show with stunning effects used in an incredibly funny way. Check it out if you haven't done so already.

English Winter is a Bitch

I just decided to nip over to Aldi and get some fast food so I won't starve tonight while figuring out how to consider procedural knowledge in paper-hat-making instructions (don't ask). The English winter has arrived. It´s not just the rain that bothers me, the nasty bit is actually the wind. It´s absolutely stormy and always coming the way your umbrella isn't pointing towards. That renders an umbrella practically useless. Indoors it sounds like the house is falling apart and the lights are flickering. I wonder why. Electricity is under ground (unlike telephone, oddly enough). Does that mean that the whole city is flickering like that? Must be awesome to go up on a hill and see that (but I guess you would get blown away). Anyway, so on my short way around the corner I still got absolutely soaked. And that all for some curly fries.

Having arrived at home again, Lauren decided to cook some spaghetti and meat balls for everyone. Great.