Drawing: audience investigation and ideation
Drawing is a powerful tool for investigation and ideation.
In the March 11 lecture, Marvin spoke about drawing as a node in the design process and as a way to externalize ideas and potential design solutions for both the fantastic imagined things that will never come to be and those that are possible to realize.
Consider the following projects that involve drawing as a part of their process:
1000 Journals
Cultural Probes (PDF)
by Bill Gavers
?Comité de vivienda Quinta Monroy?
Iquique, Chile
by ELEMENTAL
image courtesy of Alberto Rigau
Drawings of the homes-to-be by future residents:
All three of these projects employ drawing in a way that involves the user/audience. In the Quinta Monroy project, the future residents participated in a charrette where they were asked to visualize their new space and what they would use it for.
In the culture probes article, Bill Gavers describes his tool that he uses to engage the audience he is designing for in ethnographic-like research to reveal pieces of their lives that might inspire the objects that the design team creates to serve their communities.
The 1000 journals project is entirely audience generated artwork that is collected and published as a compendium. The goal of this project to inspire creativity, regardless of whether we consider ourselves "artists" or not.
With these in mind, how can drawing be used in a project to involve the audience that we create for? How should these creations then be used by the designer/artist that directs the task? Should they be seen as a blueprint for what the audience needs or a way for them to externalize their own thoughts but should be used as no more than inspiration for the project? How do you evaluate this type of collected information?
Respond to the projects and consider the above questions in a cohesive response. (You do not have to answer all of them, select at will.) Include at least one link to a project that is not mentioned that you found to use drawing as an audience engagement tool in a unique way.
In the March 11 lecture, Marvin spoke about drawing as a node in the design process and as a way to externalize ideas and potential design solutions for both the fantastic imagined things that will never come to be and those that are possible to realize.
Consider the following projects that involve drawing as a part of their process:
1000 Journals
Cultural Probes (PDF)
by Bill Gavers
?Comité de vivienda Quinta Monroy?
Iquique, Chile
by ELEMENTAL
image courtesy of Alberto Rigau
Drawings of the homes-to-be by future residents:
All three of these projects employ drawing in a way that involves the user/audience. In the Quinta Monroy project, the future residents participated in a charrette where they were asked to visualize their new space and what they would use it for.
In the culture probes article, Bill Gavers describes his tool that he uses to engage the audience he is designing for in ethnographic-like research to reveal pieces of their lives that might inspire the objects that the design team creates to serve their communities.
The 1000 journals project is entirely audience generated artwork that is collected and published as a compendium. The goal of this project to inspire creativity, regardless of whether we consider ourselves "artists" or not.
With these in mind, how can drawing be used in a project to involve the audience that we create for? How should these creations then be used by the designer/artist that directs the task? Should they be seen as a blueprint for what the audience needs or a way for them to externalize their own thoughts but should be used as no more than inspiration for the project? How do you evaluate this type of collected information?
Respond to the projects and consider the above questions in a cohesive response. (You do not have to answer all of them, select at will.) Include at least one link to a project that is not mentioned that you found to use drawing as an audience engagement tool in a unique way.
Letting the client draw what they want is interesting for a designer in many ways. We are generally visual so any imagery is beneficial to our creative process. I do not think the drawings have to be exact blueprints for the designer, yet a thought that sparks a creative flow of ideas and designs incorporating what the original artist thought was important. However, the idea of studying a drawing to find what the client desires means that the designer has to interpret the information and visual information can be interpreted in many different ways.
Here is a link I found to a project
http://blogs.takepart.com/2008/01/31/i-believe-that-children-see-the-future-drawings-of-climate-change/
Posted by Jay Brown on March 20, 2008 at 01:32 AM EDT #
An article in the New York Times describes (towards the end) a sample of drawings taken by the New York City Transit Authority of people's ideal conceptions of a subway car.
http://tinyurl.com/2n8pmv
Although this article does not include images, it is a perfect example of querying the client, user, or audience simply by asking them to draw.
The drawings by future homeowners shown in the prompt above are by no means the blueprints of an architect, and a contractor would have to be crazy to take them as such. As designers, we can't expect the clients' drawings to be accurate or feasible. What we can take from these pictures, however, is some absolute truth about what the client truly wants.
Naturally, a designer could simply sit down with the client and ask them what they "truly want," but the verbal method does not delve nearly as deeply into the client's psyche. Drawing reveals hidden details and desires that the client may not even be aware of. It's up to the designer to interpret the relevant elements of these pictures, and then draw a finished image of his or her own based on these interpretations.
The article I've linked to offers just such an opportunity. According to the New York Times, men drew their ideal subway car with various electronic devices, and women drew subway cars with additional safety equipment. We can then understand that while riding the subway, men show a desire to stay "connected with the outside world," whereas most women would like a safer transit system. Now, the transit authority can recognize the Subway's two largest issues for improvement: Isolation and perceived danger.
Could they have inferred this without having people draw? Perhaps, but people may have been too embarrassed or unaware of their innermost thoughts to cite them verbally or in writing. One thing is for certain: the pictures don't lie.
Posted by Sam Brubaker on March 20, 2008 at 11:19 PM EDT #
It seems to me that great creative works tend to be made by entities whose impulses are united by a single goal or sensibility. Whether that entity is a painter, a composer, or an entire medieval village building a gothic cathedral, the goal produces the work. With that in mind, ideas of ?audience involvement? become very iffy. I think that in a scenario needing a solution to a problem, audience (read:client) involvement can be extremely valuable. It can indicate what problems there are to be solved, after all. It can help articulate the project?s goals, always a good and necessary thing, and drawing and writing and anything else employed in this service is a good idea. However, in order for such involvement to be useful, it needs to come right at the beginning, and the goals it defines need to become the central ideas of the project. This seems to be exactly what didn?t happen in the ?cultural probes? project. Bill Gaver?s essay concerned itself primarily with the design of the ?probes? themselves, oblique questionnaires dripping with whimsy, with questions as relevant as ?If this place were New York, where would the Statue of Liberty go?? The project seemed calculated to make the design approach look wholistic, an attempt to ?apply conceptual art?, and give a veneer of progressiveness. The input of the clients and consumers of the work, those European senior citizens to be pitied, had no bearing on the project?s results that can be found in this essay. In fact, the supplementary footnote on Situationism is much longer than the section that addresses the probes? application. Under the heading ?Inspiration, not information?, it is explained the data gathered from the probes is to have an influence that is non-objective, which I read as notional, or interchangeably, negligible. However, as we read at the essays beginning, handing out those packets really livened up the designers? presentation, so I suppose we?ve learned that even useless audience involvement is not without use.
It is useful as gimmickry. As you might have guessed, when I see audience involvement, more often than not, I see gimmickry. Often it seems the creator has said ?Well, my own ideas don?t seem to be strong enough, let?s implicate someone else into this thing?spread the responsibility around.? Here is link to an artist who recreates childrens? drawings photographically, creating works that look awkward on purpose to imitate original works that can?t help but look so. If you don?t like it, you must not like kids.
http://www.yeondoojung.com/artworks_view_wonderland.php?no=88
Posted by Anna Gatlin on March 22, 2008 at 12:17 PM EDT #
When thinking about what projects involve the audiences by making them take part in creating the project, I think about the Berlin Wall Museum. Although this museum does not necessarily use drawings, it is still self expression through art. That is the main issue that should be considered when we ask why the artists or designers did what they did for the public. The Berlin Wall Museum is incredible in itself because the wall was painted by hundreds of artists from all over the world. The paintings that show the the incredible history of that place. It is not surprising when many visitors who have gone to the museum said that the museum is very poorly organized and the museum did not really tell them about the history and the reason why the wall was build. I think the main issue is that is causing most people not to understand the art might be because they have not lived or experienced that kind of oppression. Another reason might simply be because they have not research the history and the reason behind the work to fully understand the stories on the wall. They are rejecting and refusing to understand what is in front of them because they do not make the effort to learn the significant of the work in front of them. Another issue that arose from those who said that the museum is disorganized may be because they do not realized that the museum might be doing that on purpose, to show the environment people experienced and had to live with during the time. There are always reasons for artists having their work displayed in a certain way. Since the artists are from all over the world, the wall should say something about how others view this country. It should varies, it should be different, it shouldn't make sense, it shouldn't have to be clear for the viewers to understand because in reality not everything that happened make sense, not everything is simple and clear. It's not as simple as black and why.
http://www.destination360.com/europe/germany/berlin-wall-museum.php
http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/art/index.htm
Posted by Michelle Ko on March 31, 2008 at 10:18 PM EDT #
http://www.hemmy.net/2008/03/12/kids-drawing-reenacted-using-professional-photography/
I would first absolutely check out the link above. Drawing is a way of seeing therefore the probability of two people drawing the exact same is the same as two people seeing eye to eye on everything. Therefore the transference of a drawing to a different way of seeing is a way to get away from your own mind of design and to accept the fact that you may now know everything. As a designer using a child's drawing could let loose certain rules that we make for ourselves. In the example above the drawing were taken and used as the blueprint for the photographs though obviously for different effects and what the designer chooses to do they could become more of an inspiration. You evaluate the expression behind the drawing, the intention, obviously there would be certain aspects relative to skill of the drawer and age that would affect how the designer took the drawing into consideration. The real question is if we asked the child after the work or photo was taken would they say that was right or that the designer did a dreadful job. We are both cursed and blessed with the ability to see things our own way.
Posted by Mike Delaney on April 01, 2008 at 11:04 AM EDT #
Upon reading this blog discussion, I immediately thought of the television show 'Overhaulin'. The show is about restoring classic cars and is hosted by hot-rod designer Chip Foose. Foose uses his drawing skills to both engage the viewing audience and to guide his design team. The drawing table is where Foose, and all designers, live. It is where ideas are born and externalized. Drawing is how Designers get their ideas across to clients. Design is very much a physical field where the audience needs to be able to understand exactly what is trying to be expressed, words alone just wont do. With a drawing the client is immediately given a glimpse into the thought process of the designer. From there the client can help direct, guide, and make sure that they are on the same page as the designer. Drawing is an crucial tool in the design field, it is what sets designers apart, and what brings us down to the same level as out audience.
Posted by Trenton Huffines on April 17, 2008 at 12:46 PM EDT #
Drawing is the first stage of project completion. It is the best way to let others see what is going on in your mind. It provides a certain connection between the audience. Having a client provide a drawing for the designer is a brilliant concept. The drawing connection is much more stronger than a word description could ever be. Drawing really communicates so much more than words ever could. It is a way to communicate what you see, as well as what you want to see. The client drawigs allow designers a special insight into what their client wants. The more input received equals better results and happier clients.
When I saw the part about finding an example where the drawings engage the audience in a unique way, I thought of Post Secret. Here's a link to their website.
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
Posted by Leigh Hawkins on April 26, 2008 at 03:24 PM EDT #
I really liked this topic, because I personally feel that drawing is the direct translation of real thinking. A visual relationship between the images inside one persons head and the how that person attempts to relay that image. I think it is really important to have interaction between artist and audience. In many situations the artist has only to relay on the verbal information given either by the client or the audience, being able to use information from the audience, i.e. Their drawings, would be huge, for an artist seeing the way their audience is putting together their visual thoughts helps to more clearly identify problems or key elements that the audience might be trying to represent. I get the feeling that most people, even those who don?t call themselves ?artist? really posses a lot of great ideas, mainly because we all put together information differently and that I feel would be the true beauty of audience generated drawings. You clearly see this in the thousand journals article, I have never heard of this project before reading this, and I think it would be great to be able to run into that journal, something real special to be part of, just fitting in and relating to the average Joe, through drawing. To put you guys onto a project that I have been kinda interested trying to be apart of from afar is the ?campaign for drawing? project, the campaign in rooted in the UK, but with the power of the Internet and scanners anyone can participate. At its core the campaign for drawing is to simply encourage everyone young and old to draw. With shows like the ?The Big Draw?, that run annually people are given the chance to find that we all possess the intangibles to draw, and we can all reap from its enjoyable and liberating qualities.
Once again the site is?.
http://www.campaignfordrawing.org/home
its cool to just watch the lil? animations drawings at the top of the page?.
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