Reflective Essay
On
Design It
A reflective essay, as the name suggests, is a reflection of the writer’s experience. It is way of examining the past and exploring the developments that has happened to the writer in positive as well as in negative context (Raven, 2014). In a way, it reflects one’s own abilities and flaws to understand and mitigate for their own betterment. It is a combined effort of the critical and analytical thinking ability along with the interest to solve problems in an efficient manner for our advantage (Jacobs, 2016). Critical reflective analysis acts as an important exercise for an individual. When pursued and executed in the right manner it ensures that the individual has exceptional ability to critically analyse every possible situation and consider different aspects of their life in a better way.
At first, Design It sounded to me like creating things to interact with the world. It appeared that it would introduce me to different ways of innovation for a meaningful experience. As such I believed that design it would help me hone my creative skills and create rich experience for the user. I thought of having fun filled designing classes with pre-defined methods. In contrast, the course turned out to be an exercise to improve my thinking abilities, learn and understand more about myself and further visualize my thoughts and actions. In this essay, I shall be describing about my experience in context with Design It. It would primarily concentrate on explaining about my differential learning about myself with each session of the course. It was 12-week program, each of which were associated with some activities related to some important conceptual topics which need to be addressed to maintain and balance the day-to-day chaos. Initially, I shall be giving a brief description about the week’s activity and further I shall explain about my personal experience and learning outcomes. In this context, I shall analyze and discover my abilities in both positive and negative aspect. Further I will design a plan for my future development towards achieving my goal.
With total enthusiasm, the first day of the class with our professor commenced with the description of the complete course work to be conducted as a part of Design It. The class started with an introduction to what is the course about and what all issues would be addressed in this context. As we say, morning shows the day, the explanation about the course work and the activities instigated more to take part in the activities. The class was a collaborative and interactive session with activities to be performed by us in a group of two. Our first activity was to draw on a piece of paper, the first thing that strikes our mind while hearing the name Design It. We had to interpret our drawing along with their associated functionalities. The primary aim of the activity was to visualize the instant thoughts on our minds. I thought Design It would be a course related to fashion designing, alternately, it is an insight into myself. The second week started with an enthusiasm to learn more innovative things and work on more artistic activities. The second week was more towards theoretical context. Many concepts from the texts were learnt and different tools related to Design It were also taught. Out of many outcomes, the most prominent was design and business are linked with each other, however, their objectives are different. This fact came as a surprise to me. The tools associated with Design It helps in identifying the underlying cause of the problems. It also teaches how to convert the cause into a weapon to while making tough decisions. The second weeks’ session ended with a video on “Deep Dive Approach” which illustrated the various modes of innovations and secret approaches that applied in order to acquire the best creative ideas for mankind. The idea of the approach was to access and investigate the thoughts prevailing in our mind to come up with at most dedication and innovation. This helped in exploring myself more and eventually, I ended up in having more interest towards this course.
The third activity instructed to us by our profession was to identify our designer mind set. Earlier, I had the perception that every person has a common mind set, but after brainstorming with my mates during the activity, it was wholesome realization that no one can be similar. Truly, after this activity my insight changed. The earlier misconceptions were all lost and the discussions with the fellow mates encouraged understanding the depth of Design It. Scientific thinking is different from designer thinking. The concept of convergent and divergent thinking is an essential tool which can be applied for problem-solving in the future. Further, the fourth week was concentrated with problem-finding and its subsequent solving. Some thought-provoking activities were conducted viz. brainstorming, spotting the obvious, visualizing the future, etc. In brainstorming, we were provided with a sheet filled with circles and we had to fill the circles with our vision. A globe, clock, satellite include my drawings. This activity is a way to solve multiple problems and it is creative effort to understand the intensity of the problem and thereby finding a feasible solution which can give a conclusion to the issue. The second activity was about giving innovative solutions to our day-to-day problems. Further the third activity of the week was to describe an image and a video. The main aim was to identify the problem and to address it as per the requirement. It inculcated in me a sense of confidence to solve any sort of problems and also paved the way to understanding my abilities. It motivated me to know more about the concept of Design It and its application in the practical world. Each activity in the fourth week instigated a fire of creativity and enhanced observation towards the challenges faced in life. With each passing day, I feel encouraged to be confronted by the obstacles of life and fight them bravely with confidence. In the next week, we started with a workshop that included journey mapping, value chain and network and mind mapping. The purpose of the activity was to understand the basics of design thinking tools and to use them according to our necessity. The primary objective of the activities was to make eye-contact with the reality and plan accordingly. All these activities helped in understanding the current situation and how the process of planning can be segregated into parts and executed efficiently. At the end of this session, I realized that the tasks that surround us need to be prioritized, organized and equipped with supplement as per their stage so as to be executed with ease. I was able to feel the building up of confidence, independence, and the ability to think beyond imagination and predict strong similarities with qualitative research. In the sixth week, our learning was concentrated with data collection. We were collecting all sorts of primary and secondary data in context with a problem. Better understanding was provided by performing activities. Observation plays a key role in data collection. It is essential to understand the necessity of a data in order to collect it and for the same, a keen observation is required. It is essentially made us understand the fact that little drops of water make the mighty ocean. A small pebble can also have some use it applied at right place at the right time. Every information has some or the other use. Information is power and it is our responsibility to organize the facts and evidences available with us to design a plan and execute it efficiently with complete effectiveness. At the end of sixth week, I was able to identify the necessary abilities that I lacked. It was useful in the sense that these skills could be used for my future betterment.
The following week or the seventh week kicked off with a workshop themed on concept development, assumption testing and rapid prototyping. The process of discovery always involves the prototype. It is essential to have a 3D version about our vision. For any necessary purpose, designing a prototype can prove to be an added advantage as it will be directly influenced by our creativity, and as a result the invention idea would be extraordinary. Developing a prototype requires skills based on our idea, budget and goals. The initiation of the prototype could be from any small thing. All that matters is the demonstration at the initial step which ensures the success of the idea. The method of content mapping acts a research and teaching tool for students to reveal their knowledge about the topic and to understand the unfilled gaps in them. It helps in the progression of knowledge and its better understanding. The end of this session marked the understanding about concept development. It inculcated in me a theme of design thinking which breaks all the old-fashioned concepts and enhances our own thinking and visualization ability to think the unthinkable and to see the invisible.
The beginning of the eight week saw a sense of understanding towards the fact that feedbacks are essential to lead an organized life. The designing of a prototype requires exceptional skill and it is necessary to refine the prototype such that it is focused on our topic of concern with high specificity. The activities associated with this week encouraged to accept the thoughts and expressions we receive from fellow mates. We should learn from our mistakes. Provided it’s best to have an opinion from different persons to understand the difficulty associated with the task. The aim of the task was to ensure that our mind is designed to accept the good as well as the bad that we receive in the real world. By the end of eighth week I was almost ready as a designer and my thinking has been molded with better approaches towards the problematic situation. Refining a prototype based on its merits and demerits obtained from feedback loop can act as proof reading. My personal vision through this week’s session include that feedback can be used in a constructive way and it can assist in the development of an individual’s skills towards a positive direction.
The ninth week was more concentrated towards the marketing sector. Most of the learning and conceptual teaching were based on the marketing aspects focusing primarily on marketing, target market, persona and competitor analysis. This learning about this field is essential for the launch of a product in an appropriate manner to guarantee the result in the form of revenue. The activities conducted in the week also helped in analyzing the concepts involved in the development of various market related aspects. Designing is a language of communication which portrays the image of the product and conveys the required information to the customer (Sparrow, 2016). I learnt about the tricks and tactics involved in the technical background of entrepreneurial concept.
The tenth week was more into financial aspects, concentrating more towards fundraising, fundraising campaign, resource requirement, long term plan, recommendation and time frame. This week the sessions were addressed towards resource requirement and its fulfillment for the market. It addressed the essentials associated with the entrepreneurial concept and importance of working in a team. Initially I had some hesitation to work with my team mates as I thought that due to lack of prior participation I may affect the dynamics of the team. However, it turned out that the team strength was based on the individual person who was member of the team and their contributions towards a topic. Their innovative and creative ideas is what makes the difference in others perception. The power of the team is dependent on the organization of the team mates along with their ability to concentrate on the core values of the team and focusing on the objective and designing plausible ways to achieve it. Also, I realized that the attention demands innovation and in order to sustain in market it is essential to have enough attention (Higgins, 2010).
The following week or the eleventh week was a sort of revision for us. We were briefed about the concepts of self – reflection. Our professor told us about the concepts necessity and its role in our personal life. He mentioned that an introspection about ourselves is compulsory to have a better understanding about our nature and perception. It will help in mitigating any sort of flaws that we encounter during our self – examination (Wang, 2012). It was a completely qualitative session which gave me a picture of how I should proceed with my future. The last week of the session was marked with showing the importance of aesthetics in our thinking process. Beautiful things attract more audience. Demonstration of designer ability in modifying and portraying small things into striking entity is the final weeks learning. When related to real life we must devise plans and execute them with proper features to ensure an outstanding ability to surpass the issues faced in our daily routine (Cowan & Peacock, 2017).
After the course, I am able compare my abilities and behavior prior to the start of the session and now. It is completely evident that my focus levels have increased and I have gained enough confidence to portray my thoughts and expressions without any hesitation. Throughout the process I was encouraged to think critically and strategize plans with a designer instinct to enhance the performance (PRAKASH, 2015). It engages people to concentrate more on solving the problem in an artistic manner. This augments our knowledge and it helps in exploring ourselves better (Simpson & Trezise, 2011). The self-examination and consideration about myself based on my previous experiences made me realize certain flaws which need to be mitigated with time for my own well – being. This form of internal inquiry deepens our self-understanding which prove to be an essential aspect in everyday life and work.
The reflective approach applied during the course ascertained the usefulness of designing strategies for the betterment of our future (Hickson, 2011). It contributes to improving my existing knowledge in various fields. The concept of critical design thinking can be applied for any situation and discipline (Minott, 2015). It enables our capability to plan for a better future (Sletto, 2010). Overall, Design It was a programme which helped in understanding about self – regulation and motivation. Reflective thinking is a method to understand the underlying thoughts and expressions of our mind which in turn will help in addressing a particular problem with more focus and diligence (Laverty, 2012). As an outcome of the course I have designed some plans to fulfil my future expectations. My action plan commences with enrolling myself for a master’s programme. I would prefer to hone my skills and have a better understanding about whatever I learn with a designer approach during my studies. Simultaneously, I would start practising to critically analyse any situation and provide the best possible solution in its context. Further I would plan for my future by focussing on the target industry I wish to be associated with. I shall be developing my skills in accordance with my preference and shall sharpen my personal skills and attributes related to communication. All these would add value to my education and would aid me in achieving my dream. As such I shall immediately start working in accordance to my action plan to achieve my perception towards life.
Bibliography
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