Reflection on Tutorial 18 3 08

An Email from Mike

From: Mike Press Sunday - March 2, 2008 10:29 PM
To: Jia Cui
CC: Hazel White", "Qin Han"
Subject: Re: Tutorial notes


Hi Michelle

Thank you for your tutorial notes.

I thought that it would be useful to clarify one or two points, just to make sure we have no misunderstandings.

I'm pleased with your thinking on this project, and the dedicated approach that you have taken. At our last meeting we considered the two broad approaches you could take:
(i) a communications design project that considered aspects of non-verbal communication that may assist in identifying people of high risk, especially in an A+E context;
(ii) a critical design project that focused on suicide. From our discussion it was clear that approach;
(ii) better suited your strengths and aspirations, and I'm most pleased that you took the initiative to contact Graham, whose email to you raised some interesting issues and creative strategies.

As long as you keep uppermost the ethical and sensitive nature of your subject matter, then you should explore this more fully. Essentially you are looking at how design can raise debate and awareness - creating objects that have a 'mediating' value - in other words, a value and function in being a focus for discussion and discourse.

I suggested that the work of artists Dalziel (pronounced "Dayell") and Scullion could be worth looking at in detail. They are not PhD students, but rather two of Scotland's leading contemporary artists who have a base in our College. Their website is here: http://www.dalzielscullion.com/ They use art to raise debate about our relationship with nature.

Your project will require you to look at the variety of ways that graphic design can connect with social issues, but to focus on 'critical design' as one approach that you will develop and evaluate in the specific context of suicide. Some of the variety of ways are these:

1. Advertising campaigns - I showed you a campaign directed at victims of domestic violence.
2. Subversive approaches to the advertising style - eg: Adbusters, which is online and in the library.
3. Information systems to help people to get help or assistance easily, or to provide assistance in a counselling or clinical context.
4. Critical design

You may wish to talk to Jonathan Baldwin briefly, as he is a specialist on visual communication.
A good example of 3. above is 'Living in the Moment' - http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/projects/lim/LIMWeb_28feb_01.swf - which our colleague Gary Gowans in graphics has been working on. This is a system to help families who have family members with dementia.

We can have another discussion about this on Tuesday.

Mike

Professor Mike Press
Head of School
School of Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
University of Dundee
Perth Road
Dundee DD1 4HT

Reflection on Tutorial 03 3 08

Yeah, I need to research tons of examples on advertising campaign, because this is what I want to do for my project and will be one of my project outputs.

Actually what Qin suggexted me to think about is just the proper question I need to answer in my research paper. It is difficult to explain now because I don't have enough evidence which supports me to claim my point, and I also really don't know what is my point, sad...

The story telling idea is an interesting idea, especially different ways of story telling. To be honest sometimes I thought about critical design and would like to give it a adjective word: ridiculous. However I neglect that the word 'ridiculous' can be paraphased as 'humor', just similar to the caricature - makes people thinking after their laughing. Maybe I can think about a comedy way to do my critical design instead of very serious expression. I'd like to watch that movie to get some inspirations.

A Decision

I've skimed the book 'Design Nior' and 'Hertizian Tales', and I also searched on the Internet, now I get to know what is critical design and who does it. But still confused about how can I generate my idea in a critical design way and how can I make my design works critically.

Today I wrote an abstract of my research paper, I decided to explore how can graphic design be involved into critical design, in another word, how to do a critical graphic design. My idea came from my raw understanding of critical design. When read or searched on the Internet, I found it almost all the critical design is expressed by the way of product design, interaction and electronic product, and I couldn't find any critical design expressing in a graphic design way. This made me alittle surprised, because graphic design - a very board and practical design field which can be expressed in almost any ways, but why there is no information about critical graphic design, this is really a sas thing. As a graphic designer and a fan of graphic design, I decided to explore the way that graphic design might be translated in critical design. Actually in my opinion any forms of design can be translated into critical design such as enviornment design, interior design, texile design, even fashion design. So why don't I go through the multi-discipline and have a look how every kinds of design were translated into critical design, and how they work, in order to light up my idea in my project.

I think maybe there are some designers have adopted graphic design in the critical design, but I don't know yet, so I need to do more researches and literature review on my specific problem. Hope I can create a new fads of critical design.

Books I'm Reading

An Email between Graham Pullin and I

From: Graham Pullin Tuesday - February 26, 2008 7:42 PM
To: Jia Cui
CC: Hazel White
Subject: Re: from MDes student Michelle

Hi Michelle

Thank you for your email and kind words.

Suicide is obviously an incredibly sensitive subject, so do proceed with care and respect and sensitivity - and look after yourself whilst doing this.

And complex and diverse I imagine: for some people there is the (cliche? I'm not sure) of a 'cry for help';

others may be depressed and resigned: the probably equally cliched 'preparing for sleep', beloved of crime writers.

Sorry, this is very 'Readers Digest Guide to Psychiatry' I know - but my *only* point is be extremely wary of stereotyping!

That is not to preclude an appropriate use of critical design or critical thinking for that matter:
the most profound issues deserve and demand this - which is why I would advocate design for/around/against disability to be another appropriate subject although this too would be controversial.

Noam Toran's work around loneliness seems closest, most poignant.

Alright, with that being said, here are some half-baked thoughts (I certainly wouldn't propose these ideas without knowing much more than I do):
Before deciding on a kit ('beautiful' is obviously a provocative quality) for people to kill themselves.

I wonder if you could tease apart the issues a little more, and identify something more specific.
... that extends to tying up all the loose ends and making sure you don't cause any upset to those who you know love you or might after all love you (obviously a nonsense, but in doing so could highlight this nonsense and the pain that can be left behind)
... that allows a cry for help without the act itself (I don't know: a countdown timer or voting system...)
... a placebo (a lot in the news today about placebo Prozac helping people with depression just by knowing that someone is noticing and trying to help by prescribing...)
... specifically for a winter suicide (that could highlight S.A.D.) or a Christmas suicide or New Year or Valentine's Day...
... a government** campaign to *promote* suicide? (perhaps it could help the NHS and reduce the unemployment figures?)
... reminds me of Frank Zappa's 'Suicide Chump', which once shamed me out of self pity
**: I'm sceptical of who would be talked out of suicide by an official government campaign, particularly young people, feeling alienated.

Reading these back, they sound like cheap gags, bad 'Pub Talk design', so please use them just to seed your own thoughts and then incinerate them...(that's the basis on which I share them)

Hope this helps a little

Best wishes

Graham


On 26 Feb 2008, at 13:12, Jia Cui wrote:

Hi Graham,

This is Michelle from MDes, the critical design workshop you ran at our studio last semester was really fantastic and very interesting.

I think maybe you would like to offer me some suggestions on my main project: how can design contribute to suicide prevention in Scotland? Actually it was my adviser Mike Press, he suggested me to do a critical design for my main project, also this is what I am really interested in and want to have a try.

Basically from my research of the suicide issue I found that a suicide prevention strategy/policy has been set by the government, and one of the policies is Media and information setting. The role of the media is increasing people's awareness on suicide and encourage suicidal people to seek professional help. But many researchers believe that high-profile news reports of deaths may push vulnerable or depressed people to commit copcat suicides. In one year in the 1970s, for example, there were 60 suicides by burning in the UK after reports of a woman burning herself to death in Switzerland. Such suicides are normally extremely rare.

So my idea is to design a beautiful kit for people to kill themselves in order to lead a discussion on the efficiency of national suicide prevention, especially the policy of media. Could you give me some ideas/suggestions on this issue from the perspective of critical design?

Thanks so much and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Kind regards,

Michelle

Books I'm Reading

Reflection on Tutorial 05 2 08

This time we did a group tutorial which I think is interesting and effective as well. Actually I just talked to Mike yesterday, and had skimed the book 'New Approaches to Proventing Suicide', from the book, I came out four aspects which is possible for me to do additional researches. But by talking to Hazel today, I found Hazel was trying to help me clarify my research result and put them in order. I also noticed that young people suicide is a significant problem which reflected from my researche result. So Hazel tended to encourage me to do addtional research on young people suicide. However by taking Mike's suggestion, it's better for me to transfer my target from suicidal group in other stakeholders, so I think I should read through the book 'New Approaches to Proventing Suicide' and see if I can find new problems and came out new ideas from it.

Reflection on Tutorial 04 2 08

It seems like my initial idea is difficult to access. By talking to Mike today, I was reminded to think about my last project homosexuality. The reason why I had to change to another topic is because I couldn't get approach to the focus group (homosexuals), so I couldn't do researches towards my focus group properly. That is an inaccessible topic, and I would avoid the same problem when I started my current project.

Actually it is not easy for me to think about other focus groups except for suicidal people, however this community of people is extremely difficult to get approach, one hand it is hard for me to find suicidal people, on the other hand, even I can find some, because of the ethical problem, I am not allowed to talk to them. In addition, I am not a professional who is familiar with the approaching ways and methods towards suicidal people, so if I talk to them perhaps it is also harm for my own wellbeing.

So Mike gave me a piece of advice, to consider other stakeholders such as A+E Department, stuffs in hospital, clinic and GPs. Also I should have a look on the second level groups such as people around suiciders and people who might be involved in the suicide issues.

He told me his own experience which about his feelings and his actions after one of his student killed himself, this story gave some a concept on how people around a suicider be influenced.

I am ready to change my approaching methods and perspectives I researched, sometime I see my first idea is a valuable and I like it very much, but most of time my first idea is not matual and not so realistic. So the better thing for me is forget my first possession and look for my second one.

Books I'm Reading

Websites I've Researched on

Reflection on Tutorial 22.1.08

Hazel suggested me to do a broad research collection on my suicide subject:



To be honest, I was not sure how to answer some questions which hazel asked me today, such as why suicide in Scotland? Why a designer? Acturaly I haven't thought about these questions yet.

I didn't tell Hazel my idea about increasing suicidal people's fear, because I thought my research outcomes are not enough to support my idea.

I made sure to utilize action research and case study as my methodologies and my methods are literature review, contextual review, focus groups, documents, searching, interviews, photographing, record, brainstorming, mind-mapping, sketches and etc.

My objective is to reduce the suicide rate in Scotland, but so far have no idea how to do.

Books I'm reading

Reflection on Tutorial 17.1.08

By talking with Mike about my ideas, he strongly supported me to do the suicide topic, and I also got some useful suggestions on how to do my initial research in this field.

Mike explained me a chart 'Crime Lifecycle Model' which related to the project he is doing currently. The chart shows 10 influential factors from pre-crime and post-crime aspects. I was quite inspired by the factors which influenced people to commit a crime, such as motives, emotion, life circumstances, skills, knowledge, equipment/tools, and opportunity. I understood that as same as commit a crime, commit a suicide also influenced by these elements. Just say suicide equipment/tools, nowadays people can utilize everything to end them up, so pre-suicide is a potential area which design might be intervene in.

Crime Lifecycle Model

Same as post-suicide, from the chart, one of the factors after crime is 'immediate impact', in suicide case, suicider's families, friends, and people around him/her will suffer great pains as soon as they hear of the terrible news. But in my opinion, research in post-suicide aspects is a little difficult to get approach, so I decided to focus on pre-suicide area to do my research and try to find out in what elements that design can be involved in.