Our final design & technology lecture was delivered by Alasdair MacDonald and was titled ‘A Future Conversation’. We discussed the future of energy generation, transport, and their effects on climate change. The discussion of car-free cities reminded me of Barcelona’s recent work. Since 2014, it has been creating a series of ‘superblocks’ – areas zonedContinue reading “Lecture 10: Alasdair MacDonald & A Future Conversation”
Category Archives: Lecture Reflections
Lecture 9: Kaitlyn Debiasse & Refugee Open Ware
This week’s lecture was delivered by Kaitlyn Debiasse, a design lecturer at GSA whose experience includes managing a project that creates prosthetic limbs for Syrian refugees. After the lecture, I spoke with my girlfriend Maryam, an upper limb congenital amputee who has experience with various prosthesis, but now chooses to live without one. I askedContinue reading “Lecture 9: Kaitlyn Debiasse & Refugee Open Ware”
Lecture 8: John Thorne & Sustainability
This week’s design & technology lecture featured John Thorne as the guest speaker; GSA’s Sustainability Coordinator. He spoke about the product designer’s potential to impact climate change, among numerous other interesting points of discussion. We discussed the required shift in energy production to curb climate change, moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. IContinue reading “Lecture 8: John Thorne & Sustainability”
Lecture 7: Ben Craven’s Calculations
This week’s lecture was provided by Ben Craven from GSA and had a very simple message: quick calculations are extremely useful. A rough calculation early on in a project can quickly tell you the feasibility of an idea, and whether you should invest any more time into it. I think calculations are most effective forContinue reading “Lecture 7: Ben Craven’s Calculations”
Lecture 6: Human Centred Design
This week we heard from Stuart Bailey, a Glasgow School of Art staff with expertise in service design. He introduced the fundamental concepts of service design, identifying the overlaps and differences from pure product design. There is a lot of overlap – the concept of finding the core problem in any given situation was familiar.Continue reading “Lecture 6: Human Centred Design”
Lecture 5: Michael Tougher & Soundbops
This week we listened to Michael Tougher, a 2015 graduate of our course and winner of the 2014 Design in Plastics competition. He spoke about his experience with his winning product, Soundbops, from conception all the way to production six years later. This lecture was very helpful, both for giving insight into the road afterContinue reading “Lecture 5: Michael Tougher & Soundbops”
Lecture 4: David Richards & Frazer-Nash
This week we were given a presentation by David Richards, a design engineer of Frazer-Nash consultancy for 26 years, and a visiting professor at the Glasgow School of Art. He spoke to us about his experience at the consultancy, using past projects to lay out their approach to the design process. What struck me aboutContinue reading “Lecture 4: David Richards & Frazer-Nash”
Lecture 3: Silvia Weidenbach
This week we were treated to presentation by Silvia Weidenbach, avant-garde Jewellery designer. Well, what can I say about this? I have to confess, my initial knee-jerk reaction was one of distaste. Even now, these products do not appeal to me. However, there is something about them that begs further consideration. The way these objectsContinue reading “Lecture 3: Silvia Weidenbach”
Lecture 2: Rams
This week we watched the 2018 documentary titled ‘Rams: Principles of Good Design’. It was great to see Rams as a real person as opposed to this mythical character we usually hear about. Moments of charm, such as the scenes in his garden, help bring him down to earth. I especially enjoyed his appreciation towardsContinue reading “Lecture 2: Rams”
Lecture 1: Demise of Traditional and Skilled Manufacturing
I left this lecture with the question ‘is skilled and traditional manufacturing really reaching its demise?’. Craig proposed arguments for both sides. On one side, there is the titanium bike frame example. While you can buy a beautifully hand-crafted frame for £3000, you can also buy a titanium frame mass manufactured in China for £300.Continue reading “Lecture 1: Demise of Traditional and Skilled Manufacturing”
McEwan Design 