Odd Starts
“If you start in the same place as everyone else, you will be more likely to tread a similar path. Navigation aids may take all on the same path. Unique design solutions come from going down the untrodden path-the path that’s fresh.”
With this inspiring note, we embarked on a week with Geoff Fowle (Central Saint Martins) exploring the rusty side of our brains. He is an amazing character, full of energy and comfortable in his own skin. One of the exercises we did, was to collect a special object, and put it on the center of the table. Each one of us had a note pad, and we would write one sentence about one of the objects. Then, after 2 minutes or so, we’d switch notepads to whomever was at our right, and write another sentence that followed the previous one. This collaborating practice yielded unexpected, funny and weird results. A way of finding something out of the “odd starts” we began. It is a great exercise for de-cluttering our habits and methods for designing or getting an idea. It felt like a new switch button on my head!
We also paired up and my classmate Mads and I came up with an idea of an “energy machine” that reveals the truth in life. Our prototype is very basic (as is the sketch) but it was a hell of a lot of fun.
