Week 7

1.  What does the word ENTROPY mean and why is this relevant?
- Lack of order or predictability.
2.  If you are attuned to everything around you, does it help you deal with what is in front
of you and why or why not ?
- Yes, it helps the whole picture
3.  How is this different from FOCUS ?
- When you focus on one point before you see the whole picture you can miss things that are important
4.  Being “comfortably lost” is a balance between what 2 feelings?
- Happy, Lost
5.  Describe a recent scenario when you found yourself to be “comfortably lost”. Did you
enjoy the sensation?
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6.  If you couldn’t hold back the urge to write on the “don’t write on this page” page – what
would you write?
- I wouldn't write anything, simply because its a book i paid for, i bought it to read it, not to write in, also it says "do not write on this page", so i won't.
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White Hat thinking

This covers facts, figures, information needs and gaps. "I think we need some white hat thinking at this point..." means Let's drop the arguments and proposals, and look at the data base."

Red Hat thinking

This covers intuition, feelings and emotions. The red hat allows the thinker to put forward an intuition without any ned to justify it. "Putting on my red hat, I think this is a terrible proposal." Ususally feelings and intuition can only be introduced into a discussion if they are supported by logic. Usually the feeling is genuine but the logic is spurious.The red hat gives full permission to a thinker to put forward his or her feelings on the subject at the moment.

Black Hat thinking

This is the hat of judgment and caution. It is a most valuable hat. It is not in any sense an inferior or negative hat. The rior or negative hat. The black hat is used to point out why a suggestion does not fit the facts, the available experience, the system in use, or the policy that is being followed. The black hat must always be logical.

Yellow Hat thinking

This is the logical positive. Why something will work and why it will offer benefits. It can be used in looking forward to the results of some proposed action, but can also be used to find something of value in what has already happened.

Green Hat thinking

This is the hat of creativity, alternatives, proposals, what is interesting, provocations and changes.

Blue Hat thinking

This is the overview or process control hat. It looks not at the subject itself but at the 'thinking' about the subject. "Putting on my blue hat, I feel we should do some more green hat thinking at this point." In technical terms, the blue hat is concerned with meta-cognition.

Week 6

Describe the relationship between complexity and simplicity.
- without complexity there wouldn't be simplicity/ you cant have simplicity without having complexity.
What analogy does Maeda use to demonstrate this relationship?
- A child who eats ice-cream 3 meals a day will eventually get bored.
In what context does Maeda discuss rhythm / beat in relation to the fifth law
Contextualise this relationship and discuss how
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Homework:
In your blog write a short description of each of the 6 hats

"Data Hat" the hat of information and data, contemplates information in a neutral and unbiased way.

"Intuition Hat" is the based on your personal experiences, feelings & first perceptions.

"Critical Hat" is the hat of negativity, it is based on why ideas won't work, potential risks and weaknesses.

"Positive Hat" is based on ideas through an optimistic point of view, possible solutions.

"Creative Hat" looks for patterns in ideas, synthesise the infromation and and find similarities.

" Practical Hat" ensures that the all aspects of the topic are covered.

Week 5

Describe the relationship between teaching and learning according to Maeda?
- Teaching is easy, you just have to act like you know all the answers, as a student you have to gather the answers and then make sense of it.
Describe the importance of the use of metaphors in learning, why would you use
them, how, give an example?
- understand the concept better in their own way
BRAIN - what does the acronym stand for – why is it important?
- Basics - start from the beginning
Repeat - to help understand
Avoid - don't create desperation
Inspire - use metaphors
Never - never forget repeat
Describe a situation where you have been required to teach someone a skill. How could you apply the BRAIN principle to it?
- 3D animation, having to show other students what to do if they are stuck or behind, Start from the basics to ensure that they know what they are looking at, then get them to repeat it themselves so that they know how to do it.

Week 4

1. What is the major benefit of saving time?
- you have more time to spend on doing something else.
2. How do designers integrate time into their products?
- IPod shuffle, amazon.com,
3. Explain the relationship between making waiting shorter with making waiting more
tolerable
- Elevator music,
4. How can you use your timeline to increase your own efficiency as a designer?
- setting time for a task depending on what the task is.
5. Briefly outline an event or activity in which you are adept at time saving?
-
6. What part of your design process do you need to improve at, in terms of saving
time?
- Researching,
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"raison d'etre" - "reason of being"

Class Ideas:
- Blox - Art for Arts sake - Kinetic - Lush - Fusion D' Arts - Xcite - Expand - Buildup
- Raison Tree - Detra Mental - Make - Carpe - Simplicity - Tetra - Blossom - Designer's Ball - Aurum - Liner - Artisan - Fade - Ars - Gratia
- Esoterica

Week 3

What does the acronym SLIP mean according to Maeda?
- Sort Label Integrate Prioritize
Define each character of the acronym, S L I P in one sentence
- Sort - Write down on small post-it notes each datum to be slipped.
- Label - Each group deserves a relevant name.
- Integrate - Whenever possible, integrate groups that appear significantly like each other.
- Prioritize - finally collect the highest priority items into a single set to ensure that they recieve the most attention.
What does Maeda say is only a pinkie away?
- "The quick path to simplicity is only a pinkie away." the TAB button.
Why is this important to us as designers?
-
What are the principles of gestalt psychological theory?
- The principles of gestalt to seek the most appropriate conceptual "fit" are important not only to survival, but lie at the very heart of the discipline of design.
Where might one find the aesthetics of blur?
- Aboriginal art, muddled words like "aoubt where your mind automatically see's it as "about"
Why is blur important in interactive design?
-Blurring
Why do good designers squint when they look at something?
- To concentrate and simplify what you are working on or looking at.
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