6. Reflection

REFLECTION
I really enjoyed the TechBox Tricks exercise we did this morning. It was simple and every one had the same standard pieces to come up with something creative. It was a bit tough at first but I think it was interesting to just play around with what we were given and use them to create something. I only wished we had a bit more time as these kinds of creative things do not always come naturally to me and may require more thought from my brain. I also wish I had the talent to think of something I want to create then use what I have to create it. But I think, for me, that comes from seeing a problem in daily life and then trying to solve it with what I have, instead of just being given a set of tools and being asked to come up with a pitch. One thing I would suggest to not repeat though is asking special guests to award special bonus points to a single student. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for the winner today and have no hard feelings towards them but I would be lying if I said it didn't discourage me a little. It reminded me of the story in AnnMarie Thomas' book about the girl who cried because her teammates yelled at her to not fix the robot mid-race or they'd lose points and how competition does not really benefit learning that much. Rather, it somewhat destroys their passion. I have always grown up (in the typical Asian family) without much praise for my accomplishments and I think that has harbored a character of low self-esteem in me which has been both beneficial in keeping me humble and striving to always learn new things yet detrimental to my overall level of confidence. So when these situations happen, I always feel that I'm not good enough and maybe this just isn't for me. Aside from that though, overall, I still would like to see more of this kind of simple electronics exercise and more time to complete it (Even though I know we were given a time extension already. Lol.)


READING SUMMARY
Charrettes (by Nielson/Norman group) is something I definitely believe is worth investing time in. Practically, it's a brainstorm session and it reminds me very much of IDEO's practices as well. All throughout my summer internship and well into my current part-time job I have always felt a need for a UX team to throw ideas around with me while I am designing the interface for my work projects. Sometimes I do feel stuck in what I'm doing and feel like there is no way out. I just need someone to suggest things to help move the project along even though I may not use their idea entirely or even at all. But it helps for them to just throw out ideas because something might inspire me to think in a particular direction that I have never thought of before and that definitely generates more direction and ideas.

The article from Charrettes Institute is for the most part on the same line as the Nielson/Norman group. I think they are just much more structured in their guidelines. I don't think this is a bad thing. Both types of Charrettes are similar to each other and both work. The structured guideline in this article is definitely helpful, probably based on a lot of past failure and success experiences, and perhaps aimed at making optimal use of the charrettes time. Many of the things they mentioned are also common sense to me. For example, working collaboratively with a cross-functional team is important to encapsulate as many aspects of the work as possible. Another example is working near or on-site is of course much better than working too far away, which makes it not very feasible if there is just one measurement that needed to be double-checked to progress in the charrettes session. Overall, very helpful tips.

The SUNY Albany's reading on critiquing is also very helpful. Everybody has some level of self-love and so everybody loves to talk about themselves and their ideas. The problem is nobody really listens. Listening is a skill that we all need to learn and must continue to learn throughout our lives. If we don't listen, we don't receive what the person is saying. I admit to be lacking in this area many times. Another point I liked is the last, which talks about leaving our ego at the door. This is very difficult to do but it is necessary if we are to improve.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed reading the "How to write an Artist Statement" article, I'm not too sure why we are reading it at this point. I did get the opportunity to read this earlier in the semester when I pitched my painting idea to the professor. Re-reading this I am helped and reminded to write in terms of "I" and not "you". Particularly, I am impressed again with the 4th paragraph of the answer portion, which talks about how the statement expresses the fundamental underpinnings of my art and I should write it for people who want to know more and not for people who already know everything my art is about.