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The first assignment was to design a hand drawn diagram of the tools we use. “their interrelationship and their relationship to their working method.” The size of the diagram was A1. The fun element was that we had no computer/digital help could be used.
As a designer I feel, the most important tools are those, which one cant see or measure quantitatively. Starting with my ideas… the tool for which is my Brain. As a designer, the most important for is the ideas/concepts. This was because everyone has a brain. So what sets apart the designers from others? the answer was the way we use it. Having or owning something and the way of using it are two different things. So then, is it a skill? Because one can acquire a skill by repeated use of a tool. I concluded that for designers, our brain is a generative tool. For me the most important one.
Coming to other “Intangible tools”, we have our 5 senses. Eyes = vision, Nose = smell, Ear = sound, Mouth = taste, Skin = touch. For me all these are my intangible tools.
Another domain is that of Tangible tools. Which includes everything that I use as an extension of my body. Pen, paper, camera, computer, cutter, etc. I also realized that these tools shape my design products/deliverables. Whereas the intangible tools show me the direction of research/visualization/concepts through my design process.
The tangible tools were used throughout the design process and we designers choose selectively from a wide collection of our tools to form the desired outcome. These tools are very calculative and usually also hep us do things precisely, faster and sometimes digitally. So, I chose the innermost scattered layer showing the tangible tools, middle layer showing the design process (in green) and the outermost yellow layer forming the tangible tools which are used throught the process.
A small sketch for the diagram
The final one
The mentors were surpised to see a lot of process involved rather than a mere diagram representing tools. They also mentioned that it was interesting to see some different point of views from different students.
