CIID 09/10 – The Beginning

"Don't be concerned if you are confused"

The CIID/DKDS Interaction Design programme for 2009/10 has started. Day one involved a couple of presentations, introductions, and tours, and the beginning of the weeklong orientation.

The class of 09/10 consists of 21 students, hailing from 12 countries on 4 continents. Backgrounds range from graphic and product design, to media and cultural studies, to electrical engineering, computer science, and more. We’d each been asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation on ourselves, and it was interesting to see how we each presented ourselves, and how our individual reasons and paths to CIID both mirrored each other and wildly differered.
diversity
Simona and Vinay gave an overview of the programme, including the daunting but amazingly exciting curriculum planned for us – slightly tweaked but broadly similar to that used during last year’s pilot year. Vinay then introduced and explained some of the underlying principles of the programme.

desc

Hearing Vinay and Simona tell us about the overarching values of the programm and curriculum, and the raison d’etre of CIID felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s clear that the founding faculty, and everybody who’s been involved in CIID’s short lifespan so far, had the lengthly discussions, the arguments, debates, and sleepless nights required to have a strong and clearly articulated set of ideas and educational aims, and an understanding of the methods needed to achieve them.

peer-to-peer

The programme is tightly focussed, but without being constraining or limited in its outlook, and that’s only possible with the knowledge of what it is that is being targetted. All the faculty, both now and during my interview, were completely open about the fact that they don’t know everything, that the definition of what we are studying is fuzzy – and flexible, and ever-changing – to say the least. There’s a refreshing honesty in that, and it’s extremely rare, and all the more appreciated because of it.

aesthetics

There were thoughts on being based in a very traditional crafts-focussed design school; a discussion on design research and what it’s for – and what it’s not for. Simona made the lovely distinction that “we do not search for the truth – we are not anthropologists of ethnographers. We search for opportunities and inspiration”.

proofs

A clear differentiation was made between inventing the latest technology, and humanising it, by applying it in a user-centric fashion. An encouragement to pursue speculative thinking, but to always remain grounded in reality

craft

Following an introduction to the library, IT systems, and printing facilities, we went on a rather longer tour of the workshops available to us: wood, metal, textiles, computer controlled knitting, glassblowing and -cutting, silkscreening, ceramics, plaster casting, various rapid prototyping facilities (CNC, laser, 3d printing), and CIID’s own electronics lab. We’ll also have our own studio space for simpler prototyping. I felt like a kid in a candy store, and have a strong urge to just make stuff – but we still have to wait until we can use any of it, not to mention the lack of that resource we have been warned will be in extremely short supply this year: time.

But I can’t help but feel exhilerated and excited about the year ahead, albeit a little apprehensive at the final slide: ” a new definition of intensity”.

Bring it on.

(NB – the quotes are from the presentation and discussions around it, but they are not by any means the whole presentation or talk, nor do they aim to sum it up. They are just the bits that stuck out for me)

The CIID/DKDS Interaction Design programme for 2009/10 has started. Day one involved a couple of presentations, introductions, and tours, and the beginning of the weeklong orientation.

The class of 09/10 consists of 21 students, hailing from 4 continents. Backgrounds range from graphic and

product design, to media and cultural studies, to electrical engineering, computer science, and more.

Simona and Vinay gave an overview of the programme, including the daunting but amazingly exciting

curriculum planned for us – slightly tweaked but broadly similar to that used during last year’s pilot

year. Vinay then explained some of the underlying principles of the programme.

Hearing vinay and simona tell us about the overarching values of the programm and curriculum, and the

raison d’etre of CIID felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s clear that the founding faculty, and everybody

who’s been involved in CIID’s short lifespan so far, had the lengthly discussions, the arguments,

debates, and sleepless nights required to have a strong and clearly articulated set of ideas, educational

aims, and an understanding of the methods needed to achieve them. The programme is tightly focussed, but

without being constraining or limited in its outlook, and that’s only possible with the knowledge of what it is that is being targetted.

Following an introduction to the library, IT systems, and printing facilities, we went on a rather longer

tour of the workshops available to us: Wood, metal, textiles, computer controlled knitting, glassblowing

and cutting, silkscreening, ceramics, plaster casting, various rapid prototyping facilities (CNC, laser, 3d

printing), and CIID’s own electronics lab. We’ll also have our own studio space for lower fidelity

prototyping. I felt like a kid in a candy store, and have a strong urge to just make stuff – but we still

have to wait until we can use any of it, not to mention the lack of that resource we have been warned will

be in extremely short supply this year: time.


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