Interviews with designers at Pines Calyx

This is one of ten interviews conducted by Jordan Dallywell-Simpson after the Pines Calyx Workshop

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Ayako Fukuuchi

3.30pm 03/04/08

Warming up

(1) Q. What do you remember from the workshop?
A. I remember the atmosphere was really good. People were really respecting each other and I really enjoyed the workshops.

(3) Q. What were the best things about it, most engaging?
A. My favorite part was the constellation {g}, that was very interesting for me.

(4) Q. What their anything (tricky / unhelpful / obstructive / irritating) about the two days?
A. The difficulty was, the last part, we had to finish of our idea of currency {e}. Well we felt we didn’t have enough time and also we had to summarize what we where thinking. That stuff was kind of difficult.

Teamwork

(5) Q. How did you experience working in an interdisciplinary team?
A. It’s good. (interviewer prompts for more information) To be honest, I didn’t feel like everyone was working in different professions, because we were given the same tasks. I didn’t feel like everyone was having, for example, Malcolm’s profession is advertising. I didn’t feel that way, we were just working as people. I think it is quite interesting because, we didn’t ask anyone to be professional, or use their professional practice on some part.

(7/8) Q. Did you experience any synergistic moments with your group? / How did they (synergies) manifest themselves?
A. Yeah, I actually I felt… To be honest, I’m totally not sure what synergy is. For example, when we were working with the final part, on currency ideas, we were able to summarize what we think and also everyone was taking some part to sum up our ideas. I thought that part was quite synergetic. Also when we did the rhythms workshop {a}, the one with percussion. We were able to make some harmony with our clapping hands, that moment was quite synergetic I thought. It was quite complicated but it sounded pretty beautiful. I quite liked that rhythms, and quite enjoyed it.

(9) Q. Did the teamwork generate any insight into how you work with a team?
A. Well, yes. I think so. For example, we all came up with ideas, my ideas and my way of coming up with ideas was very different from everyone. I thought I was expecting to be like that and I think it became my role in that group.

Metadesign

(11) Q. How did the experience compare with your everyday (design work / practice)?
A. Well not as a student in design futures, but while I was working for a company in Japan. I felt the relationships between people were pretty different. The people in the workshop were really really harmonized. Very cooperative, and also because when I was working in the real world, I had to talk with clients. When you’re brainstorming or doing presentations, I had to talk with my clients. It’s difficult to make synergy with clients. In that way the atmosphere was very different I felt.

Lasting Impressions (part 1)

(23)Who have you talked to and what did you talk about?
I’m not sure as a designer, but I think it was able to help me evaluate how I can relate to a group, how I can communicate with a group. I think that kind of thing I was able to reflect, your or my way of communicating.

Tools

(a) Rhythms
(b) Cultural Props
(c) Parameters by Consensus
(d) Story-Telling
(e) Metadesign
(f) Making, Doing
(g) Positioning
(h) Metaphors

(15)Which activities do you remember from the two days?
Well the percussion thing, {a} rhythm workshops. Because it was a very physical workshop, and for me speaking is pretty tough. So in that way, it was fun and you could really feel about how we can harmonize in rhythms.

(17)Could you apply it somewhere else (e), i.e. in your own practice?
Well… For ice-breaking, the constellation {g} is really useful to make sure of who is going to take what kind of role in the group. Or how we can see how everyone can see each other in the group. I think that one tool is very useful in identifying everyone’s role within the group. So I would choose the constellation tool (to use in my own practice)

(16)Was it accessible (a), usable (ua), useful (uf)?
Umm… To engage with… Difficult… (interviewer prompts list of tools) I didn’t feel any difficulties. But the last bit, when we presented the currency, the last tool, was a little bit difficult for me because we had to think about the time as we were in a hurry. We had to make something, and that was a little bit difficult. Other bits maybe because of the limit of time.

Lasting Impressions (part 2)

(20) Have you thought about the workshop afterwards?
Yes I did… The reason was that I had to talk about the workshop when John did the Metadesign presentation in the University. Also, the tools which used, with the roles and tape, and constellations. I remembered that one a lot, and I wrote down stuff, a week after or so. I remember that stuff a lot!

(24)Did the workshop live up to your expectations?
It was very unexpected, because I didn’t have any clear ideas, I think I couldn’t expect what kind of workshop it would be, or even what kind of design would come out.

(25)How did you feel afterwards?
I felt like I had really achieved something from the workshop. Because, it could just be my personal perception, but I feel like the metadesign tools really worked. I was able to see how everyone is taking part in taking everyone’s role in that group. Also I quite liked my group’s ideas about the currency. It was quite satisfactory really, I was very tired to be honest. But I had a really good time!

Closing

(28) How would you define Meta-Design?
Oh gosh! Umm a definition… For me, it was Hannah’s idea, but I really agree with her. For me, metadesign is a process of designing and also I think not only designers, if your working in a group or some team work, you need to have a perspective from metadesign thinking. Because I remember the workshop was really harmonizing, and really appreciated everyone’s attitude towards the others. People were really respecting each other. I think the attitude of respecting each other can be a part of metadesign, I thought.

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