Freedom Thru Visual Thinking

Back in elementary and high school, I studied in a catholic-chinese school, the training was so rigid and you should always follow whatever the teachers say. Back then, some of my teachers were nuns so we need to be demure in class , quiet and whatever the instructions given, you should do it with no questions. It was a bit hard for me since I am a very out spoken person , so I told myself that when I get to college , I will going to get a course that requires me to talk and talk. I'm not saying that I didn't learn anything from my high school but I guess I can say that I didn't enjoy it , I always hear people saying that high school life is the best part but it doesn't apply to me, I wasn't free then , I cannot talk , I cannot voice out and I always follow instructions detailed and step by step. The teaching was very traditional and I didn't like it. So when I get to college and took up mass communication, I really did enjoy it though there are also instructions that needs to be followed but I feel free, I can voice out, i can show my creativity with my ideas and it is really different because I can suggest new things to my classmates and even to my teacher. 

I am not saying that traditional teaching or traditional thinking should be demolished but base from my experience , visual thinking should be given a chance to be explored and be used by the students. Well first is for them to feel free, next is for them to discover new things and third is to explore further and not limit them on one pattern. In this case, students will learn new things that will help them with their interaction especially when they start working and face the real world. 

Visual thinking can be somehow be connected to divergent thinking, divergent thinking is the ability to find as many possible answers or ideas to a single problem and it involves breaking a topic down into various components in order to gain knowledge about the other aspects of the topic. Divergent thinking occurs in a very random and disorganized manner. The teacher plays a big role in order for the students to stimulate divergent thinking , he should think of activities that may help them discover a lot of things and not to be limited. Activities like brainstorming, journal writing, mind mapping and free writing can help the students to explore more about the topic. Also the teacher, should help in organizing the topic after the students give their ideas about it, and organizing the ideas together is called convergent thinking where you do it in a structured manner. 

Having my masters in Ateneo De Manila gave me a chance to speak up and give ideas that maybe useful for the topic. As a student, it is very fulfilling to contribute to the class discussion and not be limited with instructions and patterns. I can really say that I am enjoying my classes in Ateneo more than anything else because I feel so free in expressing myself and that is all we want right? To be free and to feel free.

Fascinated and Inspired :)

http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/

The documentary Objectified is one of the most fascinating documentaries I ever watched. Of course as a comm student the first thing I noticed is how the documentary was made, how it is edited, the lighting and the sound. But there is more to that, aside from the fact that the documentary was made pretty well in terms of editing and stuff, the story was really good, everything was well presented. I understood every single detail that was mentioned in the documentary and I was also touched because in a way, the designers always think of us whenever they create something but we never think of them. Do we? 

"A big definition of who you are as a designer is the way you look at the world." -Jonathan Ive, Apple

This is a very interesting quote , it tells us consumers, how designers are concerned with our needs. How they think of us whenever they make a certain product. This quote basically talks about the relationship between the designers, the product and the consumers and how the product may affect our daily lives. Also isn't it fascinating how we interact with the designer thru the product? and how our experiences in this world changes because of a person who devotes his time in making objects that we use to make our lives easier? The world is changing everyday, we must embrace change and we should be thankful for the people behind every single object that we see around us, because those are not just object, it has purpose why it's there or why it was made . It was made to make our daily experiences easy and unforgettable. We owe a lot from the designers of these objects, I hope we give justice to the time and effort they exert in making these products and value them. Their jobs aren't easy so let's value the things that we have.

"Mass communication vs. Mass production"

This actually awakened me, before i thought that when producing a product, it is best to produce it massively so the profit will keep on coming. But upon watching this documentary I learned that mass communication is more important than mass production because in mass communication, you can make the product perfect eventually as you hear the comments and suggestions of the consumers. For the designers this is good because they can improve their design and make it perfect that fits the wants and the needs of every person. The man who tackled about this was Mr.Dunes, it is good to know that their mission is to cater the needs of the people not to just to make money out of it. I believe that it is a mutual relationship between the designer and the consumer because the comments of the consumer may serve as a lesson to the designer to make his design better and to the designer, comments and suggestions will help him come up with a perfect product.

Sustainability

At the end of the documentary, sustainability was mentioned and I was struck because this serves us an alarm or a wake up call who are in the design industry because sustainability is a big issue nowadays especially because of the low standard materials that is sometimes use in the products. The companies should produce products that could survive for a life time and not just end up in junk shops or trash bins. That would be QUALITY products.

I always have this interest when it comes to art and I guess i also have an eye when it comes to design but not as good as the ones behind these laptops, clocks, watches and cellphones because they're just exceptional artists. I guess everyone who will hear the story of every object and the story of the person who is  behind that object will be fascinated and inspired. And guess what? I just did !!