In translation . . . A Design Perspective

Abstract

Design is a meaning and making process that directs emotion, influences ideology, and shapes attitude. We are the subjects of the objects we make, and when we become the focus of the designed object, the subjective and objective considerations of a design are internally connected. As people in a networked society, the borderline between users and objects are being woven together. The aim of this paper is to understand the structure of the conflict and the connection between the different aspects of elements in play. The different explorations weave together my design work and my artwork in order to develop subjective and objective methods for analyzing my ideas. Further to discuss and critically evaluate the performance of these two methodologies in determining whether a subjective question is capable of producing a defined and solvable problem statement. As the culmination of my MFA study, the creative work highlights the variations of the design ideologies I have encountered, and my responses focusing on aspects of identity, empathy, and awareness.