R-Train: Recap of Week 1 / Masa

Week 1: Background research, Brainstorm and ideation, Concept and storyboard, Presentation & critics

In the week 1, my learning is that “Make it. Visualize it. Otherwise, it is meaningless.” We had so many homework from the day 1, in spite of not recovering from jet lag for me. However, it was super fun in a super diverse community and I think it is important to get used to and manage multiple tasks. It is a great preparation for our coming first term.

Actually, I was a little bit familiar with topics in the week 1 like background research, brainstorm, concept and presentation. When I was in IBM Japan, I used some techniques of design methodologies and experienced several projects. But specifically, the following 2 insights were very helpful for me.

One is “Think logically, do emotionally.” On one hand, I feel the design process is very logical. So designers must think logically. On the other hand, to do creative work, designers must understand art and aesthetics, and do emotionally,

The other is “Narrow down the concept.” When I did the presentation of environmental problems, my issue was so big. So it was difficult to think about the solution. I think it is not bad to think broader, however, I must narrow down and come up with reasonable solutions finally.