Design & Research CMS19

For the third blog-post about the lectures, I chose to write about the one from Ursula Tischner, which deals with crowd-based activities and their implementation in system designing.

Humanity, as well as Ursula and her team, are searching for better ways and methods which will serve in designing sustainable systems. As she said, when she mentioned the triple-bottom-line approach: we have to take care of the planet, of the people, and also of the economy, but if we lose the planet there will be no other two.

So we, as human beings living on this planet, should be aware of some facts. For example, that global overshoot day happens earlier every year, that Indium and other precious metals will soon no longer exist on this planet, that there is already a water crisis, that 75% of the fish population is gone, that 70% of fresh water in the US is used for livestock production, etc.
Not only we are spending our resources, but we are also spending them unequally. This is due to unequal material consumption among people living in countries with different development status. It means that the majority of the population (which are those people in developing countries) are living on very low material consumption – they consume much less than people in rich, industrial countries.

For me, the most interesting part of the lecture, was to hear how much stuff being designed is still in use after six months?
The answer is 1 %. So how is it possible for people to still have a good quality of life, but to reduce negative impacts on the environment?

She was also talking about how not only designing eco products is important, because people can buy eco products and use it in a way that is not eco (overconsumption). The right way to think about the problems our planet has, is to think about designing systems of products and services, to increase the system efficiency, rather than improve one product. When designing a product-service system design, we could redesign the whole system like mobility and have systems like car sharing, for example.

During this lecture, I also got familiar with the term SCP (Sustainable Consumption Production)  – which could be implemented when designing systems like mobility, food, agriculture, housing, etc.
Another thing we often forget is the power of the crowd, and Ursula believes that this is a powerful tool, which can be used in designing sustainable systems, to find the better solution that actual responses to real problems, which means that people have more impact in the designing process, we let them have more voice. Crowd based design teaches us how to use the power of the crowd in design through methods like the maker movement, crowdfunding, etc.

So it is important to take real problems, real needs, rather than the products fulfilling that needs, as a starting point to design need fulfillment systems with considerable sustainability improvements.

As a solution Ursula and her company offered to the world, she introduced their open innovation platform called Innovatives – the world’s first open innovation platform for sustainable solutions combining Crowd Sourcing, Crowd Voting, Crowd Funding, and Online Shop. And it functions pretty simply: people write problems, then the challenge starts, participants make teams, work on the solutions, and afterward the solutions are evaluated and the best one is implemented.

I think this lecture was above all informative and educational, it was significant to hear some facts, because you get some insights on how other creatives are thinking about the problems, how they approach to problem-solving, how their aim changes during the development. Some ideas I’ve heard during the talk are probably going to influence my development, because they are very interesting and add a fun note to a solution, like the sustainable dance floor in Rotterdam, which is a fun way of creating electricity, or the music stairways, which people use instead of elevators, because of the fun factor.

For the second lecture, I wanted to write a review of, I chose “Is it art or can we toss it”, from Florian Doppel Prix.

He was speaking about many challenges he’s had over the past 20 years, working with different teams and team members with different background knowledge, but mostly linked to media and sound art. He referred to different projects, thus he mentioned many artists, designers, programmers, media editors, etc. While watching this lecture, I noticed that in the reality your job is not isolated from other people and other professions, especially when being a creative individual, and you have to cooperate and communicate with a lot of other creatives every day, to successfully finish the projects you are working on. As he mentioned more times, it can be stressful and messy, to work in such an environment, but nothing is easy, and everything is manageable.

He was also showing some interesting technological devices, like robotic drawing machines, which print out force fields onto canvas, also as a part of the installation he worked on. So I think we were able to get meaningful insights, about what happens behind the scenes, when it comes to a realization of the project.

After watching this, I really got the impression, that planning an exhibition is not a straightforward thing, since unpredictable problems can happen, and this is why I believe it is important to have every kind of experts in your team, since you are not able to solve every difficulty alone. As Florian has said, planning itself can be boring and exhausting, but it is also fun in a way, as it is a challenge for everyone included in the project, and it is crucial not to forget to use creative thinking in problem-solving, over and over again.

It became clear to me, that the main thing which is going to keep your exhibition alive is counting on all aspects of perception while designing it. Especially interesting, I would say, is combining acoustic elements with interactive installations, as they did in a project for Niederösterreichische Landausstellung in 2017, which includes interactive touch wall and the sensors behind the graphics, which triggers map projection with animations.

For my first lecture, I want to reflect on, I chose the one from Astrid Kury, a cultural scientist, and a director of the Akademie Graz. I found her lecture very interesting and inspirative, because she was trying her best to encourage young people to collaborate. Talking from years of experience in working with other creatives, she says she believes in benefits of the collaboration and interdisciplinarity as a proven method for developing projects with broader aspects and points of view.

From her passionate explanation about the power of collaboration, we can all learn some important things.

As she mentioned, the question if we want to work together with other experts, is also a question about what kind of world do we want to live in? Rather egoistic, competitive world or the one, where sharing of ideas, success but also problems and possible failures is an option?

I also strongly believe that collaboration can be a fast track to unique ideas, because you have a bigger picture when working in a team, and a wider perspective. It is certainly hard in the beginning, to work in such an environment, where it is hard to understand each other, because of the different areas you come from, but I also believe that it is worth it.

I was intrigued by the projects she mentioned, but also convinced by the outcomes of the same, and my favorite is the project about linguistic landscapes. Regarding this project, I find the approach of Danica Dakic innovative and original, to consider the language as the connecting aspect of the society, rather than the one who separates it. A method where you collect samples of languages and then think about visual means of expression sounds abstract, but yet is so logical and convincing.

In my opinion, most of the projects she mentioned would not be possible and manageable, if just one person was standing behind it. It would take a lot more time, to even shape the idea, and a lot more to start ist implementation. But when you are working in a team, it is easier because you have a lot of new insights coming in, daily. I think Astrid explained nicely as well, why is it meaningful to collaborate, when it comes to stakeholders. The reason is that they are already engaged in making decisions, everyone who has an interest is already on board, so no one faces criticism and failure alone. None is the genius at the end, and the success belongs to the whole group!

Ich recherchierte im dritten Eintrag über die Jahre der Rebellion, genauer gesagt über die 68er-Bewegung, über die aufgeheizte Stimmung bzw. auch über die Polizeigewalt gegenüber den DemonstrantInnen. Zeitgleich, am 25. Mai 2020, wird in Minneapolis, Minnesota der 46-jährige Afroamerikaner George Floyd auf offener Straße von einem Polizisten getötet. Dies führte zu landesweiten Protesten, Sachbeschädigungen und aggressivem Verhalten der Polizei gegenüber DemonstrantInnen bzw. DemonstrantenInnen gegenüber der Polizei. Unter dem Hashtag #blacklivesmatter gingen tausende Menschen, trotz einer andauernden Pandemie weltweit auf die Straße, um für die Gleichberechtigung für Afroamerikanische Personen zu kämpfen.   

Daher möchte ich meinen letzten Post der Kunst des Protestes widmen. Genau diese macht auf wichtige Themen aufmerksam, indem sie mit sorgefältig gewählten Worten und grundlegenden Designregeln schockiert aber auch Empathie bei den Menschen erzeugen soll.

Um aktuelle Themen und Probleme aussagekräftig zu kommunizieren, nutzt die Protestkunst starke Bilder und Symbole. Ebenso sie auffällige aber klare Schriften und starke Farben, um die größtmögliche Wirkung zu erzielen. Gerade in Zeiten wie diesen, in dem (wieder) mehr Menschen auf die Straße gehen, um lautstark zu demonstrieren, spielt die Protestkunst eine immer wichtigere Rolle. In dem nächsten Jahrzehnt wird dies verschiedenste Branchen, aber auch Kanäle und Entscheidungen welche wir treffen beeinflussen.

Die Protestkunst wie wir sie heute kennen ist keine Neuheit, ganz im Gegenteil. Sie gehört zu den Wurzeln der menschlichen Geschichte. Genauer gesagt fand sie ihren Anfang mit dem Buchdruck, welcher es ermöglichte visuelles Design mithilfe von Druckmaschinen zu reproduzieren, um diese verbreiten zu können. 1455 gelang es Johannes Guttenberg mit der Reproduzierung der Gutenberg-Bibel die Menschheit für immer zu verändern. Somit hatten auch normale Bürger die Möglichkeit, zu protestieren und Ideen mithilfe von Druck zu verbreiten. Die ersten Proteste richteten sich gegen die Kirche, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt den Staat bildete und die Regierung beherrschte. Erst im frühen 20. Jahrhundert entwickelte sich die Bildende Künste zu einem eigenständigen Protestmedium heraus. Diese Möglichkeit der Reproduktion und das Teilen eines Mediums wird heute als modernes Grafikdesign angesehen. 

Das 20. Jahrhundert brachte zwar eine Vielzahl neuer Technologien mit sich, führte jedoch auch zu einer großen Kluft zwischen arm und reich. Kriege, Zerstörung, Ausbeutung und Ungerechtigkeit sind bis heute Gründe für Demonstrationen. Die Protestwellen begannen mit den 60er Jahren und sind bis heut nicht abgeflacht. Waren es in den 60er Jahren Demonstrationen für Gleichberechtigung und gegen Atomkraft so sind es heute Proteste für Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit sowie Proteste für LGBTQ und gegen die Diskriminierung von AfroamerikanerInnen.  Proteste werden auch in Zukunft nicht weniger werden, denn Themen wie Nachhaltigkeit und Umweltschutz werden immer wie präsenter aber auch gesellschaftlichen Unruhen werden in Zukunft Anlass für Proteste und Demonstrationen im öffentlichen Raum geben.

www.shutterstock.com/de/blog/kunst-protests-design-geschichte-widerstands

Als die 68er-Bewegung bezeichnet man Proteste, welche von StudentInnen in den sechziger Jahren gegen den Autoritarismus der älteren Generation gerichtet war. Sie stand für gesellschaftliche Freiheit und Emanzipation.

Das Jahr 1968 markiert den Zeitpunkt der gesellschaftlichen Werteveränderung zu den Themen: Sexuelle Freiheit, Demokratie, Umweltschutz und vor allem auch der Entnazifizierung der (deutschen) Behörden. Das betraf sowohl den „Prager Frühling“ der kommunistischen Tschechoslowakei, die Proteste gegen den Vietnamkrieg bis hin zu Bürgerrechts- und Frauenbewegung in der Zeit des Kalten Krieges. Die Zeit war geprägt von heftigen Straßenschlachten und unzähligen Demonstrationen, welche nach neuen Modellen der aktiven Politikgestaltung suchte. Durch brutale Polizeieinsätze wurde die bereits aufgeheizte Stimmung zusätzlich verstärkt.

Auch in Österreich kam es bereits 1965 zu Demonstrationen von StudentInnen gegen den Hochschulprofessor Taras Borodajkewycz, der sich in Vorlesungen antisemitisch geäußert hat. 1968 schlossen sich StudentInnen den ArbeiterInnen an und demonstrierten gegen die Schließung einer Lokomotivenfabrik. Im Vergleich zu anderen Staaten ist jedoch die österreichische 68er-Bewegung eher als ein „laues Lüftchen“ zu bezeichnen. Im Vordergrund stand, anders als in vielen anderen Ländern, die Bestärkung des künstlerischen-kulturellen Bereiches. Als Höhepunkt der 68er-Bewegung in Österreich gilt die „Uni-Ferkelei“ im Hörsaal 1 des neuen Universitätsgebäudes in Wien. Die Künstler Brus, Mühl, Weibel und Wiener stellten unter dem Titel „Kunst und Revolution“ Werke aus, die Tabus brechen und zudem schockieren sollten. Am Land begann die Bewegung später und ist somit in Österreich als Ausläufer der Bewegung zu sehen.

https://www.zeit.de/thema/68er-bewegung

https://www.oesterreich100.at/1968.html

http://www.demokratiezentrum.org/themen/demokratieentwicklung/1968ff/1968.html