For the first assignment in semester two, we were asked to collect a profile of pictures of us growing up or alternatively, take pictures of our bedroom.
| The purpose of this assignment was to give us the opportunity to apply some of the concepts from the book 'Snoop' by Sam Gosling to everyday situations. By doing this, we should be able to develop a deeper understanding of the book's concepts and then apply them to our own practice or future observations. To begin the assignment, we exchanged pictures with someone else within the Design Studies lecture programme so as to analytically denote what that person is like, just by looking at the pictures they provided. I was paired with a girl I had never met before from the Textile department who provided me with 15 pictures of her bedroom. Activity 1B: My analysis and deduction: Just by scanning through the pictures of her room, it is completely obvious that the she is creative. Her internal creativity is so evidently projected externally throughout her room. Her choice of décor is incredibly interesting. She has chosen to 'decorate' her main wall above her desk with what seems like extracts from various sources - all of which accumulate and act as a testament of her personality.
The picture above shows exactly what her desk looks like. Some of the 'collected source material' includes a postcard stating - ''Keep It Real''. Perhaps this exists on the wall so as to remind her of her objective in life, or possibly her objective within her course!? Some of the pictures on the wall include- images of shoes, white roses (typical 'girly' things) and an envelope addressed to her. I found the envelope addressed to her quite interesting. Perhaps the letter brought good news at a particular time and therefore she has chosen to put it on her wall so as to remind herself about the news that letter brought to her on that day, or perhaps it was a letter from someone that she misses or is close to. The entire 'photo montage' is surrounded by fairy lights- perhaps suggesting that she wants to emphasise what is included within it. This would be emphasised especially at night, when the fairy lights are switched on. Included within her montage are pictures featuring silhouettes. I thought that the individual could possibly be a very private person, and see herself as a silhouette at times. She doesn't seem to have any pictures of herself within her bedroom ,nor of herself with others. The extent of her creativeness is emphasised further due to the fact that she has a large DSLR camera, a regular camera AND a little disposable camera on her desk. She is evidently interested in photography, but more so of photos of belongings/objects than of people. This suggests that she deliberately chooses not to be influenced by people, but prefers to be influenced by physical objects, textiles, paintings etc. Another feature on the wall includes a little black card with a picture of a religious cross on it. The immediate connotations of this are that this person is a religious individual, however because the individual seems open to various influences, I wasn't very confident to suggest that she would be in any way religious.  This particular image suggests uniqueness. The type of suitcase on top of the wardrobe looks vintage and definitely not something that would be bought in a regular suitcase shop. The chair placed in her room appears rather vintage as well. Perhaps it was given to the individual and now has some sentimental value to it. This individual is one that would own different items to the usual teenage girl - a good quality to have if you ask me! The black and white images on the side of the wardrobe appear very 'out there' and 'different' to me. The individual most definitely has an interest in fashion.  I feel that the individuals interest in textiles, include textiles within the fashion industry. I can't help but think that she has a more concentrated interest in designing fabrics/textiles for clothes, rather than for other uses. Perhaps she wants to explore her course more? Or perhaps she is trying to incorporate the two together to enable her to discover her own unique style. By looking at the duvet cover and lampshade in the picture above, it is entirely obvious that this individual has taste. I also feel it obvious that she is a textile student as there are a variety of cushions on the bed, and there is a blanket as well as the duvet. Her love for textiles is also evident in her choice of clothes. I feel that she dresses very artistically. I also think that her choice to use reusable grocery bags (shown in the picture below) suggest that she cares about the environment.  I think that this individual deliberately chooses not to tidy her room, not to be disgusting -but as a method of creativity and originality. Activity 1C: Note-making and discussion:I made it my priority to meet up with my partner after completing activity 1B. I felt that it would be important and worth my while to verbally discuss our findings with one another. My partners reaction to my analysis of her: I was accurate in most of the things I had to say about my partner. I was able to understand that she was a creative person, who enjoyed collecting 'bits and pieces' and was open to many ideas. When I suggested to her that there was a reason behind her wall montage being of pictures of objects/pieces, rather than of people-she immediately agreed. I suggested that perhaps she was more reliant on objects more so than people, and so would consciously choose to decorate her room in a way that would seem most natural to her. The pictures on her wall montage interpret a meaning to her personally, and so won't be denoted by another individual in the same way. -this can be applied to the 'Johari Window theory' because the meaning of her photo montage is 'known to her' however, 'unknown to others'. This suggests that she is quite a closed/private person. My partner realised that she unconsciously stuck up a postcard saying, ''Keep It Real'' as part of her wall montage. She explained that she stuck it up in the first place because it suited the wall, but in fact when I questioned if there was a reason behind it being there, she admitted to how she 'keeps it real' in her individual life. She described it as the 'motto of her life'. This unconscious decision to stick it up on her wall is a 'blind spot' that she has in herself. -at the time, this was unknown to herself, however it was known to me. (hidden part of the Johari Window theory) Her love for textiles is evident within her room -this was obvious to both her and I. She is quite a unique individual- and I like that. I feel that my partner is quite a sentimental person when it comes to objects. They remind her of good times in her life, which is way she chooses to display them in her room. My thoughts on my partners analysis of me: I was initially rather worried about my partners interpretation of the pictures I had given her. When she read out what she thought, I was really surprised at how much my pictures could paint a picture of me as a person. It's as if my pictures painted a story of my life, from when I was born, up until now. My partner was able to realise that I am a very family oriented person, and that I am very close to my mother. I never realised that pictures could tell so much about a person. My partner could also tell that I was from Ireland. I guess that is because I had given her a picture of me with a shamrock painted onto the side of my face - a bit of a give away really! I don't think my partner denoted anything majorly incorrect about me/or my personality. She stated that she thought I was brought up in a middle/upper class family because of my house décor, the toys I played with as a child and the clothes me and my family wore. I found this particularly interesting! There were a few things she mentioned that I expected myself to feel uncomfortable about, but I didn't. This in itself surprised me the most. I was also surprised at how accurate her connotations were. Activity 1E - Ethical Consideration to design: After completing this activity, I have come to realise a lot about research and analysis. When researching ANYTHING, it is majorly important that you distinguish between whether that piece of information can be discovered publicly, or whether it would only be discovered privately. I guess respect plays a large factor in research. It is important to realise that there is potential to intrude within a persons private life. |
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