Processing-Day 1

Today we started our first proper module at CIID, called Computation Media Design, or as most people call it Processing! The aim of this module is to teach us how to program, so we can turn an idea into code and be able to use it creatively in a design context. The content is being taught the very talented Patrick Kochlik and Dennis Paul (The Product)

Before being let loose on our computers we carried out hands-off exercises today! We used ‘people as instruction processors’

We were asked to write down three instructions-sets. These instructions were then dictated to three other participants. The other participants then processed the instructions by drawing on a piece of paper with a RGB marker’s

“The exercise aims at introducing the participants to programming as an everyday exercise,
a translation from intention into language into action. The result will be a set of very analog
procedural drawings”

I personally found the exercise was very effective and was a great way to get your mind thinking about how to write code and how it is proccessed to create an output! Big thumbs up!

Photos to follow.

Danish tradition

Yesterday we ended an amazing second week with our first ” Fredagbar” (Friday bar) and some more bonding in the form of softball!

photos by Alie!

DKDS Workshops

Our second week on the CIID pilot year is involving introductions to all the workshops!lots of fun! Yesterday and today we worked across the glass and ceramics workshops, learning to blow and sculpt glass and create plaster moulds for prototyping! It was amazing to see the potential these materials have. However i am very much looking froward to getting into a more familiar area tomorrow, in the wood workshop!

Shaping glass on a grinder

Eline Shaping hot glass

Alex blowing hot glass

making ceramic moulds

Pilot Year Film

A video of the first week of the CIID pilot year, curtiosy of Alex.

The end of of the begining!

Week one of the CIID pilot year is over, and it was brilliant! i am even more excited now than i was on Monday. Yesterday we all presented our ideas for a survival product/experience for coming to Copenhagen. The ideas ranged from a question and answer video booth to the “Aesthetic Integration Mirror” Our idea was a concept called the Copenhagen cube. After hearing personal experiences and stories from a panel we decided our target user groups would be; People who had just arrived in the city to live there and wanted to meet new people and explore the city, but without having their head stuck in a map. The second user group was for people that had been living there a while and felt they wanted to be reacquainted with the city and everything it has to offer. Our idea was a simple game, that you rolled like a dice and then received a challenge depending which way it landed. Each challenge card would also have extra info about the activity you would be doing!

The Product:

Experience Prototype:

Challenge-Go to a traditional danish sausage stand and buy a hotdog. Ask for it in danish and eat it at the stand as it is a good place to meet people…….

After the presentation we all celebrated our first week being a great success due to all the hard work from the CIID staff. Thank you!

“Copenhagen Survival project”

Today we got set a fantastic 2 day group project! The brief was to design a product and or an experience that would help someone survive living in Copenhagen. However it didn’t neccessarily have to be for someone new to the city. After hearing the experiences from a diverse group of people we were really able to analysis the insights we took from it and come up with an idea….I don’t want to post it now as the crit is tomorrow, but here is a sneak preview…..

Day 2…and a little surprise!

Today was great, we were focusing on doing team building activities, to get to know each other and generally have fun!

The activities ranged from quick and dirty prototyping to improvisation exercises! We also got a little surprise too……

Our chairs for the studio tied up in bows!These guys rock!

Day 1!

This morning when i was cycling to the design school i couldn’t help feeling like i was 5 again and it was my first day at school…..with butterflies in my tummy! but as soon as i arrived there was an overwhelming rush of energy and excited between everyone….

And now all I can say is WOW! What a fantastic first day, I am completely blown away!I really do believe that a brilliant Ma program can be co-created from this diverse group of students and exceptional faculty!

watch this space…….

Public services in CPH

Prior to coming in Copenhagen, i had always heard how efficient and amazing the public services were!which made me very excited as it is an area i am deeply interested in within the design sector. This morning i had to go to the local authority office to register my stay and gain a residents permit.  I saw this as a perfect opportunity to see whether if all i had been hearing was true even for someone who doesn’t speak the language and is new to the city!

so….. I find the place on the map and cycle to the building, it is easy to find, when i get into the car park there are good signs telling me where not to park my bike. Good start so far!

And good facilities to lock your bike up….

The main entrance was very noticeable and there is a distinct sign telling me where i need to go being an EU resident, in English and Danish.

When i got into the office, i wasn’t able to take photographs, but the system was seamless! When you first enter you are faced with an electronic ticket machine where you recieve a ticket with a number on it. The number corresponds to your place in the que. You are then able to take a seat in a relaxed environment where you can fill in any relevant forms (that have perfect english translations) and then wait for your number to appear on a digital display. When it appears it also tells you which adviser to go to, you then hand in your documents,and go through your neccessary procedures, depending on what you are there for. Before you leave your advisor tells you what to expect and do for the next stage of your application. It is a very simple service, but it works fantastically. With a few very well designed touchpoints it made it a completely stressfree user experience, with no waiting in ques or mis communication! Just brillliant!

Interaction design Pilot Year

“September 15th, 2008 is a long awaited date in the CIID calendar. After two years of planning and fundraising we are finally launching The Interaction Design Pilot Year in collaboration with Danmarks Designskole (DKDS).

CIID’s aim is to establish a high profile design education that encourages a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment. DKDS had been investigating new initiatives aimed at internationalising and developing the areas of interaction design & service design, proving to be the ideal partner for the Pilot Year.

Twenty-one students from nine different countries will embark on the intensive, full-time, experimental educational programme funded by the Enterprise and Construction Authority (EBST) and the Danish Ministry of Culture.

Our aim is for students, faculty and staff to work together in a multi-cultural, multidisciplinary studio environment to co-create a new kind of education that is relevant for academia and industry.

The intense one-year curriculum is varied and includes a number of skills-based modules, followed by in-depth investigations in to graphical/tangible interfaces and service design.

We hope that many interesting projects will come in to fruition throughout this inaugural year and that through working together we will create a centre for excellence in design, technology and innovation.

For more information on the course please contact Alie Rose (a.rose@ciid.dk) ”

via CIID blog