Thursday, May 07, 2009
Thesis Time
We’ve recently started our thesis, and were asked to write a mission statement to talk about our goals for the summer. I’ve decided to try something of a more artistic approach than normal, starting with a single object, an umbrella and getting inspired by that. I’d like to use the umbrella as a material, like paint, or clay and to see how I can learn about it’s properties, manipulate it and see what happens when I iterate and play and explore.
Photo by protectorrr from flickr
What do you want your thesis to be in your life?
I would like to use the thesis to learn a lot of new things and really push myself outside my comfort zone and encourage me to think in new ways. In 5 years time I want to look back on my thesis and still be proud of it. In the future I would like to be able to use my thesis as proof that I can build large scale installations and events in order to gain future opportunities in that area.
What interests you? Which domain?
I have a wide range of interests, and this caused me some difficultly in choosing a domain, but for the thesis, I have decided to focus on the area of Interactive Installations & Art. I feel that this is an area that is only starting to be explored and there is much more potential yet to be uncovered. I think that interactivity is often still used as a novelty, and I would like to learn more about the area and help define a language that can help me discuss and critique interactive experiences.
Finally, I want to actually build some kind of interactive experience. I think new technology opens the potential to create innovative experiences, not just products & services, and I would like to use these new tools to truly amaze people.
Which skills you want to rely on?
I plan to rely on my visual design skills to aid presentation and design of my final concept as well as inform the aesthetic choices I will make in crafting the experience. I plan on using my experience in Flash and interactive programming to help prototype things on screen before implementing them technically in order to explore more ideas. I also plan to rely on my analytical and research skills to help deeply understand the area and try define it in a more critical way.
Which skills you want to challenge?
One of the goals I set myself coming to the course was to improve my knowledge of electronics. I aim to learn much more about this field during my thesis and also learn more about mechanics and traditional engineering techniques.
One of the questions we were challenged with when starting to think about the thesis was “What can you only do at CIID?” For me this direction is the answer to that. I can use the faculty and facilities to learn new skills. I can also take this as a unique opportunity to dedicate myself to a non-commercial project over an extended period of time.