Charette Reflection

Constraints:

While time was a pretty major issue, the fact that we had a pre-picked topic and a group of fellow designers was a huge help. The topic at hand was broad enough that we still had plenty of wiggle room regarding the way we approached the project, and having each other to l immediately bounce ideas off of helped us come up with a plan that was both viable and conceptually interesting.

Opportunity:

I think that working in this team was really nice! I enjoyed working with this particular group of people quite a bit. The level of communication was just enough that I feel like everyone was contributing their fair share of work, working off each other’s strengths to complete the charrette on time. However, unless I’m taking little to no other classes then I wouldn’t want to take a two-week design challenge ever again. The time constraint was so stressful, and a good number of the people in my group and in this class (myself included) spent several days staying up very late working on it. This doesn’t mean that I’d be repelled by new ways of approaching design problems, of course, but when me and my peers still have other courses, design and otherwise, pushing ourselves to this limit is awfully detrimental to our health and grades.

Application:

One of the biggest things I think this project helped with is motivation to work. When you’re working with a group of people on a shared goal, oftentimes their portions rely on your own contribution, and vice-versa. Having other people who rely on you really helps the ol’ motivation, because if you fall behind everyone else in the group also falls behind and disappointing people really sucks. Being able to focus, be productive, and concentrate on the project was boosted by this extra level of motivation. On top of all of that, the quality of our final product was enhanced by the fact that we were all there for each other for proofreading and improving our individual creations.

Presentation:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B30lw1n9HFbzeE9rQUNBakRRcms?usp=sharing

Future Recommendations:

I think overall this was a successful project that I enjoyed and learned from. However, as I mentioned earlier I think that only having two weeks was stressful, and adding an extra class or two just to give a bit more time to polish and wrap things up would have been a godsend. I also did not like being singled out to talk when we had already covered everything we needed to cover. It had nothing to do with my group’s project and crossed a line I didn’t appreciate being crossed. If you have concerns about me vocalizing, please speak to me personally about them instead, please. In conclusion, I think that the Charette project was interesting and educational to participate in and was a different and neat way of working in a group project. I give it an 8/10.