MAKESHIFT PROCESS: revised

For the makeshift shelter project, I was a part of the sleeping shelter group. Working in this group was a very good experience because everyone wanted to participate and pull their weight. This made my personal process more successful since I could work off of my group member’s strengths.

As soon as the project began, I started sketching my initial ideas, as well as coming up with the traits our shelter would need. I presented my ideas along with everyone else in the group, and we came up with a “sleeping pod” idea. We searched for our materials together and found everything on group outings. The next step was the physical building of the design, which we all worked at equally.

During the building process, there were moments when I suggested changes to the design to make it stronger. The group agreed on all of these changes and felt it improved the shelter. The final part of this project was creating the banner. I had a large hand in this aspect of our project. I planned out where all of the drawings and images went. I also drew the technical drawings and wrote the statement.

The sketching and writing exercises of this project helped me a lot. Writing about what we were doing made me think about different aspects I might not have thought about before. If you were to look at my sketchbook you would see that every part of this project is sketched out and thought about in detail. It shows many of the ideas we had and how the design progressed to what it is now. It is interesting to look back and see what changes were made and why. Beginning sketches, construction details, and other helpful drawings are included in my drawing process.

This project has taught me more about what I enjoy about design, which is working for a broader range of people, as opposed to the privileged in society. I tried to put my self in the shoes of the users of these shelters and figure out what they would need. For me, this kind of design would be more rewarding and make a larger impact on the world and the lives of other people.

My individual process in this project is very strong and I think I was a very important part to this group. I always make sure that I am putting as much as I can into any project, especially when other people are relying on me. There were many challenges that I had to adapt to in this project. I experienced learning to overcome difficult aspects and figure out a solution, which is how designers grow.