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Fostering Curiosity, Promoting Creativity, To view this message in your web browser, please follow this link. You have received this message as you are a valued member of the San Francisco State Industrial Design Outreach Program. Perspectives
During the journey, I had the pleasure of visiting the European design programs at Brunel University, Chelsea College of Art and Design, Central Saint Martins, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle (ENSCI), Elisava and Escola Massana. Each program has a unique approach to their faculty character, facilities, pedagogical practices, student populations, acceptance criteria, methods for teaching creativity, corporate sponsorship vs. individual explorations, technology utilization, etc. Upon arriving at the schools, one cannot help but be impressed by the magnificence of the buildings. Many of the schools have taken residence in historic buildings that have had many past lives and functions. London’s Central Saint Martins posses many elaborate spiral wooden stairways which are a sight to behold. There is even old oak flooring in chevron patterns in the machine shops. (To the disappointment of many, Saint Martins is currently planning a elaborate new facility which will result in the abandonment of these historical gems.) Escola Massana in Barcelona shares quarters with an old library whose adjoining ancient courtyard ceremoniously welcomes students and guests to the school. Some of the work tables we saw at Massana were hundreds of years old and in great shape! Brunel University’s design program recently relocated to the schools Umbridge campus. This facility has a fresh, well considered layout resulting from the extraordinary collaborative planning by the department’s faculty. I particularly liked the way former student work was displayed around the studios and workshops, providing an endless source of inspiration to new students. One of the most interesting aspects of my research were the responses I received when I asked people how they foster creativity within their students. In one country, I was recommended not to even ask the question, as it is commonly presumed that you either possess creative talents or do not. Many of the educators initially looked at me in puzzlement, indicating that they don’t think about how they develop creative thinkers, for them it was something that naturally happened. As my conversations with my hosts became more intimate, I was able to gleam insights into how creativity is developed in Europe’s design students. A key element in their efforts to foster creativity begins with an initial portfolio review at the time of application. All of the programs I visited have rigorous portfolio and interviewing processes which resulted in the selection of students with prior evidence as creative thinkers, and who would therefore easily adapt to a program that emphasizes creative thinking. Curriculum design provided another key to fostering creativity. Professors described assignments that reduced complex issues into small components which allowed students to incrementally build upon their creative problem solving processes and skill. Chelsea School of Art and Design described their program as a year to year progression. The first year introduces students to art and design fundamentals and encourages freedom and self expression with little constraint. The second year bridges the “wildness” of unfettered self expression with the introduction of reality based constraints. Year three emphasizes the student’s journey to find their own mature voice in their work. The third, most exciting insight into how creativity can be fostered in an academic setting, lies within the facilities themselves. All of the facilities I visited had informal interior character. This informality allowed for an organic style of communication between faculty, students and visiting professionals; it supports an experiential education model utilized by the programs I visited. A commonality in all the programs was their emphases in creating through the art of making. Whether in traditional shops, computer labs or rapid prototyping facilities, experimentation through making was emphasized as the road to innovation. This belief was demonstrated by the support of three dimensional explorations through fast model making in blue foam within the workshop environment. At Massana and Central Saint Martins, entire workshop spaces, including specialized tools, are dedicated to the production of foam models. Because the material is easy to manipulate, you can witness the student’s evolution of creativity through the production of not one, three or five models, but in many cases, dozens of three dimensional ideations in foam. Many of the programs fostered creativity through their facility by utilizing large open rooms which supported cross pollination of ideas between students and faculty. ENSCI featured faculty offices with large glass windows adjoining student studios which supported a close physical relationship between student and educator and resulted in many one to one mentorship opportunities. At Chelsea School of Art and Design, students have dedicated studio spaces which provided an ongoing incubator for their work. Central Saint Martins has a design café, supporting casual interactions and collaboration with a cup of coffee in hand! As I return back to San Francisco State University, I am looking forward to applying these insights and inspirations to future DAI and iDo experiences.
High school students don't get enough time in the sun, running about as teenagers should. Looking around, the grins and laughter could turn a room full of melancholics into boisterous, affable men and women. With eagerness in their faces and joy in their eyes, they ran desperately to get their kites in the sky. And whether or not the kites flew 50 feet in the air or if they crashed and burned, they were able to get out of the classroom environment and learn in a different way by running laughing, and most importantly, playing. They were able to be kids again. Top News
Young at Art-DeYoung Museum Exhibit, by Tera Freedman Students from Thurgood Marshall Academic High School are very proud to have their handmade bench and their hard work amount to so much publicity. The bench will be honored at the gifting ceremony to San Francisco's City Hall and the Mayors office, as well as, displayed at the DeYoung Museum on May 22, 2009 at 5pm. Thanks to the SFSU mentors and supporters of the iDo program, the community bench project brought many individual communities together from within TMHS and the Bayview/Hunters Point community.
Many of these students do not have art classes at their schools and must enroll in after school programs for any sort of art experience. Most kids have never worked with duct tape or an x-acto knife before attending our workshop. The trick with duct tape is that once it gets stuck to itself it’s super hard to get it unstuck. And to cut a straight line with the x-acto knife takes practice. So, they get to learn something new while they create great looking wallets to take home and use every day. While this workshop is only 45 minutes, the importance lies in the fact that it is a fun experience on a college campus that will live on in their minds and foster the idea of college as an attainable goal. This year I found unique connections being created between the schools that have been coming to our workshops for three years now. It was very insightful to see the larger picture of what these particular junior high school students are dealing with. The Parents were there asking questions about how to keep their kids engaged and motivated to learn. One single mother said, “Forget College, that is so far off into the future! I need solutions NOW for my boy. He just hangs out at school like it’s a playground and does no work. He just doesn’t care!” As mentors these are the situations we face with each new project and each new group of students. Further, there was a panel of SFSU college students that were there to respond by sharing their stories as many came from similar backgrounds. Unfortunately, the challenges that these kids are facing at school carries over from their communities and home environments. And with the current economy things are going to become more and more stressed. In conclusion, this experience has inspired me to look into ways of bringing a design experience to the students within the San Francisco Unified School District, as many schools still do not have a designated art teacher-creating an opportunity to make connections with schools in the community, and leading to more opportunities not only for IDO but for future mentors employment within the field of education. Forward Thinkings
Martin Linder | mlinder@industrialdesignoutreach.org
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Design & Industry | San Francisco State University |
Integration of Learned Knowledge, by Martin Linder 
