Month: February 2016

Abecassis-Moedas, Celine, and Pierre-Jean Benghozi. “Efficiency And Innovativeness As Determinants Of Design Architecture Choices.” Journal Of Product Innovation Management 29.3 (2012): 405-418. Business Source Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

In the article “Efficiency and Innovativeness as Determinants of Design Architecture Choices”, the authors, Abecassis-Moedas, Celine Benghozi, and Pierre-Jean, suggest that “internal design offers greater efficiency, whereas external design provides increased innovativeness”. They gathered information from face-to-face interviews and archival documents. The purpose of this article is to provide some insight for architectural designers on how other designers in this field make decisions when creating internal and external spaces for a company. This source is useful because it describes different techniques and ideas that designers use in their creative process. The authors analyze the decisions that companies make in terms of internal and external design.

Chen, Steven, and Alladi Venkatesh. “An Investigation Of How Design-Oriented Organisations Implement Design Thinking.” Journal Of Marketing Management 29.15/16 (2013): 1680-1700. Business Source Complete. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

The authors of the article “An Investigation of How Design-Oriented Organisations Implement Design Thinking”, Steven Chen (graduate of California State University, Fullerton, USA) and Alladi Venkatesh (graduate of University of California, Irvine, USA), state that “there is an emphasis on design, especially in relation to marketing activities such as product development, product packaging, and brand logo creation”, which requires organizations to implement “design thinking into developing design outcomes”.

The authors preformed several studies and conducted secondary research to gather information to support their thesis. The intended audience is interior designers for organizations. The purpose of this article is to “develop a conceptual framework for design thinking, and then to investigate empirically how organizations implement it in actual practice”. This source is useful because it discusses “the dimensions of design thinking and how organizations implement design thinking to create concepts that match organizational goals”. It provides information on how designers incorporate the vision of the organization into their work.

Horng, Jeou-Shyan, et al. “Creativity, Aesthetics And Eco-Friendliness: A Physical Dining Environment Design Synthetic Assessment Model Of Innovative Restaurants.” Tourism Management 36.(2013): 15-25. ScienceDirect. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

The authors of the article “Creativity, aesthetics and eco-friendliness: A physical dining environment design synthetic assessment model of innovative restaurants”, Jeou-Shyan Horng(president of Taiwan Hospitality Education Association with a PhD from Iowa State University), Sheng-Fang Chou(doctoral student of Department of Human Development and Family, National Taiwan Normal University), Chih-Hsing Liu(Assistant Professor of Ming Chuan University with a Ph.D. degree from National Taiwan University, and Chang-Yen Tsai (associate professor of Department of Hospitality Management with a PhD from Iowa State University) , collectively propose that “innovation is a critical attribute in future restaurant physical environment designed”.

They used information gathered from interviews and the ideas from experts to support their thesis. They concluded from their studies “that eco-friendliness, creativity and aesthetics dimension are complementary”. The purpose of this study, as stated in the introduction of the article, is to “provide an important reference for restaurant managers and interior designers in their decision-making process, thereby reducing risk”. This source is useful because it gives insight on what interior designers take into consideration when designing an internal environment.

In this article, Emily Bazelon discusses how public restrooms should be a place where one feels comfortable because they are in vulnerable space. She states people don’t want to feel threatened or scared when they enter the bathroom. Society has dictated which restrooms people use by placing signs or pictures depicting a male or female figure on the doors.

Bazelon makes a call for action directed towards the designers of public places to make bathrooms more accommodating for everyone. She talks about how transgender students want to be able to change in their desired gender locker rooms at schools and how schools are handling this issue.

She compares the issue of transgender people not being able to use the bathroom to disabled individuals “who are shut out by doors they [can] not open and stairs they [can] not climb”. She states that if society can be accommodating for people with disabilities, then we should also be accommodating for transgender people who want to be able to “shower near [their] peers in [their] own stall”.

Schools have made an effort to make these individuals feel included by allowing them to participate in sports and using these students’ preferred pronouns. The author wants to bring attention to fact that transgender people are not treated equally.

Gordon, Clark Miller and Claire. “How a Lack of Imagination in Technological Design Harms the Disabled.” Slate. New America, 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

In their article “Disabled by Design”, Clark Miller and Claire Gordon state that “the future consists of constant improvements in technology to improve the lives of disabled individuals”. It further explains “the ADA was not simply a declaration of the rights of people with disabilities, but a profound statement that the problem of disability was not inherent to bodies but rather a result of poor technological design”. The authors used secondary research as well as a study conducted on women in the army to support their thesis. The purpose of the article is to make a call for action among architects and engineers to create structures that are accommodating for people of all abilities. The intended audience is architects and engineers who are looking to design environments for everyone. This source is useful because information on how technology should be more of aid to those who are disabled and how designers of public space should be more considerate of disabled individuals.

Suzanna Tick, the author of the article, “His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society”, explains that “traditional masculine and feminine roles are being challenged through advances in science and technology, and by cultural shifts stemming from the evolution of sexual politics and media depictions of gender”. She states that designers in landscape and architecture should be more considerate of the changes in gender dynamics in society.

She discusses how throughout time, the workplace has been male dominated. Tick uses Emma Watson’s speech on the He for She movement calling men to join the movement for gender equality. These dynamics have started to change with the increasing prominence of women in the workplace. With this advancement of women, the designs of workplaces include more “sustainability, emphasis on windows, daylight, softness in interiors, and emphasis on tactile and textural materials like carpeting and textiles”. She discuses how modern-day fashion has challenged gender roles in society.

For example, “Alexander Wang’s women’s coat from Fall 2015 has masculine tailoring with a military look, while Annemiek van der Beek’s Primal Skin makeup line has been designed to be appealing to the male buyer”.  Tick mentions that because we are living in a time where children as young as twelve years old are asking to have there sex changed, designers also have to take this shift into consideration. She also talks about companies re-designing their bathrooms so that everyone can feel comfortable in the workplace.

Georgia State University’s Library Plaza is located in the core of the campus, between Pullen Library and Sparks Hall. It is one of the main common areas on campus for students to socialize and interact with each other.

The Plaza was constructed in the late 1960’s, after the Pullen Library was completed. I observed this space on a Thursday at 12:30pm and 2:15pm. When you first enter the Plaza from the main entrance stairs, there is a map/directory of the entire GSU campus.

As you continue walking, Library South (Pullen Library) is located on the left and Sparks Hall is located on the right. Along the wall of Library South, tables are lined up for students to sit at and relax or for organizations to set up tables containing information about their association. If there is not a table available for a student to sit at, there are plenty of ledges and other sitting areas available for lounging.

There is a stage close to the middle of the plaza that is rented by organizations that want to make announcements of upcoming events that will occur on or off campus. You can rent the stage by going to the University Events Management webpage and calling the phone number listed to chose a time to reserve the stage. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12pm-1:15pm are the main times that the stage is used to make announcements. Being in the plaza the during these times can feel a bit overwhelming because the volume of people in this space is so great. However, any other time during the week, the Plaza is fairly quiet with the exception of the small talk of friends who happen to pass by one another or people saying “excuse me” as they maneuver through the foot traffic.

The color scheme of this built environment consists of earth tones including brown, gray, GSU blue, beige, and green. While sitting by myself taking my field notes in this environment, I felt comfortable and relaxed as I did my work. Being in the plaza, especially on Tuesdays and Thursday, gives me a sense of unification with my fellow students because we are all students of Georgia State and the Plaza is ‘our’ area to socialize and learn about the different organizations that are present on our campus.

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This video shows people walking to class and socializing.  Some times outside vendors set up tabes and/or tents and sell their merchandise to students.  It is also common for students to be recording videos in this area for what seems to be short films.

This sound recording of the plaza contains most of the sounds I heard while sitting in the plaza taking my notes, including people conversing with one another, car horns, and the sound of people walking by.

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This video is an accurate representation of the plaza on a weekdays.  However, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is a great deal more energy and movement.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is usually music playing, sororities and fraternities strolling, and organizations trying to catch the eye of people passing by.