Reading Assignment #2

Read Introduction, Perspective, Exercises 1-16

Today's reading assignment dealt with a brief overview of the concepts we are going to learn in the book. The author begins by defining the term "design". "A design is a plan of action, created in response to a situation or problem that needs solving"(Aspelund, pg2). He then goes on to explain that it is important that a design follow a well-defined path from beginning to end. He likens that path to the stages of a relationship in that you go from meeting a person/the idea comes to you and then following the process of development to the end point as in marriage/final product. In terms of design, the seven stages that we will be following are Inspiration, Identification, Conceptualization, Exploration/Refinement, Definition/Modeling, Communication, and Production.

The stage that caught my attention the most in the introduction was Inspiration. The author writes that finding and maintaining an idea is often a process that is neglected by most designers. I understand this in a way, however the problem for me is not neglect so much as it is frustration. There are times where I experience great difficulties in getting inspired. More often than not, after I am finally able to come up with a few ideas, I second guess myself. I am curious to learn what kind of solution the author has found to this problem.

In the last pages of the assigned reading, we learn a little more about Karl Aspelund, the author. There is a brief overview of how he began in design and it is revealed how he came to think of writing this book. One can only hope to have such a rewarding career.