The Home of Incompatibility

BUDGET TOOLS AND DATABASES FOR RESEARCH

Summary of a talk at Smartlab seminar/Central Saint Martins College in London, 03.02.06 and 10.02.06.

An introduction into a few basic tools for supporting research and setting up a research database. But we are not talking "real" complex and expensive databases such as Microsoft Access or Filemaker. This is mainly about using mostly rather simple tools available for free and how to slightly abuse standard software for such purposes.

DISSERTATION SEMINAR

Course/Institution:
MA Communication Design at Cenral Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London

Since 2002 I lead MA students through the process of writing their dissertation. This includes the introduction into research methods as well as the teaching of writing, structuring and referencing of an academic text and finally the assessment of the student work. As students are free to choose their thesis from any area of current art and design practice this is a very challenging but also rewarding occupation.

WORKSHOP: METAPHOR AS A METHODOLOGY FOR INTERACTION DESIGN

Course/Institution:
Hyperwerk, Basel, Switzerland

“The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another”. Linguist George Lakoff and philosopher Mark Johnson indicate that metaphor is not just a gimmick for poets but that our whole thinking and language are based on metaphor. This workshop is supposed to heighten the students' sensitivity for the way we use metaphor in thinking, language and design. Thus it explores how metaphorical thinking can be actively used as a tool in the design process of interactive systems.

BUILDING SPACES AND SITES

Course/Institution:
BA Graphic Design/University of East London

Over the course of one semester I am introducing students into the basics of design for the web. Besides hands-on project work in HTML, CSS and Dreamweaver they get a broad overview on the history of new media and its implications on society and the individual. The theory part is developed through lectures, discussion and an essay.