Force Connections Group Work Reflection

For the last group work of Creative Thinking, we were tasked to apply the concept of Force Connections to create a product. My group adopted the theme of a Beauty and Health company and began brainstorming on possible novel beauty and health items. We came up with a few, with our main one being a comb that could easily dye one's hair into the 12 colours available. The comb is being able to contain multiple colours at one time hence hair dying is more convenient than ever. Since it was the last group activity, we wanted to make it special. We even made a commercial for the comb! It was a very hilarious and enjoyable process. Through this activity, I have come to realise that to create novel products, one must be daring with combining existing items, like how we got our idea from a comb, hair dye and a printer. 

The Journey - Week 10 (Force Connections 2)

Searching for "triggers" amongst our possessions.

As a group, we brainstormed for new products using the "triggers" above:

Some all-in-one beauty tools/necessities and a comb that can allow you to dye your hair into a different colour conveniently, much like a printer.

Some items from the electronics category. I find the rechargeable water concept unique. Though we have to figure out how it is going to work...

Snack-on-the-go

Trying to see how far I can go with a single "trigger".

Some more beauty products.

A mock-up of the rechargeable water!!!

The bedroom is usually a private space. This creator decided to move to the opposite spectrum and make it transparent instead. It is still romantic because you get a good view of the stars or be able to see the rain pouring.

Shoes and feet are usually linked to words like dirty or smelly. Melissa shoes make them smell great!

The banana boat was initially invented for towing. It is long and sled-like thus is acts like sled on snow like it does on water. Now it is a recreational water activity.

Adjust the sweetness of the ice chocolate as if it is a Chemistry experiment.

Linking disparate ideas and building musical sculptures out of trash video reflection

I think what Felix Thorn had done is something very unique. To be able to put together unwanted or forgotten items and turn them into something functional is already amazing enough, but he takes it further by programming them to produce such beautiful and uncommon sounds. What makes his contraption special is that even without seeing it, by just listening to it, one can still feel the creativity behind. Open your eyes and it adds to the "wow" factor. This shows how creativity can be felt and made to be felt from all of our senses. Before, creativity to me has always been more of a visual aspect. I have learnt that it can come in different forms. Another thing that I found interesting is how Thorn pays so much attention to the little details like the less audible and dull sounds. They may seem like nothing at first, but they do bring in the harmony together. Using the contrast of acoustic and digital is the main factor that contributes to this machine's uniqueness. They are two worlds apart, yet they were manipulated in a way to work well together. That is an example of Juxtaposition.

The Journey - Week 9 (Force Connections 1)

Stack-able tea pot and tea cup. They look like a whole jug when placed together. 

What should I eat today? Bread or Noodles? Why not have both!

This "Yakisoba-pan" is both Yakisoba and bread!

A variety of coffee are just a button's push away. Modern day coffee machines combine the actions of pouring milk, water and grinding coffee beans for efficiency and convenience.

The vanity is a combination of a mirror, table and drawer. Now you can doll yourself up while sitting down, with all your cosmetics in one place.

(Source: http://www.businessinsider.sg/20-year-old-owns-a-chinese-factory-2014-10/#.VgbEaRErKM8)

18 tools in a single credit card-sized card that can be conveniently kept in your wallet. Saves the hassle of carrying a whole toolbox around.

(Source: http://bxscience.edu/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=77762&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=454905)

The spork combines the spoon and the fork. It is convenient and reduces wastage of disposable utensils.

A Passionate cup. It is oozing with steam (passion).

A Sad cup. Broken in pieces. Even if it was fixed with glue, there are still scars.

A Brave cup. An extra handle to give a confident look.

A Creative cup. It dares to be different.

A Greedy cup. Do not try to contain more than your capacity.

A Hardworking cup. Addition of wheels for faster serving.

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work video reflection

I feel that Shawn Achor's TED talk is one of the most entertaining so far. There were 2 points he mentioned in his speech which caught my attention. The first one being how we should not ignore or neglect the outliers. Instead, we should study it and improve the overall average. I find this concept mirrors how creativity works. In the process of creative thinking, we always try to think outside of the box. We want to brainstorm and create something novel and different. We strive to be the outlier, to rise above the average. The other point he mentioned is how we can be happier. He pointed out how we always place happiness after success, which I think it is very true. I strongly agree that we will never achieve happiness that way. This got me thinking about the quote "Live life to the fullest everyday". It tells us to live in the moment, to focus on the present. Though it is good to plan for the future, we should not spend too much time mulling over it because before we know it, the present would become past and we will never be able to go back and change it.

The Journey - Week 8 (Analogical Thinking 2 - A Journey of Bottles)

Whenever I look at bottles, I see different exaggerated human body shapes. Narrow contours resemble a thin waist, while broader sections look like a human's chest. Bottles come in all shapes, sizes and forms, just like humans. On a typical morning in the world of bottles, mineral water bottles are ready to take on the day, standing tall, broad and proud, giving the feeling of confidence as they step out of their house. Detergent bottles look like they have beer bellies, they rumble and groan with a deep and loud voice, they definitely aren't morning people. The child shampoo bottle is excited to start the day, its arms and legs spread wide. The adult (parent) shampoo bottle silently follows behind the child, stoic as ever as they are already used to the monotony of life. Being the classy one, the coffee container steps out of the house all dressed up in a suit, a masculine scent of cologne trailing behind him as he strides through the busy streets. The wine bottle ladies in their elegant dresses all tingle with excitement as they fixed their eyes on him. The hand soap bottle policeman remains vigilant as it watches the bustling morning.

Analogical Thinking Introduction video reflection

The speaker in this video spoke about the benefits of analogical reasoning. I find his demonstration of using analogical reasoning to explain about a nanosecond interesting. From that demonstration, I feel that analogical thinking could also be a tool to make difficult concepts easily understood. Using analogical thinking, we could link difficult concepts with objects around us to help us see better. Not everyone learns the same way, thus one cannot expect someone to understand a concept right away with just reading the definition of the theory. Some people learn better through visualisation and that is when analogical thinking comes into play. A simple example would be how my math teacher taught my class addition back in kindergarten. After writing down the equation on the whiteboard, she would then use cookies to demonstrate why 1+1=2, 1+2=3 and so on. It made us understand the concept of addition better and made the lesson much more interesting. The human brain absorbs information much more easily when the learning process is enjoyable.

The Journey - Tutorial Week (A visit to SAM)

This artwork seems like it is confused. Projections protrude in all directions, they do not know where to go. Entwined and tangled with each other, there is no clear path.

A ram-shackled room emanates depression. There is a heavy feeling of hopelessness.

These two are in shock to see each other degrade into nothing but skeletons.

This reminds me of the saying "As proud as a peacock".

Fauna and flora can calm a frantic mind.

Leaning on one side, all alone in a dim room, I cannot help but feel a certain sadness and loneliness from this metal sphere. It has seen better days.

I see a happy face! Ironic how this is part of a tank sculpture, a weapon of mass destruction.

From this angle, this bird sculpture look like it is angry. A likely scenario would be that I have stolen something important to it, and have fled away to high place where it could not reach me.

Little metal balls slide quickly from one side to the other while the contraption tilts. They look like they are anxious to reach the other side in time.

The fear of going on a quiet road with no end in sight.