Whilst brainstorming ideas from the 'Tipping Point' and linking it's content to the design world, we focused on three chapters: 'The Stickiness Factor", "The Law of the Few" and "The Power of Context". After brainstorming ideas and reviewing we began adding and expanding to our first thoughts.
We then explored possible design solutions to social issues in a spider diagram. We split our ideas into the three chapters and came up with issues we believe are not yet fully solved.
Our further brainstorming on "The Stickiness Factor" focused on how to help combat smoking and drink driving. We came up with some solutions which included a cigarette with internal dye which caused your skin to gradually change colour the more frequently you smoke. For the drink driving issue we began exploring the possibilities of built-in eye scanners to check for dilated pupils and a breathalyser which was essential for starting the car engine. We also discussed the idea of a super vaccine or mask which could combat all diseases and
shield the wearer from all threats.
For "The Law of the Few" chapter after previously discovering that the
internet although being a huge benefit is also the root cause of many of society's problems. With this in mind we explored ways in which social networking sites could be monitored and limited to help prevent people becoming contained within this 'virtual bubble' and bring them back to reality. Limiting
login time and and specific
counselling could help reduce time spent online and deter online predators.
Finally our ideas for "The Power of Context" included integration of reflective devices into all outdoor clothing to help help keep pedestrians safe at night. Another more textile orientated idea was hidden protection for security guards such as night club bouncers which could put them at ease and limit the amount of violence used in self defence. Another problem raised was theft and in particular car theft. The idea of finger print recognition or another eye scanner which was essential to gain access to the
vehicle was discussed.
We then assigned each member of our group discussion an idea we believed had potential to be researched further. I have decided to look into car theft under the crime section of "The Power of Context". I decided to explore car theft as my dad runs a car sales and repairs business and I am aware of how security has a huge impact on the running of his business, and the measures he has to take to prevent theft. I am currently exploring the issue further and researching into possible solutions and contemporary security designs.
The fact that our group was made up of students from different disciplines meant that the discussions we had covered a wider scope than many of last years single discipline tutorial dicussions. I found this extremely helpful and came away with ideas for the different directions I could take my topic of 'Resource Depletion and Design'.
