The New Idiom | The Student Newsletter of the IIT Institute of Design

From the Editors: Signing off

This is no swan song. We only have a few things to say. Most of them can be summed up like this:

Thanks. This has been fun.

Two years ago when the New Idiom was just beginning to get its legs back, it survived mostly thanks to our Alex and Enric Gili-Fort's self-interested desire to write and write. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. Jordan jumped on as quick as possible (after a successful AWF 2006 with Irene Chong) and since then, the New Idiom has continued to grow in participation, voice, audience and permanence.  It is still changing and will hopefully continue to do so.

We are happy to announce the new editors that will take over in the Spring semester, Kate Pemberton and Amy Palit. They have been with us for a while now, contributing articles and ideas, and helping to shape content. We are very excited to leave our baby in their able hands. But not entirely.  That same thing that led us to do this in the first place, selfish curiosity, makes it wonderfully difficult to put down something that has made apparent so much.  The act of crafting and writing articles (even this very editorial) has seeped into our relationship, and strengthened it in ways unforeseen.  You will more than likely find some of our writing in issues to come.

As nearly all of the Institute of Design's Student Activity Board positions change hands this fall, who knows what the growing pains the school is currently (always?) experiencing will yield. All we know is that the growing student body, and the desk here at the New Idiom, are in good hands.

Thanks. This has been fun.

Signing off,
Alex Cheek and Jordan Fischer

New Course: Story in Motion

It has been a while since there was a film class at ID. But Sal Cilella's, of neighbor Gravity Tank, new course "Story in Motion" has filled that gap in curriculum by avoiding many of the technical and cost issues that eventually sunk the original ID film program. Taught in two parts and split across  A and B session, the course focuses on pre-production and post production, leaving out the tech and time intensive production of actually shooting original video. However, in both classes, the core is storytelling.

The pre-production course had IDers bring a story from a previous class that needed to be told. From there, they followed industry practices of formal critique writing to advance and refine the projects. In the end, rather than creating videos from existing footage, each student created and animatic, or animated story board using their preferred animation software. The stories ranged from vignettes depicting ethnographic research to use-case scenarios for new design concepts.

Watch an example Animatic from the A-session course Bazooka and the Cigar Shop By Gabriel Biller

The second course half of the course looked at the other end of the process. Rather than bring a story, Sal gave the class a reel of unused footage from a previous research project. From there, with about 25 minutes of interview and observation, the class split up to try and find the story threads that could be brought together into a coherent short video piece from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on the requirements of the story.

I sat in on the preview screenings of the final videos and was pleasantly surprised. The clips were entertaining, and I loved seeing the extreme variety of stories that cold be pulled from one interview, but the students' critiques were even better. I asked Sal how he fostered such a good culture of critique in the class he told me that his strategy was to put people into pairs early to force them to verbalize the editing decisions they were making as well as to simply produce a lot of iterations and solicit feedback.

Finally, I asked how the students thought that going through this process would change they way they work in other projects. It is quite a different focus than most projects in other classes. In a design planning class you try to find the best and smartest way to approach a topic. In this class, you can only tell stories that are latent in the footage from research. I think that made an impact on at least a few students.

"I will think more about how I will need to communicate my research as I plan and conduct it."

This is the answer I expected.  It seemed that becoming more conscious of the process would lead to more planning and strategizing. But it was another comment that piqued my interest.

"I will shoot more video and pictures than I think I'll need."

This was a great answer because it is so simple, but so effective. It reminded me that the story is always there in the research, and that research is the capturing of raw material where the story is found, not created.

Unfortunately, examples from the second half of the course cannot be posted since they are made from footage from private interviews.

From the Editors: Signing off

This is no swan song. We only have a few things to say. Most of them can be summed up like this:

Thanks. This has been fun.

Two years ago when the New Idiom was just beginning to get its legs back, it survived mostly thanks to our Alex and Enric Gili-Fort's self-interested desire to write and write. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. Jordan jumped on as quick as possible (after a successful AWF 2006 with Irene Chong) and since then, the New Idiom has continued to grow in participation, voice, audience and permanence.  It is still changing and will hopefully continue to do so.

We are happy to announce the new editors that will take over in the Spring semester, Kate Pemberton and Amy Palit. They have been with us for a while now, contributing articles and ideas, and helping to shape content. We are very excited to leave our baby in their able hands. But not entirely.  That same thing that led us to do this in the first place, selfish curiosity, makes it wonderfully difficult to put down something that has made apparent so much.  The act of crafting and writing articles (even this very editorial) has seeped into our relationship, and strengthened it in ways unforeseen.  You will more than likely find some of our writing in issues to come.

As nearly all of the Institute of Design's Student Activity Board positions change hands this fall, who knows what the growing pains the school is currently (always?) experiencing will yield. All we know is that the growing student body, and the desk here at the New Idiom, are in good hands.

Thanks. This has been fun.

Signing off,
Alex Cheek and Jordan Fischer

Toward a culture of critique

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment."

- Anton Ego, Ratatouille

Some people are natural born critics.  A specific person may come to mind.  Maybe it's a classmate. Maybe it's you.  Maybe it's John Grimes.

Receiving critique from these people can be difficult, painful even.  Actually, receiving critique from anybody can be painful.  Listening to someone critique your work can feel like they are challenging your right to exist as a competent human being. 

We've all been guilty, at some point, of saying something is crap without reason.  This type of critique suggests two things. First, it suggests you must be amazingly bright and instantly understand the intent and constraints of the thing you are talking about (which may be true).  Second, it suggests you don't care enough to explain yourself, and instead of giving feedback to help others learn and improve, you give feedback because you like hearing the sound of your own voice (which also may be true).  Don't do it.

There are two kinds of constructive feedback, and there simply isn't enough of either at the Institute of Design; those that deal with concepts and those which deal with execution.  In his Decision Making class, Jeremy Alexis might refer to these types of critique as "strategic" and "tactical".

We must foster a community where giving and receiving straightforward feedback and critique to each other is the norm, rather than the exception it seems to be.  The challenges associated with teamwork have gotten much recent attention.  We must grow that attention to also focus on giving feedback to each other and also to seeking it out.

If asked, you expect your peers to tell you honestly how they feel about something.  It's up to you, once they've said their piece, to take it or leave it.  Yes, counting on peers to be straightforward and honest is a risk.  But imagine a world where you had people you could rely on when the path forward is confusing, or when you have finished a portion of work and are unsure if it is good/right/compelling/etc.

Be careful, for critique isn't about bashing new ideas.  It's about helping craft young ones.  And,  "it's good" certainly doesn't cut it.

New Course: Story in Motion

It has been a while since there was a film class at ID. But Sal
Cilella's, of neighbor Gravity Tank, new course "Story in Motion" has filled that gap in curriculum by avoiding many of the technical and cost issues that eventually sunk the original ID film program. Taught in two parts and split across A and B session, the course focuses on pre-production and post production, leaving out the tech and time intensive production of actually shooting original video. However, in both classes, the core is storytelling.

Toward a culture of critique

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet
enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to
our judgment."

- Anton Ego, Ratatouille

Some people are natural born critics. A specific person may come to mind. Maybe it's a classmate. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's John Grimes.

Receiving critique from these people can be difficult, painful even. Actually, receiving critique from anybody can be painful. Listening to someone critique
your work can feel like they are challenging your right to exist as a competent human being.

Welcome, 2008 IDSAB Team

Another year comes to a close, and the Institute of Design Student Activity Board (IDSAB) must be passed on.

We would like to thank everyone who has devoted so much. From the revamped Design Research Conference to the largest International Dinner ever; from the new flexible format of The New Idiom to the ever-growing RecruitID; from this year's rich and diverse Lecturette series to the recently established Charette series for constructive dialogue between students and ID faculty and administration. Thank you.

And so a new set of leaders has volunteered to take IDSAB for 2008. Please join us in congratulating next year's chairs: Bhumi Gajjar, Ruth Nechas, Yuhsin Chiu, Angela Robertson, Andy Conrad, Hanna Korel, Lin Lin, Amy Palit, Kate Pemberton, Judd Morgenstern, Lise Lynam, David Ofori-Amoah, Amy Seng, Amy Batchu, Daniel Erwin, Amanda Wirth, Matthew Gardner and Amber Lindholm. We are looking forward to another fantastic year of student initiative.

Again, thanks.

Your (former) IDSAB Chairs
Eric Niu & Irene Chong

Thanksgiving Lunch at Hugh's House

 It was the first snow in Chicago and my first Thanksgiving with an American family. Breathing the always chilly air on the way to Hugh's house, my heart was warm to join this holiday with ID student from different countries. Hugh and his family's hospitality made me feel like we were a big family.

Surprised by the vivid and warm colored setting, the paintings and collections around the house opened my eyes. The beauty is not only the art itself, but how Hugh and his children made collages and paintings together; they caught the meaningful moments and stored them in memory. Discovering the art and pictures became an interesting way to know more about Hugh, and it also opened a topic for me to start knowing other ID people. All the guests also left our chalk messages in Hugh's blackboard cabinets.

Last year, I watched the food channel for one week to enrich my cultural knowledge. This year, I am so happy to have all these delicious foods with my friends. Before lunch, Hugh told us about the origin of Thanksgiving and these traditional foods; eating cranberry sauce with turkey and stuffing was very special for me.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate life and share gratitude. Before eating, Hugh shared another tradition with us, and we all took a quiet moment to think about what we are thankful for. At that moment, I was thinking of my family in Taiwan. And then back to the foods and chatting with Hugh and other ID people; I thank for those happy hours we enjoyed and relaxed in this holiday. Thank you very much, Hugh. 

Welcome, 2008 IDSAB Team

Another year comes to a close, and the Institute of Design Student Activity Board (IDSAB) must be passed on.

We would like to thank everyone who has devoted so much. From the revamped Design Research Conference to the largest International Dinner ever; from the new flexible format of The New Idiom to the ever-growing RecruitID; from this year's rich and diverse Lecturette series to the recently established Charette series for constructive dialogue between students and ID faculty and administration. Thank you.

And so a new set of leaders has volunteered to take IDSAB for 2008. Please join us in congratulating next year's chairs: Bhumi Gajjar, Ruth Nechas, Yuhsin Chiu, Angela Robertson, Andy Conrad, Hanna Korel, Lin Lin, Amy Palit, Kate Pemberton, Judd Morgenstern, Lise Lynam, David Ofori-Amoah, Amy Seng, Amy Batchu, Daniel Erwin, Amanda Wirth, Matthew Gardner and Amber Lindholm. We are looking forward to another fantastic year of student initiative.

Again, thanks.

Your (former) IDSAB Chairs

Eric Niu & Irene Chong

Thanksgiving Lunch at Hugh’s House

It was the first snow in Chicago and my first Thanksgiving with an American family. Breathing the always chilly air on the way to Hugh's house, my heart was warm to join this holiday with ID student from different countries. Hugh and his family's hospitality made me feel like we were a big family.

Surprised by the vivid and warm colored setting, the paintings and collections around the house opened my eyes. The beauty is not only the art itself, but how Hugh and his children made collages and paintings together; they caught the meaningful moments and stored them in memory. Discovering the art and pictures became an interesting way to know more about Hugh, and it also opened a topic for me to start knowing other ID people. All the guests also left our chalk messages in Hugh's blackboard cabinets.

Last year, I watched the food channel for one week to enrich my cultural knowledge. This year, I am so happy to have all these delicious foods with my friends. Before lunch, Hugh told us about the origin of Thanksgiving and these traditional foods; eating cranberry sauce with turkey and stuffing was very special for me.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate life and share gratitude. Before eating, Hugh shared another tradition with us, and we all took a quiet moment to think about what we are thankful for. At that moment, I was thinking of my family in Taiwan. And then back to the foods and chatting with Hugh and other ID people; I thank for those happy hours we enjoyed and relaxed in this holiday. Thank you very much, Hugh.