Working with my team on the design challenge was interesting, chaotic, and fun. Our design challenge experience was, for the most part, successful. We learned a lot through our interview with the people from FabCafe, Eri and Kelsey. There were some moments where we could have posed more open-ended questions so they had more flexibility in responding, but otherwise the interview went smoothly. The most chaotic and exciting part of this experience for me was brainstorming. We came up with many unique and sometimes totally unrealistic ideas that we were eventually able to consolidate into one; with some input from Dr. Panahi, we were able to scale down our idea into a design we can reasonably prototype within a day.
Tokyo was very unique in that the culture tends to be very reserved, but the city itself is incredibly dense with locals, tourists, shops, noise, activity, etc. Working on the design challenge in a city like this was an interesting and unique experience; it was interesting being able to interview Kelsey, who was familiar with both American and Japanese perspectives on third places, and it was also interesting being able to interview a local, Eri, who is very reserved yet still managed to find a somewhat social outlet to meet her needs. If we were to do the same activity in America I anticipate having a much harder time being able to glean information about third places, because in my understanding, third places are less common. American homes are spacious enough to accommodate many people’s social and environmental needs, and this is the perspective I am most familiar with. In Tokyo I was able to learn about the perspective of individuals who do not have this luxury, where third places are almost necessary for social needs.
Personally, I think I thrived most in the stages involving brainstorming and consolidating ideas into a tangible design. I struggled most in interviewing and implementing the design. This is because my natural strengths lie in design; I am able to come up with relatively novel ideas and am able to understand multiple perspectives. However, I struggle with interacting with strangers and with public speaking as I am very introverted.
My favorite part about the Tokyo experience so far is just the fact that this city is so walkable. I love being able to walk from place to place, and I love having the freedom to just drop by a convenience store whenever to grab some dessert – this is probably my favorite routine, where after dinner I would grab ice cream from 7-eleven and unwind back in the hotel lobby.
I would recommend avoiding making super detailed itineraries until after living in Tokyo for a couple of days. Prior to arriving, I recommend doing some research on what’s required for Tokyo (getting a Suica card, general etiquette, where to buy food, etc.) as well as some fun things you want to do (where to shop, booking tourist attractions, etc.) but otherwise being flexible enough for spontaneous events. It’s difficult to have a good idea of what your daily life will look like prior to actually living through it for a couple of days.
One thing I’ll take away from BUSI 220 I haven’t considered before is to think as I act, and to not try and make a waterproof plan prior to beginning a project or design. Before this class I was generally a perfectionist; I needed everything to be perfect in every step. This would include the brainstorming & “initial” design prior to prototyping. During brainstorming phases I would filter ideas as they come up, and I would never start a project before I felt fully confident in my idea. But this class’s time constraint and general structure forced me to adopt a quantity over quality mindset, the opposite of what I grew up being told. By focusing on quantity while thinking on the fly, I learned that the most unexpected ideas could also become the most valuable, which is something I would not have learned otherwise.