The Laws of Simplicity
Chapter 6: Context
1. What does the word ENTROPY mean and why is this relevant?
Entropy means a lack of order or predictability. It is a natural decline into disorder.
This is relevant because there’s so much technology around us, at times, too much, so it can be hard to “see the wood for the trees”. Eg. You are looking for employment. You have 1000 numbers in your phone however only 5 of these numbers are for jobs. In actuality, you would be ringing 5 numbers per day not 1000.
2. If you are attuned to everything around you, does it help you deal with what is in front of you and why or why not ?
Yes, it helps put what is of immediate importance into perspective. Eg. White/negative space on a page actually directs focus onto what is on the page.
It’s all about contextualizing (knowing what’s around you) and applying it to what is in front of you. In a design context, designers need to communicate with their teams, individuals can’t just go off on a tangent and work on only what they think will work – they need to consider the ideas of the wider team for a more balanced approach.
3. How is this different from FOCUS ?
Focus is just concentrating on what is at hand – sacrificing everything in the background for the sake of attending the all-important foreground ie light bulb or laser beam approach.
The ideal approach to any project is using context and focus together. Eg. When using Illustrator, the most effective approach to work on detail is to use the zoom tool, but it is also important to put this detail into perspective of the whole design, and therefore you need to zoom out and see the picture in its entirety.
4. Being “comfortably lost” is a balance between what 2 feelings?
Knowing where you are can give you a sense of comfort and familiarity. It can generate positive feelings when things feel safe makes complete sense, however this can also feel boring. Being lost can evoke negative feelings of danger which to some, can also be a thrill.
5. Describe a recent scenario when you found yourself to be “comfortably lost”. Did you enjoy the sensation?
As a part of the Darwin Festival, my partner and I participated in En Route.
Yes, I enjoyed the sensation – I guess I was comfortable because even though it was an individual experience, I had someone there with me, I was walking around a city I am generally familiar with and I was being guided by text messages being sent to the mobile phone with me. I was lost in the sense that the music and narration of what I was listening to taking my mind to another place and in the literal sense when we were wandering through areas that I never knew existed. It was like a walking meditation. In some ways your senses are more attuned to what you are seeing and experiencing, rather than finding your way.
6. If you couldn’t hold back the urge to write on the “don’t write on this page” page – what would you write?
I wouldn’t write. Instead I would probably draw something like a smiley face. However, because of the challenge Maeda put out to the readers about writing on the blank DON’T WRITE ON THIS PAGE page, I wanted to resist the temptation.
This YouTube clip is a lighthearted approach to using words out of context. It demonstrates the importance of understanding subject matter and the importance of context in communication:
THINKING GAME – LATERAL THINKING DISCUSSION
Edward de Bono’s “6 Thinking Hats”
• Which HAT best represents your group?
The Blue Hat best represents the Logistics group.
• Why?
It is all about the managing the process of organising an exhibition as a whole.
Depending on where the over all decision making process needs to head, our group needs to direct the activity to the appropriate group.
• Describe an Exhibition Group meeting where you may adopt the BLACK hat
Perhaps when a group is suggesting something that isn’t practically possible in the timeline, we may have to adopt the black hat and make them aware of why this idea/suggestion may not work.
• In your blog write 6 labelled paragraphs on your group’s progress to date, using each
of the 6 hats as a perspective.
Each week we focus on the data made available to us from what other groups post on Google Docs. I put this data into a calendar which is presented to the class each week so everyone can see exactly what is happening and when theoretically across all groups. We take things at face value and focus on the practical side of things such as deadlines.
Logistics - Red Hat
We try to encourage all groups to participate equally (by sending out emails and suggesting the use of templates to make it easier). Praise is given to the groups who are contributing valuable information. By taking on a ‘red hat’ approach we can be more diplomatic when dealing with individual people and groups.
Logistics - Black Hat
As we are keeping an eye on the overall timeline for the exhibition we need to be able to foresee why ideas/suggestions and activities of the other groups may not work due to time constraints. By taking an overall approach we can lessen the risk of failure and come up with contingency plans.
Logistics - Yellow Hat
Again with our ability to look at the overall progression of this exhibition project, we are able to give positive feedback on progress and encouragement when everyone can see the advancements we are making.
Logistics - Green Hat
Logistics can contribute to the overall creativity of the exhibition by liaising with and directing activity to groups such as Theme & Branding and Print.
We can also come up with our own solutions to keeping everyone informed and engaged with the use of visuals such as the weekly calendar.
Logistics - Blue Hat
This is what the Logistics group has to do in a nutshell – as explained, we manage the whole process of organising this exhibition. We need to direct activity to the appropriate groups to get the specific jobs done within the specified time frame. A weekly logistics report is given to keep the class up to date with the overall progress.
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