Assignment 4

I am looking into my research from two different angles. I am doing this because I cannot find enough research on shoe stability alone. Firstly I am reviewing the journal “Step by Step” which looks into the aspects of different types of insoles that can make one shoe be more comfortable and a better fit. The other text I am looking at is a booked called, “The facts about alcohol, aggression and adolescence”. The reason I am combining these resources is because I want to find out if the aggressiveness whilst drinking plays a part in shoes being uncomfortable, or if it is the aesthetics of the shoe itself which results in a woman removing them whilst drunk.

I am interested in this subject area because in my home town, Kirkcaldy, girls/ woman when drunk remove their shoes, and walk on broken glass and dirt whilst carrying their shoes. They tend to use their shoes as objects because the drink takes over and makes them aggressive.

The article by Langer emphasises how different types of insoles can be more or less effective in different ways for every different person. Although this article is based on insoles for sports shoes, I can use this information as the basics for my research and reproduce the same idea for woman’s dress shoes.
I assume the author is a Podiatrist by the supporting comments, “Almost all of my patients” and “It is not unusual to have a runner come into my clinic…” Langer is explaining through out the whole text that no matter what shape of feet you have, each individual needs a different supporting insole. The author is not looking at how the insoles look or the materials used but is interested in how well the product works in preventing any injuries to the foot. Langer’s intention is tell the trust about all types of insoles, “anyone involved in footwear sales must always keep in mind that cushioning comes at a cost”. The buyer of the insole needs to take into consideration what activities they will be doing when wearing the shoe padding. Evidence from article shows that “our bodies absorb impact more efficiently when we have good alignment, and too much cushioning can negatively affect body alignment”. This comment to me suggests that if the alignment of the foot is not correctly positioned it will effect the comfort of the shoe. This gives the argument that if a person is drunk and their balance is not good, then the shoe will become uncomfortable. There for, no matter if the shoe has the correct amount of cushioning, if the balance of the body is positioned weird, the type of insole may not make any difference.

In my next text by Coggans and McKellar they explore the concept of aggression occurring whilst drinking. This is a complete turn from the previous text but it looks at the links between alcohol consumption and aggression and the idea of drinking changing a persons attitude and the way they react in situations. “It is widely believed that alcohol causes aggression in the sense that people are more likely to become aggressive or even violent if they drink alcohol” (Coggans and McKellar, 1995) From this statement, in my opinion I personally think that the two are related because there is far less arguments during the day as what there is after the consumption of alcohol. Evidence from the book proves that although many would think this is the case, it depends on “individual factors such as personality, characteristics, situational factors including perceptions of the environment.” If aggression whilst drinking depends on certain aspects it may be the case that woman genuinely take their shoes off because they are hurting them rather than to be awkward and want to cause harm.

Coggans and McKellar explore the concepts coming to a conclusion that they are related although“at an intuitive level most people would agree that alcohol affects people differently.” I agree with this statement because referring to an earlier statement a persons personality depends on their nature when drinking.

Combining both texts they both play an important part in my research. Langer has proved that depending on the support given by the insoles may vary the need to remove footwear. But from the evidence from Hoggans and McKellar drink will only have an effect on a person if they have a tendency to be aggressive when drunk because it depends on their personality.

Coggans, N and McKellar, S (1995) The facts about Alcohol, aggression and adolescence, Kent, MacKays of Chatham PLC.

Langer, P (June 2007) Step by Step, unknown.

To further my research I intend to look into the effects of balance and co-ordination whilst being intoxicated by drink. This can then lead onto my research of how I can apply my design idea and they way I can design the removable heel. Depending on the results from balance and co-ordination research it might alter how the shoe needs to be connected.

Assignment 3

( I have edited this post)

Our task for this week has been to use http://cross-search.dundee.ac.uk to research the topic I had chosen in my last task. I found this website difficult and very frustrating to begin with but quickly got the hang of how to use it.

I had to find 6/7 resources from journals, film book, audio visual, magazines and websites. I had to vary my research but could only find journals on my topic, using the cross search. To vary my research I went into the library and collated information from a few books.

The sources I have chosen are as follows:

Beazley, M (2004) Stiletto, London, Octopus Group Ltd.

Strengths: Highlights the bad structured within Stiletto shoes. This book gives an opportunity to put woman off wearing stilettos.

Weaknesses: It talks about history of the shoe and when they were used. The idea of my shoe hasn't been used in the past so I need to look at research that looks into changing the design for the future, as shoe designs havn't been practical for my subject area.

Caruana, S and O'hagan, M (1976) Social aspects of alcohol and alcoholism, London, B Edsall & co Ltd.

Strengths: The book focuses on the impact of drinking in general looking at how social workers are trying to help and the effects of the family.

Weaknesses: I am look at the effects of alcohol not alcoholism as a direct issue, so the effects in the home and families won't be any help for my research.

Coggans, N and McKellar, S (1995) The facts about Alcohol, aggression and adolescence, Kent, MacKays of Chatham PLC.

Strengths: This bok looks at the problems that exist with the intake of alcohol. It addresses some of the reasons why adults acts the way they do through drink and get into trouble.

Weaknesses: It was published in 1995 so it shows the issues have still not been fully addressed and research must been taken further.

Eyl, A (November 2007) A qualitative study on the comfort and fit of ladies’ dress shoes, unknown.

Strengths: It is the fit of a shoe that makes it more/less comfortable rather than the aesthetics.

Weaknesses: There was no one that had any foot or lower limb injuries in the experiment and it doesn’t say if their feet sizes were all the same or varied. Any of these factors may change the opinion of a comfortable shoe.

Langer, P (June 2007) Step by Step, unknown.

Strengths: It lets you know the different types of insoles to make shoes more comfy and what types of feet are suitable to each shape of foot.

Weaknesses: The insoles are only for sport shoes and may not fit or be shapes for any other type of shoe.

Maunch, M (April 2008) Do the feet of German and Australian children differ in structure? Implications for children’s shoe design, Taylor Francis Ltd.

Strengths: It indicates that children from Germany have longer and flatter feet where as, Australian children have squarer feet. This mean that children from different continents have different foot types so shoes couldn’t be a standard width and shape, sold worldwide.

Weaknesses: It only indicates that children’s feet are different from another continent. It doesn’t say if the same applied to adults. Their feet may change as they get older and then be the same in different continents.

Menant, J (2008) Effects of Shoe Characteristics on Dynamic Stability When Walking on Even and Uneven Surfaces in Young and Older People, unknown, Elsevier Inc.

Strengths: The best for aesthetics for balance is one with/without tread, a medium hardness for the entire sole, with a low collar.

Weaknesses: With the consumption of alcohol which I am looking into, the balance control will need to be considered when designing the possible shoe.

Unorthodox Styles (2005) Sneakers the Complete Collectors Guide, United Kingdom, Thomas & Hudson Ltd.

Strengths: Showing how Sneakers have become more popular now that they are used as a fashion statement rather than only a sports shoe.

Weaknesses: They are chunky styles that have been shown, not delicate enough to have removable heels attached, but the same concept may apply to my design idea.

The second part of the assignment was to surf the web and list the top 5 websites relating to my area of design that I would find most useful. I also had to find another top 5 websites I would use for either my area of design again or for general useful information that I can gain research information from, for my design studies and studio project work.

The 10 websites I have chosen for textiles are:

www.vogue.co.uk
www.elleuk.com
www.fashiontrendsetter.com
www.designcouncil.co.uk
www.wired.com
www.thetextileartist.com
www.62group.org.uk
www.desginweek.co.uk/news
www.bbc.co.uk
news.cnet.com

I havn't split them into two clear groups because some of the websites overlap and can be used for general information and also be useful for studio work. I often browse design realated websites just for general knowledge, in turn I could say it was a general knowledge website rather than for design. I just found it easier and less complicated to list them all together.

Discussion and poster

(I have updated this post)
The seond part of the task was to take a problem from the brainstorm and try to resolve it into a possible design solution.

We firstly took the general idea of crime and how it is broadcast to the community through posters and service design. I feel this is a direct way to try and tackle the ongoing issue as the community will see the government is trying to address the situation and find ways of reducing it but at the same time this is advertising crime, letting people know how crime can be done e.g. graffiti, vandalising cars etc. I think it is also letting the committers know they are winning and people are responding to their actions. It is a sort of trophy for them.

Way in which this can be reduced is by bringing the communities closer together, to work in co-operation with one another. We thought about Neighbourhood watch, how this can give the elderly support when they feel scared to go out at night. As a group they will then take pride in their surroundings, reducing small crimes which may seem insignificant but can all add up like the Broken Window theory and work together to combat crime. Ways in which neighbours could communicate and gather is through Christmas cards to give a sense of belonging and social gatherings like street parties. A design reason could be thought of to give them a reason to talk like a tipping point.

We thought about the idea of I.D cards but these can easily be lost or stolen and in the world we live in at the moment, is doubtful that it would be handed into the police or it may be copied and used as someone else’s form of I.D. Technology is always moving forward now using biometrics in certain areas like airports as these pieces of information cannot be copied and it keeps your mind at rest. This is a very expensive but it could be used to gain access to a family home instead of a key or to get into school to stop intruders walking in with out permission.

The next idea was all related to global warming. The first thing is to focus on the attitudes of the community towards global warming am how a design solution can change people’s opinions on it. We first thought into the idea of car sharing and how it would help people directly because they would save a lot of money. I think public transport is a good was of decreasing pollution but people don’t like waiting about when they are in a rush and public transport is well known to be late. Maybe a device can be used to send a text message to, for example, people who are getting a particular train so they can use a different method of public transport.

Another way to improve on global warming is the advert of one light switch. If one light switch was turned off when not in use and times this by the amount of houses in the whole, think how much energy would be saved. A design idea we then thought about was an energy meter being displayed in the main living area. We thought the energy meter could be disguised by a wall paper covering or it was a standard piece of equipment to have in every home there would be no social clash between rich and poor.

Also using photo chromatic wall paper that changes with room temperature. If it falls below a certain temperature, the heating will automatically come on and vice versa, if it gets over a certain temperature. There would still be the on/off switch for when no one is in the property.

Then we spoke about recycling packing and how to try get people to separate there waste into different sections. One possible solution was to have separate compartments in the waste bin. Some compartments may get filled up quicker than others so the idea was to have a vacuum in the compartments to squeeze it together.

Instead of having lots of plastic bags from the supermarkets, I know shops are now promoting re-usable bags. I think it should be that if customers don’t have a re-usable bag they cannot get their shopping because the thin plastic bags have been discontinued.

If people don’t like using a branded bag for example using an Asda bag in Sainsburys wouldn’t be very cool, a bag should be created that isn’t branded or can be created by the customer themselves.

I have chosen a different area from these topics but still been driven from crime. I am looking a girls/womans behaviour when drunk combined with the idea of a comfortable shoe so they have more control of their balance. I have designed a poster with my idea that may, or may not be used in the future.

Brainstorming

As part of my design studies, I have been given the task of brainstorming as a group, the Tipping Point that I have recently read. We have to address the various social and environmental issues raised through out the book and come up with a design solution, to solve one of these.
I think brainstorming is a very quick and easy way to get loads of ideas down. I felt the group worked well as a team during this so all of our ideas were taken into consideration.
These are the pictures taken during the couple of hours we spend doing this.

I just came home and put the radio on. An announcement came on the radio about Kellogg's cereal. True or not, Kellogg's are going to have their logo on every bran flake. Is there any need to do this because the brand is already on the box? Will it make the cereal taste any better knowing it's definately Kellogg's, if the logo is on the food? Or is this just another design invention to intigue customers to keep buying the product?

To be honest I would pretty noisy to see if this is true because is it possible for every single bran flake that goes into one single box, to have a marking on it? I don't think so.

D.P.T week

I have just finished a one week project on D.P.T. I have used Photo Shop previously but I didn't realise the extent in which I can manipulate images.
I started by scanning in my mark making images that I produced in week 1 then started to play about. I have to admit I wasn't very sure about what I was trying to achive but I soon got the just of it.

the Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell

This is my first blog so here goes!
I was given an assessment as part of my Design Studies to read a book called, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. When I first started to read it, yeah, I was a bit bored with the introduction as I thought it was a little repetitive but then I ended up really enjoying it. It went through loads of little concepts and situations to do with everyday live that I could relate to.
As part of the assessment, I was to do a mind map of The Tipping Point, based on the Barry Buzan's mind map book on how to create and lay out a mind map. I tend to use mind maps through out alot of my work anyway and I think it is a very good way to set out my thoughts.

As the second part on the assessment I was asked to take one chapter and go into more depth. I decided to base mines on the Power of Context, Part one. I looked at this because I found it interested how Malcolm Gladwell explored the idea of changing little circumstances, in the long run, can change a huge part in the enviroment.