Forced connection mindmap: nature vs manmade

in this exercise, we try to make force connections between two very different items. we came up with alot of ideas but many of them seemed very obvious and it would help if we spend more time refining on a single idea. alot of them seemed like it would not work but i believe to that there are ways to work around it so that it would work. i think that good force connection products should not just only take on the obvious physical shape of another item as it is something that most people can come up with.

pineapple pen

apparently this is a very good example of a remarkable video. it serves no meaning yet people would share it because it is unusual. A product does not need to be good to be shared widely by people. as long as it is unusual and fresh, people will talk about it.

Forced connections

  i realised that certain words were more difficult to represent, for eg  brave pencil. i thought of the image for a lion when i thought of bravery. however i found it difficult to combine the two to give a satisfying idea. i also realize that certain items that i came up with for certain words can also describe other words as well. the multiple tipped pencil might have been more suitable under the category of hardworking than greedy.

Forced connections

  i realised that certain words were more difficult to represent, for eg  brave pencil. i thought of the image for a lion when i thought of bravery. however i found it difficult to combine the two to give a satisfying idea. i also realize that certain items that i came up with for certain words can also describe other words as well. the multiple tipped pencil might have been more suitable under the category of hardworking than greedy.

W9 photo 42

W9 photo 41

I found this porcelain figurine of a mother breast feeding her baby in a shop in chinatown. Commonly we would associate chinese culture as very reserved and conservative. Yet here is a woman breast feeding in the public exposing her breast. To me it is a very unusual sight as I have never seen a chinese statue that depicts a female exposing her breast. I have seen many of such imagery in western art, but never in the form of chinese porcelain.

W8 photo 40

I saw this giant figure of chang-e along the street of chinatown. As it is the mid autumn festival, the figure was put up as a decorative icon to liven up the atmosphere. Chang-e is known to the chinese as a goddess of the moon. She is supposed said  to stay in a palace on the moon. Usually statues of deities are worshipped in temples.

W8 photo 39

This is a photo of a souvenir I found being sold at a convenience store. It is a pen and at the same time a memorabilia. This pen is shaped like the merlion , an iconic mascot of singapore. However, the pen looks interesting as it looks nothing like a pen. But once you pick it up from the holder, you can use it as a pen. Ergonomically speaking , the design of the pen is not very good. It is too chunky and thick to hold in your hands and probably uncomfortable to use for writing. I feel that its primary use is less for its function as a pen and more of a thing to look at.

Reflections

Vehicle side mirror

Bus stop seat

Bus window

Side of lorry

Convex mirror

W8 photo 38

At the national design centre, I came across an exhibition for designer dresses inspired by chinese culture. The designers made use of motiffs commonly associated with being chinese in their designs. Most of them are more theatrical in design as it is difficult to wear this designs on the street in daily life. Neither do I think the dresses can be cleaned easily as they are alot of delicate laser cut fabrics, sequins and beads used in the creation of the dresses.

W8 photo 37

This is the back of a foot reflexology shop. I took this photo becose of the neon foot print sign. Usually shops will put the neon lights infront. But in this case they placed it at the back. Maybe they wanted to catch the eyes of potential customers when they walked past the back of the shop.

Analogies

Human brain is like a computer. it processes information and stores them. we use computers daily and we can see that computers do information processing and storage.

forest are lungs of the Earth. Like human lungs, they play an important role just like the lungs to any living animal. it makes us see how important the forests are to the functioning of the Earth.

Life is a journey. we can imagine life is a road that we walk down as a journey. things would happen in life like how we might encounter situations on the road like car jams, obstacles or even accidents. however, we are never sure where that road will lead us,

a car is like a human body and the engine is its heart. without the engine to kick start the car, the car will not be able to move. It is similar to the human body. Both should go for checkups to make sure they are in good condition.

analogical thinking video

Analogical thinking allows us to make links between things and see the inter-connective relationship between them. it helps us to think more creatively as well as learn better by breaking complex concepts into ideas that relate to us in daily life. Substituting intangible ideas using physical objects makes it much easier to grasp how the idea acts and works. difficult to visualize ideas can instantly be made into digestible bits by the use of analogical thinking. In primary school, analogical thinking is often used to teach subjects like maths. the use of apple and oranges make maths easier to grasp as children can easily imagine the idea of dealing with physical objects that they have seen before.

W8 photo 36

I feel it is really interesting that sikhs still wear their traditional headgear, the turban. Even in this modern age , they still stick to their culture and traditions. I feel it is really admirable that they are still rooted to their believes. Other than their headgear, they still dress like anyone else in the train. There is a strong juxtaposition of their dressing and it makes it really interesting.

W7 photo 35

This is a photo of a hdb flat in kallang area. The facade of the block is covered with colorful graphic design. What is the purpose of the decorating of the block with these colorful graphics? It is for a national day celebration as a propaganda. It makes people who look at it feel the country have a sense of national identity. It becomes in a sense a kind of advertising for the government to make the citizens think that they should feel fortunate for living in singapore.

W7 photo 34

In singapore, it is very difficult to find wide area of grass. It is probably all the lands are utilised fully as singapore lacks in land area. There used to be a primary school on this piece of land and it has been demolished to make space for other developments. I did not realised the school was gone until awhile later as the demolishing was over very quickly. The school is like a memory that we wont miss is gone until we realise it is gone.

W7 photo 33

I find the architecture of this church very interesting as I seldom see a church that uses light blue as a facade color. In addition, the roof of the church is covered  in bumps. It looks like the church has quite a history behind it. Two of the roofs look like crowns worn by kings. The building really stands out in this modern city of singapore.