Design Studio 3.1

Situating the project and reaching out to Barcelona Communities

The first design studio class of term three and it focused on gaining a deeper understanding of what we see for the future of our projects and reflecting on the past term to incoroporate it going forward. Oliver and I not only took time to personally look back but also discuss where we see the project going moving forward. Based on this we were able to do some concrete steps and start planning interventions we want to do.

Looking Back on Term 2

While both of us were not able to attend the first design studio class we tried to incorporate the teachings and reflecting moments into our start of this term. We took some time to see what we felt went well in term two and what could be improved. In the end we determined that the way we were building the monitor and engaging with people outside of Barcelona allowed us to have some interesting insights but one thing we want to do in the coming term is not only stay in contact with those communities and continue to develop our device, we also want to get in contact with new communities within Barcelona to understand their struggles and how they could potentially interact with our design.

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Moving Forward

From here we moved forward by brainstorming various things and steps we wanted to accomplish in the coming months. We ended up having three main themes within our steps.

1. Expert Outreach
2. Device Development
3. Testing and Designing with Others
4. Complete System Understanding


Within these three lines we created the following steps that we wish to complete. They might not all get done by MDEF Fest but in the large scale that is not a problem.

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After creating ideas for potential steps, we then tried to create a timeline for the first groups of actions we wanted to undertake. This consisted with in the first weeks reaching out to some local experts, visiting an energy community and testing our device. Once we get this base done we can then move into designing with others and have them get more engaged through small experiments with others. Below you can see the first action steps we want to take as clusters and then made a detailed chart for the coming weeks with room for change depending on what happens. 

Creating the Current Community 

At the same time as deciding on what we wanted to create during the term we were busy looking at which communities we have talked to in the past term and what we could do to potentially reach out to more communities. We saw that we had interacted with groups outside of IAAC but mostly in other countries, as the contacts we had in Barcelona were mostly through university.

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Building on the ideas we had for future research and the communities we had already been in touch with we decided to continue on by looking at the communities we felt fit well with our steps. We discovered various communities and people that interested us. The first step we decided to take in reaching out to others was to send out some messages to MAYBE and MARCONN. We also are going to go to a meeting for people interested in SOM Energia, a energy company that facilitates sharing of energy and awareness of usage, to see what type of people are there and if we could potentially talk to people there. The final step we are currently taking is to reach out to 3 - 6 different households to see if they would be interested in participating in our research. The idea is that we would have different types of households track energy using an existing method and hold meetings to get valuable insights before introducing our own product. 

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Reflecting on Design Studio 3.1

In our first design studio class of term three, Oliver and I focused on reflecting and forward planning. We were both still very much interested in understanding and addressing the challenges of energy consumption and behavior change. This first week was a point in which we realigned our vision and set concrete steps towards our project's future.

Our reflection on the past term revealed the complexity of energy dynamics and the many ways in which individuals interact with this. Recognizing the importance of considering diverse perspectives and socio-economic factors, we realized that our project's impact is more then just the physical device. It is a way of  understanding the mix between human behavior, energy usage, and societal structures.

By breaking down our project into three main themes—Expert Outreach, Device Development, and Testing and Designing with Others— it gave me a framework to navigate our journey. It made me realize the importance of collaboration and understanding different perspectives. As we discussed our strategies for reaching out to new communities in Barcelona, I am interested to see what we can learn from them, but at the same time hesitant as there is still a language barrier to be considered. 

Looking forward, I'm eager to see how our interactions with diverse communities will shape our project. This class was a reminder that progress isn't always about big steps; sometimes, it's the small actions we take that help move us along. I am interested to see how the steps that Oliver and I have highlighted for the coming weeks will come together and what we will learn throughout it all.

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