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t0mr0bins0n Viva Toolkit

Viva Toolkit

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Page 1: Viva Toolkit

t0mr0bins0nViva Toolkit

Page 2: Viva Toolkit
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EscapeExperimentation Toolkit

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To escape is to free ones self and usually this occurs in a purposeful way from something specific whether it be a holiday away from every day life or a prisoner breaking out of prison. Through our study of escapism it became apparent that this control may not be such a positive element and especially when relating to design practice. From a young age our brains are trained to work in a specific way, regimented to get us through the exam focused world of education but the design world does not work in this way. We must therefore unlearn the ideals of a right and wrong way to think and accept that our individual practices are the reason design can be so varied.

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In an attempt to realise these institutionalized idiosyncrasies within our own personalities we examined one another to choose one aspect to change in our everyday life, these varied from the clothing we wear to our modes of transport or the food we were allowed to eat. Once a specific element had been chosen the option to behave in this way was removed which forced everyone to behave in an unnatural way and although yes, did help everyone escape their norm, did in a lot of ways make individuals feel lost and removed from their comfort zone in a negative way.

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Because the results of changing a persons methods proved in some ways to have a negative effect it was proposed that alternatively a way of expanding upon current methods of working but escaping from the normal constructs of experimentation should be used. Inspiration for this was taken from Peter Schmidt and Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies Cards and the way in which their phrases can be used to expand upon a current idea to help evolve in a different direction, however these we found were mainly useful when working upon an existing idea and as a stand alone tool could not work as a form of idea creation. Therefore work started on a prototype way of getting the members of our project outside of their comfort zone initially through activities designed to embarrass.

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By creating a whole range of tasks which were performance based this allowed everyone to feel more comfortable in what we were doing as it removed the barrier of embarrassment and helped everyone embrace the weird ways of working the tools we were creating pushed us to.

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Following the tools designed to embarrass it was realised that we needed to develop a stronger connection between these actions and the design process we were intending to affect. Therefore more specific rules were developed and the idea of location was brought forward and we used a random number generator to help us produce post codes. From these postcodes the geographical coordinates were in turn used to choose words and phrases from an extensive list we had developed so that when all three were joined together there was now a location with a task to be performed at it but how the user would do so was at their own discretion. Documenting this process using film became our final outcome during the time period of the project and this really helped us understand and appreciate what we had created.

HorsesShakespeareBjorkBlock NotesBlack HoleDiceJokeMarriageBiscuitsTable SuggestionRubberWhaleCookingMachineCrackers & CheeseStreetBarsDark SphereNapoleon SmashingSpeakingDoorTheoryBookshelf from InterstellarCandy Transistor Gorgia Blue TacPuzzle ComputerMinusBlueFire BrickArmourRed Haze Mr BeanFuck ThisSwimImplosionLogic Pro XBlindnessPinkLawyerT-shirtBooksRingsLibraryVirusPoemColors PrismCajan Tame Impala Led ZeppelinChildPhoneIndiansTissueStressSandyShhh!PunchTireHour GlassMassMap Opera Peas Boy?Guy Lego Blank Space FlamePearlProcrastinationMindsetRunningScreamingBadHoneyCoffeeBushesSpinTiredGrassWaterGet Fire?WalkRunWhiteRefugeesSplitBuildingDesign a ToolSpitArchitectureThrow on the groundPeeBecome friends with someoneDo it quickly

Soft Dirt HelpBridge36A.ISpearmint GreenDiamondLoseOrangesSlaveEmptyBinge RotateKneading BreadBricksAtom / Particle Water FallBetter?RainbowOver TunnelBlah Blugh BlehEcstatic HoleScreamSinging for 10 minsBread CrumbsCrawl -> WalkSpin WheelMeHugScribbleStare At Wall For 15 minsNew ShoesBus Journey SerpentArtist Trafic WardenPiece of CakeFillBird SongBouncePin PointTug of WarDenyVogue WhistleShelwitSmoothBalance Roaring FireRollSmall InsectPlace an idea in a gallerySubmergeOoops!Starter & PuddingCatwalk Cat 20 Minutes SleepBall down stairsWalk awayMartyr Sculpt DreamsHop ScotchRepeat Do it quietly Make it funnyOpen space Become your enemy Play like a child Tight ropeThrow Grab & Count / StudyDo it 5 timesDraw / Make itSerialRolly PollyLaugh Open Meadow Lemonade Whitney HoustonSmoke - LightCut BackNoseKiss Meditate for 20 minutesSport Paint FaceHero OppositeBumble BeeFinish CementStone Gift FragranceLie on SidePresentShareEntrance 6 More Steps Cookies Drink Sit outside for 1 HourA bridge

AlwaysI’m eating a bounty thoughHe would tell me to eat moreWhat is he doing new?Fashion is my passionHides a very scary beastWell that one repeats itselfChange nothingOffice AubergineBut then what?FannyThat would be HardOne gets the otherBy smashing watchesomg (oh my god) I really want you The ship will wreck Kinder eggSexy songs I think he is the murdererAnimation of a text Only when I got them BullsWell, ok…So far awaywhen the bat is donned open itStep StepNo TapesSourdBoth ChoicesTransaction of MoneyBones & BloodIs endingWhen the stove is onDESIGNis there?Guitar and SaxDinosaur steps Mission Tom CruiseHexagon RadioBreak upZoom glassesThe Dominoes Near to my Mum’s birthdayI WILL I SHALLBig Stereo VolumeAt the CliffFood BreakSpeaking LoudBig white oakUnder a big lampMore singer the breadStyle is right onCritical ChickenMaybe LaterMondaysI robotLose at monopoly Fade outSomething from a computerRemove a toothMcDonaldsInto the (…) and beyondI am aloneGet my butt tooGive me oneMy buddyTwitterAutomobile partSections of the cakeDancing?A lot of fatMusic centerWho is that boy?That is so right!This is so meReturnThen make a lot of themAgainSounds like unappealingLike a babyI willSustainabilityA presentShip over waterWowI see dead peopleWith breadDavid didAt googleDynamite bedNewton’s treeNothingThe Wall - Pink FloydFriendsBloodSaltRedFresh/Smell Good/Crunchy/Sweet

SmartnessWarmClaquettePortée de musicJames BondPointlessPerceptionUnderminingCartillageStrength//////////CalmHardCoolOkJellyCream.It’s FineSlurp !ReasonVoidSchizophreniaSaturday/PleasureLess noisybrokeMessWisdomI’d like to Think outside the boxGet betterHairPoliticReality SuckCorps“Colour”“A drawing of a man’s face”TruthYes------Helloooooo ?CorailInterestingLoveOf course !Really ?Mum Raining/ColdCaramelNewspaperPretty muchHead – AcheHantsNiceFor fame ?PffffFunI guess SoWHATTic Tac Tic TacHand GelSpeed / Poverty/MotivationNoToyTimeSlotAssDangerousAlwaysI can’tThe mouse laptopDark MatterI did.“Mouth”IdiotObviousWater 85. . 86. ͚HardWine/Bread/Butter/CrêpesObserveIDEAPrevious ProjectNextThe tube B & QTunnel SkypeWhite roomLibertiesPortraitGhost Story Knights in armourI did this bridgeAustralia LondonCollapsable chairMental health clinicPing Pong

Map makingSyntheticDrugsHistory of morbid thingsLove thy neighbourBlanketCheating with youAgain with feelingBecome an MP Accept you’re sadAlways there Play the stock marketStart a diet planFrown Make upDream of televisionSearching for homeMy name is Mr JonesSex at your parent’s houseMidlife crisis Sandy beachDirty MauveAm I drunk?VeganDotHemmingwaySyncopateTaxes Call me laterWill this break?BDSMScared of exhaustionSurviveStreet castMusical by celebrity Thanks darlingWrite a poemEduroamBeesSex is boring, eating is thinkingBuilding siteNever being thereShut upParkTalking too muchGo to the gymWaspMake me jumpI can’t be meLazy Without youStaying homePublic display of affectionCakeWrite this down againLaterGraffitiLeave a garment behindLast thing said?Stop and stareFantasy everywhereLaughDon’t keep a hold of loose changePanicForget mid sentenceA stranger - OnlinePack Propose a dinnerOwe someone Come BackMy name is charity an- A toilet cubiclePaint your oldest Friend An extra special Stand up Fighting You might drownTechnology Sign LanguageAdvertiseA lot older Better than a parentParaphrase possibleEquidistant from each sideBigger than a logNot a dog

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HorsesShakespeareBjorkBlock NotesBlack HoleDiceJokeMarriageBiscuitsTable SuggestionRubberWhaleCookingMachineCrackers & CheeseStreetBarsDark SphereNapoleon SmashingSpeakingDoorTheoryBookshelf from InterstellarCandy Transistor Gorgia Blue TacPuzzle ComputerMinusBlueFire BrickArmourRed Haze Mr BeanFuck ThisSwimImplosionLogic Pro XBlindnessPinkLawyerT-shirtBooksRingsLibraryVirusPoemColors PrismCajan Tame Impala Led ZeppelinChildPhoneIndiansTissueStressSandyShhh!PunchTireHour GlassMassMap Opera Peas Boy?Guy Lego Blank Space FlamePearlProcrastinationMindsetRunningScreamingBadHoneyCoffeeBushesSpinTiredGrassWaterGet Fire?WalkRunWhiteRefugeesSplitBuildingDesign a ToolSpitArchitectureThrow on the groundPeeBecome friends with someoneDo it quickly

Soft Dirt HelpBridge36A.ISpearmint GreenDiamondLoseOrangesSlaveEmptyBinge RotateKneading BreadBricksAtom / Particle Water FallBetter?RainbowOver TunnelBlah Blugh BlehEcstatic HoleScreamSinging for 10 minsBread CrumbsCrawl -> WalkSpin WheelMeHugScribbleStare At Wall For 15 minsNew ShoesBus Journey SerpentArtist Trafic WardenPiece of CakeFillBird SongBouncePin PointTug of WarDenyVogue WhistleShelwitSmoothBalance Roaring FireRollSmall InsectPlace an idea in a gallerySubmergeOoops!Starter & PuddingCatwalk Cat 20 Minutes SleepBall down stairsWalk awayMartyr Sculpt DreamsHop ScotchRepeat Do it quietly Make it funnyOpen space Become your enemy Play like a child Tight ropeThrow Grab & Count / StudyDo it 5 timesDraw / Make itSerialRolly PollyLaugh Open Meadow Lemonade Whitney HoustonSmoke - LightCut BackNoseKiss Meditate for 20 minutesSport Paint FaceHero OppositeBumble BeeFinish CementStone Gift FragranceLie on SidePresentShareEntrance 6 More Steps Cookies Drink Sit outside for 1 HourA bridge

AlwaysI’m eating a bounty thoughHe would tell me to eat moreWhat is he doing new?Fashion is my passionHides a very scary beastWell that one repeats itselfChange nothingOffice AubergineBut then what?FannyThat would be HardOne gets the otherBy smashing watchesomg (oh my god) I really want you The ship will wreck Kinder eggSexy songs I think he is the murdererAnimation of a text Only when I got them BullsWell, ok…So far awaywhen the bat is donned open itStep StepNo TapesSourdBoth ChoicesTransaction of MoneyBones & BloodIs endingWhen the stove is onDESIGNis there?Guitar and SaxDinosaur steps Mission Tom CruiseHexagon RadioBreak upZoom glassesThe Dominoes Near to my Mum’s birthdayI WILL I SHALLBig Stereo VolumeAt the CliffFood BreakSpeaking LoudBig white oakUnder a big lampMore singer the breadStyle is right onCritical ChickenMaybe LaterMondaysI robotLose at monopoly Fade outSomething from a computerRemove a toothMcDonaldsInto the (…) and beyondI am aloneGet my butt tooGive me oneMy buddyTwitterAutomobile partSections of the cakeDancing?A lot of fatMusic centerWho is that boy?That is so right!This is so meReturnThen make a lot of themAgainSounds like unappealingLike a babyI willSustainabilityA presentShip over waterWowI see dead peopleWith breadDavid didAt googleDynamite bedNewton’s treeNothingThe Wall - Pink FloydFriendsBloodSaltRedFresh/Smell Good/Crunchy/Sweet

SmartnessWarmClaquettePortée de musicJames BondPointlessPerceptionUnderminingCartillageStrength//////////CalmHardCoolOkJellyCream.It’s FineSlurp !ReasonVoidSchizophreniaSaturday/PleasureLess noisybrokeMessWisdomI’d like to Think outside the boxGet betterHairPoliticReality SuckCorps“Colour”“A drawing of a man’s face”TruthYes------Helloooooo ?CorailInterestingLoveOf course !Really ?Mum Raining/ColdCaramelNewspaperPretty muchHead – AcheHantsNiceFor fame ?PffffFunI guess SoWHATTic Tac Tic TacHand GelSpeed / Poverty/MotivationNoToyTimeSlotAssDangerousAlwaysI can’tThe mouse laptopDark MatterI did.“Mouth”IdiotObviousWater 85. . 86. ͚HardWine/Bread/Butter/CrêpesObserveIDEAPrevious ProjectNextThe tube B & QTunnel SkypeWhite roomLibertiesPortraitGhost Story Knights in armourI did this bridgeAustralia LondonCollapsable chairMental health clinicPing Pong

Map makingSyntheticDrugsHistory of morbid thingsLove thy neighbourBlanketCheating with youAgain with feelingBecome an MP Accept you’re sadAlways there Play the stock marketStart a diet planFrown Make upDream of televisionSearching for homeMy name is Mr JonesSex at your parent’s houseMidlife crisis Sandy beachDirty MauveAm I drunk?VeganDotHemmingwaySyncopateTaxes Call me laterWill this break?BDSMScared of exhaustionSurviveStreet castMusical by celebrity Thanks darlingWrite a poemEduroamBeesSex is boring, eating is thinkingBuilding siteNever being thereShut upParkTalking too muchGo to the gymWaspMake me jumpI can’t be meLazy Without youStaying homePublic display of affectionCakeWrite this down againLaterGraffitiLeave a garment behindLast thing said?Stop and stareFantasy everywhereLaughDon’t keep a hold of loose changePanicForget mid sentenceA stranger - OnlinePack Propose a dinnerOwe someone Come BackMy name is charity an- A toilet cubiclePaint your oldest Friend An extra special Stand up Fighting You might drownTechnology Sign LanguageAdvertiseA lot older Better than a parentParaphrase possibleEquidistant from each sideBigger than a logNot a dog

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100

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The method we developed created some interesting outcomes and certainly helped us to think in unusual and challenging ways, however it was still only a theoretical device and needed to be brought into the world as a functioning method for creation. This lead us to create the Escape Toolkit which can be accessed at t0mr0bins0n.com/escapetoolkit it is a self-explanatory web-page which will guide the user through the methods we developed.

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The process has been refined and a way of accessing random places developed, an algorithm runs inside the web-page to grab the location of the device being used as GPS coordinates and then alter these to give another set of coordinates within a three mile radius of this location when the page loads. The phrases used to create the activities have also been changed to make the opportunities more diverse, the page now uses a random word generator to produce the 372 most common verbs in the English Dictionary and it is suggested that the user generate 2-3 words but the final amount is their choice. Finally the action required of the user is also created randomly by the web-page on loading from seven options which helps to give the activity more structure.

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This web-page was then paired with a physical toolkit of objects to be used at each location varying from a camera to pens, paints and modelling clay. To trial this toolkit we used an art student to see how they would react to the methods we had devised and it took us to some unusual places, starting from her home in Deptford we first travelled to a housing estate on the edge of Canary Warf, then the edge of the Thames at North Greenwich and finally a row of terraced houses near Upton Park. At each location she used the words generated in conjunction with the action to create something which would never usually happen. At the first location a small feather found outside the house to which the coordinates brought us was laid to rest under a blanket of modelling clay due to the participant being required to perform an intervention using the verbs hide and overlay. She created the narrative of the feather needing protection from the world and the damage that could be done to it but also the harm it could possibly do to the world and was therefore hiding both from each other by overlaying the clay on the feather.

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It is my aim that the toolkit we have now created could be an effective method of idea creation in many fields of design from high school education, our own design course as part of the methods and processes teaching in the first year right through to professional practices with major clients as a way of refreshing their approach. Prior to expanding on this project I felt that it was the weakest of the three but the reviewing process has allowed me to focus on the points I found most interesting throughout and form a framework from which to work on the future. This has taught me a lot about the ways in which I work personally, in hindsight it has become clear to me that throughout all the projects I have found group work significantly helpful in the research and initial development stages as these are things I find myself often shying away from when working on my own. This does not I believe transfer into the latter stages of the projects as in my own process I find that working on a concept until it gives all that I can get from it is my preferred system whereas a group dynamic does not seem to cultivate this but instead a much more wary approach where multiple different concepts are discussed and tested briefly before following one through to a final outcome. I feel this maybe due to peoples fear that a final outcome needs to be highly polished but personally during my final project I want to give myself time to push these concepts further before moving on much in the way which has been done with the Escape Toolkit and this also brings forward the suggestion that the Toolkit is not the final conclusion of the body of work but simply the one I preferred and decided to pursue.

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Meta DarwinismValidation Toolkit

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Meta Darwinism started out as something slightly different, Post Darwinism. It was the conversations around this concept that lead to the final project. Post Darwinism started as a discussion around the idea of what would happen once the world became conscious of its own evolution if one takes Darwinism as the realisation of evolution. This left for a broad area of research as Darwin’s theories are still just that theories. This conversation however became interesting when we realised that Post Darwinism existed immediately at the point in time in which people started to believe Darwin. Post Darwinism then is the way in which humans have utilized themselves and the environment since Darwin published his Theory of Evolution for both better and worse. This was intriguing due to the way in which since that point we as a race have been modifying the natural world to best suit our needs without using any foresight as to what the implications will be in the future, for example fossil fuels and deforestation destroying the environment for short term gains.In 2015 however the term Post Darwinism needs to die, we can no longer claim ignorance to the way in which we are self destructing, hence the birth of Meta Darwinism. This new ideology is a conceptual way of thinking about the ways in which we can consciously evolve and the consequences this will have, it is expanding on Darwin’s theory rather than just acknowledging it and then forgetting all it can show us.As a collective we initially set out to define the ways in which we as a society had progressed to Meta Darwinism and came up with a three word diagram:UN CONSCIOUS - SUB CONSCIOUS - CONSCIOUS

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In the beginning when Darwin first revealed evolution to the world we were unconscious of the effects we were having upon ourselves and the planet. Once the world learned of evolution we knew that it had happened and possibly could happen to us but were not aware how much of an impact we could have.When the consequences of our actions started to appear we became conscious of our evolution and at this point Meta Darwinism was born.

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How can this concept be transposed into reality was the immediate question and there were two directions in which it was taken, existing 21st Century culture and a conceptual reality in which the ideology was far more ingrained into society as a whole. In order to understand the latter theory the user must remove essential components from their life which rely upon the Post Darwinist ethos. A common example of this is over consumerism where by people are now buying multiple items to perform tasks which one item would complete to the same standard, for example a rice cooker, poached egg maker and spaghetti cooker, these objects do not need to exist as a pan of water on a stove can complete exactly the same tasks yet people still feel compelled to buy them.This concept evolved into an altered reality through the creation of culture pretty early on when we started to discuss the ways in which a Meta Darwinist society would live. In order to do this the world in which we live was broken down to its most basic components and the ways in which the world is currently being destroyed. We needed to completely redesign the landscape, by keeping as much surface area of the earth for agriculture and nature and moving the technological side of humanity above this.

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Therefore a city of 1 km high tree like structures was developed in which people would live, work and socialise connected by high speed rail links. There would be no need for personal transport, everything would be communal and self contained and essentially a city would exist in each tower. Inspiration for these structures came mainly from Soviet Russian Communist ideals in which they created societies within structures but we attempted to use hindsight in order to rule out their flaws and failings as communism in general is something we were attempting to avoid. The trunk of the building would be the heart of the structure, used for vertical transport, supplying goods, energy, water and other amenities whilst also disposing of waste. The pods or branches attached to the trunk would be added when necessary to house what ever the occupants may need, schools, hospitals, businesses, homes. This soon became extremely elaborate and it was realised that there was a major flaw in our idea, we could never discover whether this plan would succeed or fail without testing it and this is not something evolution allows for, therefore we had to amend Meta Darwinism to allow for failure as it is essential to be able to test concepts until they fail in order to progress.

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Once the conclusion had been made that we can never be fully in control of our evolution, experimentation into how we could evolve not only the natural world but our own culture began. One of the initial experiments was in how to make a person more productive through the design of their space. We completely stripped and reorganized a persons room only putting back what was essential to their life so as to avoid distraction. The outcome from this was not as expected, instead of becoming more efficient the person started to spend more time doing the essential tasks to waste time since there was nothing to cause distraction. This lead us to develop a method through which one could no longer jump to immediate conclusions but must explore the ideas of evolution thoroughly. Combining two or more existing components of culture which already exist such as film, music and literature to create something completely different. This system appeared to work brilliantly, however still had a personal element through which the creator was in charge of the direction of the outcome. In order to resolve this a Thought Machine was created to allow the user to begin their process through one phrase which summed up what they desired to produce. This would then allow them to name four points of interest within this phrase and then define this both personally and through a third party. These definitions must then be combined across each point of interest in order to create new ways in which to

M e t a

D a r w i n i s t

N e t w o r k

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think about the subject matter. A major aspect of how this machine works is due to the user having to split the components of the four points into dominant and recessive allowing them to experiment with what happens when one component has more power than the other or when this power is shared equally and the conflicts this creates.

M e t a

D a r w i n i s t

N e t w o r k

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The first real experimentation with this Thought Machine was to create a short film within which a manuscript created from the same process was used. This film was a great success but in hindsight we discovered that it only spoke and made sense to those who had already been involved in the process due to its depth and complexity. When reviewed by others it was realised that people were too focused on the techniques that had been used and the films overall schizophrenic aesthetic and not on why it appeared this way due to the combination of sources. It was due to this that we started the development of a concept TV channel which would be created from the Thought Machine but within which the short programs would explain the process so as to engage the audience within the Meta Darwinist ideal.Creating a TV channel proved to be an interesting way of portraying our ideas as we could relate the concepts into shows which most people had already seen and had a connection too. This was vital as it allowed the viewers to immediately feel comfortable with the content that they were watching but also because it made it very apparent which changes had been made in order to push the Meta Darwinist agenda.

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Ready Steady Cook, a cooking show from the early 2000s was chosen as the first subject due to its format having contestants create a new dish from a very select amount of ingredients. This allowed the intention to be changed slightly so that a live show could be aired in which the contestants had to combine the dominant and recessive components of four dishes in to new recipes thus demonstrating the ways in which the Though Machine works. Using this as the first component helped seat the idea of the process in the viewers minds as it was also a live performance and clearly represented the obscurity and diversity of ideas that could be created, setting the scene for the items which followed.

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Grand Designs followed that live performance and this is possibly one of the weakest parts of the TV channel concept despite it being the best executed technically. It was a clear recreation of the popular home architecture program using both real footage and audio combined with film of our own prototype building. However it was based around the structure we developed earlier in the progression of the Ism and therefore when watched in context with the rest of the channel based around the Thought Machine felt a little out of place and perhaps revisiting the way in which we had created this building in a critical way as Meta Darwinists who obeyed the Thought Machine rules would have been more appropriate. The Music Chart proved to be extremely interesting in its creation as four different tracks were chosen and broken down into four components reflecting the dominant and recessive parts. The resulting tracks created by combining the components of each against each other worked to make perfectly listenable music structure, depth and rhythm. When listening to the tracks it became apparent which were the dominant and recessive parts and the tracks were altered in such a way that some were almost unrecognisable from their source. However it is extremely hard to find stems which are the individual recording of instruments of songs online so all four were of a dance style genre. This therefore begs the question of whether this system would work when applied to conflicting genres of music with greater differences as currently the system is very similar to when DJs mix tracks in a live performance.

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Combining film is something which had been experimented with earlier on within the development of Meta Darwinism although only with the intent of seeing if it was possible rather than using the Thought Machine for the process. The combination of plane scenes in The Dark Knight and Dr Strangelove which were produced may have only used two source points rather than four but the ways in which the dominant and recessive components were juxtaposed against one another to form two narratives with different conclusions really helped summarise the intention of the Meta Darwinist system. However this process has failed in the same way as the music due to the fact that the scenes were already very similar so combining the two appears very natural. A way in which this could be developed for future use is to begin the process of blending two complete feature length films to see the ways in which this could alter the narrative through the use of the system and also the ways in which the filming techniques either blended or clashed.

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The TV channel concept proved to be a successful way of presenting the Thought Machine process behind Meta Darwinism however by doing this in many ways the audience lost focus of these ideals and instead paid more attention to the comedic aspects featured. It was also brought to our attention that we may start to loose sight of Meta Darwinism if too much focus was given to the Thought Machine and because of this I have started to rethink the process that built the ism and form a system for creating its culture for others to follow more clearly.To help set in stone further the ideology of Meta Darwinism I have created a Wikipedia page on the subject which can be found at:wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_DarwinismOn this page the process of the thought machine has been thoroughly explained and its existence on Wikipedia means that it will now have a much larger audience who may discover it due to the site ranking higher on Google searches than independent web pages. However, since posting the article on Wikipedia a curator has got in touch with me about the name Meta Darwinism has been used to describe another theory originating in 2007 and therefore I must prove that what we have created has relevance as an individual topic.

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This conundrum has also brought to my attention the challenge of validating a topic regardless of how real it may be to the point at which Wikipedia would accept it as real. I have since contacted Pekko Koskinen who helped us to develop the Ism during the project as he is an independent academic asking if he knows of any way in which to get the ball rolling on validation or even if he would be able to help out himself. The biggest problem I am finding with this challenge is that Meta Darwinism is just a concept that lives in the minds of those who created it and therefore in an age of throwaway culture it is hard to communicate to others what it means and get them to use it.

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This struggle for validation has lead me to contact various people who operate within media outlets in an attempt to get them involved in giving Meta Darwinism a voice. Firstly I got in touch with Jake Overend a journalist from Manchester with his own radio show and who writes articles for various media outlets in the city. He seemed very keen to get involved with the process and is currently working on a way to involve Meta Darwinism into his ongoing articles. I have also emailed the editors of Smiths the Goldsmiths Student Union magazine asking for their help in finding a journalist willing to mention or write about the ideology in one of their pieces.

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Therefore I am proposing a study into the ease of self validation and have started to collect a list of websites which can prove my existence in the hope I can in turn validate myself and own existence to the extent at which I could have my own Wikipedia page. I feel this will give me an opportunity to reflect upon events that have happened in my life and their connections to others, meaning that I will have to find ways in which to make these events noticeable and therefore worthy of publication. I believe this would prove an interesting way in which to start my development into how I want the world to perceive me as a designer once I leave Goldsmiths as a Google image search of my online name shows a very restricted view of my life and interests especially in relation to design as my profession. Should I be questioning what I upload of myself online or instead questioning the ways in which I can manipulate online tools to display a more constructed version of myself on search engines such as Google?

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Cry ClubSocial Therapy Toolkit

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Cry Club was our final outcome for the live project working with Mind, in its current form it provides a temporary therapeutic space for the local community to utilize as a safe place to engage in therapeutic activities which would usually be unavailable.From talking to employees at the local Mind centre in Greenwich we discovered that they felt the need to create a stronger connection to the wider community and especially young people and those who are often not exposed to mental health services, we were also able to engage with some of the service users at this centre and therefore experience first hand the types of group therapeutic sessions currently offered. There is no doubt that these services are critical in helping people deal with their mental health issues however we soon realised there was a lack of mental health education in the UK creating a stigma around the subject. This feeling was further reinforced upon attending the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health’s lecture at the Wellcome Trust where five experts in varied fields relating to mental health from psychiatry, urban planning and transport gave their knowledge and opinions. The most crucial point we took from this talk was a statement made by Georgina Hossang, ‘Everyone has mental health.’

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Whilst experimenting with the concept of what mental health was to us as both designers and service users we began to develop the concept of emotional objects which are designed to evoke both emotional and physical responses and therefore help the user consider the ways in which mental health affects them. Inducing emotion played a critical role in this area as we created methods of artificially creating laughter and crying in a subject through the use of tickle sticks, social laughter, eating chillies and toothpaste under the eyes. This proved to be a successful way to remove stigma from emotions as it showed that everyone has the ability to portray them we just have to allow ourselves to. From this, work began on commutative objects which required more that one person in order to be used, a prime example of this being the codependency bench which is essentially a seesaw designed to act as a park bench requiring two people to sit on it and therefore encouraging positive social interaction with strangers in a public space.

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It soon became clear to us that we needed to branch out further than using just objects however and from this the idea of Cry Club was formed as a way to help us cope with mental health. It initially started as our group experimenting with forms of alternative therapy but quickly evolved into something far bigger as we discovered how beneficial it was to us. We found an unused space on Goldsmiths campus and invited our friends and fellow course mates to attend the session every Friday morning.The sessions were structured to split the participants into groups of 5-6 and starting with 15 minutes of silent reflection in which people were encouraged to think about anything that may be troubling them and were also reminded that this was a safe space to cry and voice their emotions, it was brought to our attention that some found the use of personal music players, drawing or writing helpful in this period and so this was actively promoted. Following this in the small groups everyone was encouraged to discuss what had been on their minds and this time was very powerful as it helped participants to open up in ways they would usually avoid and often others had gone through similar situations and therefore could give advice and help to those in need. To lift spirits after the discussion and make sure everyone left on a positive note we used fake laugher to act as a catalyst for contagious laugher which very quickly became real followed by the act of self embarrassment though dance. These sessions proved so successful that we decided we needed to take them out into a more diverse environment.

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We expanded Cry Club through taking its structure to a new demographic and space in Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre which allowed us to trial the service we had created with a wider variety of people. Initially we looked at a varied range of potential spaces from high street shops to community centres, bars and parks but settled on Elephant and Castle as it allowed us to utilize an environment with a lot of foot fall in which we could construct our own space. We erected a marquee and filled it with soft furnishings to act as a safe space for those attending the sessions but most importantly we removed ourselves as leaders of the sessions by using a prerecorded set of instructions to guide the participants, this allowed all involved to feel a united sense of control. Finishing the sessions with laughter therapy also worked greatly to our advantage as it drew a lot of attention to what was occurring inside the marquee and in turn brought more people in to try the sessions for themselves.

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To clarify the value of Cry Cub to the community we got in touch with Dr H. Clements who submitted this professional response in which she fully supported the idea and the idea of it being used a tool in the wider community:

My name is Dr Hannah Clements, and I am a Specialist Clinical Psychologist currently working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). I work with young people up to the age of 18 in the community and in a secure children’s home. I have worked in mental health services with people across the lifespan; with mental health difficulties, health and learning disabilities for the last 10 years.Over my time training to be, and then becoming a Clinical Psychologist I have noticed considerable changes in the way we understand mental health, our treatment approaches and the types of presenting problems we are seeing as providers.Despite some encouraging growth in how we understand and treat mental health problems, there still remains a great deal of stigma and a great need for education. I feel it is our responsibility as front‐line agencies (i.e. CAMHS, schools, social care) to lead on and encourage any programmes or endeavours that break down the silence surrounding mental health. In my experiences, many people see the person who is having problems in the ‘here‐and‐now’, but do not make space to consider the reasons a person finds themselves struggling or in crisis.

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Often, young people have experienced unspoken and unprocessed difficulties including; bereavement, losses and separations, turbulent home‐lives, abuse and mistreatment, bullying and many more. I have come to see that different factors affect how these experiences impact on people including personal coping and vulnerability. Family and indeed, societal ‘scripts’ exist around how people ‘ought to get on with it’ (a question rarely asked when a young person is physically ill with a visible health problem). This leaves young people feeling overwhelmed and isolated in many cases, and leads to attempts to avoid feelings in any way they can including; over‐working, using drink/drugs and many other ways they might try and avoid processing what they feel. In my job, I often see a great sense of relief when young people are offered space to feel, be supported and learn new ways of coping with their experiences. At its core, I think people find this validating; realising their emotions and concerns are valid and often very understandable. It is important to say, that many young people experience difficult things and don’t experience mental health issues, but many do, and can benefit from different therapies; talking or otherwise.The concept of Cry Club encompasses many known important factors in mental health Recovery. The Recovery Movement in mental health has seen a great emergence over the last few years, and focuses on the personal journey of each person with mental health issues. It centres on hope, community, empowerment, social inclusion and meaning (living a values‐based life).

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It is known that most people ‘recover’ (each person’s recovery and goals are theirs) when they are not isolated, and supportive groups offer people a sense of shared experiences, a place where they can be united by and strengthened by the feeling that they are not on their own. In Cry Club, people are encouraged to sit together in a safe space and reflect on how they feel. It offers personal reflection as well as opportunity for sharing (as much or as little as people feel able to) which is likely to be very empowering. Cry Club also enables all of the members to be present as ‘equals’ rather than it being an expert‐led group. This is likely to make all members feel a sense of ownership as they are all able to contribute and guide the space. Members are encouraged to use meditation and reflection, and to move into a mental space that is mindful rather than mindless. By encouraging young people to be present, paying attention and noticing their feelings without judgement, they are encouraged to embrace rather than avoid how they feel (within the parameters of what they feel safe to reflect on). The idea of ‘gradual exposure’ to the things that torment and sadden us is also a well researched idea in mental health, so long as it is done when the person is ready, stable and supported and feeling safe (all things, that a good group such as Cry Club would ensure). This deep and moving time is followed by the introduction of a positive emotion which is likely to bring with it a welcomed catharsis. The idea of ‘fake laughing’ (at least at first) maps onto established psychological treatment approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) which promotes a technique called ‘Half Smile’ (accepting reality with a half smile).

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The introduction and encouragement of movement may also allow young people to gain a sense of release and freedom when they move into this new and opposite emotion.Most importantly, Cry Club offers people permission to sit with other people and be entirely present with how they feel. In our society we are constantly distracted and young people, especially small children are becoming less and less able to tolerate ‘just being’. Cry Club promotes ‘being rather than doing’. Social media and access to mobile phones means that children are not learning how to tolerate being bored; always looking for the next distraction. If a programme such as Cry Club could be offered to children at a younger age, it might communicate to them a number of important messages. It tells young people that it is OK to feel emotions, that they are not alone and that all people struggle at times, and it offers a space that has the potential to be fun and supportive.The benefits of early intervention are well known. Working early with people who are struggling with feeling low, feeling anxious, hearing voices, self harming, finding themselves having lots of problems getting on with people, has great benefits. Talking about emotional health as being as important as physical health, as early as we can allows young people and their parents and carers, to invest in understanding how they feel and encourages them to seek support when they aren’t coping. It communicates to young people that there is no health without mental health; and that emotional health is an important part of how they function and feel as well as many other aspects of their lives.

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Lots of young people may also prefer an approach like Cry Club, which offers group support (which might feel more approachable than one to one) and a balance in its embracing of difficult emotions, as well as positive energy. It is important that all young people were offered this opportunity in an informed way including being made aware of how the groups is run and what it involves, so that they could make an informed choice about whether they felt safe/able to take part. Interestingly, I think simply being offered such a group communicates a great deal (e.g. ‘your feelings matter’, ‘there is help if you want it’, ‘we want to listen’) whether young people chose to take part or not the message remains the same.The incorporation of this idea into schools also communicates to children that the adults around them value their thoughts and feelings, and that speaking about how they feel is OK. The use of creative resources and art, to encourage expression and free‐thinking also communicates a great deal to young people; about the connection between emotions and art, the freeing nature of being creative and ‘expressing’ how they feel in other ways other than traditional talking therapies. By sitting quietly, thinking, noticing, accepting, laughing and moving they are processing how they feel in a very new way. At the very least, it could offer young people a new way of managing how they feel and an opportunity to decide whether it were personally helpful or not; either way the experience is valuable in understanding their own needs. The incorporation of information and psycho‐education about emotional health early in life is central in shaping how young people formulate and make sense of their own experiences and whether or not they feel able to access help and support later in life.

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Perhaps, if we were more proactive and creative in how we introduce this topic, it might feel a lighter and easier thing to think about, rather than being something that people feel ashamed of and keen to hide. I think that great efforts are already being made by dedicated professionals in services and amazing people promoting the understanding of mental health, but there is still a great deal or work to do. I think that any conversations and ideas for how we talk about and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health can only ever be a great thing, and I would personally happily support any such positive conversations and reflections.

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However to help Mind introduce this system into Education and specifically aim to get the sessions self running in schools and colleges with pupils taking control as having a teacher or someone users feeling to be above them present at the sessions may lead to people feel uncomfortable with sharing and talking about their problems although at the same time we must work together with the charity to develop a system so that the Cry Club truly is a safe environment for all involved. Because of this the development of a Cry Club Toolkit has started, initially as a set of instructions and making the pre-recorded instructions available to download online but the concept of adding this toolkit to the packaging of tissues is also in motion so as to spread the message to all consumers.

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Cry Club will also be continuing every Friday morning on Goldsmiths campus as we feel it is integral that if we continue to push forward this approach to mental health then we should be involved in it ourselves and still offer it as a service in our own university. It is hard to describe the way in which a Cry Club session makes you feel as each experience is completely different so I am actively encouraging anyone who gets the opportunity to come along to a session and see for themselves. As of now the next major step for this system is arranging a session with those who work at Mind so that they can help us to revise the process.

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Critical ReflectionThird Year Toolkit

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The three projects I was involved in this year all concluded in similar ways, they provided a means for others to use our research and outcomes to create. Therefore it is my aim to use them as toolkits as I enter into my final year and have laid them out as such. The Cry Club project has formed itself into an on going body of work which I will work on in partnership with my group and also with anyone who wishes to attend the sessions and get involved and I feel this will be very organic. The previous two projects on the other hand are very structured and provide a direct framework to use both personally and with others. I am starting to develop ways in which to combine the two to benefit each other because as I start to research more into the concept of self validation on the internet it is becoming apparent that projects like these may help me do so. If I carry on with my current path of using the Escape Toolkit to develop my creative work both in and out of University this should in theory create a larger body of work to reference when it comes to my self-validation especially if used in projects which are published by third parties.The process of self validation has also made me start to question what it means to be validated and links quite strongly to the Meta prefix in Meta Darwinism. If I were to approach a TV company with the intention of creating a program based around what it means to be recognised and validated by the internet and in turn have a Wikipedia page the probable response would be a resounding no. However, if a celebrity was to propose the concept of this TV show there is a higher probability of its creation following through and this is rather unsettling as a celebrity would already have validation for their existence from the internet and their own Wikipedia page so therefore how do I as a designer break this social divide and design myself into a position of having my own page through my own work.Throughout this year all the projects have also concluded with documentation in the form of film or in the case of the short rapid response brief to produce a film was the sole intention, this has lead me to question the ways in which I as a designer conclude my work at certain points. Due to relative cost to quality of film equipment in 2016 creating short clips is becoming a more viable option as a professional manner of displaying work however I feel we may be in a lot of ways taking this for granted and therefore I feel a personal study into film and the techniques used would be beneficial to my work as it would allow my to create the high quality work that the cameras and editing software are capable of. The rapid response brief is a good example of this as I feel that the in camera techniques we used over the two weeks to create a sense of frozen time were well executed using the tools we had available. There were short films made by other groups that showed far greater knowledge in camera work and therefore no matter how basic the special effects were they always felt impressive to the viewer. The main focus I am going to take from the projects I have worked on this year is one simple rule I seemed to have forgotten could be applied to my work in recent times but this year helped me to realise;Have Fun.

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When I started this course it made me start to really critically analyse what it means to be Tom Robinson, what it means to be a designer and what it means to be studying design at Goldsmiths and the first year proved to be a constant battle for me, I was not fully accepting any of those things and in turn not letting myself fully enjoy my work. This year in contrast has proved to be the complete opposite, I have learnt that there are certain areas in which I do not excel but others to which I am better suited and therefore I believe I am beginning to understand how I may fit into the world of design. It has also taught me that there is no shame admitting to myself that I do not know something that others may take as common knowledge and this has lead to many situations working in groups where I have been able to help people with more technological aspects which I have a tendency towards and they in turn have helped me to discover more about the theory and culture of design which is something I have always felt self conscious in my lack of knowledge in. Therefore to be a Design student at Goldsmiths is to be part of a community working together rather than against each other and this has become one of my biggest fears moving into my final year, the idea that the collaborative spirit that is helping to form us all as designers may not be so present next year when working on our own individual projects. However after discussion with others I believe this to be impossible as without collaboration our studio would not be able to produce the work we do. I intend to progress with my own practice in this manner thus strengthening the community of designers I work within.

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