Behind the Scenes- Why I chose Designing Design: Caterings and OPs
When I first decided to do my OP regarding a catering gig, I recognized that holding some of what I had been learning about design up to my professional life may bring ease and clarity into parts of these projects. This was true, but in addition, I think in diving into a project that I knew well left vast space to expand my understanding of design. Rather than get bogged down in the details of the core report, I had infinite space to contemplate design, recognize patterns. This has proven to be very valuable. So, in November, I would contend that a major intervention occurred as I realized that this project was less about designing this catering gig and more about how I design. This was in the same time period that I recognized that I should also include how I design OP's as this clarity helps me tease apart what a core report is and what an OP is.
Un/Learnings
This winter has been powerful for me in terms of design and digital literacy as I dive deeper into Gaia. I am spending significantly more time on Gaia's website which greatly assists my navigation of how to proceed. In addition, I have been browsing other associate's OPs. I am borrowing techniques and frameworks that I like and I accept that this level of plagiarism/copying frameworks is helping me create structure by pulling together methods and techniques that I like. Regarding digital literacy, I am becoming significantly more facile with links. I enjoy the moment when a new skill is second nature. -- Such as linking to the next page as inspired by Laura's OP that I recently reviewed. I enjoyed putting awareness around navigation on the computer as this improved my digital literacy and the skill of organization helping to communicate what I know. This feature that I figured out myself was a nice illustration for me at how I am becoming better at understanding some of the possibilities websites offer and how to use links. I also appreciated Simha's use of a navigation page on each of his pages. Most of the learnings and un/learning in this project are on the meta level of design and documentation. There wasn't significantly new 'knowledge' learned regarding my core report of catering (I know better how to make a honey mustard dressing). I watched videos and read many articles on design to expand my awareness of design.
Highlights of Liam as Learner & Leader
Liam as Learner
The highlights of my learning through this project are my comfort around design language and several clear places where design enters my life. A good illustration of this is the templates I have set up for both future OPs and ifor future catering gigs
Liam as Leader
Liam displays proactive communication with all the other organizers for the NCDC Dance Camp. This community based leadership approach with the aim being to work together is a wonderful way to live and work. Liam takes good notes and shares these with other organizers demonstrating leadership in documentation of our process.
Worldview and the 5 Ps
Patrix
The Dance Camp culture challenges the Patrix as a whole through its family based community approach to celebration, vacation and learning. Gaia University confronts the Partrix of domineering learning styles allowing Liam to do projects based on creating a more resilient design system for his catering company. Both NCDC and Gaia represent countercultural establishments that put community as a key value with communication and nourishing each other.
Professional
This OP particularly impacts my professional life as the design was largely about catering which is about 1/3 - 1/2 of my work at this point. And the design was about design which I would like to be 1/3 of my work in the next 10 years.
Personal
Huge steps personally in terms of understanding design which also includes how I get things done and manage projects within my professional and personal life. I feel grateful for my advancements during this OP.
Planetary
No global impact with this OP beyond Liam becoming more of a world-changer. Perhaps I can also feed larger and larger groups of people.
Project
Good Project development both regarding my own examination of OP's and my examination of How I Cater.
Peer Feedback
Responding to Kate's Feedback
I enjoyed Kates' supportive and constructive critiques. The prime emphasis that I resonated with were several good formatting suggestions that Kate suggested and I incorporated:
1. Bold on the Table of Contents to break up spaces
2. Front and center on the title
3. ORGBADIE -- Bold or breaks in between stuff
4. Kate expanded upon my playful and sophmoric use of colors to show that colors could demonstrate thematic unity through grouping, overview words versus descriptive words.
She reinforced and appreciated several of the lists that I created as my attempt at formatting She appreciated several of the ways in which I created structural flow and simple explanations for the reader which was one of my goals. I felt seen here.
I also appreciated the question of "How do I brainstorm?" Particularly since I articulated that Brainstorming became a key feature for me as I discovered my own design methodology. I think I primarily brainstorm through pen and paper and more and more with xmind. Conversations are a great way for me to begin articulating what I mean and use the enthusiasm of other to speak. Hopefully I remember to write immediately after.
Final Reflections
My most significant revelations:
• OPs are largely about process; they are design driven processes that include as much information as possible about how I arrived at decisions and how these decisions impacted me personally and professionally and how this process relates to the world Patrix and projects out there.
• I imagine that creating space in a project for how the project can grow/change effectively is a valuable aspect. For instance, I know that all of my supporting evidence -- recipes, action sheets, job responsibilities-- can and will go through a layer of refinement when the event happens again. Creating feedback loops within the system for me to change what should change is enormously valuable.
• Journalling reflections can often be the first draft to much information. Indeed, well timed documentation. Spending 5 minutes describing something immediately after learning it may save hours later trying to learn it again.
• There is a stark irony in the fact that much of what was in supporting evidence in my last OP is now in the main body. Whereas, much of the core report which made up the main body is now in the supporting evidence. Oh the wonders of evolution.
Themes like the 5 P's and GTD, Now Sooner and Later, Get it done, then get it good. Short aphorisms are a huge boon for me recognizing on a pattern level that many of us struggle with perfection being the enemy of the good. And I have suffered from analysis paralysis to the point of not getting any of my material out there. Whereas the process of doing it is one of the most effective ways of getting better at it. Many of Gaia's tools are making more connections with other aspects of design creating a web within my neurons.
Attention to Feedback from my advisor
I included the suggestions that I took to heart from my advisor from my last OP and how I attempted to account for these in green
3 GENERAL Advisor Suggestions
1. Include references and an annotated resource review.
2. Be much more explicit about your own process.
3. Make your engagement with review criteria more explicit.
My RESPONSE
My advisor's feedback was very helpful and assisted me in realizing that I need to pay more attention to the process and my presentation of material to the audience and my reflection of my own learnings and process through the project.
1. Created annotated resource review
2. The thrust of the report is about my relationship to design rather than the project about catering which is all in supporting evidence
3. I'm am trying to get very explicit about process and each element.
SPECIFIC
• More about MTMP system
• I started the process but not completely satisfactorily regarding my MTMP. I intend to track my MTMP more in future OP's.
• More Interventions Points
• I started to gain awareness of my intervention points. I mention them in the design of my core report and here in the commentary.
• More context for OBREDIMET
• I tried to contextualize for the audience and myself design quite thoroughly
• Summary of key outcomes
• I committed 2 whole pages to outcomes (OP and Core Report.) I also fully am understanding that the ability to summarize and articulate the key outcomes is part of the art of presentation. I am grateful to begin to recognize that OP's can be as big as I would like and the bigger they are, the more time i have for summarizing into key learning/outcomes/etc. . . and then shoving all the nitty gritty into Supporting Evidence.
• More description of transformation of self and context in the report
• I attempted to describe my transformations on a process level
• Mention Gaia support system
• I Included outcomes of call with Gaia buddy
• More context and description of your design process.
• I made the thrust of the report about design process and included my own design process developed during this OP
• Distinguish between the design of project and the design of the OP.
• I took this to the limit as it is the thesis of sorts of this project on design.
• More specific tracking of your outcomes and progress.
• I included a lot more explicitly in outcomes
• More explicit when sharing the process you undertook to gain all of this knowledge.
• I am still not great at recording how information comes. I am constantly reading hundreds of books so I need to set up a system where I record web pages and books as I think they affected this project.
• How did this project impact you?
• I tried to explain more from my personal pathway perspective. I want to institute 5 P's into my journaling.
• More explicit summaries of your engagement with process skills.
• I set up a box in Supporting Evidence OP "Process Skills Awareness: Critical Thinking/Evaluation; Leadership/Facilitation/Mentoring; MTMP"
• More explicit impact on the field.
• I have a box called impact on the field in Supporitng Evidence.