Form and Function Lecture By Susanna Edwards & Sam Winston

Learning and Making

• Moving beyond screen-based work to explore physical, hands-on processes.
• Mistakes and unpredictability in making can lead to new creative directions.

The Unknown

• Embracing the unknown as a way to discover fresh perspectives.
• Trusting the process rather than having a fixed outcome in mind.

Emotional Connection to design

• Design is not just about function—it also conveys emotion and experience.
• Examples include typography, material manipulation, and interactive design choices.

Social Responsibility

• The importance of understanding the cultural and social context of a project.
• How design can respond to real-world challenges (e.g., environmental issues, mental health).
• The role of storytelling in turning raw data into meaningful design.

Personal Toolkit

• Designers should build a resource bank of materials, processes, and inspirations.
• Engaging with different disciplines (e.g., writers, historians, scientists) for fresh insights.

Audience

• Design as an interactive experience.
• Encouraging a dialogue between the work and those who engage with it.

Reflection on the Lecture

One of the most thought-provoking ideas from this lecture was the importance of encouraging a dialogue between the work and those who engage with it. Rather than treating the audience as passive viewers, the speakers emphasized how design can be an interactive experience, where meaning emerges through engagement. Sam Winston said:

"The audience is a tool and they're not passive, as in they're not just something to be told what to think by what you've done. It's actually looking at the audience and how they consume information and finding interesting ways to get their behaviour to be part of the project."

This really resonated with me because, in my current project—a short film set on the Isle of Wight—I’ve been exploring ways to incorporate a deeper sense of place and connection. One of my ideas is to overlay audio from an interview I conducted about the area, allowing real voices and personal stories to become part of the film. This aligns with the idea that meaning isn’t just created by the designer (or filmmaker), but by the interaction between the work and its audience.