Stone Soup

            The group activity of this week was to create a “stone soup” of design. It was not to be planned or voted on beforehand, simply created. We, as a newly formed group of design 1 students, were to become a team through group creation. Our challenge was material, with nothing predetermined, our design skills needed to flow from individual idea, to group thought, and finally into creation. Our results were not judged, nor were they meant to be permanent. So then, how do we determine the success of such an experiment of group dynamics?

            There are many different ways that one bonds with a group of people, ways to transform from a random pairing of individuals, into a cohesive, cooperative, productive team. We usually determine the success of the team by how well the end-goal is reached. However, in design 1, we don’t have set group goals. As individuals, we want a good grade and an orientation into the design major. So then, as groups are we only meant to help each other reach these individual goals? Lets say yes, this is the group goal.

            With this set, are we now able to determine the success of this stone soup activity? Perhaps, but not in a conventional way, we need a new way of measurement.

            We cannot judge the “proper” or efficient use of materials because there was no intended purpose to them with in the context of this project. There was also no desired outcome. My group made very loose plans at first. We assessed the materials that had gathered but only a few ideas were carried from the beginning to the end. We worked as we went. Discovering new ideas at every turn. Our starting point was the concept of a spiral, using a large tree, cardboard, paper, foil, wire, a lamp and other things we made this:

         As for the success in terms of reaching our teams long term goals, I would say our final product shows the answer clearly yes. Even if we all hated the end product, we made it together. We all have a steak in the creation, a responsibility to that design, even though it no longer exists. A very important aspect of team success is commonality. We already have being interested in design as a common bond but now it is personal. We are no longer randomly grouped individuals. We are part of each other and now, a team.