Today groups had their very first feedback session, face to face with the teachers, trying to clarify their topic and also to figure how their final project is going to be like. According to the new issues coming out, some of the groups then decided to change their names. Tutors began to take an active part in the discussion, analysing the proposals and giving suggestions.
FAB group decided to design everyday common objects that can remind us of the presence of Europe. They were advised to be careful about the brand question: it would be more interesting for Europe to become a label, rather than a new brand.
JAKE, turning their names into FLOW, pointed out that the question of flows within Europe (immigration and movings) can actually be explored through the flow of commercial products within the continent. They were suggested to concentrate more on the history of typical products, and in how this one changes when the products are carried around Europe by immigrants.
MAYA, turning their names into BOUNDARY, definetly decided to stay within the “boundaries” question, proposed to use scale as a tool for their investigation, from the personal experience to Europe. Teachers asked them to first threat the history of European borders as a dynamic tool, and secondary to work on the different layers that personal, regional, national boundaries define.
AUDE were already coming out with the final goal of their project: a radio station for all the Erasmus students travelling through Europe. That’s why they decided to turn their name into ERADIUS (actually the name of the radio). The teachers seemed enthousistic by the proposal, and suggested the students to concentrate now on the program and broadcasting. They also raised the question of the editoring.
PAZ group was still looking for suitable spaces, where to apply their project of real communication. The tutors remembered them about the question of identity and suggested to come out with a real object project as soon as possibile, to be more precise.
SHEME group actually were not willing to share their ideas until tomorrow’s public presentation: “it’s a secret, but we’re working hard on it!”
CARA group’s today outcome was to create a new, non commercial market place of the cities of Europe. They already started to set out a catalogue of ideas of potential projects (humoristic, paradoxal, metaphoric) that can be used in all cities.
The group is more like making heterogenous proposals at different levels to open up questions, than to propose a unique solution. Some examples of the objects they want to design are: bus stops that can interact one to another (by putting a device in the advertisement space to connect one bus stop to another and a filter on a web cam to interpret the next bus stop), normal street put fully black (blinding streets to create the need to talk by bumping), confession boxes on the streets, a dictionary of things to start conversations with (that could be posted on the streets). Teachers asked them to focus on Europe problem of communication, not on the general human being problem of communicating in big cities.
KATE group came out with the idea of designing symbols that could communicate the idea of identity, and then to collect them within a larger map of Europe. Teachers asked them to make an exhaustive catalogue of european objects and, what is more important, to figure out what the final product of this list of symbols could be like.
NOA group was bringing forward the idea of body language and non verbal communication. They decided to experience communication among them four, taking walks around Brussels and bringing back four different synthesis of this activity. They are convinced that, if communication works among them four, then it’s definetly going to work with all other people. The teachers suggested to use the diary as a tool of presentation and to stress the question of them four as part of the European community.
LOUISE, turned their name into TASTE of IDENTITY, intending to express their idea that Europe is built of very special but different tastes. Every country has its own. Their intent is to stress on the fact that being European doesn’t mean that you have to loose your own. Again, the tutors suggested to focus on the final outcome of this.
