Reflection Lab
Reflection is a tool that I use but not in a way that applies to my work. And, especially not a tool I typically use in a group project. In the cases that I do reflect on work, it typically occurs after the work is done to look about and reflect on the entire process and the outcome. The reflection lab was a rare occurrence, for me, to have a sense of reflection in a group project in a university project.
As I have explained in previous entries, I feel that I am an outlier in the sense that I don’t get influenced by consumerist marketing. I don’t feel the need to consume new clothes, new objects/products, participate in social media trends, etc. to feel good about myself or feel the need to be apart of an in-group. Due to this feeling, I’ve struggled to comprehend the mindset of needing to buy the newest object or the way that people feel connected to or fall for marketing/advertising strategies. This is very unlike my three groupmates for this Design Studio project. They all feel way more connected to these strategies and feelings compared to me. Due to this, they typically have more to say compared to me when it comes to many topics that have arisen in conversation.
When it came to the reflection lab in class, their feedback was to me was to speak up more with what I think about certain topics. I agree with this statement. My main issue though was that my groupmates were more connected to the marketing/advertising strategies and feelings of consumption compared to me, during many discussions, I felt like I was trying to comprehend each specific point in my head before speaking. Typically our conversations would go so fast to the point where once one point connected in my head, there was already another discussion point so what I felt like I could input would be not necessarily the best thing to discuss at the current point.
To reflect on the reflection lab, my takeaway has been to throw out my inputs more freely even though it make take me a while to comprehend certain topics. Some things come easier for me compared to others. In other aspects of design, I can be the most talkative person in the discussion. But in a university context, it is all about learning. I am learning a lot from the discussions I’ve had with my group. My group has said that my insights are valuable but I may not share them enough. A key insight in this is that even though there may be a majority in a certain discussion, it is still important for the majority to understand the minority because the minority can still influence and affect the view of the majority.
