BUZZ BIBLE

INQUIRY QUESTION and BACKGROUND:

The central aim of my BUZZ research revolved around an examination of – if; when; how; and to what degree, research is embedded into the creative design process of 3 of my third year students in BA (Hons) Visual Communication at AIT.

Having initially spent some time investigating theories on design research methodologies I then began to look very specifically at my central question in the context of the three students' researching activities  – within our studio culture at AIT and their research experiences in a broader context also. 

Symbiotic researching threads emerged and the students' personal and unique research skills fueled my own BUZZ research activity more than I ever envisaged at the outset. This lead me to a greater understanding of how they research; how I can assist the activity both inside of and outside of the studio; how to respond  to the students researching needs in both broader theoretical and individual project-led contexts; how my own teaching and research activity can further guide students at this educational level; and  then also ultimately this led to the creation of my own visual interpretations –presented here in this site. Happily BUZZ provided the fulfillment of the designer/teacher/researcher roles which I sought to achieve in BUZZ but which only revealed themselves as the module evolved.

THE BOOK:

My aim within this book is to provide a report on my research findings which highlight my perspectives of the students’ researching activities; which demonstrate my teaching as inquiry and which give a springboard for future transformative plans in my teaching practice growing out of my research outcomes and the deeper understanding I now have of theories in action.

One double page spread is dedicated to each individual involved in the process – the 3 case study students and myself. The concept behind the book grew out of a ‘design bible’, which I had mentioned previously and which came up again in a recent tutorial. I used this as my foundation stone in this final element of BUZZ, as a Bible is, in many ways, something that defines a modus operandi and also is, in its simplest  definition, a story written down. So in essence I have 4 Gospels – according to James / Ita / Catherine / Steph.  The visual style was triggered by Biblical illuminated manuscripts, but each spread is very much an attempt to visually capture the researching style of the individual student. I want to highlight that these are not interpretations of the students’ visual styles but my impressions of their researching modus operandi. The page under my own moniker is a melting pot of these interpretations, combined with a visual commentary of my own.