Encoded texture: Interpretation of punch card_Setting up of the workshop

Project description: 

The Jacquard loom was one of the first machines to use ‘punched cards’ to control a sequence of operations to create patterns. This ability to change and make patterns of the weave by simply changing the cards was a pivotal conceptual precursor in the history of computing and development of computer programming.

This ‘mechanic’ eventually inspired Charles Babbage to use ‘punched cards’ to store programmes in what he called an “Analytical Engine” – the beginning of computational machines.

The historical framework will also extrapolate, investigate and link how the ‘looming technology’ and the machines inspired the development of computational machines and computational logic.

This is the current semester project. The post documents the workshop we did for the class on the 'Interpretation of the Punch Cards.'

FYI:  

And before I begin. Meet the awesome people in my team:

> Kshitij Vyas (the textile guy)

> Sana Rai (the musician: https://soundcloud.com/sana-rai-1)

> Shrankhla Narya (the engineer: http://shrankhla-narya.in/), and of course, there is me!

The process:

1       Part 1: Understanding the various aspects of a punch card

  Brainstormed on our understanding of a punch card.

  The work was broken into four main categories:

·         The basic principles

·         The codification

·         The organizing

·         And finally its applications

Challenges:

·         Arranging a workshop for people who are also researching on the same topic seemed futile.

·         There seemed to be too much theory and less of practical stuff that we could execute.

2.       Part 2: Redefining the brief

  We brainstormed on the key features for the workshop. So decided to implement three aspects:

  > DIY: Hands-on experience.

  > Translate the principles into something familiar: Refer to examples that are familiar/contemporary.

   

       And most importantly have fun: While we were working, at some point it became more of an assignment than something we do/wanted to do. So it was decided to work primarily because we wanted to play, experiment and explore.

3.       Idea: Encoding and decoding something familiar like music etc.

  So part one of the project involved making a simple punch card reader.

Reflective document: week 1: Encoded textures

Mind maps on the hand-loom industry, IT sector in Bangalore

We started with a group discussion on what we understand by the description of the project. So we made a mind up of all the words that we could think of: like economic side of the weaving community, the human stories of the weavers, the data of the number of the IT companies, government schemes for IT and weaving sectors etc.

With the multitude of the different aspects, we realized that the project can go in many directions. So it was decided that we first acquaint ourselves with the weavers’ community.

Meeting hand-loom artisans

Bangalore has been the hub of the textile sector till in the last few decades the IT sector took over. So when I started walking towards Kamakshiamma Layout near Old Yelahanka, it struck me as to why and how the weavers have settled in such a remote corner of the city. We visited a handloom worker. His family has been in this dying business since generation. Currently he sits with his brother to do the weaving. His daughter is a college going student and has scant knowledge of the trade.

When we sat at the house, I could see the loom that seems to hold many day-to-day objects. It was more of a jugaad than a well manufactured/ branded machine. The work was laborious. Both the weavers spent around 12 hours each day to make a saree in a week. Towards the end of it they deliver it to an agent who brings them more orders.

I could see that each part of the house was modified to make space for the work. The weavers sat in a dug up area, which made it easier for them to sit. With the limited space, it seemed difficult to accommodate more than one saree, so the extension of one saree would be kept on another.

Compared to the power loom, the hand-loom workers worked longer, but the major difference lied in the fact that these people don’t work under anyone, also creatively it is much more satisfying. I saw their design grid; it takes few days to change to a new pattern. And compared to the workers in the power looms, these people seemed much happier with their product. They showed few sarees and explained the design grid.

It struck me how all the weavers are predominantly just men. I never found a satisfying answer. But in the handloom, the women folks do help with certain aspects of the weaving like rolling the threads. The dye is done by another set of people, which the weavers then buy in bulk to save cost.

Most of the handloom workers learned the skill from their fathers. So I was curious if a new comer can also pick up the skill. It takes two years minimum to gain some basic knowledge, but that does not give them the proficiency which is why people cannot take it up suddenly.

This brought me to the other aspect of the trade. How is the government involved in the trade? The weaver I met is wary of red-tape in government schemes. So instead of using any such schemes, he preferred the agent. He also kept emphasizing the fact that the colours and designs are based on the customer’s interest. But given the fact that he never goes to the market, I am assuming that it is the agent who dictates what patterns and colours to choose from.

Reflecting on semester 2

Copied from the post on 26th January:

"Outline of the new semester:

The second semester started this month. With slight modifications from the previous semester, we had the option of doing an independent project.

I have taken up some new courses, while I intend to continue few of the old projects side by side. So there is the ideas to experience class, part of S.Labs, which will introduce topics related to interfaces and context related problem solving. Then there is the course on illustration. It is a studio based course that will help us understand illustration with respect to the context and medium. Then there is postmodernism. And lastly I have signed for the independent course.

I think the first semester helped me understand areas where I could focus and areas that needs to be worked on. Taking cue from that I choose a mix courses this time. 

The postmodernism course would give me an in-depth understanding of the various concerns in the current timeline, the illustration and the S.Lab course is much more practical and finally the independent project is a rather focused trail. 

The idea behind selecting the courses was to get a balanced learning experience. Also that each of these somehow build on one another and utilizes what I am learned previously. For example, though my background is in painting, I still find illustration difficult. My drawing skills are there but to synchronize a text with an image, I find it rather hard. In the previous semester, one of the project outcome was a series of illustration. But I somehow wasn't satisfied with the end product. So this course will hopefully help me get a better grasp of the subject."

This is what I had written in the beginning of the semester. I thought it would be a good idea to look back and see where I stand compared to where I was.

It's been a great journey so far. And not that I have achieved anything as planned initially, but I have managed few things well and surprised myself once in a while.

Let me start from the beginning. I was initially overloaded with courses. I mean it was a neck break schedule. But the courses went on and I realized that it was getting impossible to concentrate on any one fully.

The S.Lab course was meant to run for 30 days but the workload was such that I was spending at least 4-5 days on just this. To make matter worse, we were a team of three and one member ditched us. So we were now unofficially a group of two people. And we ended up picking up new skills as the visualizer had left us. So not just I learned Illustrator decently, I have also been understanding the complexity in the graphical interface of a mobile.

The after-effect of this meant that I had to ditch two classes: postmodernism and illustration. The illustration wasn't progressing well. I never got any feedback and that was quite discouraging. So in a way it was again an opportunity.

I ended up sitting with the transcultural design department. This is where I met M P Ranjan. Also the students are busy doing a system design for an MNC company. Sitting with them helped me analyse what I am learning at the S. Lab. They are using similar methods to design a system. I could see through their faults and reflect on my journey at S. Lab.

Group dynamics is a crucial part in any design process. And given the fact that one of my team member had been unproductive, it made me think on how group dynamics work, what is the best management strategy etc. The primary reason is that as much as a bad team player could be an obstacle, I believe if human resource is used well, it could be really benefit the team. Losing out on a visualiser was stressful.

The other thing was the independent project. I could not start the work as hoped. I had spent considerable time on research. But I could not figure out how to write a proposal. I later attended Katherine's workshop on 'What is a Good Idea?'. It was really helpful, but a bit late. Also I was jumping into the idea stage which wasn't helping. The S. Lab project helped in explaining the importance of a process and how to integrate research and conceptualization. But in the beginning of the semester, I was quite helpless with how to go about the independent project. I decided to stall it for this semester.

And since I now had some time, I started attending events outside college. It starts with the Bangalore Service Jam. I took forward few of those network to build a team where we decided to jam regularly and design stuff. Basically focus on the 'creating' part than just thinking.

And so far we have attended two competitions. Not that we won anything, but we come from multi-disciplinary background- computer science, painting, interface design, product design. We get to share our ideas, learn from each other and have so far worked as a team well. We are operating unofficially from NID, Bangalore and now Srishti.

As a choice, I don't want to look back on the missed opportunities  Rather focus on the small successes that I attained. Its a long way from here, but it's interesting to see myself learning from such a diverse platform and that itself makes me happy.

Data visualization: First steps

Compare them and see if you can understand anything:

This is the current stage of visualization that is part of the S.Lab project. Just to give an idea: The first screen is the screensaver on an iPhone. Each circle represents one family member. It gives a basic overview of their environment and health of each family member. The bands stand for various dimensions: health, activity, their physical space and proximity.

The second circle expands the anomaly of one such circle. And the third further opens up into more sub-divisions.

I have done multiple iterations before reaching here. Yet I could see many unresolved issues.

Challenges: 

• How do we create it in such a way that the viewer at one glance understands the physical and physiological environment of each person? The problem here is that we can see each variable in isolation but cannot see the potential correlation between them.
• What sense the viewer gets in reading this? Initially I wanted to do away with any kind of graph, but the amount of data we had present plus the fact that we are not interpreting the data, led us to retort to the graph format.
• How friendly and unobtrusive does it look? The colour schemes used so far hasn't helped so far. They seem to be a bit sterile.
• And lastly, one of the important criteria was not to turn this into a task. So we wanted that the screensaver helps you glance at your family members. Only if you are interested, do you probe deeper. In such a case, how is the information to be presented? And can we give them the option to play with the settings?

This project would take two more weeks to finish. So I am guessing that I will make more changes and improve it further.

And just to take inspiration, I read few stuff:

1. Envisioning Information, pg. 67: This book is written by Edward Tufte. He refers to something called small multiples. 'At the heart of quantitative reasoning is a single question: Compared to what? Small multiple designs...answer directly by visually enforcing comparisons of changes, of the differences among objects, of the scope of alternatives. For a wide range of problems in data presentation, small multiples are the best design solution.'
2. http://dataremixed.com/2012/10/interactive-visualizations-or-small-multiples/: This website is a nice compilation of few such examples. Though I don't fully understand either the games or know anything about the players. But what I liked here is the interactive visualisation. It lets the user to see what and how they want to see.