Discipline: Interior and Environmental Design
Although Sarah is in my class, I do not know her all that well and thought that this was the opportune moment to delve into her life.
Swapping our photos with one another, it was hard not to ask questions about them and tell each other funny things about the moments captured...
(My thoughts are in black and the feedback from Sarah is in red).
Photo 1:
I love this photo so much! For some reason you can just sense the warmth coming from it. Clearly someone has made a joke before that camera has captured the moment and everybody looks so natural, laughter flowing. The mood that is being given from the snapshot is that of happiness and there does not seem to be any tension at all. I wonder who has taken the photo because it is clearly someone they know as it is not a posed shot and all the family members that I know of are in the photo.
It looks like a family day out and I know that the person's hand that Sarah is holding is her boyfriend Ross. You can tell they are comfortable with one another and Ross is pulling her hand slightly towards him, enforcing the fact that he will look after her and protect her.
Sarah's mum appears to be comfortable with Sarah and Ross but her dad is walking beside them, showing them who's boss? He is possibly quite protective of his little girl - even if he thinks Ross is a nice lad. The fact that he is laughing towards them though sends the message that he trusts Ross and there is no tension at all between the pair. Walking alongside her mum, her brother looks as though he is still looking out for his little sister. I think she is the 'baby' of the family there is an added sense of protection towards her.
I found out that the person that is actually taking the photo is Sarah's sister and the family were unaware that she was taking the picture - a truly natural shot! Sarah confirmed what I had thought about her being the baby of the family and that she was a bit of a daddy's girl, both of us coming to the conclusion that this is probably because she is the youngest.
photo 2:
This photo was quite hard to talk about as there is not a lot happening in it but I felt it was quite an important one as Sarah's brother features quite a lot in the other photo's. It is clear that from a very young age her brother has taken it upon himself to take up the role of protecting her. This could possibly be because of the age difference between the pair. Both look very relaxed in each others company and they probably spend a lot of time together. He is holding her towards him and clearly feels a strong bond. There is a photo that Sarah also gave me for this assignment which shows her and her brother more recently and it is clear that this bond is still apparent - clearly he looked after her well throughout childhood. When getting her photo's for the assignment, Sarah told me that her sister was getting them for her so I was quite surprised that when I got them she didn't appear much in them. Is she closer to her brother? Maybe his sister is happier to be out of the snapshot but Sarah and brother can still see that she is there? The amount of females in the family could explain why the house is so female orientated...3 woman to two men.
Sarah's brother still looks after her and after telling me about the age difference between Sarah and her brother and between her and her sister (brother: 9 years, sister: 13 years) it is apparent that she is so close to her brother because of this.
Photo 3:
This is more a practical kitchen rather than a 'showy' kitchen and is the only room in the house (photo wise) that is not a feminine colour, suggesting to me that Sarah's father or brother spend a lot of time in here. There is a drying rack for the dishes on the sink but I doubt this will get used much if there is a dishwasher - the family possibly lead a very busy life and it is easier to load the dishwasher than to wash them by hand. I think that holidays are quite important to the family as there is a lot of holiday memorabilia on the walls and magnets on the dishwasher. The magnets could be momentum's from previous family holidays or significant tokens. Holidays are probably one of only times that the family get to spend time together.
The kitchen is quite dated (some objects look as though they have been inherited) and I sense that the family would rather spend money on themselves than the kitchen. The cooker is quite new looking and could possibly have been replaced not too long ago.
There is mail sitting on the bunker and it looks unopened - fast paced family life, didn't have time to open it before having to go away and do something of more importance?
Here I learned quite a bit about Sarah's family and the reasoning for the presence of things in the kitchen - the dishwasher is always used (unless pots are too big to fit in thus washed by hand)! Also because they are quite a big family it is easier to put it all in the dishwasher. The family lead a hectic lifestyle and the messages that I picked up from the unopened mail were correct; her father works long hours and her mum is always too busy to open the mail when it first arrives.
The sentimental bits in the kitchen, I've learnt have been passed down from grandparents and some of these were received as wedding gifts. Her mum insists on having these on show and I love the fact that these help make the house so homely and do not feel the need to comply to modern, minimalistic living.
Photo 4:
At first glance, I can tell that the room belongs to someone that treasures objects. There are lots of little sentimental items kicking about amongst the toiletries but you have to look closely to find them. The painting of Sarah was done by her boyfriend and it is something that she obviously cherishes as it has pride of place in her room. It is not hidden amongst the other bits and bobs. The way the painting is positioned suggests that even though it is out on show, it is something that has a greater significance to Sarah than to any visitor. Facing her bed, it seems likely that it has been deliberately position so that Sarah can see it when she is in her bed- a place where she probably spends the most time in her room - anyone visiting the room wouldn't notice it on first entry.
I notice that there are no posters in her room but there are quite a lot of photos sending the message that the main influences in her life are family and friends. The colour of the room is very feminine and so I doubt that she shares the room with her brother but maybe her sister? If so she might not anymore but has done in the past and now her bed has been used for storage - using furniture for something other than it's designed purpose.
You might be wondering why at the start of this post I nicknamed Sarah 'The Magpie' well all is explained now...She is a hoarder! We've seen this trait before...inheriting this from her mother. The painting of Sarah was the main talking point here. She told me how she had placed the picture where it was because she was worried that it would fade with the sun - something that I had never even thought about! It used to sit somewhere else in her room but because of this fact she moved it to it's current position. Something that I feel I got right was that the way it is positioned now, Sarah can look at it from her bed but from the top bunk: her sister still shares the room with her and sleeps on the bottom bunk.
Photo 5:
Looking at the picture at first glance the room looks reasonably tidy but on closer inspection you can see all the bags on the top bunk, possibly trying to tidy up before taking the photo? Or not having enough time to tidy up before coming back to Dundee? Sarah has customised the room around her and something tells me that the toys placed on her bed are probably something of significance (one maybe from birth?). The fact that Sarah still has these toys on her bed confirms that they are something that is important to her because most people tend to get rid of them by the age Sarah is.
The chest of drawers, next to the window, look as though they have been inherited from someone as they do not fit in with the décor of the room but clearly something that is trying to be fitted in.
There are no ladders up to the top bunk suggesting that to get to the top bunk you would have to clamber up. I think though that this is more likely for storage, Sarah for me seems to be a hoarder. If you look under the bed as well there are boxes, holding Sarah's possessions. It strikes me that she values the presents so much that she has given to her so she tries to put out as many as she can on show and those that she can't, she stores in boxes.
Watching movies is an obvious hobby for Sarah as her DVD collection is on show and easily accessible (just behind her bed). If there had been a closer shot of the collection, it could have proved useful for understanding her personality more.
Sarah confirmed that she has a certain hoarding habit! She loves everything she receives and the toys in the room comfort her.
What threw me slightly was that Sarah shares the room with her sister and that the colour chosen was a compromise (Sarah likes pink, her sister likes purple thus the lilac room was born)! The chest of drawers don't belong to Sarah but her sister who wanted a set after her grandmother had one just like it (her mum and dad had to spend so long trying to find her a set identical to it).
Something that I really wanted to know was about the DVDs, so I asked what Sarah's favourite film was. Green Mile, Disney, Marley and me (this one has sentimental values attached to it).
Photo 6:
The positions of the cushions send the message that this is quite a relaxed house - no one is running behind you trying to tidy up. One of the pillows has a remote control on it and this couch is obviously somewhere you can just crash down and get lost in your own thoughts: once your done, you can just get up and go. The remote control has been left behind on the seat again emphasizing the fact that there are no strict rules of tidying up after you - a laid back family.
The chair in the left hand corner of the photograph looks like it is the most important chair in the room. Whoever sits here has tidied the pillows after themselves and both the visible lights in the room are positioned to this area. It is also next to the window for maximum natural light. There is a box of hankies, a coaster for a mug and, underneath the hankies, a book - a place where this special person can relax and take time out from their busy day. From other photos you can tell that this seat is the only seat that does not face the television in the room so this could have been deliberately chosen as the 'quiet corner'.
Adjacent to this seat is the dining table. This has been positioned in the corner of the room but it is not hidden, it becomes part of the space. The table could have been placed here deliberately though as it sits next to the wall that holds all the family's achievements and pictures - possibly a source of conversation over meals? The table has place mats on it and could mean that the family eats a lot of meals here or, and referring back to the laid back nature of the family, it could mean that they are just left there, fooling people like me!
Again this room is quite female orientated: the colours, doyleys, cushions and the flowers on the dining room table all contributing to the idea that the females rules the roost!
Everyone in the Mettleton family hates the pillows except Mummy Mettleton and so she is the only one that tidies them back into place, hence the tidied pillows on the 'special' seat. This belongs to Sarah's mother who likes to sew here, so I picked up about the light being the main source of the chair's placement. Also her mother doesn't like watching TV so by placing the chair in the corner she can't see it.
Something that I failed to really notice was that this is such a cosy room and that this is the place in the house where everyone comes together. This communal space is relaxed and homely, explaining why they are trying to fit in as much in the room as possible e.g. the dining room table. Wanting to spend as much time as they can in the room, Sarah's mum has sacrificed her private and quiet room and allowed a massive TV to take up residence here.
The pictures on the wall are a reminder of all the family's achievements and Sarah tells me that there has been a place reserved for her on the wall for when she graduates.
Just some annotated notes of the feedback I recieved from my analysis.
Afterwords:
Revealing what she saw from the pictures it was interesting to hear what thoughts these snapshots had allowed her to conclude. She asked me whether I was closer to my dad than to my mum...I would say that I am equal to them both but because it is only my dad and I in my family that like football there is probably more of an obvious bond - something that people maybe see of more than the bond with my mum (I love you both the same! Just in case you're reading this (-:). This is quite similar for Sarah who shares a more obvious bond with her father because of football, although this bond has formed over their 'love' for Manchester United. Not even going to pretend I didn't gag here when she told me this!
Sarah talked fondly of how her living room was the communual place of the house and how she loved spending time here. This is the complete opposite for me. We rarely spend time in our living room and this shocked Sarah as her's obviously means a great deal to her, holding so many memories.
One thing that suprised Sarah was the points that I discussed in photo one about her dad's and brother's body language. With this being one of her favourite pictures, she had never noticed the protective manner in which they were posed - obviously still looking out for her. Something Sarah said though that I thought was really nice was that it looked to her as though Ross was being welcomed into the family and her dad is looking at him, laughing and joking with him.
With reference to the Johari Window, a model that helps us understand how we as humans interact, I can understand this assignment fuller.
Nicknamed the 'window' because each quarter is like a pane in a window, each 'pane' has a different meaning.
Our personal awareness is divided into four types: open, hidden, blind and unknown.If I use examples of this assignment it is easy to understand.
1. Open - what I know about myself
2. Blind - what I do not know about myself
3. Hidden - what I know about myself but that Sarah does not know, and
4. Unknown - what is unknown by me and also by Sarah.
This model is quite useful in explaining my own and Sarah's reaction to our comments. I would say that Sarah was an open and blind person (I mean this is in the nicest way possible, honest!). Her personality could also be described as hidden as there was a lot of messages in the photos that I missed e.g. what she shared with me about her sister. I would say that my personality could be described as open and hidden as there was many things that Sarah said that I already knew about myself but there was things about my personality that Sarah never picked up on...
With reference to the lecture that we received two weeks ago with Jonathon Baldwin about 'The Canon' (the source in which we gather our opinions on what is good and bad), it is clear to see that 'The Canon' in Sarah's life are her parents and her older siblings. With Sarah being the youngest in the family it seems as though each member has passed on their own personal opinions to her. The close bonds within this family is something that I can sense has made Sarah the person she is today. After looking at the photographs, I feel that the family life that Sarah has had is one that she aspires to have herself. Having such a strong influence in her life, Sarah has been instilled with a strong sense of values which she has her family and friends to thank for.
This assignment was so much fun and it was strange how someone almost a complete stranger could tell so much about me. We spent most of the time laughing and had such a good time with this assignment (even though I think it has been one of the hardest ones too!). Not only did we have to talk about a stranger, we had to be sensitive to the other person's feelings. Also when taking the photo's I guess I was a bit conscious of what I included in them, even though I never tidied, I still watched the way I took the snaps. I guess what they say is true, 'impressions do count'. It has made me think more about how I conduct myself and appear to others...
The lesson I guess we can take from this assignment is that as designers it is important to fully understand our clients before trying to design for them. We have to be sensitive to their personalities when designing so as not to offend people. Considering every single angle is important, as sometimes things can be overlooked that could prove vital in an attempt to design a solution to their problem. Our responsibilities as researchers require us to unpick the story and use skills that we have learned to apply them to the situation.
With thanks:
Sarah Mettleton and the Mettleton family.
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