A monthly series of reflections, learnings, & discoveries from the past four weeks of CMCI Studio. This month: Bad ideas, sketch it, laser cutters, Arduino, ML5.js
1. Your first idea probably sucks
I know it tough to hear, but it’s true. It’s not that your starting ideas are objectively bad, but instead, they aren’t your best. The first things that spill out of your brain tend to be the most obvious, the most basic, and likely the least creative. Instead, we need to give our minds time to warm up, make irrational leaps, and convoluted connections. From this synthesis process of connecting disparate things, we might start to find real creativity and ‘better’ solutions to the challenges at hand.
2. Don’t touch technology ’til you know what you are making
I’m always tempted to dive directly into my favorite design program the instant I have that ‘aha’ moment. But, this last month has demonstrated to me that this might not be the best path. Design tools are great; however, 99% of them are built with a certain internal logic and a rigid set of outcomes. If you take the time to flush out your idea with a sketch or quick model, you benefit in two ways. First, you have no constraints and instead focus on the best solution to the design challenge at hand, not limited by technology. Second, you will save time. Design programs are stuffed with features, which, while helpful, are distracting, and you will spend more time figuring out what to build instead of building it and testing it.
3. Laser Cutters are Awesome
Reasons they are awesome:
- They are incredibly efficient and make intricate at lightning speed.
- With proper ventilation, they can cut through all types of material including wood, acrylic, cardboard, and can etch metal glass and more
- Design and file setup is relatively easy; you just need a vector with different colors for etches vs. cut lines.
- They are publicly available. The Denver Public Library has one at the central branch, and one at the Hampden branch. Both are free to use and accessible to anyone!
Check out my laser cutter project here.
4. Arduino – Connecting the digital to physical
Arduino is an electronics platform that is designed for rapidly prototyping hardware interactions utilizing a seemingly endless variety of inputs and outputs. For me, this was one of the most inspiring projects I have worked on this far in the program. Something about being able to connect the physical and digital worlds really piqued my interest, and I’m excited to continue exploring what is possible in the realm. I’d also like to explore potential career paths that focus on bridging this gap between cyberspace and meatspace.
Arduino Music Visualizer I built for Critical Making.
5. ML5.js Machine learning for everyone!
Since I’m not a data scientist or CS major, I was pretty sure that machine learning and all the buzz surrounding it was way out of my grasp. Then I discovered ML5.js! Based on Google’s Tensor Flow open-source machine learning platform, ML5 makes machine learning accessible, easy to implement even for a low-intermediate coder like myself. Not only that, but it plays nicely with P5.js, allowing for all sorts of creative fun.
Check out what I built with it.
