In the Shake It Up! project I was exploring how to overcome limitations in the learning process, otherwise known as the plateau effect. The most important characteristic of “stuck” period is being trapped in the same track and not being able to see the way out. It can happen for various reasons: always doing the same exercises; not being able to see the wide picture; perfectionism; not being able to think different. Having experienced the plateau myself I found it really challenging to come up with solutions that would shake things up and open more doors for me. There is one general rule when you are stuck – you need to change something.
Design has the ability to create a sense of wonder and discovery that can assist the learning process. I decided to take transforming 3D structures and apply the ideas of changing perspective to them. All figures had to transform from one form/state to another.
Design has the ability to create a sense of wonder and discovery that can assist the learning process. I decided to take transforming 3D structures and apply the ideas of changing perspective to them. All figures had to transform from one form/state to another.
Shake The Structure
When you do a lot of repetitive actions and exercises it can easily become a routine and stop your development. Your brain and body become immune to this information and don’t recognize it as a call to action anymore. To shake things up you need to break the structure and do something different from time to time – change the order, quantity, form etc.
To show this concept I used pattern as a metaphor for repeating actions. I took the structure of Yoshimoto cube that lets you transform cube into a star. In that case not only the patterns get mixed with each other but the form itself changes into a different one yet being the same object.
Change Perspective
Sometimes you might get stuck in your own vision and perception. It usually happens when you learn something yourself or one on one with the teacher. Approaching the subject from a different point of view will change your perspective and provide you with new ideas.
To show that I used the Flexicube structure that lets restructure the cube inside out showing different surfaces.
Switch From Negative To Positive
When you are stuck in a plateau, it is very easy to lose believe in yourself, especially when you are trying very hard but see no result. The most common thought that comes to mind is “I don’t have a talent!” It is very important to understand that at some point everyone, even the most talented ones, can get stuck. And most of the times it has nothing to do with the talent because plateau is a part of the process. The solution here is to think positive and believe that you can overcome this, because there is always a way.
For this concept I used the structure of a Hyper Cube. This cube can be transformed into many structures by turning it's parts in different directions. Being a cube form, it represents negative thoughts, that one can experience in a plateau. Opening the cube shows how by switching from negative thoughts to positive, you can come up with many new ideas and solutions.
Change Direction
Most of the times when you start learning something, you make good progress at the beginning because you get tons of new information. It can create an illusion that you already know everything and your development stops since you don't know where to go next. It is important to understand that there are more layers to the subject and to unfold them, you need to change your direction from linear learning to going deeper into specifics.
To represent that idea I used another Hyper Cube structure that has bigger number of combinations than any other transformers. I made the outside color of the cube plain white to show that the subject looks boring, familiar and simple to the learner. But when you open the cube, you see the colorful inside panels and millions of possible combinations that you can build. That creates a metaphor for a learning process since the subject is more interesting and complicated when you start exploring the details.
