In my Effortful concept map I made a mosaic of different shapes with various colors and words that overlap. The larger shapes indicate more importance. The map flows from top to bottom in my thought process.
For the Meaningful concept map, I made a more organic shape to show the fluidity of my meaningful thought process. Concepts that are important to me are shown in the organic shape and connect to one another.
The Automatic map is designed around the outline of airplane, which holds a lot of meaning in my life. I have always been inspired by airplanes, and I flew a plane one time, and planes also embody the concepts of “going somewhere” and “the sky is the limit”. Planes are also associated with traveling, something that lies near to my heart, so it works well to demonstrate what comes naturally to me at this time in my life. In the concept map, the plane itself is made up of a mosaic of words that are important to me.
This photo illustrates the process I used with my final abstraction. I made it out of sheet metal, cutting it into strips and spot-welding, as seen in this picture.
I made four polygon shapes, wrapped the metal shapes with colorful yarn, and attached them to a large circular piece of metal with a screw. (see next photo)
For the abstraction, I decided to assign four main concepts in my life (happiness, authenticity, adventure, and love) to four colors (orange, blue, green, and pink). I wanted to make my piece out of metal to show the sturdiness and permanence of these influences in my life. I made each influence/color into a shape from metal pieces, and then wrapped them in yarn of their corresponding color. I chose yarn because of its softness and flexibility, which reflects the contents of my influences. After making all of my pieces with colorful yarn, I attached them to a screw located at the center of the circle, such that there is some overlap in the colors, and the shapes could (theoretically) move around the screw and overlap, just as these influences overlap in my life.
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Thought Map + Abstraction
The purpose of this project was to illustrate our values in a series of three thought maps – the Effortful, the Meaningful, and the Automatic – and finish with a larger abstraction of our design process.
The words I chose to include in my maps reflect the two major influences in my life – adventure and citizenship. These two elements intertwine in my life with the overarching goal of being happy. Like most other young adults, I am rooted in loyalties to my family and friends, who have affected me and exposed me to how life works. However, at this moment what makes me happy the most is to be adventurous.
Marvin Malecha + Tania Allen
College of Design: Design Thinking I
North Carolina State University
