blog post 1- lecture review
During the course of the ‘Better Lives’ project I have been exposed to various lectures and different ways of approaching fashion and its growing industry. Lorrain Gamman’s lecture on empathy is the one lecture which particularly took an interest with me. The study of ‘empathy’ is a topic in which I am already drawn too. I love the idea of improving the consumer market and extending the accessibility of the fashion world to as many people as possible.
Gamman quoted Fulton Suri (2003) In the need for ‘qualitive research to inform and inspire designers to create more useful and enjoyable things for people they may never have met.’ This particular quote resonated with me as to begin with I couldn’t see how qualitive data on an emotion could even be collected but also because there is a clear need for more empathetic research when designing for an audience; is what I’m designing actually useful? Would this look as good on a size 18 as it does a size 6? And so on.
Gamman proceeded to explain the user centered approach. This is an approach in which when designing for a specific audience the designer would immerse and ‘live the life of’ the particular target audience. This allows for the formation of empathy between consumer and buyer. The four phases being;
- Discovery
- Immersion
- Connection
- Detachment
As a creative student, in particular 3D effects, I consider myself a highly ‘hands on’ type of learner. I believe incorporating this technique into any design process in order to create empathy and understanding would be a step in the right direction towards understanding our social responsibility as designers and contributing more towards inclusion.
I understand of course there may always be ethical issues yet if the designer is always upfront about their intentions and no one in the study is at any point deceived I believe this is a brilliant was of working.
As the lecture went on Gamman highlighted some particular campaigns which aim to provoke empathy. One in particular being the ‘Is it my fault?’ exhibition in Brussels. To me personally this would be a correct way of portraying empathy in an exhibition as the ‘normal’ or ‘non provocative’ clothing is something in which everyone who witnessed the exhibition can relate to and understand. It successfully breaks down that imaginary barrier of ‘me or them’ as you come to realise it could have been anyone.
An image of 81 Wang Deshun in Chinas 2015 fashion week was then displayed to which Gamman correctly stated ‘Are we to have empathy for age or for his beauty’ highlighting that the message is often lost.
Without a doubt I believe that incorporating empathy in design creates for better lives. When we as designers are creating products/garments it’s so easy to detach ourselves from who we are designing for. No one lives an ideal life and, in the future, I hope to always understand who I am designing for and empathizing with their needs.