Week 04: The self and identity
By the end of this week, you should be able to:
Analyse and communicate your understanding of your practice, your character and your values as a designer.
Imagine and communicate a single visual expression that conveys you.
Document and communicate your working process on your blog.
Participate in and reflect upon debate on the ideas wall.
Manage your independent learning through good planning and self direction.
Guest Lecture - Martin Hosken
In all honesty, I felt this week’s lecture by Martin Hosken, a lecturer in critical theory, was pretty thought-provoking and quite heavy going on a Sunday evening. But it did immediately make me question my own being, and how others perceive me in business and personally. It also made me question, what influences are my own opinions and what decisions do I make out of empathy for others.
Martin discusses human nature and how we as human beings have the ability to adapt to our surroundings both positively. He discusses the word ‘self’ as a word that precedes many words before who or what we pertain to be. i.e self-defence, self-worth, selfishness.
We look at the behaviour and discover system 1 and 2 charts. (Image)
System 1 signifies our everyday routine and our most often repeated decisions where we almost act on autopilot but are more likely to make mistakes.
Where as system 2 is our capacity to stop and query the decisions we make, and uses more ‘brain power’ and is a more reliable source of better results.
He continues to how our sense links to this week’s question, “how can graphic design enable you to communicate your core values at this moment on the course?”.
This then follows a series of questions that I felt I needed to ask myself.
What are my values?
How do I know my values?
What is a value to you?
Do you share values with those around you?
And how are you influenced by those around you?
Which led me to investigate my own question:
How can I communicate my core values in graphic design if I’m not sure what they are?
I decided to investigate my own personality and character traits and how influential they are in designing for others.
To record my findings, I sent out a simple message asking them what they thought were my core values to close family, colleagues and chosen clients to see how they react. (Very Michael McIntyre).
The message was simply - What are my core values - 5-20 words. Go!!!! I screen-grabbed the findings.
How this helps…
This wasn’t meant to be a test in massaging my ego, but genuinely trying to understand how others saw me and helped me narrow down my final list of 5 to 1.
Humour, Curiosity, Patience, Vision, Empathy
Read | Watch | Listen - Modernity and self-identity, The Trajectory of the self by Anthony Giddeons
Talis Resource Lists - I read a chapter of the above title book by Anthony Giddeons which discusses the consequences of modernity for individuals and their identities.
Giddens argues that modernity, characterized by its emphasis on rationalization and individualization, has created a situation in which individuals are constantly faced with choices and decisions about their lives. This, in turn, has led to a greater emphasis on self-reflexivity and the importance of the self in defining one's identity. Giddens also discusses the impact of globalization and technology on the construction of identity in the late modern age. Ultimately, Giddens suggests that while modernity has brought about new challenges for individuals, it also offers the potential for greater self-realisation and empowerment.
What did resonate with me was the suggestion of how we as individuals are constantly faced with choices and decisions that impact our lives.
The Ideas Wall - Research and Ideas
Interacting and analysing our personality traits as a group
What did seem to come up, again and again, is how humour and wit could be used in design to communicate.
I felt this definitely would be in my top 5.
Fellow student Ollie Powell-Gil shared his post about a personality test he’d found online. Although I initially thought it would be a bit of fun, I was curious to see if the traits would match the findings of my research.
They were spot on. I was a ‘consul’. Below is a quick summary of my traits.
Workplace Habits
“When it comes to the workplace, Consuls have clear tendencies that show through regardless of their position. People with the Consul personality type thrive on social order and harmony and use their warmth and social intelligence to make sure that each person knows their responsibilities and is able to get what needs to get done. Consuls are comfortable, even dependent on clear hierarchies and roles, and whether subordinates, colleagues or managers, Consul personalities expect authority to be respected and backed up by rules and standards”.
It summarised my findings
Consul personality type thrives on social order and harmony - Friendly, approachable, personality
Use their warmth and social intelligence to make sure that each person knows their responsibilities - Empathy, trusting, perception, communication
Consul personalities expect authority to be respected and backed up by rules and standards - Adaptability, trustworthy, diligent
Consuls are comfortable, even dependent on clear hierarchies and roles - Structure (I love a list), diligence, vision,
Routine tasks are not a problem for Consuls, and their dedication and loyalty earn them the respect of their managers. - Loyalty, respect, and reliable
Conclusion - How this helped me
It is very hard to self-assess what type of personality you are, it feels almost indulgent! But by taking the personality test this helped confirm my final list of 5 to
Humour, curious, patience, vision, empathy
Resources - Personality test
