1: Lecture Reflection

Brilliant start to a regular blog – a lecture reflection almost one week late, and I don’t hold out too much hope that I will improve as the weeks progress. However, casting my mind back to last Friday, I have to say I was inspired by Yasu’s first lecture; I went in feeling rather pessimistic, having heard from previous year’s student that this assignment would leave you feeling lost – no brief, no site, no client, just you on a mission to save the world. Eeeeeeeeek. However the introduction of four theme groups was a relief, allowing at least a marginal sense of direction.

The theme that struck me the most was Suburban; rather than going the obvious direction of urban density and its effect on suburban structure, Yasu’s questioning of the future of shopping centres got me thinking. What is going to happen to these gargantuan sprawling structures when people convert solely to online shopping? Will people actually completely abandon shopping centres, or will they just have to adapt to suit people’s desire for competitive pricing and at-home-support? How can we adapt these programs to keep up with our future lifestyles? Or is it a case of abandoning the notion of physical interaction with our purchases (because we’ll eventually get holograms, right?), and completely retrofit these complexes to serve a greater cause, like homeless youths or sustainable energy? Ponder ponder.

Whatever theme group I choose though, I know I will be tempted to investigate the notion of a zombie apocalypse. Corny and geeky I know, but part of me desperately wants to design a zombie-proof fortress, because you never know when such knowledge will come in handy.

But then again, having already chosen a group to work with on the first assignment, I may just be at the mercy of their interests too. The idea of a Virtual theme group frightens me (I don’t do well without parameters!), but I know that the people in my group excel in this area, and I might as well push myself and learn something new in my very last undergraduate subject. So I guess I’m going in with an open, if not slightly nervous, mind.