Project Blog 11/16/17 - Fluxx Cards

Summary

This past week we were tasked with the project of creating a deck of fluxx cards that taught a certain science concept. The deck of cards had to include keepers, goals, actions, creepers, and rule cards. My teammate and I chose our topic to be symbiosis. Symbiosis can be defined as interactions between organisms. There are three forms of symbiosis: parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. Parasitism is when one organism benefits while the other is harmed. Commensalism is when one organism is benefited while the other is neither harmed nor benefited. One example that we used as a goal in our fluxx card deck is the relationship between the phainopepla bird and saguaro cactus. Since the bird builds its nest in the cactus, the bird gets a home and the cactus isn't affected. Finally, the last type of symbiosis is Mutualism. Mutualism occurs when both organisms are benefited.

Backwards Looking - What problems did you encounter while you were working on this piece? How did you solve them?

After printing out our cards, we realized that the backs and front of the cards were not lined up correctly. In order to solve this problem, we decided to just cut the cards normally while holding the side with all of the information. By doing this, we would be cutting off and cropping parts of the card back but keeping the important information on the inside of the cards. After doing this, we realized the backs of the cards haven't consisted however the important part was still intact and unaffected.

Inwards Looking - How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work?

One thing I particularly liked about these cards was the design aspect of them. On each type of card, we changed the font and picture for the sidebar of the card to match our topic. I think this tied everything together very nicely. One thing I didn't like, however, was how the back side of the cards was cropped of due to how we didn't line up the backs to the front while printing.

Outward Looking - Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? In what ways did you do it differently? In what ways was your work or process similar?

Unlike other groups, my partner and I was the only group that drew in the pictures for the goal and keeper cards. This along with how we changed the fonts of our cards was the main major difference. Somethings we did similar in our work was how for other groups the fronts and backs also weren't lined up. I noticed that lining up the sides was a struggle for many groups.

Designer Species Project Blog 11/5/17

Summary

In order to surviv, organisms have to have certain characteristics and adaptations. These can include camouflaging coats of fur, certain body shapes, and much more. For example, to stay cool inside a hot burning desert, fennec foxes have giant ears. They provide more body surface for the fox's body heat to radiate around. The fur of sloths is able to suck up moisture and grow algae to help them camouflage. The gornopoulos, a mammal that lives in humid tropical rainforests has both of these characteristics as well as a flying squirrel body and sticky feet pads. Like all organisms, the gornopoulos has many specials ways that it survives to reproduce. It eats nuts, fruits, and insects. The large ears also serve another purpose. It gives the gornopoulos great hearing which allows it to hear predators and prey to know where they are. In conclusion, animals need certain adaptations and abilities to reproduce.

Backwards Looking - 

What process did you go through to produce this piece?

In order to produce our poster and presentation, we first had to research about what type of traits our animal would need to survive on its planet. The next step was to begin creating our species and answering the questions about our organism. Once we were completely sure about our idea, we began to make our model. For our model, we created a diagram (shown above). The final step was to make our presentation and script. Once that was completed all we had to do was practice.

Inwards Looking -

What were your standards for this piece of work? Did you meet your standards?

For this project, my standards were high. I felt that I had a good group and that there wasn't a reason for me to not do a great job. After presenting, I felt that I did meet my standards. My group was able to create a great poster that not only looked organized but was also informational. Our presentation was okay overall but I felt like with more practice we could have definitely improved.

Outwards Looking -

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? In what ways did you do it differently? In what ways was your work or process similar?

Unlike other groups, my group decided to create a skit for our presentation. We were the only ones that did this. The reason why we wanted to do a skit was that we wanted to present our information in an interesting and entertaining way. However, like most groups, we created a poster for our model rather than making a 3d version of our organism. 

Forwards Looking -

One thing I would like to improve upon is...

One thing that I would have liked to improve upon was our presentation. Since we wrote the script eh day before, we weren't entirely comfortable with our lines. Since we used no script, some of us forgot their lines. In addition to this, we definitely could have added more to the performance. In the future, I can solve this problem by thinking ahead and making sure the script gets done early enough to allow our group to practice how we want to present.