breaking the ice
To ease into the first week of class, we were each paired with one of our classmates, and our first exercise was to choose an object that resonates with our design practice. I was paired with Dhanvi Patel. She chose Sudoko as her object, and I chose a Rubix cube. Once we chose our objects we were asked to describe the objects to each other and talk about a story that relates to them. Dhanvi amused me with a very interesting story about when she took a trip to Leh, which is a city in North India. During her stay in Leh, Dhanvi and two of her friends encountered a situation where they had to choose between two paths to figure out their way back home. Although Dhanvi was hesitant at first, she was adamant about choosing the path that was longer as she was up for an adventure, while her friends took the shorter route. However, to her friends' surprise, Dhanvi had a fantastic time as she got to meet new people who showed her the beautiful sights of the city along the way.
Dhanvi relates this story to Sudoko as both her experience in Leh and the object have a very unclear and difficult beginning, but once you start the journey, things seem to fall into place along the way. She also spoke about how her decision to choose the longer path and the object she chose is linked to the idea of stepping out of her comfort zone. From this, I decided to make an illustration that combines the story and her object.
What I gifted my peer
For our first assignment, we were asked to make a gift for our partner to get to know each other a little better. This process was very exciting and fun for both of us, as we spent a lot of time talking about countless experiences that gave us a glimpse into each other's lives. We also decided to do a rapid-fire round to get a more clear idea as to what exactly to make for each other as a gift. After a lot of thinking and scratching my head, I figured the one thing that stood out as a prominent common factor between the two of us was that we were both moving to a different country. So I started thinking about how I could make that transition a little easier or more comfortable for Dhanvi. Hence, I made a journal that consists of the 12 months of the year, a weekly planner, a to-do list, an expense tracker, a few lined pages, and a page that has some stickers of Dhanvi doing the things she loves. What was my intention behind making a journal? I figured that the process of moving can be chaotic sometimes, and I made this journal in the hopes of helping Dhanvi stay organized. She is someone who likes to plan her week ahead and write to-do lists. She can also carry this journal to class to write her ideas, notes, and thoughts. I wanted this journal to be something personal to Dhanvi and a gift that she could use throughout this year.
