thinking for the past few years about happiness.
People have different ways to enjoy themselves, also different
understanding of 'happiness'. Could this be an interesting subject to
explore?
I have recently read a book by Sir Ken Robinson called 'The Element.'
He talks about how finding the thing that you are passionate about
changes everything. Also, recently I attended a talk by Alain de
Botton on his new book 'The pleasures and sorrows of work'.
I think both authors would be a good place to start exploring the
subject of 'happiness'.
Relevant links:
Alain de Botton:
We spend much of our lives at work – but surprisingly little gets
written about what makes work both one of the most exciting and most
painful of all our activities.
http://www.alaindebotton.com/work/index.asp
Ken Robinson:
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for
creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines)
creativity.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Doug
This is really interesting Doug. Can you link it back to design in some way to give you focus?
ReplyDeleteFor example: taking the happiness at work theme - you might focus on how happy designers are compared with people in (supposedly) non-creative professions? You could imagine a survey asking designers about how happy they are and what factors contribute to that. What is this impulse to be visually 'creative' and why does it make some people happy? By contrast, does a lack of 'it' make other people less happy? Do the long hours traditionally associated with working in the design industry really make people happier than spending less time at work and more time with their families?
Happiness = Creativity. Discuss!
You will need to narrow down a definition of creativity as a starting point. Is it the act of making. In which case, baking a cake or having a baby are arguably just as creative...
Hey Doug, a subject close to my own research...
ReplyDeletecheck out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)
http://www.deepfun.com/
http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_on_creativity_and_play.html
Oh! Thanks for the comments Darren and Catherine. I'll look into the points you raised and the links too!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Doug
Dude, the first thing that came to my mind during our tutorial is that film with Will Smith in it, 'Pursuit of Happyness'..don't think its really relevant to what you're researching man..haha.
ReplyDeleteAll the best mate!
Jason
(ps, the John Lennon animation is amazing, i'm loving it!)