SVA IXD Thesis

This website contains the litany of concepts, figures, and other miscellaneous thoughts associated with the Master’s Thesis of Nic Barajas. Posts will hopefully uncover the transition from random ideas to a fully formed thesis project.

Posts

Meltdown

After completing a basic proof of concept, thesis felt like it was beginning to come apart. I try to discuss the reasons and what led me through.

Crunch Time

Spring semester is about getting back to work, so it’s time to focus on the what, why, and how of thesis. Time to start making decisions.

Procrastination, Through Any Means Necessary

Unsurprisingly, I found a way to piss away a weekend. It wasn’t all in vain, though.

Fall Wrap-Up

As I look ahead to the spring semester, an executive summary of my fall.

Creating a Tiny Kitchen

Delivered as the final of the fall semester, it was ultimately not very successful at drawing in new people, but I made a great meal with it.

Assumptions, Feedback and Thanksgiving

An assignment from class involved us thinking about all the assumptions of our topic area; meanwhile, I also did some in-situ testing over Thanksgiving break.

What I Learned From My First Prototype

Some good, some bad, but generally, it’s worth doing your homework and taking recruiting seriously

…And That’s When I Realized My Bag Was Gone

A sad but ultimately positive story about how I had a bunch of shit stolen from me.

Research: Community Food Space

Coming up with ideas for an experimental community place.

Shifting Gears and Progress

This nearly lost update describes my shift to focus on a food concept, edited later for clarity.

Research Plan: Beerio

An unhelpful and unexecuted plan whose original summary read: “You want a research plan? I’ll give you a research plan.”

Tracing Relationships Back in Time

Trying to trace a history of how humans interact, and trying not to mansplain it all.

Finding My Tribe

XOXO 2015 was an emotional, inspiring experience.

Thesis, So Far

At week two, trying to figure out where I am with my thesis ideas.

Hello, World

You always need to start somewhere.