John James Marshall thesis.pdf - OpenAIR @ RGU - Robert Gordon ...

Figure 25: ‘Garbo’ polypropylene trash can for Umbra, 1996. Karim Rashid
The aim of this process was to indicate common properties of the objects and
identify relationships between ‘types’ of objects. This involved a process of
‘transcoding’ (Jameson, 1981, p.40) – the invention and strategic application of
a set of terms to analyse and articulate diverse types of objects. This was done
to reveal an underlying structure of the field by grouping the objects into
classifications. For the basis of this categorisation specific properties and
attributes were recorded for each of the objects regardless of the object’s source
or domain of origin. The researcher experimented with different categorisations
to allow different groupings to form. This was repeated many times to redefine
the category boundaries and reveal a systematic structure of the field. This was
developed to bring consistency to the framework of analysis.
3.3 A survey of international practitioners
The researcher gathered data from a survey of practitioners that use computerbased
design and fabrication tools from across the 3D disciplines of art and
design. The purpose of this survey was: to develop an understanding of the
current use of these technologies in art and design; establish how practitioners
think about and engage with these technologies; and generate an understanding
of how practitioners relate to and engage with other art and design disciplines.
Fifty-seven practitioners were contacted by email and invited to answer fifteen
questions - all responses were collected electronically via a web-based
application 48 . After collection this data was aggregated so a single practitioner’s
responses and the collected responses of all practitioners could be viewed and
compared.
48 http://www.surveymonkey.com/
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