All systems go! – 2015 Make Cycle #4

According to the dictionary, a system is “a group of interacting, interrelated, interdependent elements forming a complex whole.” There are many types of systems: human, behavioral, natural, technological, mechanical, mathematical, political, social, financial, transit, etc.

In this make, we invite you to document, analyze and reflect on the variety of systems that influence your life personally and/or professionally. Use your creativity to document an existing system, access your ingenuity to improve an existing system or use your imagination to develop a unique new system and design a novel way to explain it.

• How can you document a system that serves a function in your life?
• Can you add inflow to an already existing system in order to make it function more effectively?
• Can you re(media)te a system in order to improve it?
• What about a hack? Can you hack a system or “the system” to make it work for you in interesting new ways?
• Can you create a new system to take the place of one that is no longer useful or has become obsolete?
• Can you design an entirely new system for something that has yet to be imagined?

Systems can be explained using a variety of medium. Take a photograph, draw a diagram, create an infographic, draft a story, write a song, do an interpretive dance, create a recipe, make a “how to,” develop a prototype, continue to play with games….The possibilities are endless!

Below you will find some additional ideas to help you get started:

• Brainstorm and organize ideas (Popplet, Inspiration Maps Lite, Inkflow)
• Make a diagram (Creatly, Gliffy, Lekh Diagram, Graphio Lite)
• Design an Infographic (infogr.am, piktochart, canva)
• Develop a screencast (Educreations, ShowMe)
• Create a presentation (Powtoon, Flowvella, ShadowPuppet, Adobe Voice)
• Make a video (Videolicious, Magisto, Animoto)
• Upload a photo, drawing or diagram and record your voice (Fotobabble)
• Create a collage (PicCollage, BeFunky, ClipStitch)
• Make a slideshow (Haiku Deck, SlideStory, slide.ly, Google Slides)