This shadow is a rough draft of a bicycle. A design idea that needs work…
Susan says, “This distorted shadow is a misshapen interpretation of the bicycle. It has a big fat front tire, a saddle skewed sideways that sticks way up above the condensed frame and a squat back tire. Not a rideable bike, but a curiously twisted concept of a bike. A bike represents balance, speed, effort repaid, clever engineering, sleekness. The shadow gives no indication of that at all. Instead it seems awkward, lumpy, deformed by grass and dirt, a rough draft of a bicycle. And yet if the sun was exactly right and the ground smooth, the shadow would perfectly replicate the bicycle in silhouette. Design, like this shadow, is a series of false starts, risky and failed ideas. Hard work.”
Lucia says, “Let’s look at this photo as a whole. We see more of the shadow than we do of the bicycle, making the abstract on the rough surface the focus of the photo. And Susan has made it the focus of her interpretation. Who knew that this could be the basis of a lesson on taking risks to create good design? And my intention was to create a simple photo of a distorted shadow. It goes to show how you can use photos in your presentation to make your point.”
