For the next several months I will be adding in blog posts to document my progress in my Digital Methods for Landscape Architecture course (L A 559). I’m hoping to show ample progress as I play around with concepts and ideas. For the first blog in this process, I’ll be directly answering a series of brief questions. This should allow me to see my growth by the end of the course. Here it goes:

Nicholas Palmer

MARCH & MLA, second year. 

What prior experience with digital technology have you had?  List: software applications and levels of proficiency

- I’ve had to work with a number of various applications, to varying levels of proficiency. I’ve had experience working with the Adobe Suite’s basic staples, with an adept understanding of Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, and InDesign, and a basic understanding of After Effects and Premier Pro. Additionally, I’m quite decent at using Rhino 6, and can somewhat use various Grasshopper extensions. I’m able to take data from online resources and plus them into a variety of programs as well, such as CoolVent and Climate Consultant. I’m able to do the basics in AutoCAD, with some degree of difficulty. I’m fairly quick to pick up programs that I enjoy, but slow to learn ones with ugly interfaces.

Describe your comfort level with computing generally, and with the software programs.

InDesign : Quite good, easy to use for me. 

Google Earth Pro:  Very comfortable with the program.

Rhino:  Fairly experienced and comfortable with the program, can replicate most projects with time.

Rhino-Grasshopper: Some experience, but generally I rely on guides to walk me through set-ups. 

Processing programming environment: Minimal use, not much of a fan of these. I would like to learn how to use Unity engine however. 

Lumion Pro: No experience. 

What are your goals and expectations for this course?

My goal with this coarse is to further expand my capabilities with Rhino as a design tool, particularly with parametric designs. Its a tool I’ve come to greatly appreciate. If possible, learning how to use Grasshopper and general coding practices would be appreciated as well, so that I can experiment with making my own tools. I’m expecting a fair bit of challenge that will reward me with the means of better improving my learning abilities within digital design methods.