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Home Schedule Week 8 · Overview
The Ugly Baby
Week 8
Week 8 2-Week Project
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · Reflections Beth Altringer Eagle
Home Schedule 10-Week Overview
Week
8
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · Reflections Beth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleWeek 8 · Monday
Week 7 Presen­tations
45 Minutes Gallery + Vote
  • "World where this is normal" visualizations
  • Process logs: where did AI actually change your thinking?
  • Vote all four categories
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleCase · Pixar
Pixar
The Ugly Baby

“Every Pixar film starts as an ugly baby.”

Toy Story was rewritten ~30 times.

The danger: killing the ugly baby too soon, or protecting it too long.

“Your first version is supposed to be bad. The skill is knowing how to make it better through repeated cycles.”
— Ed Catmull, Creativity Inc.
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleCase · Iteration at Scale
Iteration at Scale
Dyson prototype progressionDyson — 5,127 Prototypes

He didn't quit after 100 failures — he had a system for learning from each one.

SpaceX landing attempts
blooper reel → successful landingSpaceX — Dozens of Explosions

They published their failures publicly and celebrated explosions as data.

5,127 prototypes. Dozens of explosions. Iteration as a discipline, not a fix.

ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleChallenge 8–9
"Version 2"

Pixar, Dyson, and SpaceX all treated early versions as material, not failures. That's what V2 is.

2-Week Project Weeks 8 & 9
1
Choose ANY project from Weeks 1–7. If extending a previous dyad's project, check with your original partner (courtesy, not permission).

Your portfolio so far: Dear Data, An Iconic Opening, The Heirloom, Everything Is a World, Invisible Senses, Curating & Taste, Get Out of Your Head.

2
This is not revision — it's expansion. Week 8: iterate — V2 Audit, tear apart, rebuild. Week 9: polish and present — storytelling, craft, legibility.
3
Co-Lab supported but not required.

V2 is done with your current dyad partner. You choose the project together.

In Week 6 you practiced improving a project in one session. Now you have two weeks to go deep.

Artful Making (Austin & Devin): Start, respond to what emerges, iterate. Variation is material, not failure.
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleThe V2 Audit
V2
Audit

Before you build, assess honestly:

ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleChallenge 8–9 · Expectations
"I Polished It" Is Not Enough

V2 must do something V1 couldn't.

New Medium New Scale New Audience New Craft Level
Show it in your design: what can V2 do that V1 couldn't?
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleChallenge 8–9 · Deliverables & Milestones
Deliverables & Milestones

Due end of Week 9

V2 AuditPage 5 of PDF — honest assessment of V1
Extended ProjectThe thing itself — V2
V1 & V2 Side by SideThe comparison should be striking
Evidence of ProcessIterations, failed attempts, tool learning
Mid-Project Critique ResponseMonday Week 9: what feedback, what changed, what kept
500-Word ReflectionWhy did this deserve more? What did iteration reveal?
Principle Transfer Statement+ Portfolio Entry PDF
  • Today (Monday) — Choose your project. Commit before you leave.
  • Before Wednesday — Read assigned readings. Complete V2 Audit.
  • Wednesday — Reading discussion + 80 min studio (building begins).
  • Monday Week 9 — Bring work-in-progress for mid-project critique.
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleWeek 8 · Readings
Your Assigned Readings
CatmullCatmull — Ugly Baby chapter
Austin & DevinAustin & Devin

[ Groups will be assigned in class. Each student reads one. ]

ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle
Home ScheduleWeek 8 · Schedule
Week Schedule
  • Monday Studio
    Review earlier work. Choose your project. Instructor 1-on-1 advising. Co-Lab orientation at X-hour. Commit before you leave.
  • Wednesday Reading Discussion
    10 min. Catmull group: kill vs. protect the ugly baby? Austin & Devin group: responding to what emerges vs. still planning? Bridge to V2.
  • Wednesday Studio
    80 min build. V2 Audit should be complete. Now build. Key question: "What can V2 do that V1 couldn't?"
"What can V2 do that V1 couldn't?"
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Schedule · ReflectionsBeth Altringer Eagle