Design as Communication

We tend to think that communication has no substance of design or that communication cannot stem from design. Design is communication. You interact with all kinds of people and talk about the world: what is going on in the world, what kinds of trends are happening, what things are evolving. Communication can be built around design. Say an employer hires someone to design a specific item, say a logo. These two, the designer and the employer discuss and talk about what interests the client has and what type of style they want to portray. The designer and the client converse back and forth so the perfect design can be created as a final product. Also, the designer and the client feed off each other, to see what path each person is heading towards, if they have opposing opinions or if they are on the same level. Suggestions and inputs are added to this conversation which creates the type of environment.

An example of how communication is design: in our Des 001 class we saw Lady Gaga and Yoko Ono collaborate on the great John Lennon’s song, “The Sun is Down.” They both put a twist to the song that is very different from the original. They probably have rehearsed the song before, but the actual performance on stage in front of the fans sound both rehearsed and improvised at the same time. The way they were communicating with each other seemed abnormal, to the point where one might argue that one didn’t know the other was going to do what they did. Yoko Ono was communicating with Lady Gaga and vice versa feeding off each other’s energy and also with the crowd’s energy. The communication was designed so that when Lady Gaga does one thing to build a type of environment, both Yoko Ono and the fans to react the way they do.

Should We take Comics Seriously?

Many people say Comic books aren’t novels and that we shouldn’t take them seriously. Why? Because they have too many pictures; any books with pictures shouldn’t be taken seriously. Right? Absolutely not.

In McCloud’s Book, “Understanding Comics,” he dives into the message: there is more that goes behind comic books than many people think. Once you read his book, you’ll have a great understanding about comics and realize there is more depth behind comics. I know I did. McCloud wants us to take visual communication seriously. He wants us to see comics as part of a varied world with infinite possibilities and potential. He not only wants us to think about comics but wants us to know that a comic can move beyond its own constraints and limitations using space. Comic books are not static but are mobile. He talks about how a comic works and the definition of comics.

Just like every book, there is a reason it was written, novels have plots and storylines. Comics have narratives. They tell a story whether it relates to life or something like McCloud’s book, tells you what lines and spaces between boxes mean, the history of it, and understanding why the author and artists use these markings. For example, the designers depicts motion by blurring the background, use lines, or present the background as constant where two boxes show the character or the objects at different locations. A lot of thought goes behind these boxes. I did not really understand why comic book writers use boxes to separate their story and why a bigger box or a thicker line between each box meant something. Reading McCloud’s book, “Understanding Comics,” was not only enjoyable but made me think about comics in a new light.

Comparison and Contrast

Many people know Whitney Port from MTV’s reality show “The Hills” and “The City.” She is a fashion designer who allowed MTV to dive into her life, displaying her struggles and achievements through a reality show. On the show “The City,” we see her work for Teen Vogue and People’s Revolution, who helped start her career as a fashion designer and helped her launch her collection, Whitney Eve. Her collection was inspired by the places she’s lived in and places she has been to. She says that her inspiration is from florals, metallics, and a girly colorful style of design.

In Whitney’s collection, we see many similarities as well as a few differences between each outfit. You can tell what kind of look Port was going for: the girl—the sweet, and innocent look. Each outfit had its own style but they all definitely complement the femininity of the body. Most of the outfits were dressy but with a softer tone to them. Each outfit is unique in its own way through different tones of color. For example, one dress is purple, green, and orange where you can see patches of each color where they are not noticeably blended. Another dress uses the same colors, but they are blended very well where you cannot see sharp lines or creases between each color. Another dress uses the same colors and is shown where the colors are not blended like the first but the outfit is a halter top dress. Whitney Port utilizes the same colors with different types of outfits, so they compare yet contrast in that same sense. Other dresses include a gray v-neck short dress where the v-neck draws down to the breast area. Another dress has a top half in that same style but the dress itself is not short, but is long and flowing all the way down to the ankle. In her spring 2010 Collection, you see these similarities with subtle differences.

Creativity from Without

Many people tend to think that creativity always come from within. You must have feelings and that there must be meaning behind this masterpiece or artwork. I say it doesn’t have to be. It can come from nowhere, from without. It just becomes. One may doodle in class while a lecture or presentation is taking place. That little drawing may end up being a magnificent art form. This creation didn’t come from planning and too much thought process. No feeling needed to be conveyed, no message needed to be expressed. People can perform outside of themselves and let their hand do the thinking not caring if the mind isn’t the ultimate thinker.

Thinking outside of the box welcomes creativity. This process of imagination can be summed up with the class get-together, Stone Soup, a project we did in our Des 001 class where we just meshed up our material and created something. There was no planning ahead, just doing. Another example is the Nobel Prize winners who discovered graphene just by fooling around. Creating from without is unexpected and can lead to something amazing.

Also, you can perform art from without by creating something you have never done before. Let your imagination guide you through it. Relax and express yourself however you want. A dab here and a dab there may start out as something little and looks bizarre, but may turn out to be something powerful. You step back and take a look at the creation that you just made and say “wow”. Why not think outside the box and think from without?

Graphene Experiment

This year, two University of Manchester scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, won the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics for their work on what is known to be the thinnest and strongest material ever, Graphene. Graphene is an ultra thin carbon material that is only 1-atom thick. Some may say, no way, it can’t be the thinnest and be the strongest material at the same time, but it is. It is so dense that not even helium gas can pass through the material.

Geim and Novoselov extracted graphene from the ordinary graphite in pencils using regular adhesive tape and flaked off carbon 1-atom thick with its structure of a flat hexagon lattice. According to New York Times, “a sheet of it stretched over a coffee cup could support the weight of a truck bearing down on a pencil point.” Can you say Amazing?

Not only is it amazing to me, but the process of discovering graphene is as well… What process right? It just tells you that relaxing, letting go of your conscience, and having a little bit of fun can lead to wonderful successes. Rewards can come from any kind of creativity, sometimes unexpected. It is said that Geim and Novoselov’s team have fun day every Friday, so they can think outside of the box and create different designs using what they have instead of being trapped in a facility where there is only hardcore training. This helps with creative thinking, and, like it did with Geim and Novoselov, can lead to amazing rewards. To me, the Nobel Prize for discovering graphene and working with the substance is wonderful, but how the two came about discovering the substance is even more incredible.

For more information about graphene:
http://www.technewsdaily.com/for-wonder-material-graphene-nobel-prize-is-just-the-start-1388/

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2010/press.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20018549-264.html

Stone Soup

In our DES001 class, we discussed “Stone Soup,” a folk story by Marcia Brown. In the story, travelers fill up a pot with water, drop a stone in the pot, and put the pot over a fire. Villagers come across it and begin to fill the pot with different seasonings and foods that mix in the pot. What starts out to be just a pot of water turns into a delicious pot of soup.

This concept was introduced in our design groups. We all brought in whatever we could find to class the following session so we could create or “design” a piece of art. We were placed into groups of eight people and were told to create this piece of imagination from only what we had brought.  We were forced to think outside the box and utilize only what we had to get the job done.

In my group, we first jotted down some ideas so we would have some sort of idea of what we were going to create. We ended up using the biggest piece of material, a postal service box, as the foundation of our “design.” As we began to decorate it we found that we had something forming. We noticed that what we were creating looked very similar to a bus. We continued to work with that concept and kept piecing things together and kept adding materials to the box so it would look like a bus and still have some character. We used colorful paper to wrap the box, cut toilet paper cartons for wheels, and used construction paper for doors and windows. We also put together a swimming pool and set it on top of the bus and added star stickers to build character. It was very nice to see every one working together, not just having one leader making demands. We used everybody’s input and ideas and were not hesitant to add anything from those suggestions. It was a very fun experience because there aren’t many classes that would allow us to think outside of the box and create things.

This experience reminded me of kindergarten where we created things without planning and put things together without having to think about what was going to happen next. If you felt it was right, it just happened. It was a great process of imaginative learning, and brought me back to my youth.

Importance of First Impressions

Hi nice to meetcha…… All right, next person. Can you say awkward? First impresssions to me is very important. Whether you like it or not, it occurs all the time. What you see first is someone’s appearance. Besides  that, personality makes the biggest impression because looks can only go so far. You meet someone, whether it’s a classmate so you can make friends, an interviewer so you can get the job you want, a boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents so you can continue your relationship with your guy/gal. Every one has different approaches. I myself have certain criteria I look for.

                When I meet a classmate, I typically look for a friendly tone, great eye contact, a casual conversation like introduction to names, how the day is, how their weekend was, and if interested even further, what they did. I would like the conversation to be reciprocated. I definitely do not want to be the only one asking questions or speaking for that matter. When I answer a question, a reply would be nice to indicate that they understand and are interested in what I have to say. I do not just want a stare. That’s kind of creepy. Talking back and forth gives you a sense of how the rest of the conversation is going to be and if the person you are speaking to may be someone you will have a future with as just a friend or even further.

                An interview. Really? Do I even need to explain? You obviously must be confident and show that you are more than capable of doing the job, but do not seem desperate.

                Meeting a boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents. Uh behave please. Most importantly, be yourself. You don’t want to put up a front every time you see them. That would be painful to you and your boyfriend/girlfriend. Relax and be respectful because that might be the last time you see their parents.

                Like I said, first impressions are very important whether you like it or not, so make good ones.

Design: A Noun or a Verb

Design… what is design? Is it a noun or a verb? The question of the day. Personally, I cannot really decide whether it is a noun or a verb, so I’ve concluded that it is both. Here is why. Design according to “The Etymology of Design: Pre-Socratic Perspective” by Kostas Terzidis, is a very vague word, originated from the Greek form “schedon” meaning almost. “Almost”…? That is not what I was taught and it is not what I normally refer things as.

Design as a noun. Like I said, “design,” is an ambiguous word. It is one of those words that you can use to refer to anything really. I define “design” as a creation made by someone putting in effort to piece something together. This can be an idea, a fashion shoot, a fashion show, a chair, a pencil, anything really. Name it; it is “Design.” For example, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2006; this whole fashion show was a “design” of exotic clothing made by Roy Raymond and his team of designers and CBS’s design of how to air the fashion show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n8CimSLTTc
Design as a verb. People create designs. How did they do this? They designed it. Simple as that. These designers put in effort and created a masterpiece whether it is extravagant or simple but complete. A person had an idea and utilized all the tools and instruments they could find to create this useful object. For example people designing a car. The 2009 Pontiac Vibe was “designed” by a team of automobile specialists.

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f20/2009-pontiac-vibe-up-gm-ca-61202/

The word “design” in its verb form and noun form go hand in hand. A person designed a piece; therefore, that piece is a design. So… is “design” a noun or a verb? It is whatever you want to think of it as. For me, why not call it both?

First Encounter of Design

I remember my first positive encounter with design. I was 8 years old, and I was flipping through the television channels when I came across Bob Ross, an American painter creating a landscape of some sort. Bob used a wet-on-wet oil painting technique in which he paints an area of the canvas and continues to paint over that wet area before it dries. He starts out with what seem to be smudges but continues to add more smudges until the result is something amazing. The painting that I first saw him do was a landscape of a beautiful lake and a small house surrounded by a forest and mountains, many features he is known for. 

The mountains contained different tones of white, gray, and black. The picture seemed as though you were on top of the mountain yourself. It was absolutely amazing. The lake seemed so pure with its bluish/greenish/yellowish color. Every color seemed to blend so well. Going up the shore, the color of the water changes color, because the sand is more exposed to the sun. The forest surrounding the lake seems so eerie yet so gentle. Everything seemed so detailed, yet watching him paint so effortlessly was jaw-dropping. The trees in the background have less detail, something you notice in real life when anything is far away from you. You notice how well the depth plays into this painting. Ross works with every angle of the picture. It is simply amazing. The shack or hut that he painted on the side seems very mysterious. It looks like a rundown hut with its creepy black/brown tint. You wonder if someone really does live there, the rest of the landscape seems so peaceful, you wonder who wouldn’t want to. Every level of the painting has its own mood behind it. The moods contradict one another, sometimes you feel happy and at ease with the turquoise colored lake. This painting is how I first noticed and understood design and how color plays a great impact on painting.