Monday, November 29, 2010
Design in Society: Computer
The new modern version of the Apple 1 computer can be considered to be the Macbook Air, a thin laptop computer that has definitely had a makeover.
On the left, the Macbook Air is shown to be a thin computer with a very 21st century look to it. Computers in general have been a great asset to society with workload. The computer has helped many with PowerPoint presentations, homework, communication and many other programs that a computer has, are being used nationwide by billions of people. Not only is the computer helpful for workload but for communication as well thanks to the internet. Computers are used for the internet to stay connected with work, school, friends, family etc.
The design of an actual computer is something beneficial to society in which a computer's design contributes economically. Aesthetics of a computer is helpful appealing to the consumer, based on the color, size, and other designs that might be added to the computer to seem better than the others. The design of the computer of course augment the cost of the computer as well, helping increase the economy.
A computer in general helps move cycles easier and making life faster for many such as typing an essay on a computer and saving it rather than using a typewriter or writing by hand and then having to re-write the whole thing later on. As the years go on, computers will become more futuristic and will end up helping society even more by typing faster or being faster on the internet.
dG
Design is Dangerous: Technology
and the idea that we are also so open to these objects taking us over because we are blinded by the aesthetics of the product. Society is blinded by the "prettiness" of the new iPods and their features, the new Lexus and the ability of parking that it holds or the new robotic toy that can clean after you; humans are in danger of being taken over by technology, if it hasn't taken over already.
dG
Color Transforms
dG
Saturday, November 13, 2010
MacBook Air, the 2010 Generation
Society was ready for the MacBook Air and Apple was by all means, in the right position to satisfy society. The MacBook Air's design attracts its audience simply by the title of the product. MacBook Air is such a tantalizing name in which leaves people questioning, "Why is this laptop called the MacBook Air?" but after looking at the commercial or at the advertising, one answers their own question. "Air" is part of the name because the laptop itself is lightweight and "MacBook" because of the brand, Apple. This is one item that connects conveniently to society for many of the features that are embedded into the product. We, as a society, like simplicity and the MacBook Air seems to satisfy those needs for a consumer, based on the actual design and the functions of the laptop. Design-wise, the MacBook Air helps by being so lightweight, something that is beneficial to people such as travelers, lawyers, college student, business people, etc. Focusing on the functions of the laptop, the MacBook has a battery life ranging from 5-7 hours, has Flash storage, a great track-pad/mouse, etc. In general, the MacBook Air has connected with its consumers with advertisements and the new slim design of their addition to the Apple family.
dG
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/
Nicki Minaj and Will.I.Am star in their new music video, "Check It Out" (the above clip), a new song that is popular in the United States. Within the video. Will.I.Am and Nicki Minaj not only connect to the population of the United States but made their music video connect with the Korean population. There were many instances where the Korean culture was shown in the design of the music video. One of the instances includes the Korean clothing. Being a fan of both Nicki Minaj and Will.I.Am, I am aware that the clothing that they both wear in the music video is not typically affiliated in their wardrobe. The clothing design as a whole is colorful and the design is more intricate especially in the hat and in the jumpsuit. Conversing with my design group in class, we came to the conclusion that the jumpsuit that Nicki Minaj wears in the middle of the music video can be seen as propaganda for a movie that is coming out in December by the name of "Tron". Although the jumpsuit has Korean roots, this was seen as propaganda simply because of the futuristic vibe that the suit gives out, which "Tron"focuses on. Korean is also optically seen in the music video from the 3D words that pop out, emphasizing the last words that are said by either Nicki Minaj or Will.I.Am. Focusing on society, this music video combines Korean and American mannerisms, united both countries into one culture wise. Nicki Minaj and Will.I.Am are communicating to their audience that they are open to other traditions and cultures, augmenting their chances of getting more view from different cultures simply because of the new Korean connection that they make.
dG
Monday, November 8, 2010
RUNAWAY
Kanye West, worldwide known rap artist and record producer, has moved on to greater and better things. He recently wrote a song called "Runaway" and he made a 35 minute video based on his new song. The video tells the story of a woman bird that seems to have fallen in planet Earth where she is lost in the mannerisms of the planet. Kanye stars in his own video portraying a character that finds this woman bird and helps he become one with society and take part of the human society. Throughout the video, Kanye West shows many angles of nature and dance, connecting to society and linking to the woman bird on her experience of planet Earth.
Collision of Word and Image
WORD & IMAGE
Word and image come together in this picture, where the image shows the agony that the mother is going through and we, as an audience, perceive with our eyes the atmosphere and the items that are found close to his mother. The words that link with the image are extremely helpful, not only to know what he images are but to know the meaning behind such objects. Fries knew that the image was not the only thing that would hook his readers but that he would need to draw them in more by explaining such things like the medicine that his mother was taking. Telling his readers these details about the image evoke emotions towards his mother and him for the hardships of cancer. Altogether, Brian Fries makes sure that image and word come together
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Interaction of Content & Form in OBJECTIFIED
On Friday, the movie, "Objectified" was shown in Design 001. Although we didn't get to finish the movie, this movie is simply mind blowing from the concepts that are shared in the movie to the different designs that are emphasized. Main topics that were shown in the movie include the focus in content and form within every day designs. There is a instant connection between content and form in the beginning with the example of the toothpick.Seeing the toothpick, I was confused as to why a toothpick was being analyzed and why would this be important. The content was the story behind the toothpick: Japan has toothpicks with special top tips in which the tip can be broken from the toothpick, indicating that the toothpick has been used and the tip can serve as a rest for the toothpick (picture shown) The toothpick, being the form of the content, is shown to be an everyday essential but no one seems to pay attention to its design. A toothpick is designed to help people with food in their teeth but no one really takes the time to see the real design of a simple toothpick. A toothpick's design is the following: a piece of wood, sometimes bamboo, sculpted to be short and thin with pointy tips to meet the necessity of people when picking their teeth. The simple design is very attractive to consumers for many reasons, such as the simplicity of the product.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Garbage Design?
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Trained Eye
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Comparison & Contrast
Fashion, every girl's dream. Michael Kors (left) and Alexander McQueen (right) are great examples of fashion that leave the runway and the audience, speechless. Both of these fashion designers have used their creative minds to create these pieces above that seem to have some similarities but also their comparisons. Michael Kors seems like the fashion designer that plays by the fashion rule book, keeping his pieces classy, still fashion oriented and what is in season. Alexander McQueen, on the other hand, experiments with his designs with colors, different fabric designs and goes forth to bring fantasy designs to real life. Both designers have different views in fashion, Michael Kors being a bit more conservative than Alexander McQueen and Alexander McQueen brings more of a wild side to his designs.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Design as a Conversation
Indeed, the sun is down. Above is a clip of Yoko Ono and Lady GaGa combining their talents of singing and creating what you see above. When I first listened to this video clip, I was in design class. I was quite confused in the beginning to why we were listening to this and how it tied into design. Mr. Housefield, my design teacher, later explain a main quality that this clip signified and that is crucial to design in general, communication. Communication is normally seen either verbally or written but not typically associated with visual images transferring information from one to another. Design needs communication to maintain a conversation with the intended audience based on the design presented, conveying the designers view of the world, of a specific topic etc.
Being a source of communication, design is such a broad topic to start a conversation with. Design can be a great source of conversation such as using the example above. One might start to talk about the design of Lady GaGa's extravagant clothing, or the design of the lyrics that are being used to converse between Lady GaGa and Yoko Ono. Conversation dealing with the design of many things is simple, starting with simply looking and analyzing at the design of an object. Questions that can run through people's minds looking at a design might be "What is this used for?", "What was the designer thinking when he was creating this design?" or "What does this design stand for?" Design is a simple way to convey what one is thinking or what one believes, commencing the conversation between a designer's audience. Having a visual design, it makes a conversation easy to have because one's opinion can be backed up with parts of the design, the color, the shape, the images that are being portrayed, etc. Design is a conversation between a designer and the world, commencing the conversation with the design.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Kseniya Simonova, art animator
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Creativity From Without
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Stone Soup
In the 21st century, our design of Stone Soup consists those of the author, Marcia Brown but with a modern twist. The book, "Stone Soup" is folktale in which soldiers come back from work and are able to to get a whole town to come together to make stone soup. Mr. Housefield, my design teacher, modernized the idea of "Stone Soup", focusing on the design of the final "soup" or design. Collaboration was key when dealing with a large group of eight designers and with a large amount of supplies such as colorful paper, wire, duct tape, cotton paper plates, etc. , used to create the final piece. Having so many creative minds within the group, we found out that everyone has a different idea or taste of design that certainly came out in the final product. From gluing or taping items to a box to painting paper plates, the final design came out to simulate a piece of every designer in the group.
Monday, October 4, 2010
San Diego, Slow Down & Enjoy the Walkway
GaGasign?
After Lady GaGa goes in public and the media reports about her clothing design all around the world, friends come up to me and ask me, “Did you hear and see what GaGa was wearing? What did you think of it?” Being a GaGa fanatic, I answer “Yes and I thought it was fabulous”. Many people may disagree with me by this time in blog, stating that GaGa is just being crazy and she does it for the attention but to that, I say poppycock. Lady GaGa is a woman that is aware of who she is and most definitely, what she wears; she wears those “crazy” and “outrageous” attire to show society that her clothing, her design of who she is and what she wears, is as real as society can get. Her clothing design proves to the international society that there may be boundaries, but those boundaries are fun to play with, just like art. The design of her clothing altogether bothers society simply because it’s nothing that we are used to seeing on celebrities or on people. Simple enough, Lady GaGa is design, and for that, I thank her.
dG
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Design of Crayolas
Growing up, I was never one to be fascinated with colors. As a matter of fact, I learned the name of the colors after I learned how to read, write, and do math. Crayola intrigued my taste for design simply because of its structure, a stick of colored wax with a magical tip and well designed label. The label was something that brought my attention the most, the way that the logo was always in the center of the colored paper, how the simple wavy lines on the sides of the paper would dance when I colored and how easy it was to get rid of the paper and unleash a naked Crayola. Smelling the wax before and after use was different, the brand new smell of a never before used Crayola was welcoming but after, the smell that penetrated the paper and your hands was sweet and congratulatory for using the Crayola. The sensation consisted of a rough paper that hid a smooth Crayola that was easy to use, placing the tip on a piece of paper and let imagination go wild. When drawing, pieces of wax would separate themselves from the whole Crayola, leading to the shavings to either end up in the drawing or in your hands, an annoying sensation where the shavings were rough. A simple design made it easily accessible to not only utilize but to place back in the box, in a bag, in a desk, etc. Crayola came out to be such a well made design that other companies derived their own design, creating a revolution of coloring sticks that up to this day, are still quite popular. Yes, Crayola was successful with its design and continues to produce in bulk much of the design that marks memories for many.
dG