Time for Change

Clement Mok wrote an interesting article on the change graphic designers are pushing for. The article speaks about how designers are needing to push for more professionalism. As a student I am interested in where the design community is progressing to. It is difficult to completely comprehend the way designers worked in the past as the work horses for larger corporations. Much of the reason why many businesses do well is due to amazing design. The amount of thought put into advertising is astounding and underrated. This article states that we as designers need to be heard. We need to rise up and push for a better tomorrow. Start thinking about where we want to go.

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Jonathan Harris is a computer wiz. He combines his computer science knowledge with architecture, statistics, storytelling and design. Harris speaks about how technology consumes life. His speech is full of sorrow and the problems with trying to create art with technology. He continues talking about how he feels like he is a slave to his computer. This thought scares me. I have always tried to balance my time at my computer with time with real people and my sketch book. It is terrible to think on how efficient the internet and technology can make social life. Nothing compares to actual human contact. I have always preferred to talk to someone in person than over the internet or phone. To write code is a completely different language, it can make you lose your humanity. But to know it helps create your own "space". When Harris talks about how people have their own "housing" on the internet. He speaks so truly, so very interesting on how companies can sell the same space to hundreds of thousands of people. I agree with his statement on how designers need to help push for humanity rather than technology. It is quite interesting the way the mind is moving toward code. This idea of the mind computing like a computer is similar to the novels I am reading right now by Frank Herbert. These novels were written in the 60's and 70's, so it is interesting that humanity is becoming immersed in technology. Maybe soon these books may come near to reality? hahaha

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Bruce Mau is the Chief Creative Officer of Bruce Mau Design. Clients of his Chicago and Toronto studios include Coca-Cola, McDonald's, MTV, Arizona State University, Miami's American Airlines Arena, New Meadowlands Stadium, Frank Gehry, Herman Miller, Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus, and the feature length documentary The 11th Hour. Since founding his studio in 1985, Mau has used design and optimism to originate, innovate, and renovate businesses, brands, products, and experiences.
15. Ask stupid questions.
Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.

I chose this mantra because knowledge is so important. Also, you never want to look a fool if you do something wrong because you didn't question what you were doing. Sometimes little things can become big problems. For example, When i was in middle school I worked for our neighbor who trained dogs professionally. I learned very quick to make sure I was doing things correctly and the way she wanted. I found this out my first day when I was letting the dogs out to air from the kennels. It was a rainy day and I thought all I had to do was let the dog out and clean the kennel while it ran about and did its business. It went well for the first few kennels but then I got to this energetic mixed lab. I let it out and it took off with a vengeance. I began to clean its cage and did not pay attention to the dog much, thinking it would come back when it was done. Little did I know that I was supposed to put a lead on it and watch this one. I felt stupid that I did not take the time to ask if I was supposed to take special care with any of them. The thought had crossed my mind but it seemed dumb to ask, because I assumed the dogs were all well trained. In the end it took a while but we finally got the dog back and I got my ass chewed.

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Stefan Sagmeister is wonderfully quirky and subtly funny. He has done great work with packaging for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, the Guggenheim Museum and Time Warner. I personally enjoyed his position of being happy while designing. Quite humorous with the images of the designers. He also talks about other designers work and how it made him happy. I thought the idea of the word bubbles was great, but the box with the open sky was brilliant. Over all his list of things that he like about his job seemed to be what I would hope my life will be like as a professional designer.

I also watched Sir Ken Robinson and Scott McCloud. Ken Robinson's presentation made me think very deeply about today's society and the way we are educating today. The idea he brought up about how we are teaching children for the future that we cannot even predict, caught my attention the most. It is crazy to think that things can change so much in five years. Scott McCloud spoke about his past and family and how it has affected his life. So interesting that his father was blind and still an amazing inventor and engineer. His father's faith in him even when he cannot see lead to him speaking about how certain people could see the shape of the future. It is interesting to listen to Scott after listening to Ken, because each talk of the future. Yet Scott speaks more of how we see. His list of the four basic principles is one to live by.

Learn from everyone
Follow no-one
Watch for patterns
Work like hell

All in all these designers are looking to the future to try and make the world a happier place.

personas

Keagan is a 16-year-old male. He is a high school senior and is youngest in his class. He enjoys playing chess and computer games, such as Age of Empires and StarCraft. When he is not going to school or playing video games, Keagan swims at the public indoor pool. Over the summer he is a lifeguard there and has his certification in water safety, so he can teach little kids to swim. Keagan plans to go to college in the fall and study aerospace engineering. When asked if he could go anywhere in the world where would he go, he replied: the moon.

Janne, is a 20 year old female struggling with her sexuality. In high school she was the captain of her volleyball team. She never dated anyone till she moved away from home after her senior year. Janne never had friends that were girls besides those on her volleyball team. She mainly hung out with the boys. As a young child she preferred to be outside playing in the mud rather than inside playing with dolls. She has never been stylish and usually buys her clothes from Finishline. The last time she was in a dress was prom and her mom forced her into it. Today she studies to become a large animal veterinarian and work with horses.

Philipo, is a 35 year old male who works on Wall Street. Over the years he has become quite wealthy. With his extra money that he doesn’t invest, Philipo buys vintage action figures and G.I. Joes. He currently has no wife, but is dating a smart 23-year-old female studying linguistics. They met at a vintage dolls convention and have been together for two years. Philipo plans to ask her to marry him soon. Currently they live together in a luxurious studio apartment. He rides a 2011 Honda CBR and drops her off every morning to her classes before he go to work. In the evenings they attend yoga together at a gym two blocks from their apartment.

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Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design

Good design is innovative: innovative design always develops in coexistence with technology.
Good design makes a product useful: keep in mind it must work
Good design is aesthetic: must work and be ridiculously good looking
Good design makes a product understandable: the product should talk for itself
Good design is unobtrusive: not really a piece of art, more of a tool
Good design is honest: do not attempt to manipulate the viewer with promises that cannot be kept.
Good design is long-lasting: avoid being fashionable, as a result the design will not be antiquated.
Good design is thorough, down to the last detail: care and accuracy show respect towards the consumer.
Good design is environmentally friendly: conserves resources and minimize physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
Good design is as little design as possible.

Don Norman: 3 ways good design makes you happy:

Positive thinking creates focus. When one is happier they are more susceptible to thinking outside the box.

The 3 Ways
Visceral - Emotional association through colors, sounds, etc. You can choose different typefaces to evoke certain moods.
Behavioral - Playing on the subconscious, the automatic. Good behavioral design makes the user feel in control. Design to signal certain actions or feelings.
Reflective - Looking over actions, focusing on the superego. Appealing to ideal images.

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the writers tool box, sums up many creative creation strategies. many of these strategies we have been taught though out our lives. the use of the methods help generate more ideas by helping us dig deeper. like little mind shovels. each method is different and can help in different ways.

mind map. simple, quick, and good at starting up the think tank.

concept map. relationships and associations.

free writing. 3-5 mins of writing what comes to mind. blah blah blah if needed.

brainwriting. allows the whole group to participate. not just those who can move the mouth.

word list. quick associations, one word. describe

all in all these strategies were created as was to build ideas and approach things in new ways, also to think around, behind, on top, inside, outside, up, down, over, above, below, under, and through the task at hand. personally i like the word list and mind map. they both allow for quick brain storming. they can be thought of a kind of lighter fluid to my minds smoldering coals. once applied sometimes the fire can get out of hand, sometimes it can just flare up, and sometimes if i am lucky it will get my hamburgers cooking nice!

nice!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2oZTaz/blog.reflexstock.com/2010/08/50-extremely-awesome-examples-of-typography/