CONTENT AND FORM

In the documentary called Objectified, the focus is on industrial designers, and the creativity and work that are put into the simplest everyday things such as toothbrushes, to complex technology. It shows us the relationship that we can have with mass-produced objects, and in the long run, the people that designed them. (It’s a pretty interesting movie! Filled with lots of things that you would never think about. Little head scratchers :p)

Industrial designers have to deal with form and content everyday of their career. Their goal is mass production. But they don’t care about the average customer. They care about the extremes. They want to make sure that they reach those that are hard to get, and in the end, somehow reach everyone. They are trying to improve our daily lives. Content is just a human idea, but form is where the designer comes in.

All objects speak, no matter if they are all jazzed up in a display case, or if they are standing alone in an empty warehouse. They are all saying something to whoever lays their eyes on the object. Just by looking at something’s design, many things can be inferred; how much that object should cost, how useful it is, the quality, etc. its up to the designers to find that balance between rational and irrational design.

Form and content compliment each other.

They're All Over the Place!

There are so many everyday things that we just let pass by because they have become so common that they have settled to become average and ordinary.

We were assigned to write about something that has been mass-produced. At first, nothing really came to mind. I didn’t know what to write about, so I just googled ‘mass production.’ With that search, coca cola came up. So after a little more clicking, I discovered the beverage can!

There are so many companies that use aluminum cans to package their beverages. Have you ever thought about who invented the can? And made it so easy to open? Well I didn’t, till today! And you are about to find out too.

The first pull-tabs were introduced in 1933. But they really started making a mark in 1963. They had to go through a lot of tinkering before their design was actually acceptable. The beginning versions were hard to understand, and even somewhat dangerous! People were cutting themselves when trying to open them. Much thought had to be put into these little contraptions that make our everyday lives easier. Everything had to be put into consideration; the cost, the materials that it would be made out of, the design, how it would work, basically all the angles of a new invention.

In my entry before, I wrote that all objects speak. And that goes for pull-tabs as well. With all of these tabs accumulating in landfills, they have spurred a lot of creative juices. Everyday people have started designing and creating on their own. They are using the pull-tabs and recycling them as the materials to make their own crafts.

In society today, taking care of the environment is a huge deal. By reusing these pull-tabs, we are giving out a message that we are trying to all do our parts in erasing our carbon footprint. This little piece of aluminum is shouting out a message. Its cool to think that what the professional designers have given us has inspired everyone else to do as well.

(the picture of the egg is prob not real heh heh)

http://www.squidoo.com/canpulltab

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Aluminum-Beverage-Can.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage_can

Carrying College On Your Back

Entering college, I noticed that quite a few people had North Face brand backpacks. Once I realized this, I started seeing them everywhere! Right and left, east and west, there was that distinguishable North Face logo and style. What about those backpacks were so intriguing that everyone had to have one? (I am not going to lie. I gave in to the temptations as well haha)

I wasn’t able to find out why people like North Face backpacks so much, besides their amazing longevity, pleasing aesthetics, and durability, but I was able to learn a little bit about how backpacks are made. I found this video starring a backpack designer.

http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/realworld/designing_backpacks/

Backpacks are one of those normal everyday things that people often overlook. The designers of these storage items are much under appreciated if you ask me. I didn’t realize it then, but a lot of thought goes into the design of these bags.

Here are some things that the designers have to consider: price, measurements, functionality, and comfort: just to name a few.

Industrial designers/product designers are truly the well-rounded ones. They are sufficient in their creativity skills, as well as their mathematical skills. So the next time you see someone drawing a backpack, you should buy them lunch J

P.s. I like to draw backpacks on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. 

Design as a Conversation

Current events (some more current than others):

• I bought a Macbook before the start of school.
• I learned what the word iconography means.
• I played badminton at the ARC.
• I got a job through ASUCD. 

But what I really wanted to write about is my Macbook. It has all these really cool features, from shortcuts that you can use with your track-pad, to easy to manage layouts! I really like it. And you can change it to any language that you want.

Anyway, in my design class, we were told to memorize what iconography meant. Iconography means the pictorial language of signs and symbols and their transformations over time. This brought me back to thinking about my Macbook. Macbooks have these little icons that stay consistent no matter what language you set it to.

Isn’t that something interesting? No matter what language you speak, you can understand what these little images are referring too. These little icons are universal ways of communication. The designs of these little guys are speaking out all over the world. It’s a conversation with everyone and anyone.

The impact that such a simple picture can convey is astonishing. No wonder the Egyptians worked with hieroglyphics. That way, it wouldn’t matter if people spoke the same language or not. As long as they could see the symbols, they would be able to understand the message. That means… a picture is worth more than a thousand words!! Its probably worth like a million billion.








http://www.icondrawer.com/img/free_img/Black&Blue_icons.jpg
http://www.justbathroomsigns.com/img/lg/S/Funny-Unisex-Bathroom-Sign-SE-2028.gif

Compare and Contrast

It’s weird how people can just start accepting things once they get used to them. Usually the first reaction to something that is different, never before seen, is skepticism. People do not want to accept it, and are wary of the consequences if they do choose to accept it.

One example that has stood out to me is the introduction to photography to society.

When photographs were first introduced, not many considered it an art form. In fact, it wasn’t originally used for art. It was used for science to help record results, such as what the scientists saw through telescopes and microscopes. They were also used to document family members. Parents would pay a whole week’s salary to have a picture of their child taken. This was because the survival rate was not as high as it is today. parents wanted to do anything they could to keep the memory of their child alive if anything were to happen to them.

Many painters did not like the concept of photography being art. They did not want competition. But slowly and surely, the two forms of recording images started to accept one another. They had certain studios set up so that someone would be able to pose for a portrait. Then afterwards, the painter would be able to paint abstract things into the backgrounds. (First introduction to what Photoshop would be?!)

Then the Kodak camera was introduced. Taking pictures became a pastime that was available to everyone. All they had to do was point and shoot, send in their film rolls, and then Kodak would develop the photos for them. It was at this point in time that society began to accept photography as an art form, as well as painters.

the fear that the painters had of loosing their careers to photographs was just them being paranoid. After they got over this fact, I think it is safe to say that they accepted photography as something that could enhance their artwork. Photographs only portrayed what you could see with the eye, but painters could portray what the mind saw.

Photographs back in the day: rejected

Photographs today: accepted

THUGGIN.

I wonder how people will feel about virtual art... if it ever happens?! It's crazy to see how different artworks are viewed over time.


images found from: http://www.wpclipart.com/camera/old_camera_1.png
http://toolkit.mindbites.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/old-camera-copy.jpg

Creativity From Without pt 2

I didn’t know that our blog “Creativity from Without” had to be about an artist haha. So here it is :)

HA Schult, is a German installation, and conceptual artist known primarily for his object and performance art and more specifically his work with garbage.

 

Schult is known by his trademark quote, “We produce trash, are born from trash, and will turn back into trash." Therefore…'Trash People' are images of ourselves,” explains the artist.

Schult used to be arrested for his artwork, but now he is so widely known that people embrace what they see, instead of calling it a crime.

Since his first trash installation in 1996 where HA Schult installed one thousand life sized Trash People in the Amphitheatre of Xanten, the artist has decided to send his message around the world. HA Schult’s trash figures have appeared in Rome, New York, Barcelona, Brussels, Cairo, Peking, Moscow and the Arctic.

Ha Schult is inspiring to me because of how much he believes in his artwork. With all that passion, as well as the large scale of his installation, he is making a huge statement. It’s incredible to think that these sculptures have been seen by almost the entire population.

Creativity From Without

I went to an interview today for a student government position and I was asked a lot of questions. After the interview, I couldn’t stop thinking about my responses. Was that okay to say? Was that what they wanted to hear? I kept coming back to the claim I made of being creative. Sure I can draw and everything, but what does it actually mean to be creative?

Recently in my design class, Prof. Housefield explained the etymology of design. ‘Design’ can be an unbelievably complicated word to try and unravel, due to the fact that it can be a noun or even a verb! But here in a quick 10-second recap, the Greek definition of design is: the indirect loss of possession. In fact, there is no such a thing as ‘new’ in the Greek language. It is just an illusion. They are saying that in trying to create something new, we are only covering up the original until we eventually forget about it. Then at some point, we return to the original, and it seems new again.

Upon realizing this, it occurred to me that nothing in a sense is new. Everything is just a rearrangement, or a different combination that we haven’t seen before. Or maybe we just forgot about it. As a design major, this brought a whole new light into what it meant to be a designer. This made so much sense to me. As creators we are always building new ideas off one another, making new formations and combinations. It didn’t make me sad that nothing I would ever be able to do would actually be original, but this knowledge actually took a load of pressure off of my shoulders! Technically I don’t have to come up with anything new, just make something amazing with what the world has given me :)

I hope that the interviewers don’t know the etymology of design. Because if they do, I basically just told them that I am a baker since all I do is mix stuff up!

image found from: http://tipnut.com/projectpics/bakingsupplies.jpg

Using the What the Textbook Says in Real Life

Today I am going to try and do my first art critique! With the guidelines that I’ve been given from our readings in Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak, I think I can put a little something, something together.

What I will be evaluating today is the new Warriors logo. The goal of this logo was to salute the team’s past and bring links to the exciting prospects of the organization’s future.

So this is what I think:

Description- The focal point of the design is a silhouette of the yet-to-be-completed Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge. The team state is curved at the top, with the team name curved at the bottom. All of this is done in the new warriors colors of "warriors royal blue" and "California golden yellow"

Analysis- the lettering at the top and the lettering at the bottom are proportionate to the circle as they both cover equal surface area. This creates balance within the logo. The yellow bridge stands out as the dark blue in the background contrasts it. The angle that the bridge is placed is interesting because it is not centered; causing the whole image to almost look tilted and crooked. 

Interpretation- overall, the logo gets the job done. It does pay tribute to the past, but it could have been done more creatively. Many have said that it is not a throwback because the design is of a bridge that is not yet built. Also, there have been complaints about the mediocre font that was chosen. Personally, I think that they should have kept the old team colors of blue and orange. And I do agree with the comments about the font.

Honestly, I would not have noticed any of these things if I had not taken a design course and read about unity, emphasis, focal points, scales, proportions, balance, etc.

I hope this is what a critique is! It was actually kinda fun :)

Dear warriors logo designers,

Please take all this criticism constructively.

Thank you.

Stephanie Wong 

Design in Other Careers

Design applies to many career fields besides just fashion and visual areas. I figured this out when I went to camp one year. At this camp, we were collecting tropical fish to study the parasites that infected them. It was mainly science based and for some reason, all the participants were not those that were interested in any field of science. They were all students that were interested in the arts or humanities. The reason that this came about was because they wanted to bring a new light to scientific research. They wanted to make it known that science is not all about wearing lab coats and doing boring tests all day. It involved creativity, passion and problem solving. Many experiments could only be conducted because someone was creative enough to configure the devices that were necessary to undergo the experiment. Creativity was also crucial because a lot of the time, scientists aren’t adequately funded, therefore, they have to make do with what they have, leading to innovation.  I would have never thought that science needed design. I initially went to this camp because I wanted to travel. But because of my exposure at that camp, I have decided to double major in design and wildlife conservation at UC Davis. I am excited to start on this journey!

Stone Soup

Yesterday, Prof. Housefield introduced the 3 steps of the creative process to us:

1.   Thinking

2.   Looking

3.   Doing

Today, we did an activity named stone soup. The idea was based off a children’s book written and illustrated by Marcia brown. Each person in our group was called to bring in objects from home that could be used to create something, just like the ingredients for making a soup.  

After laying out everything that everyone had brought onto the ground, my group realized that we needed a purpose, a common goal that we all wanted to reach. Looking around, we all agreed to create an octopus. Someone had brought a lot of pipe cleaners, and we wanted to utilize them to their fullest extent… tentacles!

We had just performed the first step of the creative process :) thinking.

Once we came up with this wonderful idea, we were all feeling ambitious. And the next thing that we did was figure out how to go about making this octopus. It brought us back to the materials on the ground. What could we use for what? We delegated different body parts to different people and soon everyone got a sense of which materials they were going to use for their parts.

We had just performed the second step of the creative process :) looking.

And finally we each made our own part of the octopus and put everything together. Our monster came alive!

And that was the third step of the creative process :) doing.

After that whole ordeal, our group was feeling really accomplished, and a little more connected. so we came up with a name for ourselves! We are now officially the ASIAN 8! The asian 8 underwent a process that is used by the professionals. We are on our way to greatness…

Ingredients

Everywhere I look, I see something that was designed, and designed very well at that. It makes me question myself whenever I think about my future. Am I good enough to be a designer? Do I really have what it takes? Yeah sure, I can be creative, and I can color in the lines. But what does it take to be a designer: what are they made out of?

I did some research on designers and I discovered two that graduated from UC Davis :D first we have: Deborah Butterfield. And second, we have: Bruce Nauman. Upon discovering these two people, I realized that everyone has to start somewhere, and these people started where I am today!

This reassurance got me right back onto my feet and back into the light. My internet surfing continued and I found another artist that I think is pretty cool. Here is his link:

http://www.dailymonster.com/344_loves_you/blog_index.html/page/7/

This man, Stefan G. Bucher, set himself on a challenge to design something everyday. And that is what he did! If you didn't click on the link, here is an example of what he does:

And that makes a lot of sense to me. Practice really does make perfect. In that case, I need more practice...

Another cool thing I found online:

Time to get practicing!

The Joy of Design

Many people associate design to be mostly two-dimensional. I myself thought that for the longest time. I never realized that design was in EVERY single aspect of everyone’s lives.  It was not only what you saw printed on paper handouts, or what you saw on your best friend’s blog. Design is more than that. From the computer you are reading this on, to the clothes you are wearing, everything that you can see, touch, and hear had to be designed. 

Design has always made an impact on me, even when I didn’t know so. My elementary school’s jungle gym made an early impact on me. That structure was magnificent. Every single bar, step, and swing stimulated joy and imagination within me.  It revealed my adventurous side as well, taunting me with its tall tubular slides.

I couldn’t help myself from being drawn to it. The colors called to me when I was in class. The unbelievable height of it intrigued me. The woodchips on the ground reassured me. That jungle gym made me look forward to going to school. it was a place to make friends.  It also became a place of solitude. it made me feel like I could conquer anything after climbing to the top. Someone had to design this amazing playground. And I’m so glad that they did.

I know that being a design major will open up many doors for me. I am not yet sure what emphasis I want to have, whether it be product design, package design, advertising, or maybe all three, I know that design will allow me to impact lives all around the world.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll be the one designing the next jungle gym for your children!

childhood memories <3

First Impressions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHeCenAL_XA

What do you think about the guy in this video?

Maybe he was trying to show off, maybe he wasn’t.

Maybe he was forced to do a dare! And it just went all bad.

Or maybe he really didn’t like that girl and he had to discreetly take action.

A lot of inferences can be made off of a first impression. Much of the information that those inferences are based off of, are greatly influenced by what first catches our eye. Designers all over the world are able to manipulate what you perceive from a first impression. I’ve always had a heart for the great work that they do, from seeing posters and flyers, to watching commercials on TV.

This was one of my many attempts to design something that spread a message through a first impression:

With these posters, I was campaigning to become the president of ASB at my high school. I was trying to convey a feeling that I was a different person; that I would be able to bring a change to the way our school was run. I hope that I was able to bring that perception to the students while they saw these posters when they were walking past them in the hallways.

I hope that throughout my 4 years at UC Davis, I will be able to develop my skills to the point where I can get across a who/what/where/when/how sort of deal the best way possible.

Ps. I won the election!