To be continued…

Throughout the quarter, design has become transformed from a mere profession into something much more vast that encompasses many aspects of our lives. Design even surrounds us everywhere like the daily objects we use from computers to bush cutters. Design is everywhere and in everything from the designers that create to the consumers that utilize and provide feedback on the objects. Design is in the initial and re-development processes to the prototypes created to the re-working of designs and re-inventions. Design is not just an idea tested and developed, but also the result of that very idea.

After a semester of design I find myself without the ability to pinpoint and answer to the question “What is Design?” the only things that come to mind are the ideas above. Design is a noun and verb, or the process as well as the outcome. Likewise, it is both the people involved and ideas. To further complicate the vast span of design, each new generation looks at design in society differently than the next. The definition is as “elusive” and “lost in time” as Kostas Terzidas suggests, changing and altering in each new generation.

Twenty years ago designers were not even thinking about sustainability or the impact their design would have on the future. These designers were engulfed in the design standards of their times and what design was not what it would be or should be. Design today is more focused on the ideas surrounding sustainability and conservation. Designers have developed a code of ethics to consider how their designs would impact the future and generations to come. This emphasis on creating design that could stand the test of time and better the society of the future is just in its infancy, but highly important to current designers.

Nathan Shedroff suggests the conversion of design with other outlets, business and sustainability, in order to fully achieve good design. Likewise, the designers of the film “Objectified” insist that good design is achieved through the functionality of form and the breakdown of the useless parts. Throughout the quarter, I have developed a greater understanding of how vast and changing design is within each generation of designers, but I have moved further from the ability to define design. This is by no means a bad thing as I am just embarking on my design career and just like the ever-changing world of design I to believe that as I designer I will change with the design world and so my ideas and definitions with take on new forms symbolic of the new ideas and content. I have decided to offer a working definition, if you will, a sort of Scott McCloud-ish definition.

What is design: Design is forever changing and everywhere in society; design is both a noun and a verb, a process and the outcome; design is never-ending and always just beginning; design is…(to be continued!!).

Ideas borrowed from lectures, class, film, and readings:

Kostas Terzidas: The Etymology of Design; Professor Housfield: Class lecture notes and slides; Nathan Shedroff: Lecture on "Design is the Problem”; Gary Hustwit: Film Objectified; Scott McCloud: Readings from Understanding Comics

Image borrowed from:

http://stashpocket.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/nanyangtechunisingapore.jpg

Nathan Shedroff began his lecture by discussing the different fields of design, business, and sustainability. He went on to insist that in order to understand any of the spheres individually today we must have a greater understanding of all of them. Likewise, we must familiarize ourselves with how the areas interact with one another and all together. By gaining this understanding across the boundaries of business and sustainability, designers reinforce their backgrounds and affirm a place in the upcoming post-consumerist market.

From there he asked us questions that got us thinking: What does a more sustainable world look like; What does a more meaningful world look like; and What does a post-consumer world look like. Following each question he gave us an example from countries like Brazil, India, Cuba, and even the past of America. However, these examples are not viable in our society today because these places achieved their sustainability by lacking money and are not in the same place today as we are as a society. We can’t go back to spending less and wasting less like we did before because Shedroff says the constraints of doing that would outnumber the constraints we already face.

Shedroff insisted that we lack any viable and all answers to the questions on sustainability, a meaningful society, and a post-consumerist society. However, he also insisted that as designers we have the necessary tools and creativity to take action in answering these questions. He insists designers need to take advantage of their ability to design a future that is better for the generations to come. Designers need to avoid designing things that are detrimental to the future generations and only make tomorrow worse off. By incorporating aspects of design, sustainability, and business designers are capable of designing for the preservation of generations to come.

Shedroff argues that design is meant to drive society to a better future, one closer to a utopia, or ideal place, a place of dreams. He insists it is through the languages of design, business, and sustainability that designers will be more capable of coming up with viable solutions making design more sustainable. In doing so, designers will enable future generations to get closer to not only the sustainability utopia, but a place that doesn’t exist in our world today, a place of dreams. Designers can build the sustainable society of the future for the generations to come; they can build their “Field of Dreams” and like in the movie “if (they) build it, they will come”.

Shedroff communicates his ideas effectively through the clarity of his speech and his utilization of colorful and informative slides. He is very eloquent and invites us into his lecture as if we are involved in the conversation of sustainability. His questions and answers are also intriguing because they get our brains moving so we aren't forced to sleep by him lecturing at us, but rather forced to partake in his lecture. The slides are very clear in layout and the information provided while the color usage serves to augment the content. The slides offer us a chance to listen and be involved rather than being distracted by scribbling notes that we probably won't be able to even comprenhend later. I guess this is a utopia for every student listening to a lecture.

Images of Nathan Shedroff and his book borrowed from Google image search:

http://www.sustainableminds.com/files/u1/081201_ns_1.jpg

http://www.presidioedu.org/userfiles/image/Alumni/nathan_shedroff_large.jpg

http://blog.find-mba.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/nathan_shedroff.jpg

Objectified

The film Objectified by Gary Hustwit documents the design of every-day objects from conceptualization by designers, to industrial manufacturing, and into our lives. The movie documents the objects that surround us from toothpicks to chairs to automobiles. The movie weaves form and content through designer conversations about their designs and the actual process of the design creation as well as views of the objects as they are in our daily lives. Overall, Hustwit is suggesting that the form and content of an object follow the object’s function in our daily lives and it is up to the designer to design for functionality. This idea is apparent through the ideas and processes of the designers as they create objects for our daily lives.

The film opens with the quote, “When you see an object, you make assumptions about that object in seconds”. These assumptions guide us through the object world, but sometimes these assumptions are misleading. Take for example the Japanese Toothpick, it is a design that is more culturally relevant than commercially understood. Originally, when I happened upon the toothpick I just thought that the etchings at the top were decorative. However, in Japanese culture this top is meant to be broken at the etchings when the toothpick has been used (a way to inform others it is used) or the broken piece can be utilized as a rest for a toothpick intended to be used over time. I was unable to see the etching as functional because of the functional purpose of the tiny object already. This designer goes on to quote Henry Ford in saying that objects have “stories” and as consumers we just have to “know how to read” them. In the case of the toothpick, I didn’t know how to read the story of the toothpick; I read it in terms of aesthetics rather than usefulness.

The next phase of the video involves form and function. The video states that, “Form is nothing like function…form follows function”. This idea suggests that the content of an object can be discerned to some degree by the form that the object takes. We wouldn’t look at the form of an alarm clock (with four legs and a square form holding the clock) and start throwing it like it had the form of a Frisbee. Design involves this search for the appropriate form of a certain function. A good design meets the needs of people without having “something (that) isn’t doing something” ruining the form. If there is no functional reason for something to be a part of the design then it should not be taking the space. A Frisbee would not have an alarm clock built on it because playing Frisbee is for leisure time or competition neither of which require and alarm clock to function.

The video goes on to stress the importance of looking beyond today into more sustainable forms when thinking of design. Good design in the video is, “About what is going to happen, not what has”. Good design is just as much about the aesthetic as it is about progress and honesty. Being sustainable and environmentally friendly are just as important to design as being minimal or relative to you. “Old designs end up in the trash for new designs”, is a quote plaguing contemporary designers. The video asks why we still build permanently today when we know what will happen at the end of a design. He suggests that contemporary design has an obligation to be more responsible with the course taken for designs in order to preserve the future.

Hustwit is showing us the people involved in design from the processes to the consumers. It is showing us the designers and the process they implement to achieve the final product of their designs. Likewise he is showing us that consumers are the people who receive and test design placing it back onto the path of further re-invention and re-designing. Hustwit is also commenting on what it is that design can be from an object to a process. Design can be an idea or a prototype as well as depictive of a consumer or memory. Design can be the original or even the result of re-working the original because through every object there is a story, through every design there is an object. Design is a dialogue between object, designer, process, and consumer that can be dropped or picked up over and over again.

Image above borrowed from Google images search:

http://www.typeneu.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/objectified.jpg

Bauhaus Architecture and Influence

The Bauhaus building is located in Dessau, Germany and was designed by the architect Walter Gropius. This building was created to become the site of the new art school that originated in Weimar. Gropius was one of the pioneers of the style of architecture known originally as the Bauhaus style and later as the international style for its commonalities to architecture and influences internationally. The building aimed to reject history and focus more on the function of the building, art, craft, and technology, rather than ornamentation and precedent.

The Bauhaus was designed for use as an art school and its form is very depictive of it. The flat roof and planar sides are made of mass produced concrete. The full side of grid windows is also depictive of the technology and mass-production of steel and plate glass. However, the wall of windows also offers the natural light necessary for the artists to work. This wall and the red door serve as the only minor ornamentation with more of a functional basis of providing light and indicating the entrance. The basic geometric form strips away the unnecessary and useless ornamentation to focus more on the work itself as a product of technology. This style later becomes known as the international style for its relevance around the world and the influence on modern architecture.

Similarly, the Bauhaus school aimed to focus on art, craft, and technology across artistic realm. Bauhaus, or “House for building” was a state-funded art school originating in Weimar, Germany and co-founded by Walter Gropius in 1919. The school was intended to help work on rebuilding the post-war society of Germany through the arts. It was aimed at creating a totally new approach to architecture and teaching that incorporated aspects of art, design, craftsmanship, and modern technological production and machines all under the same roof with little reference to the past. Bauhaus tried to create works of art involving all arenas of the art world. According to Wikipedia, “The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography”. By rejecting history, Bauhaus aimed to take a whole new stance on the world of art.

Over time this school and its works became fundamental to the works and movement of modern design. Bauhaus became well known for its innovative art and design instruction style involving cross-curriculum studies and collaboration outside of the school. Eventually, the school was moved to Dessau in 1925 and redesigned by Walter Gropius. After Gropius left, the school was lead for a period by Hannes Meyer and then Ludwig van der Rohe until its eventual close in 1933. Throughout the time that Bauhaus operated it influenced many areas of design from architecture to teaching to household items.

Quote and image borrowed from:

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

Information on Bauhaus from:

Art History 188B, Architecture Course

“Painted Ladies”: Make-up and Color Theory

“Painted Ladies” is the term for the woman who had “fallen from grace” during the time of the Wild West. These “Painted Ladies” were publicly known for their use of make-up that was unlike their more pure counterparts who neglected to adorn themselves with face paint, known today as make-up. While browsing some magazines for their ads on today’s “Painted Ladies” it became apparent that the colors were being selected to accentuate the features of the models wearing the particular brands. Weather being coordinated solely on the basis of the model’s features like skin or eye color or on the basis of accessories and clothing, make-up colors were being chosen to offer greater augmentation to the beauty of the model. This idea of utilizing the color options to enhance the model in order to promote the make-up of the brand is directly related to many aspects of color theory.

The important aspects of color theory directly involved in make-up: the three dimensions of a color; and color harmonies. The three dimensions of a color are known as hue, value, and intensity. Hue is the name of a color, like red, yellow, blue, or pink. What color you choose may be based on your skin, hair, or eye color, or solely to match a pair of shoes. Value refers to the lightness and darkness of the hue. The lighter or darker your hue is may be to create a certain look or mood from romantic to fun. Intensity involves the brightness or dullness of a color and is also known as chroma, or saturation. Each of these dimensions of colors are used in make-up to pick the right color for the individual features, to elicit a certain mood or emotion, or to coordinate with clothing and accessories.

Color harmonies are the next important element in understanding color theory involving color and its effect on the eye and emotion. Color harmonies are color combinations aimed at creating unity and harmony through their combination and can include: analogous colors; complementary colors; monochromatic colors; and triadic colors. Analogous color harmonies involve colors, usually two colors, to the left or right of a color. Monochromatic color harmonies (tonality) involve variations in the value and intensity of one color. Complementary color harmonies are colors opposite of one another on a color wheel. Triadic color harmonies involve any three hues that form a triangle on the color wheel. While analogous colors may be used for a daytime or business look triadic colors may offer a more fun and free way to express through make-up or coordinate with clothes. Every color harmony offers a different way to send signals or convey an image just as the elements of color do.

In the blog below a famous make-up artist named Carmindy talks about eye color and picking colors to enhance your eye color. For brown-eyed girls, who have golden and red tones in their eyes, she suggests the use of blues and greens falling opposite or next to brown tones on the color scheme implementing complementary or analogous color harmony. By using colors that enhance the eyes we can make them the defining characteristics of our faces. This not only gives individuals the look they want, but influences those who view the make-up.

Color has a psychological effect and can alter or evoke emotions. It has the same ability in the area of make-up to alter a look or features of an individual while simultaneously influencing a viewer. Make-up can create an image or look from business-like to club-ready fabricating an identity for the wearer and viewer alike. In altering the way we look make-up can inspire confidence and build an attitude as well as allow that persona to be perceived by others. By utilizing tools of color theory for make-up you can pick out the right colors for both you and the place you are going.

The following information and images are borrowed from imabeautygeek.com, a blog on beauty:

" “Opposites attract” is my motto when enhancing eyes to look vividly alive. By choosing shadows, liners and mascaras that contrast with your eye colour, you turn up the voltage of your irises for an electrifying beauty. Whether your peepers are blue, green, brown, or hazel, using opposing makeup colours will always make them “pop.”

Now remember, there are no hard-and-fast rules: the following are only suggestions to help you sensationalize your eyes. Play with this “opposites attract” idea, and pay attention to the compliments sure to follow!

Brown Eyes Play with deep shades of navy and sapphire smudged into the lash line for a subtle edge that is alluring but not over-the-top. When using blue eyeliner, follow with neutral lid colours like soft shimmering browns for a modern look.

Brown-eyed girls can also have fun with shades of green. Experiment with forest and emerald to discover what really sparkles on you.

Blue Eyes Smudge on shades of chocolate brown, taupe, or bronze to make the blue really come alive. Blue shadows compete with your natural colour, so play to the positive by skipping blue hues.

Green Eyes Try eyeliners or shadows in eggplant, purple, burgundy, lavender, or amythest. The contrast of colours will give you the sexiest emerald stare.

Hazel Eyes Hazel eyes look incredible when paired with green shadow. My personal favourite is a sparkling forest green applied across the lid and under the lash line. This shade deepens the brown tones while bringing up the green. "

Images and text borrowed from a blogsite:

http://imabeautygeek.com/2008/11/17/makeup-for-your-eye-colour-suggestions-from-makeup-pro-carmindy/

Album Cover of Pink Floyd “The Dark Side of the Moon"

While studying color theory I had an epiphany about this Pink Floyd Album cover. I always knew that it held some greater meaning, but it was more along the lines of what light, triangles, and rainbows had something more to do with the “The Dark Side of the Moon” literally. I now realize that it did just not in the way that I originally thought. Lets look a little at what David A. Lauer refers to as “The Essentials” of color theory.

The fundamental truth of color theory is that color is not merely an object, but rather a property of light (Lauer 252). In the seventeenth century, Sir Isaac Newton established this property by the placement of white light through a prism. Once placed through the prism, the white light was broken up into the rainbow of hues. This image is captured on the album cover above where the white light is entering the prism and comes out looking like a rainbow.

Sir Isaac Newton showed that color is reflected off of objects by their ability to reflect rays of white light rather than having their own color. So in other words, as light changes, so does the color. This is why many people in the world of art and design have to take classes on light and lighting. They must consider how light will play a role in and what the effects will be on what is being designed. Subtle changes in light can alter and affect the color of a work or design.

Take Claude Monet’s paintings (view at: http://www.squidoo.com/monet-rouen) of the Rouen Cathedral at different times of the day and during different seasons. Each painting shows the difference in the lighting of each day and the time of day he painted through the colors he used. The paintings depict how light reflected color off the cathedral playing a key role in each paintings unique and different coloring of the same image. Monet’s paintings depict the fundamental idea of color theory that color is a result of light and changes as light itself changes.

Now back to the source of inspiration, the album cover. Pink Floyd’s album cover shows that color changes according to light. By suggesting that this is “The Dark Side of the Moon”, there is no light and similarly no color. Likewise, the picture of white light entering a prism to portray color reinforces the necessity of light for there to be color. This album has been teaching the masses the key to color theory since its creation. However, in my case, I needed the color theory lesson to understand the art.

Photo of prism and white light courtesy of Ross Howard's Myspace :

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/SheriffBart101/prism-and-refraction-of-light-into-.jpg

Photo above of Pink Floyd album cover borrowed from google images:

http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritealbum/albumart/img/darkside.jpg

Information on Color Theory from Design Basics by Davis A. Lauer

Pumpkin Carving

This past weekend was the holiday known as Halloween and thirteen pumpkins had to be carved for the decorating of a certain home. Now, this is well known to be a monumental achievement amongst anyone who has ever embarked on the traditional carving of a pumpkin. Fellow carvers are well aware of the time and effort required, not to mention total concentration.

However more recently with the growth in popularity of the holiday, many people (especially the crazies carving 13 pumpkins) have resorted to carving pumpkins by designs created and distributed by others. These designs are printed on paper and can be copied so that they can be posted to the pumpkin, outlined for carving, and then actually cut out. Although the creative aspect is left to the page designers, the pumpkin carvers are left to properly cut out or leave the positive or negative space forcing them to look for the figure and ground relationship of the design outlines.

The positive space is the space occupied by the form, figure, or object while the negative space is the space between and around it these things. In some carving cases, the negative space is cut away to emphasize the figure in the positive space. On the other hand, the positive space can be carved away utilizing the outline in the negative space to give way to the details of the figure. The design lays out this difference for the outliner making the distinction very apparent and easy to follow. However, the carver is forced to use only the outline as a mere guide through the positive and negative space. The carver is forced to find the figures relationship to the surrounding area as well as the surrounding areas’ relation to the figure. Without this, it is quite apparent that a single cut of the wrong space could destroy the design.

Pumpkin carvers rely on the relationship between the figure and ground to accurately carve the negative or positive space. Although they rely on prefabricated design, it is the reliance on figure/ground relationship that makes or breaks the design. In the process of pumpkin carving, carvers are forced to pick the design and outline it setting up a framework for carving. After the outline is made, the carver must implement the ideas, negative and positive space as well as figure/ground relationship, to carve the design. When carving mistakes occur it is because a lack of unity or failing to see the relationships causing the plan to be reworked or rebuilt (sometimes with toothpicks). Then the carving continues until the finished product is revealed.

The design process and design ideas are everywhere in society from simple household arrangements to building designs to pumpkin carving. The idea that creating takes thinking and reworking is fundamental to designing. Even when carving a pumpkin from a design, carvers have to consider things as simple as which pumpkin to carve what design on.

Image above borrowed from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/images/2004/11/01/witch_pumpkin_470_470x353.jpg

Images of the pumkin carving designs can be found at these links:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/t_template.asp?t=http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/images/bpatternwitch.gif

http://www.dltk-kids.com/t_template.asp?t=http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/images/bpatternwitch2.gif