This past week I received my April/May issue of Applied Arts in the mail and was happy to see a huge article dedicated to packaging.
Applied Arts
I found the whole article so interesting, as it mainly focused around making packaging sustainable. Creating sustainable packaging is a major theme in my packaging design classes that I have taken this year. So, I found it very interesting to read about the steps that various packaging design firms are taking to create sustainable packaging.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Lesser Targeted Demographics
While doing some research for my newest packaging design project- Design or redesign a current package which houses a product that has a lesser targeted demographic - I came upon this:
Hearing Aid Packaging
I also did this project in Packaging Design 1, but feel that what I ended up with wasn't my best work, so it's nice to have the option to do it over again. I selected hearing aids as my product for lesser targeted demographics and thought that this design that I found is very clever.
It is a great piece of design because it creates movement out of a simple package. It also directly represents what is housed inside, and those who may be purchasing hearing aids will directly get the message of the soundwaves shown on the front of the package. Although it may seem like overpackaging, I still think that it creates a great sense of movement and is just so cool.
Hearing Aid Packaging
I also did this project in Packaging Design 1, but feel that what I ended up with wasn't my best work, so it's nice to have the option to do it over again. I selected hearing aids as my product for lesser targeted demographics and thought that this design that I found is very clever.
It is a great piece of design because it creates movement out of a simple package. It also directly represents what is housed inside, and those who may be purchasing hearing aids will directly get the message of the soundwaves shown on the front of the package. Although it may seem like overpackaging, I still think that it creates a great sense of movement and is just so cool.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Packaging
Research Question
How is the packaging of a product as important as the product housed inside?
• Taking into consideration the idea of packaging something that is not typically housed within a package design:
- Trees
- A car
- Rain
- Elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water)
• Sustainability and environmental capital
- Affects and factors such as shipping, size, safety, etc.
• Application of sensory branding
• What are the factors that go into packaging (Shape, size, raw materials, etc.)
• Sensitivities within packaging (Ethics, cultures, connotations, etc.)
How is the packaging of a product as important as the product housed inside?
• Taking into consideration the idea of packaging something that is not typically housed within a package design:
- Trees
- A car
- Rain
- Elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water)
• Sustainability and environmental capital
- Affects and factors such as shipping, size, safety, etc.
• Application of sensory branding
• What are the factors that go into packaging (Shape, size, raw materials, etc.)
• Sensitivities within packaging (Ethics, cultures, connotations, etc.)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Semiotics: A Primer for Designers
Semiotics: A Primer for Designers
by Challis Hodge
“Semiotics is important for designers as it allows us to understand the relationships between signs, what they stand for, and the people who must interpret them — the people we design for.”
I read Roland Barthes' "Mythologies" last year in my Humanities class. The short stories and thoughts in Barthes' were very interesting and intriguing and allowed me to understand even more about semiotics and the study of signs.
Semiotics helps us not to take reality for granted as something that simply exists. It helps us to understand that reality depends not only on the intentions we put into our work but also the interpretation of the people who experience our work.
by Challis Hodge
“Semiotics is important for designers as it allows us to understand the relationships between signs, what they stand for, and the people who must interpret them — the people we design for.”
I read Roland Barthes' "Mythologies" last year in my Humanities class. The short stories and thoughts in Barthes' were very interesting and intriguing and allowed me to understand even more about semiotics and the study of signs.
Semiotics helps us not to take reality for granted as something that simply exists. It helps us to understand that reality depends not only on the intentions we put into our work but also the interpretation of the people who experience our work.
How Professionals Think in Action
The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action
by Donald Schon
The three principal doctrines of Positivism:
• First, there was the conviction that empirical science was not just a form of knowledge but the only source of positive knowledge of the world.
• Second, there was the intention to cleanse men’s minds of mysticism, superstition, and other forms of pseudoknowledge.
• Third, there was the program of extending scientific knowledge and technical control to human society, to make technology, as Comte said, “no longer exclusively geometrical, mechanical or chemical, but also and primarily political and moral.”
The example about the construction and building of a road was very interesting in this reading, and made it somewhat easier to understand after reading a bunch of historical garble that I did not seem to understand what it had to do with the article.
This example about the road building, "they deal usually with a complex and ill-defined situation in which geographic, topological, financial, economic, and political issues are all mixed up together." Yet when they perhaps reach a neighbourhood, all of the issues arise yet again and problem solving and problem "setting" take control.
There are actions, recognitions, and judgments which we know how to carry out spontaneously; we do not have to think about them prior to or during their performance.
We are often unaware of having learned to do these things; we simply find
ourselves doing them. In some cases, we were once aware of the understandings which were subsequently internalized in our feeling for the stuff of action. In other cases, we may never have been aware of them. In both cases, however, we are usually unable to describe the knowing which our action reveals. It is in this sense that I speak of knowing-in-action, the characteristic mode of ordinary practical knowledge.
by Donald Schon
The three principal doctrines of Positivism:
• First, there was the conviction that empirical science was not just a form of knowledge but the only source of positive knowledge of the world.
• Second, there was the intention to cleanse men’s minds of mysticism, superstition, and other forms of pseudoknowledge.
• Third, there was the program of extending scientific knowledge and technical control to human society, to make technology, as Comte said, “no longer exclusively geometrical, mechanical or chemical, but also and primarily political and moral.”
The example about the construction and building of a road was very interesting in this reading, and made it somewhat easier to understand after reading a bunch of historical garble that I did not seem to understand what it had to do with the article.
This example about the road building, "they deal usually with a complex and ill-defined situation in which geographic, topological, financial, economic, and political issues are all mixed up together." Yet when they perhaps reach a neighbourhood, all of the issues arise yet again and problem solving and problem "setting" take control.
There are actions, recognitions, and judgments which we know how to carry out spontaneously; we do not have to think about them prior to or during their performance.
We are often unaware of having learned to do these things; we simply find
ourselves doing them. In some cases, we were once aware of the understandings which were subsequently internalized in our feeling for the stuff of action. In other cases, we may never have been aware of them. In both cases, however, we are usually unable to describe the knowing which our action reveals. It is in this sense that I speak of knowing-in-action, the characteristic mode of ordinary practical knowledge.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Text Talk (pt. 2)
Continued from: Text Talk.
Research Question
How has the growth in technology and the introduction of "text talk" and "emoticons" affected the communication and design aspects of typography?
This could entail in the exploration of:
• Pictograms
• Hieroglyphics
• History of communication through design
• Technology development and growth
• Communication through technology
This graphic design forum thread asks a similar question and the replies are interesting. A lot of it also relates to the argument about whether the computer has been a positive or negative influence on the graphic design field.
Research Question
How has the growth in technology and the introduction of "text talk" and "emoticons" affected the communication and design aspects of typography?
This could entail in the exploration of:
• Pictograms
• Hieroglyphics
• History of communication through design
• Technology development and growth
• Communication through technology
This graphic design forum thread asks a similar question and the replies are interesting. A lot of it also relates to the argument about whether the computer has been a positive or negative influence on the graphic design field.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I Come to Bury Graphic Design
I Come to Bury Graphic Design
by Kenneth Fitzgerald
Design is everywhere and on everything, and with the access to so many programs and computers and other things, it seems like anyone could be a designer if they feel like it.
This applies to design as well as art. Sure, anyone could probably put together a simple CSS/HTML web design for their own home-run company, but there is just something about these "self-made" designers that make their work look like they weren't designers.
But as the saying goes, "Everyone can draw. Not everyone can draw well."
by Kenneth Fitzgerald
Design is everywhere and on everything, and with the access to so many programs and computers and other things, it seems like anyone could be a designer if they feel like it.
This applies to design as well as art. Sure, anyone could probably put together a simple CSS/HTML web design for their own home-run company, but there is just something about these "self-made" designers that make their work look like they weren't designers.
But as the saying goes, "Everyone can draw. Not everyone can draw well."
Why Designers Can't Think
Why Designers Can't Think
By Michael Bierut
"Swiss" or "Slick."
Process, lengthy projects. Or portfolio pieces.
Combining the two would probably be most ideal.
To me, I think that OCAD has some sort of grip on combining these two. I feel that some classes are all about the process work; they're one huge project lasting the 13 or 14 weeks of the semester. They make you think, work through problems, reach a result, but that result doesn't have to be the be all and end all of the piece. There are other classes which feature three or four different projects throughout the 13-14 week period of the semester. These smaller projects are to be completed within a certain deadline and are to be seen as outstanding portfolio pieces.
By experiencing both ends of the spectrum, it allows us as graphic design students to learn how to better educate ourselves about topics that we are not familiar with and also prepare ourselves for starting a career after graduating.
By Michael Bierut
"Swiss" or "Slick."
Process, lengthy projects. Or portfolio pieces.
Combining the two would probably be most ideal.
To me, I think that OCAD has some sort of grip on combining these two. I feel that some classes are all about the process work; they're one huge project lasting the 13 or 14 weeks of the semester. They make you think, work through problems, reach a result, but that result doesn't have to be the be all and end all of the piece. There are other classes which feature three or four different projects throughout the 13-14 week period of the semester. These smaller projects are to be completed within a certain deadline and are to be seen as outstanding portfolio pieces.
By experiencing both ends of the spectrum, it allows us as graphic design students to learn how to better educate ourselves about topics that we are not familiar with and also prepare ourselves for starting a career after graduating.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Graphic Design Thesis: A Survivor's Guide
Graphic Design Thesis: A Survivor's Guide
by Michael Vanderbyl
Graphic Design Thesis is designed to define the complex intersection between personal voice, conceptual understanding, and the ability to conduct and use research effectively in the service of creating a compelling, finely crafted public communication.
Four major components:
• Thesis proposal
• Research
• Thesis project
• Process book
The Thesis Proposal
The thesis proposal is a proposition or argument - usually based on original observation - which you intend to support through research. The proposal might detail your anticipated investigation or address the potential implication of your proposition.
The Research
The purposes of research are many:
• To understand how to evaluate what you see and read
• To develop your own opinions and critical frameworks based on informed judgments - not simply on what you like and don't like
• To acquire the critical skills to discern reliable/useful sources from the junk
• To evaluate your own work in light of what you learn through research
• To develop your own understanding of the relationship of history/theory to practice
• To have the chance to explore a topic that interests you in a more in-depth fashion
The Thesis Project
The thesis project is a proposition or argument explicated by design and supported by research. Your thesis project is the physical manifestation of, and the conclusion to, your thesis proposal. The for it takes should be determined by the nature of your proposal and its content.
Process Book
A bound record of your thinking and design process. Your process book should include your writing, research, design investigations, successes, and failures - in short it should document how you got from point A to point Z in 15 weeks. It should include all steps, even abandoned topics. It should also include footnotes and a bibliography.
by Michael Vanderbyl
Graphic Design Thesis is designed to define the complex intersection between personal voice, conceptual understanding, and the ability to conduct and use research effectively in the service of creating a compelling, finely crafted public communication.
Four major components:
• Thesis proposal
• Research
• Thesis project
• Process book
The Thesis Proposal
The thesis proposal is a proposition or argument - usually based on original observation - which you intend to support through research. The proposal might detail your anticipated investigation or address the potential implication of your proposition.
The Research
The purposes of research are many:
• To understand how to evaluate what you see and read
• To develop your own opinions and critical frameworks based on informed judgments - not simply on what you like and don't like
• To acquire the critical skills to discern reliable/useful sources from the junk
• To evaluate your own work in light of what you learn through research
• To develop your own understanding of the relationship of history/theory to practice
• To have the chance to explore a topic that interests you in a more in-depth fashion
The Thesis Project
The thesis project is a proposition or argument explicated by design and supported by research. Your thesis project is the physical manifestation of, and the conclusion to, your thesis proposal. The for it takes should be determined by the nature of your proposal and its content.
Process Book
A bound record of your thinking and design process. Your process book should include your writing, research, design investigations, successes, and failures - in short it should document how you got from point A to point Z in 15 weeks. It should include all steps, even abandoned topics. It should also include footnotes and a bibliography.
Wonders Revealed: Design and Faux Science
Wonders Revealed: Design and Faux Science
by Jessica Helfand and William Drentel
The landscape has shifted.
Although this reading makes many interesting points about the variations of science, design and other fields, it is still important to understand that without one field, another may not exist.
Similar to my post about Paul Leedy's Focusing Your Research Efforts, the interconnectedness of all fields of research, design or science, is intriguing. It's amazing how vastly different something may be from another, yet how connected they are in once sense or another.
by Jessica Helfand and William Drentel
The landscape has shifted.
Although this reading makes many interesting points about the variations of science, design and other fields, it is still important to understand that without one field, another may not exist.
Similar to my post about Paul Leedy's Focusing Your Research Efforts, the interconnectedness of all fields of research, design or science, is intriguing. It's amazing how vastly different something may be from another, yet how connected they are in once sense or another.
On (Design) Bullshit
On (Design) Bullshit
by Michael Bierut
"I don't know, I just like it that way." So many times in my life as a designer I wish that I could have used that to explain my decisions behind certain elements. This reading was very amusing and very relative to many designers, if not all of them. I know many, many times I have bullshitted many reasons why I designed a certain poster or package the way I did.
Now it just seems like another phase of designing. I think to myself when designing, "Why am I using a circle on this logo rather than a square?" Then I work it out in my brain:
A circle. A circle is round. It represents unity, continuation and symmetry. A circle will work for this company because it represents all these things. This way, the logo will be seen as "everlasting" and highly representative of the company I am designing it for because they are a strong and long-lasting company.
But when you think about it, it's still just a circle. It's the art of being able to denote and connote the correct ideas with the subject to become a great bullshitter.
by Michael Bierut
"I don't know, I just like it that way." So many times in my life as a designer I wish that I could have used that to explain my decisions behind certain elements. This reading was very amusing and very relative to many designers, if not all of them. I know many, many times I have bullshitted many reasons why I designed a certain poster or package the way I did.
Now it just seems like another phase of designing. I think to myself when designing, "Why am I using a circle on this logo rather than a square?" Then I work it out in my brain:
A circle. A circle is round. It represents unity, continuation and symmetry. A circle will work for this company because it represents all these things. This way, the logo will be seen as "everlasting" and highly representative of the company I am designing it for because they are a strong and long-lasting company.
But when you think about it, it's still just a circle. It's the art of being able to denote and connote the correct ideas with the subject to become a great bullshitter.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Out of Print
Out of Print
by Eric Alterman
"The Rise of the Internet" ...The internet is a massive source of basically everything and it is indeed being seen as a huge opportunity to change how the world works. I think with the rise of technology and the availability of the internet to every household makes newspapers seem almost obsolete. With the ability to access the New York Times, Toronto Star, the Wall Street Journal and many more directly through the internet, and the majority of the time for free, make it possible for anyone with a computer to read the daily news whenever and wherever they want without having to wait.
With the rise of the internet, speed and availability because top priorities. Why wait for the big story to be printed and delivered to your front door in the morning when you can instantly read the latest breaking news headline online 10 minutes after it happens? With the rise of the internet and the demand and desire for instantaneous information the printed newspaper may eventually become obsolete.
Not only do internet versions of newspapers offer instant information, but they also offer the ability of anyone to comment and state their opinion on whatever article they wish. So, online newspapers also promote interaction between people.
by Eric Alterman
"The Rise of the Internet" ...The internet is a massive source of basically everything and it is indeed being seen as a huge opportunity to change how the world works. I think with the rise of technology and the availability of the internet to every household makes newspapers seem almost obsolete. With the ability to access the New York Times, Toronto Star, the Wall Street Journal and many more directly through the internet, and the majority of the time for free, make it possible for anyone with a computer to read the daily news whenever and wherever they want without having to wait.
With the rise of the internet, speed and availability because top priorities. Why wait for the big story to be printed and delivered to your front door in the morning when you can instantly read the latest breaking news headline online 10 minutes after it happens? With the rise of the internet and the demand and desire for instantaneous information the printed newspaper may eventually become obsolete.
Not only do internet versions of newspapers offer instant information, but they also offer the ability of anyone to comment and state their opinion on whatever article they wish. So, online newspapers also promote interaction between people.
Know it All
Know it All
by Stacy Schiff
To be honest, I'm really tired of reading things that portray Wikipedia as an underground source for research; like the black market of information. I think that a lot of the flack for Wikipedia is from an older generation that doesn't "trust" technology yet and doesn't understand that not everyone out there in the big bad internet is out to get them.
I am a frequent user of Wikipedia, I guess I could be categorized as the "WikiGnome" as stated in the reading, who goes around a fixes typos and other small errors. When I am unsure of what something might be, where a certain location is or something else I almost always go to Wikipedia first. It's pretty obvious when an article has been hacked and the information is incorrect, you just have to use your own discretion and sense of knowledge.
Besides, if there are any doubts about the information provided in a Wikipedia article, there are citations and the links to the original websites that provide the information.
by Stacy Schiff
To be honest, I'm really tired of reading things that portray Wikipedia as an underground source for research; like the black market of information. I think that a lot of the flack for Wikipedia is from an older generation that doesn't "trust" technology yet and doesn't understand that not everyone out there in the big bad internet is out to get them.
I am a frequent user of Wikipedia, I guess I could be categorized as the "WikiGnome" as stated in the reading, who goes around a fixes typos and other small errors. When I am unsure of what something might be, where a certain location is or something else I almost always go to Wikipedia first. It's pretty obvious when an article has been hacked and the information is incorrect, you just have to use your own discretion and sense of knowledge.
Besides, if there are any doubts about the information provided in a Wikipedia article, there are citations and the links to the original websites that provide the information.
The Review of the Literature
The Review of the Literature
by Judith Bell
Organization is key. A lot of this reading was information about how different research can be organized and separated into different categories to make drawing conclusions, creating ideas and gathering information easier.
In the Clara Nai review section of the reading, the large amount of reading and researching left her with sizable amounts of information that required synthesizing. To do this she narrowed all information down and categorized it into sections that made it easier to understand, analyze and synthesize.
It is also important, as stated in the Richardson and Woodley section as well as at the end of the reading that use of language is highly important and can make significant differences in how information is interpreted. Also, using research that differs from your findings is not to be considered obsolete because it doesn't comprehend with what you have found out, it is just as important and informative and may introduce a whole new perspective that you may have no considered in the beginning of the research process.
by Judith Bell
Organization is key. A lot of this reading was information about how different research can be organized and separated into different categories to make drawing conclusions, creating ideas and gathering information easier.
In the Clara Nai review section of the reading, the large amount of reading and researching left her with sizable amounts of information that required synthesizing. To do this she narrowed all information down and categorized it into sections that made it easier to understand, analyze and synthesize.
It is also important, as stated in the Richardson and Woodley section as well as at the end of the reading that use of language is highly important and can make significant differences in how information is interpreted. Also, using research that differs from your findings is not to be considered obsolete because it doesn't comprehend with what you have found out, it is just as important and informative and may introduce a whole new perspective that you may have no considered in the beginning of the research process.
Purely Peach
Thesis Idea #3
I own a shop on Etsy which sells items that I have handmade and handcrafted to anyone in the world. I built this online store from bottom to top, but feel that the branding and packaging does not reflect the care and love that I put into my products.
I would like to propose an overhaul to my branding, investigate various successful brands, and design a completely new brand design. I would also like to propose a packaging design system for my products that caters directly to the style and design that they are, but also by being environmentally conscious.
I feel that this would be very useful because I have an interest in branding and a huge interest in packaging design. This would also be useful in the long run for when I continue operating my shop.
I own a shop on Etsy which sells items that I have handmade and handcrafted to anyone in the world. I built this online store from bottom to top, but feel that the branding and packaging does not reflect the care and love that I put into my products.
I would like to propose an overhaul to my branding, investigate various successful brands, and design a completely new brand design. I would also like to propose a packaging design system for my products that caters directly to the style and design that they are, but also by being environmentally conscious.
I feel that this would be very useful because I have an interest in branding and a huge interest in packaging design. This would also be useful in the long run for when I continue operating my shop.
Text Talk
Thesis Idea #2
With technology rapidly advancing, there is a huge need for languages to keep up with it. With the influx of technology, the shortening and elimination of words was introduced through text talk (txt tlk).
I feel that it would be very interesting to study how typography was and is affected by technology. Be it through computers, cell phones, digital media, websites and many other options, I think that it would truly be an interesting study and something that I would personally be interested in being that I am directly affected by it.
With technology rapidly advancing, there is a huge need for languages to keep up with it. With the influx of technology, the shortening and elimination of words was introduced through text talk (txt tlk).
I feel that it would be very interesting to study how typography was and is affected by technology. Be it through computers, cell phones, digital media, websites and many other options, I think that it would truly be an interesting study and something that I would personally be interested in being that I am directly affected by it.
Photojournalism
Thesis Idea #1
I love photography. I feel that it is one of the greatest ways to document the most important and intriguing moments in life... that with just the click of a button a single moment in time is captured, forever frozen in time.
I find myself interested in many notable historical photos such as Jeff Widener's 1989 photograph of "The unknown rebel" in Tienanmen Square, Malcolm Browne's 1963 photograph of Thich Quang Duc, and Henri Cartier-Bresson's "Behind the Gare Saint Lazare" to just name a few. These moments in time are forever remembered because of these photographers.
I feel that it would be interesting to create a photojournalism diary of an ongoing event that marks a certain time of importance. There are many issues and problems that everyone is aware of, but are not seen as important. For example, the carrying of the Olympic torch and those who protested the Olympics. Due to the fact that the Olympics are held in such high praise, the point of why the protesters are protesting. The protesters story was basically crushed by the media as a way to hide the fact that the city of Vancouver is suffering. It's suffering with homelessness, slums, illegal immigrants and of course a heavily damaged economy.
To have all these issues immediately smushed and covered up by the big names of media to promote the Olympics would have been a major opportunity to be a photojournalist and gather information and see how the other side viewed things and their motovations.
I love photography. I feel that it is one of the greatest ways to document the most important and intriguing moments in life... that with just the click of a button a single moment in time is captured, forever frozen in time.
I find myself interested in many notable historical photos such as Jeff Widener's 1989 photograph of "The unknown rebel" in Tienanmen Square, Malcolm Browne's 1963 photograph of Thich Quang Duc, and Henri Cartier-Bresson's "Behind the Gare Saint Lazare" to just name a few. These moments in time are forever remembered because of these photographers.
I feel that it would be interesting to create a photojournalism diary of an ongoing event that marks a certain time of importance. There are many issues and problems that everyone is aware of, but are not seen as important. For example, the carrying of the Olympic torch and those who protested the Olympics. Due to the fact that the Olympics are held in such high praise, the point of why the protesters are protesting. The protesters story was basically crushed by the media as a way to hide the fact that the city of Vancouver is suffering. It's suffering with homelessness, slums, illegal immigrants and of course a heavily damaged economy.
To have all these issues immediately smushed and covered up by the big names of media to promote the Olympics would have been a major opportunity to be a photojournalist and gather information and see how the other side viewed things and their motovations.
Friday, February 5, 2010
[murmur]
I am gathering information about the [murmur] website and doing a small analysis about what it currently has to offer its visitors.
[murmur]
I started off by looking at well-designed websites and what they had to offer and what their designs were. I narrowed it down to four major parts of what a website should include: Navigation, Content: Who/What, Interaction, and Graphics. I began by analyzing and going through all sorts of different links that are found on the [murmur] website and then drew conclusions about my findings and collected them in an organized Word document. This document will be shared with my group via email and in person on Monday.
The next step after this, with consultation of my group, is on how we can go about improving the [murmur] website to make it more user-friendly, informative and effectively designed.
[murmur]
I started off by looking at well-designed websites and what they had to offer and what their designs were. I narrowed it down to four major parts of what a website should include: Navigation, Content: Who/What, Interaction, and Graphics. I began by analyzing and going through all sorts of different links that are found on the [murmur] website and then drew conclusions about my findings and collected them in an organized Word document. This document will be shared with my group via email and in person on Monday.
The next step after this, with consultation of my group, is on how we can go about improving the [murmur] website to make it more user-friendly, informative and effectively designed.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Focusing Your Research Efforts
Focusing Your Research Efforts
by Paul Leedy
Research can be an amazing thing. Not only are we gaining knowledge about a particular thing that we wish to study then draw conclusions about it, but we are also introduced to all the other aspects about this particular thing and how it is interrelated to so many different parts.
It's truly mind-boggling how vast and interconnected everything is.
by Paul Leedy
Research can be an amazing thing. Not only are we gaining knowledge about a particular thing that we wish to study then draw conclusions about it, but we are also introduced to all the other aspects about this particular thing and how it is interrelated to so many different parts.
It's truly mind-boggling how vast and interconnected everything is.
Method Designing
Method Designing: The Paradox of Modern Design Education
by Jessica Helfand
Emotional honesty. I like this phrase and it is one that stood out to me in this reading. I feel that Helfand struck a chord in saying that and that as designers were are indeed similar to the actors and actresses of the world; that we need to truly understand our part and be able to feel it deep down enough to engage and audience.
"If such self-love leads to more honest communication, to more novel form-making, to more meaningful solutions, then so much the better. But for designers, such self-knowledge can not be a method. It is simply a motive."
by Jessica Helfand
Emotional honesty. I like this phrase and it is one that stood out to me in this reading. I feel that Helfand struck a chord in saying that and that as designers were are indeed similar to the actors and actresses of the world; that we need to truly understand our part and be able to feel it deep down enough to engage and audience.
"If such self-love leads to more honest communication, to more novel form-making, to more meaningful solutions, then so much the better. But for designers, such self-knowledge can not be a method. It is simply a motive."
Investigating Design
Investigating Design: A Review of Forty Years of Design Research
by Nigan Bayazit
Design has evolved and changed over the past 40 years. As has research. The research has to keep up with the change of design, technology and society to work and to use that researched data to draw a conclusion.
The history of design research with reference to design methodologies, as well as design science, is a wide and comprehensive subject that needs additional extensive research. Design research and its relevance to design methodology, as well as scientific research, are reviewed. Most design research studies were made in architecture because of the requirements of the societies after World War II. Scientific developments during the war, and the shortage of resources in postwar societies obviously necessitated and gave impetus to the creation of new ways to solve existing problems. Future studies in various design disciplines may benefit from the experience and progress in disciplines concerned with building as well as engineering.
by Nigan Bayazit
Design has evolved and changed over the past 40 years. As has research. The research has to keep up with the change of design, technology and society to work and to use that researched data to draw a conclusion.
The history of design research with reference to design methodologies, as well as design science, is a wide and comprehensive subject that needs additional extensive research. Design research and its relevance to design methodology, as well as scientific research, are reviewed. Most design research studies were made in architecture because of the requirements of the societies after World War II. Scientific developments during the war, and the shortage of resources in postwar societies obviously necessitated and gave impetus to the creation of new ways to solve existing problems. Future studies in various design disciplines may benefit from the experience and progress in disciplines concerned with building as well as engineering.
Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art
Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and the "Real World"
by Gunnar Swanson
"Design should be about meaning and how meaning can be created. Design should be about the relationship of form and communication."
Some points by Swanson in this reading were interesting. When he is speaking about pasteup artists and how current graphic designers are immersed in the land of Adobe, that they are going to be left behind when technology shifts. In a way, I understand what he is saying and that all graphic designers should have general design knowledge and not rely on their tools because their tools will constantly be changing, but I also feel that he contradicts himself later when he speaks of graphic designers as being adaptable.
As a graphic designer and a graphic design student, I feel that I have the base-skills that a graphic designer requires (and I am also learning more with my years at OCAD) but at the same time I feel like in this day and age, we have been taught to adapt to the changes in technology. I feel that the majority of us are now no long technologically challenged. When Adobe updates from CS3 to CS4, we all adapted to the changes, we understood what was new and where older options had been moved or combined into.
So yes, I agree that designers definitely need to have the general skills that all designers should have, but we shouldn't necessarily just rule out technology like it's this big bad thing that is going to ruin us and our opportunity for careers.
After all, designers are idea engineers. Technology cannot come up with ideas, only human brains can.
by Gunnar Swanson
"Design should be about meaning and how meaning can be created. Design should be about the relationship of form and communication."
Some points by Swanson in this reading were interesting. When he is speaking about pasteup artists and how current graphic designers are immersed in the land of Adobe, that they are going to be left behind when technology shifts. In a way, I understand what he is saying and that all graphic designers should have general design knowledge and not rely on their tools because their tools will constantly be changing, but I also feel that he contradicts himself later when he speaks of graphic designers as being adaptable.
As a graphic designer and a graphic design student, I feel that I have the base-skills that a graphic designer requires (and I am also learning more with my years at OCAD) but at the same time I feel like in this day and age, we have been taught to adapt to the changes in technology. I feel that the majority of us are now no long technologically challenged. When Adobe updates from CS3 to CS4, we all adapted to the changes, we understood what was new and where older options had been moved or combined into.
So yes, I agree that designers definitely need to have the general skills that all designers should have, but we shouldn't necessarily just rule out technology like it's this big bad thing that is going to ruin us and our opportunity for careers.
After all, designers are idea engineers. Technology cannot come up with ideas, only human brains can.
What is Research?
What is Research?
by Leedy/Ormrod
"Data, events and observations are, and in and of themselves, only data, events and observations- nothing more. The significance of the data depends on how the researcher extracts meaning from them. In research, data uninterpreted by the human mind are worthless. They can never help us answer the questions we have posed."
This statement stood out to me the most in this entire reading. The earlier points about schoolchildren coming home and saying that they did "research" at school, yet research is a term that is loosely thrown around. This statement to me says the most about what research actually is. Research is not only investigating something, but it is also drawing your own conclusions and meanings behind the information that you have just found out. Research is analyzing, interpreting, and then posing new questions that would involve even more research. Research is a never-ending process; it is an endless cycle.
by Leedy/Ormrod
"Data, events and observations are, and in and of themselves, only data, events and observations- nothing more. The significance of the data depends on how the researcher extracts meaning from them. In research, data uninterpreted by the human mind are worthless. They can never help us answer the questions we have posed."
This statement stood out to me the most in this entire reading. The earlier points about schoolchildren coming home and saying that they did "research" at school, yet research is a term that is loosely thrown around. This statement to me says the most about what research actually is. Research is not only investigating something, but it is also drawing your own conclusions and meanings behind the information that you have just found out. Research is analyzing, interpreting, and then posing new questions that would involve even more research. Research is a never-ending process; it is an endless cycle.
The Landscape of Graphic Design Education
The Landscape of Graphic Design Education
by Meredith Davis, AIGA
In the first section of this reading, Davis speaks of the balance between Graphic Design studio study and Liberal Arts studies. She states that, "What is needed is the development of liberal arts curricula that distill the over arching concepts of the discipline and provide instruction that asks students to reflect on these concepts in deeper ways, recognizing that the opportunity to understand them... Faculty must ask what truly constitutes a liberal education in design and invent challenging but realistic missions for pre-professional curricula." I agree to a point with what Davis says. Yes, while attending OCAD I feel that there is a certain feeling of a requirement to take liberal studies classes like English, Humanities, Sociology, etc, but at the same time I feel that a lot of time spent in these courses are not overly directed toward a conclusion.
As an example, I registered for an English class in the summer. Perhaps because it was a condensed version of the course being it summer, but it felt repetitive and directionless. There was plenty of reading and plenty of writing, but no actual goal of trying to hone a particular skill such as writing cohesively.
However, the liberal studies that are offered at OCAD can be very interesting. I find them nicely tailored for Art and Design students in a sense that a lot of the subject matter is Art or Design based. Such as art history, studies in Canadian literature and the arts, and even the art of materialism and consumer society.
So, in a way, I agree with Davis' statement about how liberal studies and arts need to be developed for students to have a better understanding of the "real world" and post-graduation.
Skipping down to the near-end of this reading, Davis begins speaking about her acquired work to re-create new Graphic Design textbooks. "I’ve asked Lorraine Wild from Cal Arts and Martha Scotford from NC State to author a new history of graphic design that takes the next interpretive step in the lineage begun by Phil Meggs. Departing from the 'famous people and their equally famous objects' approach, the book will ask questions OF history as well as ABOUT history." I'd like to just state my own ideas about the re-creation of graphic design books and texts; I feel that books are indeed necessary and carry through time information that can be passed along generations.
However, with the introduction of technology and the ever-growing state that is graphic design I don't think that re-creating books is really going to accomplish much. Because when you think about it, by the time that the book is written, designed, edited, approved and published, something is new and improved in the design world that will not be included in that book. With the rapid advancing state of technology, the only thing that can really keep up is technology.
by Meredith Davis, AIGA
In the first section of this reading, Davis speaks of the balance between Graphic Design studio study and Liberal Arts studies. She states that, "What is needed is the development of liberal arts curricula that distill the over arching concepts of the discipline and provide instruction that asks students to reflect on these concepts in deeper ways, recognizing that the opportunity to understand them... Faculty must ask what truly constitutes a liberal education in design and invent challenging but realistic missions for pre-professional curricula." I agree to a point with what Davis says. Yes, while attending OCAD I feel that there is a certain feeling of a requirement to take liberal studies classes like English, Humanities, Sociology, etc, but at the same time I feel that a lot of time spent in these courses are not overly directed toward a conclusion.
As an example, I registered for an English class in the summer. Perhaps because it was a condensed version of the course being it summer, but it felt repetitive and directionless. There was plenty of reading and plenty of writing, but no actual goal of trying to hone a particular skill such as writing cohesively.
However, the liberal studies that are offered at OCAD can be very interesting. I find them nicely tailored for Art and Design students in a sense that a lot of the subject matter is Art or Design based. Such as art history, studies in Canadian literature and the arts, and even the art of materialism and consumer society.
So, in a way, I agree with Davis' statement about how liberal studies and arts need to be developed for students to have a better understanding of the "real world" and post-graduation.
Skipping down to the near-end of this reading, Davis begins speaking about her acquired work to re-create new Graphic Design textbooks. "I’ve asked Lorraine Wild from Cal Arts and Martha Scotford from NC State to author a new history of graphic design that takes the next interpretive step in the lineage begun by Phil Meggs. Departing from the 'famous people and their equally famous objects' approach, the book will ask questions OF history as well as ABOUT history." I'd like to just state my own ideas about the re-creation of graphic design books and texts; I feel that books are indeed necessary and carry through time information that can be passed along generations.
However, with the introduction of technology and the ever-growing state that is graphic design I don't think that re-creating books is really going to accomplish much. Because when you think about it, by the time that the book is written, designed, edited, approved and published, something is new and improved in the design world that will not be included in that book. With the rapid advancing state of technology, the only thing that can really keep up is technology.
Friday, January 15, 2010
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