Journal Entry #7

while in New England, I took a side trip to Boston...here's some type seen around the city...

Journal Entry 6

30 conversations on design: Thirty designers were asked two questions

1. “What single example of design inspires you most?”
2. “What problem should design solve next?”

some responses that I thought were interesting:

Eric Spiekermann
to him, the greatest example of design is the alphabet, Gutenberg and the printing press. The alphabet is the greatest triumph in design.

Chip Kidd
There isn't on specific thing that inspires Chip but a multitude of things: monthly mortgage payments, working and living in NY, looking over the Hudson, buildings and being a spy.

Miguel Vasquez
Lately, for him facebook has been a source of inspiration for design. It allows him to see what a social network really is. It invites people to be proactive, to be involved, to communicate. It has grown as a usability tool.
The problem he thinks design should solve next is to improve the quality of life. It shouldn't just be a marketing tool. it should be used to organize and communicate.

Paula Scher
there isn't a single piece of design that she finds inspirational. She only finds design interesting in its time in relation to something else. Design doesn't solve problems...problems emerge and people think of ways to do things better. There no specific thing design should talk, but a multitude of things: they involve the way we life, the way we use things, the way we deal with our environment and society and sometimes, design isn't even the answer to these problems.

Ric Grefe
inspirations: Epiphanies. Michelangelo's staircase,Swiss railway systems, three tine Queen Anne silver forks...there's no way to single out one specific thing. To do so is trivial because every day design is seen that blows him away, things that make me go "I couldn't have done that".
He would like to see designers design their place in the world. It's not what designers make but the way they approach problems that makes them unique. It's this way of thinking that is key to big solutions.



My own response to these questions is this:

I think that inspiration is everywhere. There's no way I would be able to narrow it down to one specific thing. I see things that inspire, that provoke thought, that keep the wheels churning almost every day. Design is every where, whether man-made or natural, and because I think it's impossible for there to be one single source of inpiration.

As to what problem design should solve next, I would agree with Miguel Vasquez: to improve the quality of life. Good design is out there, and I think good desgin can also help solve this problem.

Project Two// Timeline: Process

PROJECT BRIEF

Establishing order: Graphic design often relies on typography to communicate order, information, and systems. The goal of this project is to make things easy to read, navigate and understand. As you learned in typography one, the foundation for creating an clear informational structure is a a strong typographic hierarchy. Type size, weight, and color are the the first steps. Graphic elements (lines, arrows, grids) and page structure are often used to aid in establishing a clear hierarchy.

Use the content from the website, you may use any additional resources for more information, images, etc. You may work in groups on collecting content.

CHALLENGE
How can you visualize the content? How can the audience get a quick understanding about the topic? How are the pulled into the content to find out more?

SKETCHES:






ROUND ONE:



ROUND TWO:


ROUND THREE:


THE HISTORY OF PHOTGRAPHY: FINAL






PROJECT OVERVIEW: Once we were given the topics to choose from, The History of Photography caught my attention right away. Overall, I really enjoyed this project, from beginning to end. I was able to establish the direction I wanted to go in early on in my sketching stage which made everything relatively easy. After that I spent the most of time just modifying and tweeking small elements. I ended up having two versions but only printed one . I'm happy with the way everything turned out and still I plan on still playing with it.

Journal Entry 5

TED is definitely home to many great minds. Along with Stefan Sagmeister's talk on happy design, I enjoyed Philippe Starks thoughtful talk on design.

on Happy Design: Stefan Sagmeister is such a captivating and inspirational person. He is a man of lists. Listing out the happiest moments in his life, he shows us that over half of those times involve him experiencing, whether witnessing or being apart of, design. He discussed momments where design evokes happiness. By sharing what makes Stefan happy, others, the audience, the viewers like myself, get this same feeling. By being passionate, by working without pressure, by getting out and enjoying life, all of this can lead to happy design.

Journal Entry 4

Who is Bruce Mau?

Bruce Mau is a visionary and a world leading innovator. He's Chief Creator of Bruce Mau Design, which was founded in 1985. He also founded the Institute without Boundaries, a studio-based postgrad program that was formed out of the conviction that the future demands a new breed of designer. In 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto was written to articulate Bruce Mau's beliefs, stratagies and motivations. This manifesto is how Bruce Mau Design approaches every project.

Of the forty-some mantras, therer are a couple that i would like to follow:

1. Allow events to change you.
You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

I think there are times when things happen and I just return to the norm, not even phased by what happened; not realizing if there was any significance to what occured. I'd like to learn from past experiences, rather than not recognizing them and eventually forgetting.

9. Begin anywhere.
John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.


A lot of times when I start a task, a project, whatever...i have trouble finding a starting point. Rather than worry about this..i'd like for it to just happen.

Journal Entry 3

reading: Twenty Rules for Making Good Design

1. Have a concept
2. Communicate - don't decorate
3. Speak with one visual voice
4. Use two typeface families maximum. Ok, maybe three.
5. Use the one-two punch!
6. Pick color on purpose.
7. If you can do it with less, then do it.
8. Negative space is magical - Create it, don't just fill it up!
9. Treat the type as image, as though it's just as important.
10. Type is only type when it's friendly
11. Be universal; remember that it's not about you.
12. Squish and separate
13. Distribute light and dark like firecrackers and the rising sun.
14. Be decisive. Do it on purpose - or don't do it at all.
15. Measure with you eyes: design is visual
16. Create Images- don't scavenge.
17. Ignore fasion. Seriously.
18. Move it! Static equals dull.
19. Look to history, but don't repeat it.
20. Symmetry is the ultimate evil.

To me, I think the three most important rules are Having a Concept, Communicating, and Being Decisive. Without a concept, design can lack so much; a message, an idea, a story. Without a concept, there is no communication. You can't just rely on piecing random parts together to achieve a whole; there has to be a thought process behind it, or you can't really call it design. It's being able to take an idea and develop it with conviction that leads to successful design. If you know and understand what you want—you understand the visual material you're working with— there shouldn't be a problem communicating that to an audience. If something feels off, others will be able to see.

These are also three things I would like to improve on for myself, especially being decisive. I seem to find myself wanting change when I get started on a project. Rather than developing and refining, I'm re-doing. I think design would be easier for me if I focus more on the direction I want to go in, rather than moving in multiple directions.

If I were to ignore any of these, I think symmetry and and speaking with one visual voice would be two of them. I don't think symmetry is evil. At times, symmetry can be beautiful. The simple nature of symmetry can be elegant, calming and visually pleasing. It just depends on what is being worked on. As for speaking with one visual voice...I think it depends are the circumstance. Audience is key. I believe it's possible to design and speak multiple voices, especially if the goal of ones design is to reach various audiences. Of course, being able to speak with one clear voice is just as important if there's a specific target audience.


on a side note in regards to rule 19. Look to history, but don't repeat it...it made me think of a quote by Jim Jarmush:

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to."

figured out what direction i'm going in..

Decided to go the illustration route. While the books themselves are quite graphic I wanted to play on that and have the Covers be toned down yet suggest a little darkness

Diary



Lullaby



Haunted



My books: Haunted, Lullaby and Diary all by Chuck Palahniuk.