Larry Lessig quotes and gives information on how laws are holding us back as designers. Most significant thing to recognize is that the internet is recreating the read write Suza was talking about. Digital technology can help revive what he had talked to congress about. We are able to celebrate people and for the love of what they are doing and not just because they have to do it. As designers we are able to recreate and mix things together to make something that we want.
People taking and recreating to say something that they want to get across. He does not focus on people "stealing" songs or images but using those things to advance our creativity and speak. He says it is what we are and how we think.
Now the architecture of copyright thinks that we are stealing and copying. There is a growing extrimism with the law and use of the technology's. The economy of influence and policy makers will not understand and the solution is a private solution to legalize what it is like to be young again. There need to be two changes, artists and creators embrace the idea that their work be made available more freely and the business that are building out the read write culture to enable it. That way the content of free culture can grow.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Journal 12
Paula Scher stood out to me the most out of the three designers that I watched. She said that after 34 years she still gets excited once she finally grasps her thought and then treats the type as a sculpture. She did a lot of work for Shakespeare in the Park and took a different spin on the idea. A European designer said that she was the first one to create an American Shakespeare poster.
One thing that really surprised me was that she said she operates on instincts. She will try to make an idea one or two times and if she is not happy with it, she said that it can't be done. We are taught to make many variations of the design and refine, refine, refine. Her work looks great but part of me wants to think that it could be even better if she would do my process. I know that my stuff changes drastically from the beginning to the final product.
David Carson gives many important tips but the thing that really hit me and I though related to the Speech in Motion project was, "the starting point is interpreting something, don't try to make it look pretty, try to understand what you just read." This relates to nearly everything we have to do as a graphic designer. What is the point in making a great poster that is beautiful and eye catching if it has nothing to do with the article, group, or company?
Another point that he made dealt with how everything we do now is on the computer. He said that he would not want to work for or with someone that did not allow him to put his personality into the piece he was creating.
The last designer I watched was Sagmeister. He had a very different view and it was almost depressing and not as inspiring but this could just be because of his views. At the end of the interview he said that you have to live in the now, keeping a diary supports personal development, complaining is silly, dreams are meaningless, and that everyone thinks they are liked. The last couple seem very negative and I like to keep a positive view on life so maybe that is what struck me wrong.
I do think he made a strong point when he says that worrying solves nothing. Seeing that my external hard drive crashed on me a couple days ago and it is almost the end of the year, I was freaking out. I figured out that by doing so, I just cause myself more stress and I do not need that. He also said that he has to "make himself jump over the wall" and push himself to the limits or towards something he would be afraid to try. I think I am going to try to start trying this approach and see what happens to my work...
One thing that really surprised me was that she said she operates on instincts. She will try to make an idea one or two times and if she is not happy with it, she said that it can't be done. We are taught to make many variations of the design and refine, refine, refine. Her work looks great but part of me wants to think that it could be even better if she would do my process. I know that my stuff changes drastically from the beginning to the final product.
David Carson gives many important tips but the thing that really hit me and I though related to the Speech in Motion project was, "the starting point is interpreting something, don't try to make it look pretty, try to understand what you just read." This relates to nearly everything we have to do as a graphic designer. What is the point in making a great poster that is beautiful and eye catching if it has nothing to do with the article, group, or company?
Another point that he made dealt with how everything we do now is on the computer. He said that he would not want to work for or with someone that did not allow him to put his personality into the piece he was creating.
The last designer I watched was Sagmeister. He had a very different view and it was almost depressing and not as inspiring but this could just be because of his views. At the end of the interview he said that you have to live in the now, keeping a diary supports personal development, complaining is silly, dreams are meaningless, and that everyone thinks they are liked. The last couple seem very negative and I like to keep a positive view on life so maybe that is what struck me wrong.
I do think he made a strong point when he says that worrying solves nothing. Seeing that my external hard drive crashed on me a couple days ago and it is almost the end of the year, I was freaking out. I figured out that by doing so, I just cause myself more stress and I do not need that. He also said that he has to "make himself jump over the wall" and push himself to the limits or towards something he would be afraid to try. I think I am going to try to start trying this approach and see what happens to my work...
Experimentation with After Effects...
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Journal 11
Debbie Millman the President of the design divison of an international design consultancy, Sterling Brands. She has been there for fourteen years and in that time she has worked on the redesign of global brands for Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Campbell’s, Colgate, Hershey and Hasbro. Debbie is President of the AIGA, the professional association for design.
Design Matters is a weekly talk radio show that is provided on the internet. Debbie Millman is the one in charge and she has done many interviews with designers such as Stephen Sagmeister, Chipp Kid, Jakob Trollback and many others.
I choose to listen to the interview between Debbie and Tim Brown, the CEO of IDEO. He speaks regularly on the value of design thinking and innovation to business and design audiences around the world. The interview begins by Tim talking about how he ended up getting into industrial design and he said that LEGO is one of the reasons he got into design. You learn by making and are able to explore as a yound child. He said that IDEO began as more of a traditional company and they have grown a lot. Even though they have grown, they have taken design thinking and applied it in different ways without being managment consultants. When they were working with Amtrak they questioned them and gave them an expierence strategy to help them think about more then just the seats people were going to be sitting in but rather the journy.
Design Matters is a weekly talk radio show that is provided on the internet. Debbie Millman is the one in charge and she has done many interviews with designers such as Stephen Sagmeister, Chipp Kid, Jakob Trollback and many others.
I choose to listen to the interview between Debbie and Tim Brown, the CEO of IDEO. He speaks regularly on the value of design thinking and innovation to business and design audiences around the world. The interview begins by Tim talking about how he ended up getting into industrial design and he said that LEGO is one of the reasons he got into design. You learn by making and are able to explore as a yound child. He said that IDEO began as more of a traditional company and they have grown a lot. Even though they have grown, they have taken design thinking and applied it in different ways without being managment consultants. When they were working with Amtrak they questioned them and gave them an expierence strategy to help them think about more then just the seats people were going to be sitting in but rather the journy.
Journal 10
The GOOD website was very informational and helped inspire me a lot. A lot of the videos looked familiar and even though I thought they were very helpful it was kinda hard to put them with the motion we are creating. They were basically info-graphics for the most part and with those the content is more important to recognize the design. The differences that I did see between the info-graphics videos and the type based ones was the transitions that they went through from scene to scene The typographic videos demonstrated the importance of using imagery when necessary and how it related to the words in a cleaner and smoother transition. The info-graphics were very fast and choppy in many parts.
Journal 9
After watching video after video on the server and youtube I have found that many of them look the same. When viewing them without music or words the first round, there were only a couple that actually caught my attention. The motions that did not have much variety or hierarchy in them were boring without sound and I found it difficult to read them and stay interested. Adding sound to the animations changed them completely. Those that were already eye catching and attention grabbing were amazing while those that were boring became tolerable but still not too interesting to watch.
The Suberbad video was funny to watch and it sets the mood for the movie. It is so simple and it is amazing how much something can be described when only a silhouette is used. The two main characters are the ones dancing and the entire introduction does a great job of setting the mood for the movie.
The Casino Royle intro has been used a great example in one of my other classes. The very first scene when a gun shot is fired through the tunnel and blood drops down from the top of the screen is just so eye catching and memorable. The whole animation flows well and relates to the movie. The viewer is interested in seeing what is going to happen next as the main character fights with people. The end of it is also very interesting because the man is covered and created into a silhouette and tying it all together.
Spiderman 2 has an eye catching opening. It begins with comic book pages flipping fast to reveal the maker. It makes the viewer want to know what is going to happen and what are the comics about and how do they relate? The use of diagonal lines that are constantly moving and creating shapes and transparency's is interesting. The viewer does not want to look away because they do not know what is going to be shown next and don't want to miss it since it will soon be swept away by the other lines. The music plays along with the graphics very well and the suspension grows towards the end. The scale throughout it is pretty much constant with the exception of the title and the production company.
The Suberbad video was funny to watch and it sets the mood for the movie. It is so simple and it is amazing how much something can be described when only a silhouette is used. The two main characters are the ones dancing and the entire introduction does a great job of setting the mood for the movie.
The Casino Royle intro has been used a great example in one of my other classes. The very first scene when a gun shot is fired through the tunnel and blood drops down from the top of the screen is just so eye catching and memorable. The whole animation flows well and relates to the movie. The viewer is interested in seeing what is going to happen next as the main character fights with people. The end of it is also very interesting because the man is covered and created into a silhouette and tying it all together.
Spiderman 2 has an eye catching opening. It begins with comic book pages flipping fast to reveal the maker. It makes the viewer want to know what is going to happen and what are the comics about and how do they relate? The use of diagonal lines that are constantly moving and creating shapes and transparency's is interesting. The viewer does not want to look away because they do not know what is going to be shown next and don't want to miss it since it will soon be swept away by the other lines. The music plays along with the graphics very well and the suspension grows towards the end. The scale throughout it is pretty much constant with the exception of the title and the production company.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Address to France
General John J Pershing
"Three thousand miles from home, an American army is fighting for you. Everything you hold worthwhile is at stake. Only the hardest blows can win against the enemy we are fighting. Invoking the spirit of our forefathers, the army asks your unshrinking support, to the end that the high ideals for which America stands may endure upon the earth."
Importance: This is a speech given by John J. Pershing about Americans fighting in France in World War I. The soldiers need support.
Tone: Serious, meaningful, inspiration, dedication, support
3000 miles from home, fighting for you, at stake, fighting, forefathers, high ideals for which America stands
3000 miles loud, you should be paused, stake should be loud, forefathers paused, high ideals paused
It inspires me and informs. It gives me a sense of pride for America and is patriotic.
The audience was probably inspired by it and went out to celebrate the army and show support for the troops.
John Pershing was born on September 13th, 1860 in Laclede, Missouri. He spent some time as a school teacher at Prairie Mound. In September 1891, Pershing became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska. In 1906, he was promoted to Brigadier General. On April 6th, 1917, America declared war on Germany. In 1921, Pershing became the US Army Chief of Staff. In 1924, aged 64, Pershing retired from active duty. Prior to this retirement, Congress had awarded him the title 'General of the Armies'. In 1931, his autobiography 'My Experience of War' was published. It won a Pulitzer Prize for history in the following year.
"Three thousand miles from home, an American army is fighting for you. Everything you hold worthwhile is at stake. Only the hardest blows can win against the enemy we are fighting. Invoking the spirit of our forefathers, the army asks your unshrinking support, to the end that the high ideals for which America stands may endure upon the earth."
Importance: This is a speech given by John J. Pershing about Americans fighting in France in World War I. The soldiers need support.
Tone: Serious, meaningful, inspiration, dedication, support
3000 miles from home, fighting for you, at stake, fighting, forefathers, high ideals for which America stands
3000 miles loud, you should be paused, stake should be loud, forefathers paused, high ideals paused
It inspires me and informs. It gives me a sense of pride for America and is patriotic.
The audience was probably inspired by it and went out to celebrate the army and show support for the troops.
John Pershing was born on September 13th, 1860 in Laclede, Missouri. He spent some time as a school teacher at Prairie Mound. In September 1891, Pershing became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska. In 1906, he was promoted to Brigadier General. On April 6th, 1917, America declared war on Germany. In 1921, Pershing became the US Army Chief of Staff. In 1924, aged 64, Pershing retired from active duty. Prior to this retirement, Congress had awarded him the title 'General of the Armies'. In 1931, his autobiography 'My Experience of War' was published. It won a Pulitzer Prize for history in the following year.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Journal 8
Designing Under the Influence
The article raises the question "Is anything I create as a designer truly my own/ purely unique to me?"
The article raises the question "Is anything I create as a designer truly my own/ purely unique to me?"
The brain works in mysterious ways and holds so many different memories. According to Michael Bierut, designs which we just pass on the street without taking a double look are stored in our minds. When we design we could be copying something that at once caught our eye.
It is important to know about past and current designers and their styles. We are still young in design and are trying to create a style of our own that is unique. It is hard to do this and not be accused of copying someone else's work, instead we should look to them for inspiration.
I am not sure that I could say that i have created something that was purely unique to me. I am trying to experiment and see what I can create and what style I am good at. With all of our exercises in type and graphics I feel that we are encouraged to branch out and try different ideas. If we are going to far or too crazy we tone it down and can create something.
Alternatives for Futura:
One possibility would be Gill Sans or Rotis Sans. They are similar in the characteritics. Or Frutiger could be used because it has sharp edges, a stem structure close to Futura's and large circular bowls.
I am not sure that I could say that i have created something that was purely unique to me. I am trying to experiment and see what I can create and what style I am good at. With all of our exercises in type and graphics I feel that we are encouraged to branch out and try different ideas. If we are going to far or too crazy we tone it down and can create something.
Alternatives for Futura:
One possibility would be Gill Sans or Rotis Sans. They are similar in the characteritics. Or Frutiger could be used because it has sharp edges, a stem structure close to Futura's and large circular bowls.
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