Design In Society: Share-It-Square

Utopian society may be unattainable and unrealistic, but striving for harmony and peace often has positive results in communities. One neighborhood in Portland, Oregon uses utopian design to create an intersection that brings everyone in the surrounding area together.

The above image is from the intersection called "Share-It-Square" and it is one of several intersections in Portland that has teamed with "City Repair" to take part in the annual Village Building Convergence project where communities "reclaim the crossroads". By coming up with a design and physically painting the street together, inhabitants of the neighborhoods hope to form an atmosphere of harmony and friendship between neighbors. This utopian design is a breath of fresh air when compared with many neighborhoods, mine included, where neighbors rarely bond and sometimes don't converse at all. These communities want to change the intersection from a place of division, to a place of meeting. This video from Streetfilms features many of the people who take art in this project expressing how they feel about it: 

"Intersection Repair"

Share-It-Square has gone even farther and redesigned the whole surrounding area. As its name suggests, this intersection is a place for sharing. It features its own play house with toys for the children, community library, and "watering hole", each of which is supplied by members of the community as they please. Anything seen as "extra" is put somewhere in the intersection and is free for use by any other member. 

The members of these communities have redefined an intersection. No longer simply the crossing of two streets, it is now a place to play, to read, or simply to talk to one's neighbors. They see the forgotten "intersection" as an opportunity to make life a little better, and hope the idea spreads to more intersections over time. This is the type of design I feel every designer should aspire to; design may not be able to make a perfect world, but it can make it better, if only one street at a time.

Color Transforms: Starry Night

One of design's most powerful tools is color; it has the power to decide which emotions a design will evoke, and how well the design will be received. Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night", uses a relatively small number of colors to portray a very broad spectrum of emotions.

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"Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh

The above painting is one of the most recognizable pieces of art ever made and certainly one of Van Gogh's most famous. One could analyze this piece for hours on end for its technique or content; I only have time to focus on one, color.

The first thing I notice when looking at this piece is that it is primarily made up of two colors: blue and yellow. Both are primary colors which lands them too far away from each other on the color wheel to be analogous, but too close to be complementary. This allows for a sense of contrast without the colors clashing. Both colors appear somewhat saturated, yet neither overpowers the other. The yellow stars stand out as small circles against the blue background, and become a focal point of the piece. The other focal point is the black figure in the foreground of the painting. This aspect also stands out, because it is neither blue nor yellow, but a cold black with red highlights. I personally see the figure as a sort of tree, but that is up for debate. The fact that it is painted in black gives the figure a sense of mystery, leaving it to be interpreted however the viewer chooses. 

It is not only the black figure that causes mixed responses from viewers; in my experience viewers have many different interpretations of this painting. Some people view it as a peaceful and mystical night scene while others feel it gives off a creepy, dark atmosphere. The fact that it is made up of mainly two primary colors, one cool, one warm, and that the colors are neither muted nor overly saturated, allows this painting to remain balanced and somewhat neutral. The viewers reaction to this piece depends heavily on how that person is feeling and how he or she feels about the colors blue and yellow.

Van Gogh has created, or designed this piece with color very much in mind. The result is a design that is not only beautiful, but versatile, a quality that takes a design from personal to universal. 

Dangerous Design

Popular clothing brand Ralph Lauren caused a lot of controversy last year when they released this photo of model Filippa Hamilton that has been obviously and unnaturally photoshopped. By digitally slimming this model to grotesque and impossible proportions, the company is sending out a very warped message that is in many ways, dangerous and detrimental to society.

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When designing ads, companies often use photoshop as a tool to smooth edges and fix any small imperfections. When this technology is abused like it was in the image above, the resulting design can warp the viewer's own sense of beauty and perfection. 

This design obviously depicts a woman wearing Ralph Lauren clothes, who has an unbelievably small waist, extremely narrow hips, and super-thin legs. This is a very dangerous image to send into a world of impressionable minds because it proposes the idea that there are women in the world that look like this and that they are the ones that can wear these expensive clothes. 

Unfortunately, this type of message can have a substantial effect on the psyche of this design's target audience, young women. Even those of us who were quick to realize that this picture was fake are left with the sad thought that this company felt this already thin, and beautiful model wasn't good enough to represent them. This type of insensitive marketing leads to the all too common qualities of low self-esteem and negative self-image. Although these effects may not have been the goal of the company, the designers of this advertisement were well aware of its deceiving appearance; they did use a computer to create her body after all.

The fashion world makes its money by showing us beautiful women, but when they show something like this to us they are simply being reckless. Design should aim to better society, not damage it. I feel companies like this have a responsibility to depict women who look naturally beautiful, healthy, and most importantly real.

Ergonomics: Ease of use

In my last blog I analyzed a design (my chair) by using the five areas of ergonomics. For this post I'd like to focus on just one of those areas, ease of use, and analyze a different (but equally disappointing) design: my cell phone.

As our technology becomes more and more advanced, so do our cell phones; but one trait that phone designers must keep intact in order to ensure that everyday people can use and enjoy this technology, is the ease of use. My cell phone, the LG Neon, is very disappointing in that regard. 

Let me start off by saying, the phone currently sitting next to my laptop is the third physical phone of this model that I have had. Not because I simply love this phone, not because I broke the last two, simply because the last two were both dysfunctional. My dad, who has the same model phone, is also on his third. This phone utilizes technological advances in its slide out keyboard, digital interface, and (some) use of touch screen, but its design and malfunctions diminish much of its ease of use. 

The keyboard is not quite wide enough and the keys are not quite big enough to make it easy for the user to type on. This could be solved with a touch screen option but the only application of a touch pad is when entering a number to call. During a call however, one must slide open the keyboard to enter a number. So whenever I call an automated service that asks me to enter a "4 for more info", I must open the phone and find the "four" among the variety of lettered keys. 

Then there is the fact that this phone has a habit of  powering itself off. Often, I've noticed, this happens right when I press "send" after writing a lengthy text. As you can probably imagine, this doesn't exactly please me. 

My last complaint is about the menu interface. Sometimes the phone won't respond at all to a command I make by pressing a key, and other times it will simply "freeze-up" when I control it too quickly. I have also noticed that the phone will sometimes mistake one command for another, and open the wrong app. This often results in the "browser" opening and the phone (unsurprisingly) takes a while to react to my command to close it. 

This phone attracted me with is mastery of ergonomics mainly in the area of aesthetics, but it has become clear to me that it fails miserably in the area of ease of use.

5 Areas of Ergonomics: Dorm Room Desk Chair

There are 5 main areas of ergonomics used to critique a design: safety, comfort, ease of use, performance, and aesthetics. Failing to address all five of these, or focusing too much on one and not enough on others, often leads to an unsuccessful design. The designer of the following product has committed the latter offense. Although the design is successful in some aspects of ergonomics, it is equally unsuccessful in all the others.

I give you, my dorm room desk chair:

Since you as the reader can only see the chair, I will start with the area of ergonomics that is most apparent in the photo: aesthetics. This chair appears very ordinary. It simply looks like a platform, backrest, and legs, almost identical any other chair ever designed. This description is already one strike against the chair; designers should aim to produce products that are innovative and creative, not average or boring. With a product as common as the chair, it would be much more helpful to add something new and exciting to the design, something that will surprise and intrigue viewers. The wood frame has a yellowy tinge that just makes it look cheap and (for lack of a better word) tacky. Similarly, the upholstery is an uninviting washed-out shade of green featuring an extremely boring (and tiny) textured pattern. Even the angles of the chair are uninspired; the chair features almost exclusively 90 degree angles which at first glance, do not appear to be very compatible with the human figure. The sum of its unattractive parts is no better than each individual eye-sore, making the chair very aesthetically displeasing.

Working backwards on the list I will move next to performance, an area that seems to have been much more important to the designer than looks. As far as chairs go, this ones performs quite adequately. It produces a space for me to sit down, and feels very stable as I do so while writing this blog. Because the only necessary function for a chair is to stand, and provide a seat for a single person, I assert that this product performs very well. It does exactly as it should, no more and no less.

The ease of use of this product is however, not so satisfactory. I'll admit it, as far as the action of sitting in the chair goes, this product is very easy to use. The height of the seat is neither to high or too low, so that it is easy for average sized people to lower themselves onto it. The stability of the design also make it easy to sit on, because one must not worry about whether it is going to tip over. However, one action that is not easy to perform with this chair is moving it while sitting in it. Most office/desk chairs feature wheels on the bottom that make it easy to maneuver the chair in and around the desk. This chair however, stands on planks of wood connecting the two legs at each side which makes it very difficult to slide around or scoot closer to the desk, while someone is occupying it. With a different lower half, I feel this design could be much easier to use.

This next category is again, rather disappointing: comfort. The only aspect of this chair that even attempts to be comfortable is the actual seat, adequately cushioned and not completely unpleasant to sit one's behind upon. The other half of design that should be considered comfortable however, the backrest, is not. As you can see, the backrest has no cushion on it. For someone like me, whose spine tends to protrude when my back is not perfectly straight, direct contact with the hard wood is very unpleasant. I realize not everyone has this problem, but that is also not the only issue with the backrest. The rest only supports a small portion of an occupant's back, and stands so vertically that it is only comfortable when the person using it sits with flawless posture. Perhaps this design aims to encourage good posture, but considering the amount of time college students spend sitting in these chairs doing homework (or writing blogs), a backrest that wouldn't jab into a person's back when he/she attempted to scoot down into a more comfortable position, would have been a smart move.

The last aspect of ergonomics, safety, prevails in this design. As I said before, this chair is very stable. When used correctly, it is very hard to tip over. Even when my vertically-challenged roommate uses it as a stool to reach the top of our closet, it remains a very solid structure. This may explain the absence of wheels on the bottom of the chair; having tried to use wheeled office chairs as stools in the past, I know first hand that they are not stable or safe when stood upon. Perhaps the designer when creating this chair, or the school when choosing this product, realized that college-aged persons would be very likely to stand on them. Although it may not be the most efficient platform, wood-plank supports make this chair notably safe to use.

As a whole, this chair is an ugly, uncomfortable, awkward design. It seems obvious to me that the designer and school had two main areas of ergonomics in mind when creating/selecting this product: performance, and safety. The chair is a stable, solid platform for any college student's backside. The areas that seem to have been neglected though, are equally important in any design: comfort, ease of use, and aesthetics. If the school had chosen a product that served not only their ergonomic desires, but all five, I think we could all be a lot more satisfied with it.

Word+Image: Advertising

In my last blog I discussed the interaction of word and image in comics, and mentioned the fact that the pairing is a common occurrence in the world of design. Today I will analyzing a very different form of design, but one that still very often utilizes the pairing of word and image, advertising.

Advertising is very different from comics in that it (in most cases) does not ask very much of us other than to understand what it is showcasing and hopefully want to buy it. This pairing of pictures and text is less of an intellectual stimulation, and more of a simple, straightforward passage of information. The main goal in an advertisement is to appeal to as many people as possible, and the combination of image and word is often how they do this. Take a film poster for example, such as this one for one of my personal favorites, "Garden State".

In this type of advertisement, the text primarily exists to display information to the viewer. It informs us that the movie being advertised is in fact called "Garden State". This may seem like a somewhat unimportant part of the advertisement in that it holds no appeal, but it may very well be the most important. No matter how visually appealing an advertisement is, it holds no worth unless the viewer walks away with the product in mind. That is the only way companies can hope that we will buy their product, the sign of a good advertisement. The image in this example adds to the appeal of the ad. Having already seen this movie I understand the scene that is shown in the context of the whole film, but I remember seeing this posting when this film first came out and the image really boggled my mind. "Who are they? Why are they standing on top of that? What is that? Why are they yelling? And why are they wearing trash bags??" The content of this image is very intriguing, and for a movie poster that is the perfect type of appeal. These posters serve primarily to produce an interest in the movie, to make the viewer so intrigued that he or she simply must come back and see the film to solve the mystery his or herself. The vibrancy of the colors are also part of what appealed to me with this poster. The combination of such fun, bright colors with seemingly angry, disheveled people intrigued me even further about the nature of this film.

Not all advertisements aim to cause a mystery for the viewer. Many times, the appeal comes from a sense of exclusiveness or luxury that the ad evokes. Take this Prada advertisement:

Like most Prada ads, it features a model who looks like she "just doesn't care" dressed in expensive-looking clothes, jewelry and the product being advertised, eyewear. It gives of a sense of luxury and allure, but the model's apparent attitude also makes it seem effortless. It seems the pictured woman has to do nothing more than lean against a wall, expressionless, to look rich and beautiful. The company might want us to think "If I have those glasses maybe I will be as effortlessly alluring as this woman is." The text is also very understated. The text in this ad is limited strictly to the company name and the product being advertised, no tagline or comment. It is as if the company is asserting that it is so good, it doesn't need anything more than its name to attract customers. This advertising tactic may seem pretentious to some people, but that probably doesn't matter; considering the price of Prada items, it is clear they are aiming for a very specific group of people. 

So whether an ad aims to intrigue, or impress, the bottom line is always a need to be attractive and recognizable. This is almost always achieved by two staples of design, the word, and the image.

Word+Image: Comics

I used to be one of those people who picked up a newspaper only to turn to the "funnies", and although I've since grown to enjoy other parts of the paper too, the comics are still my safe haven in the sometimes depressing world of news. I know this is true for many people and although I haven't yet delved into the equally popular world of comic books and graphic novels, they certainly intrigue me too.

So what exactly is a comic? Scott McCloud defines comics as "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence" in his book "Understanding Comics". Simplifying this to a very generic classification, I would describe comics as just one form of the fusion of word and image.

It's a simple concept, the pairing of text and pictures, yet this is a very important technique in the world of design. One might argue the reason comics are so successful is that they are reminiscent of the books we read as children, pictures paired with few words, and easy to understand. After reading McCloud's book, I have a newfound respect for comics, and I find this idea very misleading. It may very well be true that the pairing of pictures and words is inherently attractive to us, so we can appreciate the combo at almost any age; however, comics and graphic novels use this pair in a way that is much more complex than your average children's book.

Graphic novelist Brian Fies (author of "Mom's Cancer" and "Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?") recently came to speak to our design class and one of the points he emphasized was the fact that in comics, the words and the pictures are dependent of each other. One cannot exist, at least coherently, without the other. If an adult were to read a book aimed at a very small child, he or she could understand where the story is going by reading only the words, or only looking at the pictures. This redundancy is perfect for a child learning to read and write, but for a more mature person it seems pointless. This explains why we slowly gravitate toward books with less and less pictures as we grow up. However, this combination need not be redundant; comics prove that.

Comics differ from most stories in that they refuse to be only a frame by frame movie-like story or a line by line novel. They are able to remove some of these lines and some of these frames and instead use the words and images to fill in each other's gaps. In many ways this is more advanced than the other formats; comics engage the reader both visually and textually, asking more from the reader than many traditional novels. Readers must be able to make inferences about the story, using the clues from both the images and words. Comics ask us to fill the gap between panels, using the words as clues, and infer the unspoken by way of the visual representation.

I find this mastery of word and image to be very interesting, and feel this type of literature and art is quite underrated. Looking at how comics use the pairing of word and image makes it obvious that they are much more than an adult's version of a children's picture book.

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Consumers as Co-designers

A few weeks ago I wrote about Rhett and Link's "Mystical Shoe" and the fact that they asked for input from the future consumer during the design process. This week I read this article that explained that Metro is asking for input from its own passengers on their newest rail car design. It seems customer input and involvement are being regular aspects of the design process for many companies.


Apparently, Metro will be asking riders about how to better design "wall and floor covering materials, sign displays, lighting and hand-held bar styles" (source). Considering the fact that the success of Metro is very heavily affected by the comfort of its passengers, the idea of asking them directly about what they want to see is a very smart move. I think more and more companies should, and will be using this strategy and level of customer involvement of design in the near future.


This marks a transition in the world of design, where the role of designer becomes less exclusive, extending to nearly any consumer of the product. Being a design student myself, I am hoping this doesn't mark the beginning of the end of the job title "designer", but I'm confident that the world will never be completely rid of this occupation. As we discussed in design class, even if the world of design is reduced to a series of customizable templates, we will still need designers to design the templates. Then there is the argument that not every person has that same touch of creativity and inventiveness that natural creators, designers, possess. That is a theory with which I can agree; I feel that the truly creative individuals will always become somewhat separated from your average joe, especially when it comes to designing. We, as artists, as designers have a certain way of looking at things, and although I believe in the sharing of the ability to create and the incorporation of consumer interest in the act of designing, I firmly believe that artists and designers will always have a special "job" in society.

Product Analysis: The CD Case

I give you, the CD case:

This design may not be one of classical beauty, however its form and function combine in a balanced way that creates a functional product.

What exactly is the idea behind a CD case? Obviously the most important aspect of the content is a way to carry the CD, but what are the other characteristics that need to be expressed in the case's form? Considering the fragility of CDs, a way to carry the disc that will ensure it does not escape the design's hold is a must. Thus, security is one aspect of the CD case's content. And what about the fact that the product this content concerns, is called a compact disc? The content also carries the idea of being tiny, and easy to transport.

The form of the CD case certainly does a satisfactory job in expressing these aspects of content. The case is certainly compact, and the composition of the design allows for this quality; the plastic in the base is molded to hold the CD in a way that allows it to lay flush with the rest of the base. Then, the door of the case attaches beside the edge of the disc rather than on top of it, but still in close proximity, adding no additional thickness to the case. This form creates a design that is barely larger than the CD itself in height, width, and especially width. This allows easy storage of the CD almost anywhere with a sliver of available space. The texture on the edges of the CD and the self-expanding ring in the middle of the disc express the quality of security for the disc. The texture gives the person holding the case a better grip on it, and the ring of tiny prongs that contract to allow the disc to be "clicked" into place, also expand to hold it (somewhat) securely in place. This decreases the chances of the disc falling out of the case, expressing the design's simplest element of content, an enclosure for the disc. 

There are variations of this vernacular content, some of which I prefer. For example, some cases are cardboard, rather than plastic enclosures. This form is both better for the environment and, in my opinion, more comfortable. The edges of these cases are less pronounced and gentler to the touch, and the case usually has a uniformly smooth texture that is very pleasing to the hand. These cases are also much more durable than the plastic, which tend to break.

Of course preference of one case over the other is purely a subjective assertion, but the differences in the form of these two designs show that similar ideas or content often leads to many diverse interpretations of these ideas through different forms.

Objectified: Content & Form

As Dave Harper asserts on his blog (borrowing from Paul Rand), "Design is the relationship between form and content." Often times, a design's success can be weighed upon heavily by how well the content (the idea behind a design) and the form (the visual aspect of the work as a whole) work together in a design. 

"Objectified" directed by Gary Hustwit

Poster design: Michael C. Place

The documentary film "Objectified" by Gary Hustwit showcases the interaction of form and content in many of the mass-produced items we use everyday. For example, near the beginning of the film, a team of designers are trying to design a better toothbrush. They are in agreement that the content, a teeth cleaning apparatus, is essential for every day life, but they feel the form can be improved upon. They proceed to try out different forms, such as reusable handles that will last years with removable heads that can be disposed of and replaced. They are able to find a way to convey their ideas of dental hygiene and environmental awareness through forms of stainless steel and wood, that are still comfortable to hold and use. The content and form go hand-in-hand, form perfectly expressing content.

One designer in the film, Karim Rashid touches on the idea that many designers tend to stick to popular and practical contents while repeatedly changing the form. He asks the question, "Why do we visit archetypes over and over?" This idea can be seen throughout the film when we see several different takes on the common chair. Each designer finds a different form with which to express the content of a place to sit. Designers are constantly looking at archetypes like this and finding forms that they feel better express the content, be it a matter of comfort, style, or functionality. These designers are using already existing content to inspire new and different forms. Not all designers work this way though, designer Mark Newson keeps random materials around his house, fragments of form, hoping to find inspiration for new content, from the already existing pieces of form. 

Whether the content inspires the form or form inspires the content is insignificant; what is important is that the balance each other out in a way that creates a product that expresses exactly what it is meant to in a way that is attractive, comfortable, and functional.

The Jooze Project

Browsing through the design.org blog, I came across this concept design by student Yunyeen Yong for a "juice company geared toward kids"(Patterson, Packaging Design: The Jooze Project).

source:"Packaging design: Jooze Project"

This design is a very cute, innovative way to appeal to children. The boxes are not only attractive to children because of their style, but are also very functional and up front about their contents.

Right away, our eyes are attracted to the slightly muted yet vibrant colors of the juice boxes. The colors are warm, calming, and fun, like many products made for children. The colors also aid in displaying which flavor is in each box, in a way that is more fun than simply having the text "apple" or orange" written on the label. Similarly, the geometric shapes of the juice boxes are reminiscent of actual fruit slices. The sides are even decorated with imagery of seeds to make to box look more like actual fruit. I have a feeling this aspect of straight-forwardness would appeal to children, who often prefer this kind of presentation to more complicated (and to them, boring) symbolic representations. At the same time, the flat surfaces on the "fruit's" exterior gives the juice boxes very stable foundations which could prevent spills and messes, an aspect the kids might not even think of, but the parents would surely appreciate.

With out even knowing it, kids would choose this unique, thoughtful product because of what's inside, simply because the outside reflects the inside in such a fun, appealing way. 

Gap Logo Change?

Gap caused quite a bit of buzz this past week after it revealed, and quickly scrapped a new logo design. This article from bloomberg.com, "Gap Scraps New Logo After Backlash, Revives Blue Box" retells the whole saga, in which Gap fans responded with an "outcry on its Facebook page" causing the company to trash this new design:

Source: Gap.com via Bloomberg

I can see why there was such a poor reaction to this new design. It is underwhelming to say the least; in fact I would categorized it as under-designed. Considering what a large company Gap is, I would imagine they would hire an experienced, creative designer to design something as important as a logo. This new design though, looks like something the designer's middle-schooler child could have created. Not bad for a twelve-year-old, but tacky for a company as big as this. The font alone doesn't read "Gap" at all; it make work with bold red in a logo for Target, but I doubt this redesign was aiming for a "Target" aesthetic. Then there's the tiny blue square; maybe it's a nod to the old "blue-box" design, but here it looks completely useless and out of place. Thankfully the company listened to its customers' disapproval, and is going back to it's classic, old design:

This design is right in all the places the new one is wrong. The solid, bold, navy blue background coupled with the tall, slender, serif-font reads "sophistication" and  "classic" . The real place where Gap went wrong was trying to re-vamp the logo in the first place. I understand that times are tough and the company is trying to "modernize" it's image, but its logo is the one thing that should be untouchable. It is unique, iconic, and perfect for the brand, but most importantly, it is recognizable. This logo is Gap, change that and you might as well change the whole company's name.

Compare/Contrast

Although the old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” remains good advice when pertaining to music, a good album cover can add to the value of what's inside when well-designed and creative.

These covers for two albums by Elizabeth Mitchell, designed by Sonya Cohen Cramer, are perfect examples of well-designed album cover art.

Elizabeth Mitchell (singer-songwriter), You are my Little Bird (2006) and Sunny Day(2010), CD cover designs by Sonya Cohen Cramer, with artwork by Ida Pearle. Copyright Smithsonian Folkways

The two designs are very similar to each other in style and color scheme, yet each compliments its own unique title and contents, and remains an independent, successful piece of art and design.

When I look at these album covers I can tell right away that these CDs are intended for a younger audience, but unlike many other children's CDs and television shows, it's not because of in-your-face coloring or cutesy cartoon creatures. With these CDs , it is instead the simplistic yet sophisticated style  and fun but muted colors that give these a very peaceful, delightful feel. For example, both feature a wide range of colors; however, the colors are presented in a very artful, thoughtful way. They are not too saturated or overwhelming, but muted and complementary. Also, in both covers, each shape in the picture is separate from the others; there is virtually no blending or shading. It appears as if the shapes were cut from separate pieces of construction paper and layered to form a whole picture. This aspect alone makes me feel nostalgic, remembering the joy of arts and craft time in school. I think the fact that these pieces are reminiscent of something a child might make is appealing to children in a relatable way, and to parents in a sentimental way.

As much as these covers are uniform in many aspects, they are also different in many ways. The first album cover, "Sunny Day" is a bit more complex than the second, "You Are My Little Bird". While "Bird" features a plain blue-gray background, "Sunny Day" conveys a whole scene: grassy hill, blue sky, and shining sun.  "Sunny Day" is also slightly more detailed, with patterns in the tights, shoes, and dress, as well as texture in the sky and grass. This extra layer of details creates an entire scene on the album cover, a brief moment in a fun day at the park on a sunny day. This cover has a very warm, calming feel and very well represents its title "Sunny Day". "Bird" on the other hand, is very flat. We see children jumping in play but we don't see where they are. Although this does not tell a story like the other cover, it doesn't matter because this cover represents purely the essence of the moment: fun, joyful, carefree.

It seems both the similarities and differences of these pieces add to their overall success as designs. I'll admit it, even knowing these are considered "children's albums", I have an urge to check them out. If these albums have the ability to appeal to the inner-child of a recently turned "adult" then I have faith they will be equally, if not more, successful with their intended audience, kids.

Design As A Conversation

What is design?

Is it an art form? An expression? A functional item? An action? A plan?

I would argue design is each of these things. In fact, design almost begs not to be tied down to one definition. There may very well be more things in this world that design is, than isn’t.

One of the things that design is, is a conversation. Usually this means a conversation between designer and consumer. Take Youtube duo Rhett and Link for example; in their quest to design what they call the “Mystical Shoe”, they asked for direct help from their audience. Viewers were able to log on to a website that allowed them to create and tweak their own shoe designs, showing each other, as well as Rhett and Link, what they would like to see on the Mystical Shoe. The final product looks like this:

http://tweakfootwear.com/Shoes/the-mythical-shoe/

This shoe features design aspects that were most prominent in the viewers’ designs: sneaker-style, hi-top, guitar-pick slot, customizable sleeve, etc. In this case, the action of design was carried out through a direct conversation between the designer and prospective buyers. The final design, the product, is an expression of that entire conversation, bundled into one shoe.

Design doesn’t always have to take place in a conversation as direct as in this example. Sometimes the action of design is purely an expression of something from within or without the designer, and the finalized product is where the actual conversation takes place. For example, the (red) line of products is designed with the needs of Africa in mind. The final product is the medium through which the designer converses with the public, telling the world about the needs of others. The consumer replies by consuming, showing support for the cause and contributing money.  

I think this ability of design to be a conversation is essential to its being. I don’t believe it is possible to create, to design without something being expressed and something being received. Without an expression of some information from the designer to the consumer, there would be nothing of substance to produce. Without the consumer’s act of receiving an expression and replying with approval by buying it, there would be no point in designing in the first place. This two way exchange, the conversation, is design, if only one of many definitions.

            

Design: industrial process vs. arty concept

"What leads design, artistic concept or function?"
This is the question the Milwaukee art museum wants us the ask ourselves. According to this article from the Associated Press, the museum's latest exhibition "European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century" features hundreds of "mass-produced everyday items." So what sets these items apart from all the other tables and sponges and vacuums? What allows them to be viewed in a museum as fine art? I would argue that these items gain special recognition because they refuse to answer the prior question. It seems the designers of these products were driven by artistic concept as well as function.

Take the Dyson Vacuum:

The design is obviously eye-catching. The juxtaposition of rounded and straight edges as well as the bright yellow and muted gray colors give the vacuum a very unique, intriguing look. It is apparent that it was designed with visual appeal in mind, however almost every piece of this "art" is also a part of the bigger, functional item. The large yellow sphere at the base adds to the (dare I say) beauty of the item while also allowing the user to maneuver the device more easily.

So to those who may scoff at this exhibit, or are just plain confused, I would say that these items are products of design, and design at its best is a product of art. The designers of the items in this exhibit have expressed an ability to focus equally on function and fashion, to use their creative eyes as well as their technical eyes. I cant think of a more appropriate place for these works of art than an art museum- except maybe a consumer's hands.

Creativity From Without

Being an artist often involves delving deep inside oneself to find inspiration, be it through expression of emotion, or in nostalgic memories. Many artists can, and certainly any great designer must be able to also find inspiration from without. What this means is, in order for a designer to produce a successful, universally pleasing finished product, he or she must allow inspiration to come from the materials being used, the prospective users of the product, the environment in which it will be used, etc.

I think this is one of the defining differences between pure art and pure design, though the two overlap in many places. Art is usually made for the artist, sometimes only for the artist. I consider myself an artist and I certainly create works that are purely for me, produced from my own emotions and thoughts. Although I may share the art with others, its sole purpose is my own expression. This piece is  perfect example:

I also consider myself a designer, if only in the very early stages, and I have also created works in which I have not necessarily expressed any feelings from within but have allowed myself to be inspired by that which I was painting, or designing with. In this painting I was inspired by the shape and colors of these Easter play-doh containers:

Likewise, here I was inspired by the style of the store I designed this ad after, and the natural essence of our Environmental club I designed this poster for (as well as the fact that the concert was held around Valentine's Day).

As designers, we need to reach a balance in where we find inspiration. If we focus too much on what we are feeling within, we risk producing something that no one other than ourselves can relate to, which is a sure sign of poor design. Likewise however, if we have absolutely no emotional ties to our work, it will seem simply uninspired. There is nothing wrong with finding inspiration from within, but as designers we have to be able to also find inspiration from without, so that we can share our visions with the world in a way most everyone can appreciate.

Stone Soup

"Stone Soup" 

If someone had said this phrase to me a few weeks ago, I probably would have assumed it was some sort of poorly new-age recipe; however,  thanks to my design professor I now know it is the name of a very charming children's book by Marcia Brown.

The story follows three soldiers who arrive to a village with nothing more than a pot and without villagers offering any food. They begin making "stone soup", boiling water and dropping in a large stone. The villagers become curious about the peculiar soup and begin offering items of food: some carrots here, some spices there. Soon they have a large pot of delicious soup to share. 

Although we didn't make a giant pot of soup during class, we did incorporate the idea of sharing resources and working together into a design project. Separated into small groups, we were asked to bring whatever "ingredients" we could (cardboard, paint, string, etc) to add to our group's Stone Soup. 

As our group spilled outside we each tossed our supplies onto a very large, diverse pile and I could tell we had a lot to work with. I was instantly intrigued by a couple boxes of Christmas ornaments and I could see everyone else in my group examining the pieces that had immediately stuck out to them. And so we began throwing our ingredients into the pot of soup. With no real plan in mind we began creating small pieces of individual art and blending them together on our make-shift base.  

After coming to the consensus that our piece was complete, we stood up to take a look at ours and others. I was pleased to see how completely different the other groups' Stone Soups were. Starting from an entirely different set of materials and ideas had produced very different finished pieces, all extremely creative and interesting.

The exercise reminded us of the importance of working together in the design world. Every single designer has his or her own set of unique ideas and skills, but there are virtually no design projects that are done completely alone. We must learn to mesh our ideas together, create new ideas, use one another's skills to better the project as a whole, and end up with a finished product that we are each proud of, knowing that we couldn't have possibly done it all alone.

Green Design

Today as I was browsing design.org, a particular link caught my eye "Interior Design: Recycled Lamp Shades". I consider myself an environmentalist and my main interest in design is interior architecture, so the title was intriguing enough. The page contained pictures of several different lamps made by using recycled items such as bottle caps and beach balls. Each lamp is very different from the others, but they all look excellent in their respective rooms. Despite the fact that they were made from reused items, each lamp looked somewhat expensive, as if it could be bought in some fancy downtown boutique.

Although this act of using recycled items to design something new is not completely new, the post was still very interesting and pleasing for me to read. It reminded me of the vast spectrum of products design has to offer, virtually infinite possibilities. Design is not simply how something looks or even what it does; design is also the process of getting there. It is the concept and resources used to arrive at this final product. Design can be utilized to encompass not only ideas of style and function, but also art, emotion, resourcefulness, innovation and just about anything the designer wishes to include. I think that is what really makes a great designer, someone who sees design as not a destination but a process, and someone who is open to including in that process just about anything that sparks the imagination, and produces a real thought.


Featured lamp: Made with recycled film slides by Sabina Batelman.

NYC Mosque Design

Article: Park51 blog-First official renderings

I recently came across this blog in which the Park51 organization behind the Mosque to be built in NYC reveals photos of the design that its architects have conceptualized for the building. This Mosque has caused much tension due to its controversial location (just a few blocks from the Ground Zero site). However after seeing what the building may look like, I am hopeful that this Mosque may finally be talked about for a completely different reason: its stunning, innovative, aesthestic appeal.

The front of the building appears to contain a chaos of different geometric shapes created by intersecting various lines, reminiscent of the geometric cells of honeycomb. The interior of the building appears to continue with this pattern, with floors connecting through large shapely openings in the floors and ceilings of each, by way of escalators. The color of the entire interior and exterior of the building in the photos is white, and the spaces between the shapes of the front act as windows letting in a considerable amount of natural light. The openness of the whole design and the abundance of natural lighting gives the Mosque a very comfortable and spacial feel. This is a breath of fresh air compared to many other high-rise buildings that tend to feel enclosed and somewhat synthetic, almost like the uncomfortable feel of a hospital. Also, the fact that neighbor floors are not at all closed off to each other makes the whole Mosque feel very cohesive, despite the fact that it is a considerably tall building with many levels. The overall design gives the building a very positive atmosphere, evoking feelings of openness and calm, while also intriguing the eye with its complex and unusual design.

The location of a building may have the power to make people talk, but the design has the ability to make people stop, look and really think. It's appearance is the very first thing we notice; it gives us an impression of the building before we even enter it; I think the architects of this building made great use of this fact. If people can set their political agendas aside for just a moment and really look at this building I think they can reexamine the possibilities this Mosque has to offer.

First Encounters With Design

The Brain Ball.

This peculiar, oblong, orange "ball" may not have single handedly defined my childhood, but it sure left an imprint.  The ball itself doesn't actually connect me to any exact memories yet there is something in the appearance and feel of it, the design of it, that links me ever so concretely to my childhood. Even now, when I pick up the anatomical toy and feel its peculiar contours I am overcome with that familiar and wonderful sense of nostalgia.

I remember thinking it was the most unusual and amazing toy I had ever seen. Even the packaging, a tall plastic cylinder, amazed me; it resembled something out of a sci-fi movie. As soon as I reached in to pull the ball out, I was met with the soft, familiar, feeling of Nerf. The Nerf material in general is a very thoughtful design; firm enough to hold the shape of a any ball (or even brain), yet soft enough to be played with indoors and around smaller children. As familiar as the Nerf feel was, nothing else about the Brain Ball seemed normal to me. Although I had never seen a brain in person, I was pretty sure they weren't neon orange; that color didn't scare me away though, it invited me closer because I, and every other child of the 90's knew orange meant Nickelodeon, and Nickelodeon meant fun.

Obviously, the most memorable aspect of the design of this ball is that it looks like a brain. Although it may seem random or odd, this design was and continues to be, extremely successful in my eyes. As a child, it evoked a sense of mystery and wonder. It made me think about brains and humans and thoughts. And yet its design still allowed for the simplest of uses: play. I still use it for play now, and although it doesn't seem quite as mysterious, it does have the mysterious power to make me a child again, if only for a fraction of a second.

I think that's where the true beauty of design comes from; it has the ability to grab hold of our senses and transport us somewhere completely outside ourselves, be it a dress that evokes the fashion and romance of Paris or a strange toy that reminds us of the adventure and wonder of youth.



Photo credit: http://gizmodo.com/5588886/nerf-gallery/gallery/3