Design In Society

Nathan Shedroff

2009-11-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

Nathan Shedroff is a speaker on experience design and consultant for companies on creating strategies in establishing a better relationship with customers. In his lecture at the UCDavis Bainer hall on November 18, 2009, he touched upon many topics that was very important to the issues of today's world. Nathan Shedroff's speech on sustainable innovation is very interesting because he starts off with describing a lot of data; Cuba is the most sustainable nation, India is the country with the least consumerism, Brazil is sustainable by managing their budget very well. His knowledge for these information brings attention to his legitimacy of what he presents. He continues to discuss about sustainability, which is a rising problem in today's society. He explains that design, business, and sustainability are all interrelated with one another. The purpose of design is to market a product for business, to be successful in business, the product must be sustainable, and to be sustainable, one has to design cleverly. Sustainability is becoming an issue today as more and more resources are being depleted to catch up with the fast pace creations of design. Another interesting point is how he criticized the theories of economics and how inaccurate their measuring tools are of showing our progress in the economy. The GDP graph only considers mathematical factors and fail to consider many situational problems. To criticize a theory that has been so popularly known and used for decades is a very bold statement but his opinions are agreeable. As a designer, he uses his knowledge of experience design crossing the line into the world of economics to help improve businesses.

Objectified

2009-11-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

The film "Objectified" by Gary Hustwit is a documentary on the importance of design that surrounds everyone in their daily lives. Many of objects that we use everyday are designed in such a way to benefit us and make our lives much more convenient. Hustwit's film not only shows the beneficial factors of design but also its rising problems because of design. Things are being produced at a rapid pace with new creations nearly every month and old products that are still capable of doing its job are being tossed for the improved versions of it. This creates a new problem that designers must now consider. Designers are now faced with a new challenge in not only improving the product itself but to also be able to improve the product in a way that makes it environmentally friendly. The easiest solution is to use every last bit of resource into making the product and using biodegradable materials. Apple is a good example of this solution. Every little piece is used into making a product and most of them are made from aluminum, which are highly recyclable.

The transitions throughout the documentary are very interesting as they are incredibly fluid and smooth from one subject to another. The usage of different languages parallels the idea that design is a universal consistency between many countries by the many people that are interviewed in the film. It also shows the different fads from different kinds of culture. This idea draws attention to the fact that design is both the global solution and problem to the society. The way the film started and ends also gives a sense of warning in how much this world has affected and changed by design. In the beginning, consumerism was emphasized (such as the showing of machines mass producing plastic chairs) but as the film continues on, it focuses more on the idea of the relationship with the object. Finally in the end of the film, a huge contrast is made in the idea of enjoying the objects that are already there instead of trying to accumulate new things. This is a message in trying to get people to be more sustainable despite the excitement of the ever changing new designs.

Polaroid PoGo

2009-11-17T15:55:00.001-08:00

Picture Credit: Username handsdc
Link: http://hansdc.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/shake-it-like-a-polaroid-picture/

The Polaroid camera pales against all the digital cameras produced today in terms of features but it does have one significant advantage that other cameras don't have. Despite its bulky shape, heavy weight, bad picture quality, and its dependability on film, the Polaroid camera is the only camera that has the convenience of instantly developing photos on the spot. Unfortunately, due to the enormous capacity of pictures a digital camera can hold and its capability of taking and retaking pictures again mistake-free, Polaroid cameras are becoming extinct. Polaroid is striving to make their brand stay alive by targeting its problems and designing a new model of Polaroid cameras. The new Polaroid PoGo has a slim and sleek design to compete with many of today's digital cameras. The size has been minimized, the weight has been decreased, the picture quality improved, and it even includes a LCD digital screen to view pictures before printing. The Polaroid Pogo is a big improvement with all its added features that matches today's digital cameras and at the same time, can provide the same instant photo development. It basically has the best of both worlds, but how come the Polaroid PoGo is not a successfully popular item that everyone should have? Perhaps today's generation goes beyond the instant access of photos and focuses more on the internet capability aspect of images. Facebook and Flickr are some of the most popular cyber social networking tools today and it is more important to focus on transferring photos from the camera to share with all their friends on the internet rather than to print a single photo. Taking pictures used to be encapsulating a memory to reminisce in the future. Nowadays, pictures taken with digital cameras are more emphasized on showing others of all the fun they can have more than they are for memories. This shows the constant changing phases and fads of today's society and designer's struggle to grasp consumer's attention for the next best thing.

More Than Functional

2009-11-17T15:41:00.000-08:00

Title: Stairs Bookshelves
Picture Credits: N/A
Link: http://weburbanist.com/2008/04/28/20-brilliant-bookcase-and-bookshelf-designs-creative-modular-and-unique-urban-furniture/

Bookshelves are all functional and rarely seen as aesthetic. They hold a huge amount of books in one place and conserve a lot of space. But a trade-off in being able to place so many books in one place is that the bookshelf builds upward and it can get hard to place or get a book from the top shelf without a ladder. This clever design for a bookshelf is the perfect solution to this problem. The alternating steps that extend out from the bookshelf itself create a stairway to climb upwards enabling the person to reach any area around the shelves. The steps are wide and thick providing a stable space for climbing and the feeling of safety in even sitting on the steps to search for a book. Though this bookshelf was customized for building into the house, it can be easily made for assembling and sold at a store. One can buy it and assemble it inside their closet for their own bookshelf haven.

Weird Architecture

2009-11-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Picture Credits: N/A
Link: http://www.funis2cool.com/unusual/weird-architecture.html

I randomly entered "weird architecture" into Google Images and one of my results was this house. I could not find a name for the house nor who designed it and I could not find anymore pictures of the interior but the house fascinates me nonetheless. With a raised slanted side, it seems as if an old toaster somehow magically assembled itself into the form of a house in the movie "Transformers." It also appears to be in the middle of no where with many dead trees, giving a somewhat frightening atmosphere. The interior of the house, however, is surprisingly very homey. The brightly lit living room with its cream and white clean woodwork and furniture makes it very inviting to be in. The red carpet down the stairs, down the hallway and mahogany-like walls create a very warm environment. There are so many jagged corners that may not be the best idea for a home with children but because of all these edges, it is very eye catching. There are unpredictable corners that the eye is hypnotized in trying to figure out where an edge ends and where another starts. Because of this aspect, I am very attracted to this unique one of a kind building for its endless imaginations and possibilities.

Color Theory: Warm and Cool Colors

2009-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Picture Credits: N/A
Link: http://www.porterhousedesigns.com/colorsizzle/

It is embedded into our minds since the beginning of time that blue is associated with cold and red is associated with hot. Perhaps this is simply because blue is the color of the ocean and red is the color of fire and in seeing these colors, we imagine those similar elements. We can physically turn pale when we are cold and pink when we are in anger. We can emotionally feel sad or happy or cold or warm depending on the different colors we see. Therefore, colors are not passive, they can effect how we feel and how we perceive our environment.

The choice of coloring is very important in interior design. The color of the surrounding walls of a room can provide an imaginary temperature to the room as well as the mood of the room. For example, a kitchen with green cabinets, white walls, and blue chairs definitely has a cooling effect on a hot summer day. As opposed to the kitchen with light yellow walls and red cabinets enhancing the heat of cooking on the stove. One can easily imagine drinking a cool glass of water in the green kitchen relieved to get away from the sun or eating a hot chicken potpie in the red kitchen during the winter season. Human beings tend to find emotional and physical comfort in colors and when it is provided, it is easy to sit in the room and just relax.

3-D Silhouete Chandelier

2009-11-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

Picture Credits: Urban Outfitters
This item can be found here.

Chandeliers are one of the best dining room pieces that provide both form and function; it can light up the entire room and offer a stunning decorative centerpiece at the same time. With the popular concept of minimalism in today's design society, chandeliers are not as significant as they once were. New designs have formed such as this 3-D silhouette chandelier sold at Urban Outfitters.

This DIY modernized design of a chandelier consists of two black cut outs of a silhouette of a chandelier. Placing the two pieces together perpendicularly creates a three dimensional chandelier where a light bulb can be installed in the center. The design is unique and very different giving those rebellious home owners a new taste of contemporary design. As far as functionality goes, the black silhouette might cover some light and/or absorb light. It would probably not lit up an entire room as brightly as a real chandelier would.

The 3-D Chandelier is an easy example of the play between negative and positive spaces. In fact, the entire chandelier is a positive shape leaving everything else as negative space. There is also a slight abstraction in the form of the chandelier. The many chains, gems, jewels, crystals, and complicated structure of a real chandelier is simplified to a few basic curvatures. The few circular modules hanging below represent the decorative jewelry and the candles standing up completes the picture of a chandelier. This all reflects the minimalism that many Americans practice today.

The 3-D Chandelier may not give off the same classy and elegant feature that a real chandelier gives but it fits well into today's contemporary design. Very simple and sleek, the 3-D Chandelier is the new 21st century way of decorating dining rooms for those who want to live in modernity.

Pattern and Rhythm inside the Slave's Popcorn Quilt

2009-10-31T13:17:00.001-07:00

Picture Credits: Myself
Donnie Chambliss
Slave's Popcorn Quilt, circa late 19th century.
Collection of Avis Collins Robinson
Great Grandmother of Avis Collins; made in Wakefield, Virgina
Nelson Art Gallery, UCDavis.

"Popcorn" indeed. Each and every circle piece imitates a popcorn blooming freshly after it has been popped in the microwave. The individual pieces also give a "pop" to the quilt creating a three dimensional texture.

There are patterns within patterns in this quilt. First, the individual circular "popcorn" pieces are attached together in a grid-like form making the quilt itself. Second, there are different colored pieces that create squares within the quilt creating a larger grid-like pattern. Third, the varying colored pieces are made from cotton that has a flower pattern adding to the variety of each "popcorn" as well as the quilt as a whole.

There is a crystallographic balance. The size and shape of each "popcorn" are the same and the colors are within a similar shade. The deep lilac purple matches well with the varying light milky colors of the pieces that create the squares. If it was not for the alternating rhythm and the human mind to automatically complete patterns, the squares could easily blended in with the lilac purple, but instead, they pop out. The viewer's mind simply catches onto that pattern and completes the square even when the color scheme is quite similar.

It can be easily seen that this quilt was not made for functional usage. There are large gaps between the linked pieces and the texture is quite rough. This would not provide warmth or comfort, something people most likely would seek in purchasing a quilt. However, the beautiful embroidery, almost origami like, is a great piece to be used as a cover over another quilt or comforter for aesthetic purposes.

Trompe L'oeil

2009-10-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

Picture Credits: Richard Sargent
Whyte Eice by Marilyn Levine
More pictures can be found here.

The term Trompe L'oeil is a french term for "fool the eye" which is literally what Marilyn Levine's work is dedicated to do. The viewer is being fooled into thinking the object is real when in fact, it is not because it is only a drawing or is actually made of a different material.

Marilyn Levine's artwork is mind boggling. It is absolutely amazing to see her work that looks like any ordinary object only to find out that most of her work are made out of ceramic. Many of her projects consists of imitating leather such as jackets, boots, bags, and straps. But her more unique work are cups. For cups, she does not present her work to imitate realistic cups. Instead, she designs her own cups that imitates the leather or canvas material but like all her other work, they are also made of ceramic. Her design is unique in that her ideas are one of a kind. Who would ever have thought to design a cup that looks like a shoe? Not only is the idea absolutely nonfunctional, the idea of drinking out of a shoe is quite appalling. Nonetheless, she successfully achieves in creating it look absolutely realistic as if it were a cup made out of shoe materials. The shoes laces look naturally fluid and the stitchings are extremely detailed. Every bend, every crevice, every corner is where it should be.

3D Building Art - Oceanside Pool

2009-10-23T11:59:00.001-07:00

Picture Credits: Unknown
Illustrated by: Unknown
More pictures here.

There is a clear sense of calm and serenity in this picture. It is not only because of the people in the picture casually laying by the pool, nor the water that is trembling with the breeze of the wind. It is because of the sense of balance in this picture horizontally and vertically that creates this effect of peacefulness. Although the the two people are not centered, their presence on the right side balances with the columns to the left causing a horizontally drawn asymmetrical balance. The blue water mirrors the blue sky and the scenery of mountains behind the structure continues the landscape parallel to the pool. This adds depth to the portrait and widens the landscape.

Initially the focal point may seem to be on the boy and the woman but the eye starts to wander and notice their surroundings. The structure and the scenery beyond the structure simply becomes the background as the eye notices the huge realistically looking pool. Perhaps it is the size (taking up half the picture) that causes it to be the focal point but it can also be because of the very detailed texture of the water that makes people second guess whether this portrait is photographed or painted.

Although simply a portrait, this image can easily be used for marketing purposes. Because of it's realistic qualities, the inviting image of the pool can be a great advertising campaign for a real estate or to show a feature of a hotel.

3D Chalk Drawings

2009-10-23T11:58:00.001-07:00

More Pictures here.

Wait, is that real? It can't be.
These are not your grade school hopscotch chalk drawings on the sidewalk, these are very advanced planned out chalk drawings on the streets of Europe by Julian Beever. What appears to be an incredibly realistic 3D rendering is simply an optical illusion and can be seen from only one certain angle. Seen from anywhere else, the scale and proportion will be inaccurate and the image will look distorted and becomes 2D.

From the side:

Correct Angle:

The focal point in each of Beever's artwork varies but most of them are easily determined as it only consists of one or two main objects. But because his artwork is on the street, is temporary, and can only be seen from one angle, whatever he draws on the ground is the focal point and everything else (streets, people, city) is the background.

3D chalk drawings are extremely time consuming and Beever is extremely talented for being able to draw it in such realistic 3D view. However, his art is ephemeral as it is laid in the middle of the sidewalk of a busy city. People must eventually walk over it and the artwork fades. But what makes Beever's art so much more amazing than anything else is because he chooses his medium to be the city sidewalk instead of drawing it on paper or any other form of material that can be preserved. Most of his work can incorporate the pedestrians into it making it even more realistic. Can you tell which is the real man and which is the real beer bottle?

Picture Credits: Julian Beever

Unity in Variety in the World of Waldo

2009-10-17T10:29:00.001-07:00

Picture Credits: Unknown
Illustrated by: Martin Handford

Every child's favorite book at one time in their elementary years must be Where's Waldo? With absolutely no words and hundreds of tiny 2-D illustrations, this book is one of its kind enabling viewers to interact with the pages. Waldo books are a great example of utilizing unity with variety repetition. There is no specific focal point other than the intent focus of finding Waldo. Each and every character in this picture is different, though however, relates to each other. Despite the chaotic environment the picture gives off, there is a sense of harmony because it consists of normal looking people; there is nothing out of the ordinary in the crowded area. This picture also achieves unity in almost every way possible. There seems to be about the same amount of positive and negative space and the proximity between everyone is more or less equal. There is a constant repetition of human beings all over the page and a continuation between them; some people are holding hands, hugging, touching, and interacting with each other. The emphasis on variety is strong and that is what makes this picture so interesting to look at as a whole.

Viewers with their heads burrowed inside the book working from corner to corner of the pages can get a headache from trying to find little Waldo but no one can deny the fun and uniqueness in being able to physically, mentally, and visually interact with a book at the same time.

Ileona (Stand Up)

2009-10-13T16:04:00.001-07:00

Ileona (Stand Up)
Phil Choo, 2009
Digital Print on Archival Linen Cotton Canvas Paper
Design Museum, Walker Hall

Out of all the exhibits in the Design Museum, this design artwork is my favorite. It astonishes me how this was printed on a flat piece of paper but looks absolutely three-dimensional. The letters do not only "stand up" in their sentences but also stand out as if they are popping out from the paper. The phrase “stand up” actually standing up juxtaposes against the rest of the words and brings attention to those words. It gives life to the phrase and enhances the meaning of the song.

Ileona is a Korean song that "inspires people to stand up from despair and dejection." This is quite appropriate if applied to today's economic crisis. With the increasing amount of unemployment in America, this inspires people to "stand up" despite this time of hardship and to continue to look for jobs without giving up hope.

Stepping Out

2009-10-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

Picture credits to UCD Design Museum Website.
More pictures can be found here.

Over the Summer, an interesting exhibit titled, “Stepping Out: Footwear From Around The World” was presented in the UCDavis Design Museum in Walker Hall.

A quick glance into the room simply shows a random bunch of shoes neatly tossed into a darkly lit room. Upon entering, one can soon see more details of the shoes; some recognizable as they are more modern and some that are more unique dating back to the 19th century and most from different countries. The way the shoes were presented sets the tone of the room. The arrangement of the ascending bases (as well as the alternating shelves on the walls) mimics the pattern of stairs emphasizing the utilization of feet and shoes. The different kinds of shoes with their different colors, made from different materials, and each built with a function suited for different climates shows the diversity in our world. The 70 pairs of shoes collected from around the world put together in one space can represent the diversity on the UCD campus. The concept of “stepping out” in shoes makes the observer realize how important shoes are in our society no matter who or where the person is.

Food-Inspired Fashion

2009-10-12T22:29:00.001-07:00

The most basic necessities for survival of the human being is obviously food. People consume food everyday and therefore can easily be caught as an inspiration for artists and designs.

Pictures can be viewed here.

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, a fashion designer, used foods as her inspiration for her Fall 2009 collection. Most of the inspiration can be easily spotted as some of her designs are as crazy as putting a baguette on top of the models' head and plastering eggs onto her dresses. The theme seems to be breakfast as eggs and baguettes are mostly breakfast foods. The many bright shades of red is probably inspired by ketchup.

Here are more food-inspired fashion by Jeremy Scott:
http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2006/fall/main/newyork/womenrunway/jeremyscott/
Instead of the actual food shapes itself, he mostly incorporates food through print and patterns onto the cloth of the clothes. He also gives his own personalized touch by putting his name on this Snickers bar inspired dress.

A Letter From Korea

2009-10-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

A Letter From Korea
Phil Choo, 2009
Digital Print on Archival Linen Cotton Canvas Paper
Design Museum, Walker Hall

There are two definitions of "letter" in this artwork; one obviously being that it is a message in an envelope and another being the Korean alphabet characters. This once again touches upon the controversy between culture and modernity. The Korean letters flying out from the envelope signifies the liberating freedom of expressions in the Korean language. It also signifies the many different variety in ways of communications in the modern world. The tiny Korean letters coming out from the envelope almost seems digitalized as if the letters are flowing amongst the virtual space of the World Wide Web. With the rising price of stamps and the long wait for mailed letters, Email is used much more commonly and conveniently. The fact that the exhibit uses a printing of an envelope rather than pasting a real envelope instead shows how much influence technology has upon communication in the society today. Whether it is email or snail mail, they are both efficient ways of communicating with others but it can be seen that one is preferred over the other. This exhibit brings rise to the question that maybe Email and Fax machines will overcome the cultural old-fashioned way of mailing letters very soon.

Composition of Hangul Jamo

2009-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Composition of Hangul Jamo
Hyunju Lee, 2009
Mixed Media
UCD Design Museum in Walker Hall

This exhibit shows the rebellious ways in some parts of Korean culture. Where nature is highly emphasized in the museum, this piece definitely tries to show that disconnection between nature and modern conformity.

The top left corner of the artwork shows a bundle of Korean letters closely fitting together as if they randomly fell on top of each other and landed that way naturally. The circular and square shape signifies the variety of nature and the gaps in those shapes evenly distributes the amount of color and white space. On the bottom right corner, the letters are fitted together well almost as if a person is playing the game of Tetris. There are no longer circular or square shapes but only "T" formed shapes. This part signifies modernity and technology in this world today. Today, people are trying so hard to understand the world and trying to utilize nature to their advantage that they forget the beautiful assemble that nature has to offer. The large gap of white space in between the artwork resembles the disconnection between Korean culture and modernity. Although in reality, people are up to date with technology and modernity, this portrait wants to take that aspect out of the chaos and preserve the culture alone. To not be able to conform and fit into spaces where they might not belong and instead, naturally collect themselves to have gaps and be able to breathe in between.

It is also obvious that the left side of the artwork opposed to the right side is more aesthetically pleasing simply because there is more variety in geometric shapes and sizes rather than the oppression of enclosing the same shapes into a tight space.

Design In My Own Terms

2009-10-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Design is the way something looks. Whether it is a dress, a portrait, a car, a computer, or a house, the appearance of these objects are considered designs. Design may come from inspiration most likely from a person's history or emotional feelings. Materials are also a big influence in a person's design as well as the fear of what others might think of their work. Other influences and inspirations may come from outer factors such as the economy or politics. With an idea comes a design.

Design does not need to have meaning, nor does it need to be aesthetically pleasing. It can be anything the creator wants it to be and they can simply call it their unique design. A design may or may not have a purpose and no one or everyone can benefit from the design. Realistically speaking, most of the time, designs are made to be functional to make better the world we live in. A car design may have both driver and passenger airbags but a different car design might have side airbags in the backseat as well as the front. Both designs are beneficial for the public safety but on different degrees. The color of the car is also part of the design. It does not provide a function but it can provide preferences for people who are looking to buy a certain colored car. In today's society, design with function sells. Only those who are wealthy enough are able to enjoy subjective design.