DESIGN in SOCIETY

All aspects of life include design, and that’s disregarding the non-aesthetic views. Normal lawmakers also use design, even though it may be in the form of words. They “design” the words to achieve their end, and I don’t mean using pretty typography to mesmerize the court, they “design words” to eradicate loopholes and to reinforce their meanings.
They don’t stop at that. They also design their outfits for presentation. They want to look as professional and as knowledgeable about the issue as possible, so they dress sharp, suits and ties. All small details are coordinated to the smallest things, like what type of shoes they wear to what kind of color. They present the best looking front they can put forward, to get a good first impression. They choose colors that do not come off as too obnoxious or even too calm; they have to find the perfect combination as they plan as if their life depended on it.
When they put this all together, they are truly a formidable presence and truly a force to be reckoned with. Design is not just used in consumerism and art, it’s also found in the world of the seemingly unaesthetic. One just needs to know where to look!

Color TRANSFORMS

Although black and white designs are known to be very classy and traditional, the modern age has brought a barrage of colorful designs upon us. Although the stark contrast black and white designs bring us is really appealing, color often brings it to a whole new level. Not only does color bring “pop” to an advertisement or logo, it draws more attention to it. People are more likely to look to the colorized logo when placed side-by-side with a black and white logo.
The black and white design, as striking as it is, would take second place after a colorful logo. The colors also appeal to a wider range of people, as children and adults alike often prefer the brightness colors often provide.
By usage of color, people can also transfer or imply emotion. Viewers are left thinking about the advertisement they just saw, wondering why they’re feeling that way, and what made them feel that way. Colors also bring the viewer much more personal attachment than what just a black and white advertisement would bring. Even just slight accents of color are more appealing than plain black and white, this can be seen in the fashion industry where almost everything has been touched by color.

Design is Dangerous

Guns, knives, missiles, all of these weapons have one thing in common – they were designed to hurt. Whether to explode on impact, or to have the design to hurt the most from farthest away, or from up close, the designs of these weapons were under much thought and consideration, these were not designed for the benefit of society, these were supposedly designed for the safety of society.
Whether the curve of the blade was designed to be thinner for more aerodynamic qualities, or if the handle has a certain shape that allows it to be gripped more securely, the knife or dagger has to be one of the most designed weapons of all time. Each culture around the world has its own type of blade, from small stilettos to sabers, they vary from the small to the gigantic.
Grenades were designed to not only provide impact for a faraway object, it also adds additional damage from shrapnel as it explodes. Simply said, it’s a two-in-one, and many armies around the world take advantage of this.
Although this seems as if it’s a weird blog post, I was essentially surrounded by weapons (Black Ops came out, and my dorm is full of gamers), this thought has actually crossed my mind many times. I, however, am not usually this violent. :)

Makeup + Costumes

When one thinks of theatre, one always thinks of the exaggerated costumes and stage make-up that make the whole experience something memorable. Stage makeup is designed to stand out from far away. When one sees a member of the cast up-close, it is definitely something that one does not forget easily. Healthy pink cheeks are bright red, wrinkles are jagged black lines, large eyes are extreme usages of eyeliner. Makeup is not the only thing that makes acting stand out—the costumes often help make-or-break the deal. Colors are brighter, more exaggerated, they help convey what the audience should be feeling, and what they should interpret about the character wearing the garments.
The design of such things are also crucial, as the costumes the actors wear must be easy to move around in, depending on the character they are portraying. The makeup must resist sweat, and must still produce a bright opaque color. There are many things that designers need to consider, such as the need for makeup that can be really easily applied, or costumes than can be changed really fast. Design can be found in all aspects of life, such as the acting and aesthetic world. There are always practical aspects to be found in everything, and in the theatre world, design touches everything as well.

Nikon D90 DLSR

The Nikon D90 was top of its class when it came out. Not only did it exceed the expectations of the public, it introduced a new height to which DSLRs (digital single lens reflexes) can reach.
DSLRs are known for their superior quality in pictures and artistic photography, but before this they were not known for their ability to capture high-definition video. However, with the release of the Nikon D90, HD video capture had become possible and thus, a new generation of DLSRs have been born.
Despite having all this new technology in the frame, the D90 does not look any bigger than the average DSLR. It comes with the option of having multiple lenses, a tripod stand, different settings, but somehow this new feature of high quality video allows the Nikon D90 to stand apart and gather the attention of the general public.
To be able to store that much new technology in such a small frame, the designers of the Nikon D90 must have had to do a bit of rearranging. Though they use the same lens, it requires different technologies to be able to code and record the video. After that, they must determine the location of the different wiring and devices needed for the camera. Placement, after all, is crucial if one does not want a combustible item in their hands, or hanging around their neck.
The digital camera has come far from the original Film Single Reflex Lens cameras. Though some say that technology cannot capture the beauty of nature at all, there are many that try. Even after if they do not succeed, they use programs to alter the original colors to eventually receive an imitation of the final product they had initially envisioned. Of course, technology is always improving, and there is without a doubt that one day technology will overcome the barriers that practicality puts up.
While the Nikon D90 was breaking barriers, its frame designers were also aiming for an easily accessible display and button console. If one looks at the shape of the frame, one notices the grip on the left side that not only provides an easy way to hold the camera, but also a convenient place to store the battery. Slots for the memory card and cables can be found under a flap on the other side of the camera, and small icons are available for reference on top of the multitudes of buttons that can be found around the display and top. For the more technical aspects that professional photographers look for, they can be found in the small display at the top of the camera.
Although this camera can be used by professionals to earn a living, the camera itself is also quite accessible by amateurs and recreational users. While it has many different options that professionals may choose to change, it’s also quite usable as a regular point-and-shoot camera with different simple settings for different situations. Many people find the better quality of the pictures much more gratifying than what a simple point-and-shoot camera usually provides.
While many may think that the modern DLSR may not evolve any more, there is a bright future for the camera that adapts to every situation.

Online Profiles

Throughout my extensive time spent online, I’ve noticed something that ALL social sites have in common. What is this profile page?
There are a few basic elements: The picture, the biography, the interests section, and a contact section.
One kind of wonders, after a while, is this really ME, shoved into a small page? All of my quirks, everything that I use to beguile strangers in real life? You expect ME, my personality, everything about me to fit on this one small corner—not even corner, niche!—of the interwebs? How is this possible?
That was how it was designed. To get somebody’s interest, you first catch their attention with 1. Your picture. 2. Your interests. 3. The possibility that they can contact you. This all fits, perhaps, with your personal display of color added in the background, or in the text.
It’s a plot by an evil genius!
However, using this format, even then, we start to blend together. With the multitudes of people that swarm online every day, there is no possibility that you can possibly even THINK of recognizing every single person you’ve come across. This cannot be helped. Although depressing, one must always think of putting their best foot forward, one never knows who’s watching.

COMICS - Words & Images

When one thinks of comics, one almost always mentally pictures an image with words in text bubbles. They’ve become melded together, and one rarely finds comics without words now.
Together, words and images create an impact. Or they meld together to create a more seamless idea, to let the viewer to more easily understand what is happening. Moreover, the words and images combine to tell a story. With a combination of simple lines to indicate motion, and different types of bubbles to tell if the character is thinking or talking, the reader is drawn in through his or her imagination, their ability to provide closure automatically bringing them far closer to the story than just words or pictures alone.
I believe that comics are so popular just because of this. They allow the reader to enter a different world—just through words and lines. The imagination supplies the rest. It brings the reader into the realm of dots of color and ink, of italics and underlines, of word bubbles and motion blurs. It requires active participation.
Comics have long been part of the world, but recently they have been integrated even into educational materials. I have seen my friends read books on calculus illustrated with anime characters, even coming with a plot line that wants you to think you aren’t learning anything when it’s slyly shoving it into the back of your mind. People are innovative. People are thoughtful.

WORDS and IMAGES

Words and images are inseparably entwined in the public’s mindset, but it was not always this way. Now, when painters choose cityscapes, words have no choice but to appear, but before, words were not always so easily found with images. Now, words and images are combined to produce a powerful punch. It gives the viewers something to read, something to process, something to wonder about. This combination can be found in all situations now, from CD covers to textbooks, they utilize everything they can to capture the viewer’s interest, and to increase recall of their product’s advertisement.
These are most often used in company logos in the modern age. They combine something that symbolizes their company, along with their company name or perhaps a few choice words to summarize their company’s dealings.
This particular combination of words and image is supposed to ensnare your attention, to draw your eye to it whether you wish to see it or not. It leads one’s eyes down, to the logo, the design, the words. One cannot help but think that the art of advertisement has almost been boiled down to a science—what direction they lead your eyes, to what they want you to think—they think more than you think when you see the picture.

Window Displays

These happen to be almost the most literal way to describe design in society. These are displays of design in society—window displays trying to draw you into their fantasy worlds, saying “Buy me! Buy me!”
As children wandering down streets of shops with our parents, who hasn’t stopped and pointed at a display, tugging at their parents sleeves, saying, “Please! Buy this for me! It looks so fun/pretty/cool!” It takes a good display to entice the young minds.
A lot of thought goes into putting up displays. They have to take into consideration the new trends for toys, but also the environment and the things the kids would like—possibly starting a new trend.
It’s a combination of interior design and fashion, color coordination and spatial arrangement. The ultimate goal is to draw in the viewer, to wish that they had the items featured even though the items themselves may not be the best or of the highest quality. They draw you in using color, to make it POP! And to attract all the attention. Then, they use bright lights and subtleties, to keep you interested at the window, thus gaining the attention of even more people, slowly then, gathering a crowd at the window.
Even like this, design permeates society. It slowly seeps in through the cracks, from how one’s mother would arrange the plates at dinner-time, to what kind of household accessories she buys, to how she cleans and arranges the house. Everyday life is filled with design, to the objects one holds to the ones one arranges. There is no escaping design.

Bottles

Specifically, water bottles.


One of the most overlooked objects is the plastic water bottle. It is constantly referred to as a waste of resources (which it is), but that’s about all the attention it gets. Nobody looks at its design, it’s multiple love-handles for easy gripping. How the cap is smaller, so that when it’s mass-produced it uses less plastic overall. Who notices these things?

Designers are often given a hard job. How do they make something so mass-produced better? How would they possibly improve a design that’s been pondered over for so long? They consider shape, form, how it’ll be used, how it’ll end up. Everything is considered at least once, written on a post-it, stuck on a board.

Water bottles are now shapelier than before. This is to help facilitate the ability to drink water while running or walking, or to increase one’s ability to hold on to the water bottle. When the water bottle was once just a cylinder, it now has curves rivaling a woman with an hourglass figure. Is this supposed to lure new customers to its shape? Or are they really conserving plastic by making the bottle walls thinner?

With each new design comes new problems. Many users of these bottles find that it’s almost impossible to open the water bottle without squeezing or spilling at least a fourth of the water, and that they crinkle loudly whenever one accidentally squeezes the bottle too hard.

Objects like these are constantly improving. Many examples can be found: metal water bottles. Not only do they reduce the plastic waste produced, they’re reusable and exceedingly more fashionable—just look at all the colors possible!

Interaction of Form and Content in Objectified

"Design needs to be plugged into human behavior." Tim Brown has a point.
Many times, the form is directly linked to its content. There are many examples of this, from objects that can only serve one purpose, like a car. Its form is obviously designed to serve one purpose, though its many different parts can be taken to be used for something else.

Form is the literal object. The external. What we see visually, what we feel tactilely. Content is the internal. What we imagine its use to be, what we can use it for.
Sometimes, the designer thinks for the people. They must make their product people-friendly, easy to figure out the content, simply from looking at the form. There are no VCR-look-alikes.
One must also take into account culture and location. For example, there was the toothpick from Japan that had the part that broke off into a toothpick rest. Though Americans looking at the toothpicks would just see a decorated toothpick, Japanese people would see something that they would use every day. There’s also the tiny hotels the Japanese are fond of, as well as the overabundance of vending machines that sell everything one could ever think of. Many Americans would not be able to fathom the usage of any of these, and all of those would have to be taken in context.

One also needs to think about how time changes cultures. Something that was useful thirty years ago may not be useful anymore. Take into consideration cell phones. Back then, cell phones were humongous compared to current day models. They would not fit anywhere, at all. In this way, technology and time have obviously been big factors.

Comparison and Contrast

In the beginning, the bicycle looked ridiculous.

It was the ride of the rich! It got people places, not only faster, but "in style". The overly large front wheel and the laughable small back wheel made many people question the functionality of this object, but it was efficient, and people soon grew to like the bicycle so much that they dedicated the time and effort to redesigning it. So, the image of the bicycle grew from this:
to something more modern, to something that would perhaps look like this twenty years form now:
As insane as this may look, the evolution of the bicycle has changed somewhat. There were gears added, different types of metals tested and used, different bar placement, different handlebar placement, everything was questioned. Would the bike seat be comfortable for males, or would it only suit females? Are the bars in the way of easily getting on the bike, or, heavens forbid, they prevent one from getting off the bike easily? There are many different things that designers had to think of to not only streamline the bicycle, but provide a leisure version, and a racing version as well. Now, the bicycle has many options to choose from, if one needs more visual imagery, please step outside, or travel to Davis...

Design as Conversation

Design is a universal language, in every culture and country there exists some type of design, and they all look different from each other. Architecture in Japan looks different from architecture in America. However, even then there are similarities that allow design to be understood across the world. Most designers have a common goal, whether it be becoming more eco-friendly, to being more aesthetically pleasing, since design is a very visual language. Without sharing the same oral language, people can communicate via images and PowerPoint’s, through common ideas of what is most economical to produce, to what would reach out to the most people.

Design as conversation also reaches to non-designers. Something that was made in Japan could have just as much relevance in America, or the other way around. There are no words that are needed in order to have an expression of ideas. If something is not done well, people will notice.
Whether the designer likes it or not, the public forms an opinion of his product or idea at sight. Thus, it turns his or her design turns into a conversation! Through the public rejecting or ignoring his work, the designer knows that he/she is not on the right track, and needs to change his direction. The designer controls what the public receives, the public controls what the designer creates—in this way they have a wordless conversation, or a give-and-take relationship.
Fortunately, this kind of trade often works out for the best. The public is satisfied with the new product, and the designer is usually satisfied knowing that he or she made something of value to the public. Sometimes this is not the case, as opinions vary widely, but in most cases the results are positive.

Textile Design

Textile design is an interesting major, as it is part fashion design, part interior architecture design. Though many would just disregard textile design as a strange major, it is actually a very interesting course consisting of looking into fabric textures, patterns, and materials.
Fabrics are used for everything, from home furnishings, to clothing. Everybody has their opinions on what they wear, to what they’re always associated to. Fashion design is something everybody thinks they can do, and thus they always have strong opinions about it. However, if one thinks about it, it’s actually one of the hardest majors out there. Not everybody will appreciate one’s sense of fashion, or even what one thinks looks good. Even the models are subjected to criticism.
However, textile design is much more than that. To major in textile designs, one must know how to keep with the trends, not only with colors and seasons, but with fabric type and indoor furnishings. One must have an excellent sense of color coordination and also must possess the ability to read people’s personalities. Psychology also plays into this major. Plus, don’t forget biology! With the new craze of “green”, organic materials are also more prized and considered higher in fashion. One would have to factor in the biodegradable factor of everything, and make it look good as well.
Textiles play into every aspect of our day-to-day lives. From the chairs you sit in to the clothes you wear, there was a designer that thought the cloth would be suitable for the chair, the shirt, the shorts to be manufactured.

Creativity from Without

Many artists pull inspiration from the world around them, and not from other artists. They find their own style, their own approach to the world—they are innovators, entrepreneurs, people who have gone where nobody had ventured before. They start the trends, they instigate.
Most artists learn from others first. They pull on the styles and trends of the past, or the current hip look. We all start off learning from teachers, or gaining inspiration from other finished products. However, the truly amazing can pull ideas from pieces, and put those together for a style that is completely their own and never seen before.
Everybody is confronted with a need to pull an idea from nowhere at sometime in their lives, regardless of what job they pursue. Especially since copyright issues are inevitable, people start thinking in different directions from the norm, something that possibly nobody else would have thought was plausible.
Throughout history, there were people that realized the need to create something to simplify others or their own lives—they are often called the inventors.
Oftentimes, pure genius is born out of selfishness. The need for a certain item induces the need to create something to satisfy the need—and ta-dah, the public finds themselves also wanting to use the product to simplify their everyday lives.
The selfishness, in this case, was beneficial to all the people around them. In some ways, it can seem quite incidental, but in some cases it always ends up for the best.

Stone Soup

Much like the children’s book this event was named after, the Stone Soup event allowed our group to talk to each other and find our strengths and weaknesses, then create a project through a collaborative effort. In most cases, this collaborative effort often ends with positive results. This also allowed our team to bond a little more. Through this teamwork, we found something that represented each of us. Although the final product might not have looked visually cohesive, we all helped put it together, and in this case, the art representing the ideas and feelings, rather than just for aesthetic purposes.
This project allows us to glimpse at what professionals have to endure—conflicting ideas and sometimes too many ideas, which ones to choose and which ones to exclude. In fact, even if we end up not majoring in design, this project would be a great way for people to learn how to work together, to see what other people are like. This gives us the corny life lessons that we all need to learn at one time or another.
This project also allowed us to see other personalities, and it lets us picture what we would face in future work environments. This is also a sort of test to see how well we would fare in our future jobs, and possibly even what type of jobs we should pursue.
I enjoyed working with my group members, it also helped me extend my social network, which is invaluable in college and in the future.

Greetings!

Hulloa! I hail from the Bay area, or otherwise known as “not that far from Davis.” I’m a freshman this year, and I’m majoring in Design. I hope to end up majoring (so far, anyway) in Visual Communications, which seems to fit my various interests best.
I’ve always been interested in art, from the time I picked up that grape-scented silly marker, to now, when I doodle all over my notes and white boards in the dorm.
I have a love of looking through magazines and websites that feature revamped items like chairs, cars, anything from everyday life. I love how simple items become useful for everything, how that chair can become a table, and how that paper case for your chopsticks can become an object that lets you rest your chopsticks off the table.
I also love the aesthetic aspect of design. I love messing with typography and creating eye-catching powerpoints, trying to mix in as many bright colors I can into one painting, the simple exploration and experimentation of design—the search for the best result.
I hope to continue in design regardless of circumstances, and in any case, it’s already integrated itself into my everyday life, it would be hard to distance myself from design now.
In the end, all I hope to do is create something that simplifies life in a big way, like the discovery of electricity or the invention of the easy chair. I have simple desires and needs, I like to think simply (though this happens not nearly enough), and I am, hopefully, simple to like.
Nice to meet you too! :3

Inspiration Everywhere

Please name something off the top of your head that you need every day. Perhaps you’d like a seat while you do that? Or how about you put down that cup of coffee on this table that was just a chair. No? How about lounging then?

The one item that amazed me was the multipurpose chair. It is such an everyday item, and our preconception of chairs often turns into the regular four-legged wooden chair with a straight back. However, when we turn our eyes to the amazing world of design, we are often greeted with amazingly elegant pieces of work.

The new sleek design was incredible to me, and it particularly struck me that not all chairs needed to look the same. I developed a love of looking through furniture magazines, not because we needed a new chair, but to see what people were doing with their creativity. That chair doesn’t need to be stuck as a chair, it can be a bar stool, or a coffee table, or a mini-lounge—many doors have been opened for chairs.

I find the fact that such an ordinary item can be twisted into something else—it’s almost symbolic for human lives. We need not live by the stereotypes we are sometimes defined by, we can adapt and develop different skills.

Why stop there? Why not create a fold-able multipurpose chair, or something with wheels? Something for the masses, or something we can use at home to just conserve space. What humans need, humans make.

DESIGN in SOCIETY

How did the wheel come to be? It was designed. Or perhaps chanced upon. But the wheel has morphed the way humans have interacted and lived in this world, and the wheel has been increasingly changed and improved, adapting to how human life has evolved.
Design permeates every aspect of society, from the water bottles we carry to the streets we walk on, designers left their touch. Whether design is used to increase our adeptness for surviving in an increasingly polluted world, or whether it’s used for a sleeker design in motorcycles, without design everyday life would not only look a lot plainer, it would also be harder.
Design has adapted to the human need with increasing awareness of sustainability and how the items leave an impact on Earth. People are increasingly aware of the fact that we need to reuse, and renew. An example of how this is integrating itself into society is how the stars are also making an effort to spread the news to the masses—we are the only ones that can save our planet.
Designers are constantly thinking of new ways to simplify life, to make it more beautiful, and to make it more user friendly. They’re trying to decrease the number of parts they need to make, to help make things easier to fix and keep. In a world where sophistication often meant frills and excessive things, people are now looking forward to the image ‘modern’ now conveys—simplistic; beautiful.
Society has always viewed design as a means for a beautified exterior, but in fact design also makes everyday easier for the ordinary folks.