History of Design

2010-11-29T08:17:00.001-08:00

Advertisements are mainly known for informing and persuading people to buy company products or to gain support. Whenever I think of ads, the first thing that comes to mind (and I’m sure I’m not the only one on this) is that ads are just a nuisance for interfering with regularly scheduled programs. But there is so much more that goes on in the advertising world than meets the eye. The use of advertisements go back thousands of years to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Middle Ages, and even to prehistoric times with drawings on cave walls (according to “Art & Copy”).

Art & Copy is a film that interviews some of the most creative minds today and they reveal much of the “behind the scenes” work done with ads that influences the lives of every consumer (which is pretty much every person), even though they may not be aware of it. In the film, it was explained how before, ads were predominantly consisted of just copy, but with art, ads have become much more effective. We are a very visual society and adding images to ads have made them have more of an impact. Some of the art & creative directors interviewed include George Lois (the one behind “I Want My MTV”), Rich Silverstein and Jeff Goodby (who are responsible for “Got Milk?” campaign), and Mary Wells (the woman responsible for the “I Love New York” campaign). These interviewees explained that ads require certain strategy and a strong concept and execution.

They also explained that along with the strong copy and punch lines, the visuals in the ad, in order to be effective, it must do the following: grab attention (Tommy Hilfiger’s “new-designer-coming-out” ad) , stick to memory, demonstrate that it is believable, tell an interesting story, communicate quickly, and be distinguished among its competitors (like in the “Got Milk” campaign; milk has been around long before the new beverages of today had emerged. Milk had to compete with them.)

2010-11-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Motion graphics are pretty much graphics that have been animated by the use of some computer generated software, and it is also often synced with an audio. Motion graphics can be thought of as an extension of film. It’s really amazing to see the differences of how motion pictures were back then (the processes and how it looked) to how they are today. An example would be the film we watched “Metropolis” and compare that to the motion graphics clips we also watched. There is, however, a difference between motion graphics and motion film. Motion in motion picture film is the illusion given when a sequence of photographs is “played-through” very fast. This kind of technique was developed in the early 1900s by cinema, but since then, technology has rapidly increased. As the computer emerged in the middle of the century, motion graphics has also made its appearance. The motion graphic clips that we looked at in class I’d like to say are some of the more recent ones made. Back then motion graphics were not as popular because the computer was also not as accessible. Home computers and further accessibility didn’t happen until the later part of the century did motion graphics also become more popular. Today, motion graphics are used in many kinds of multimedia. More software for editing these digital material have been created like AfterEffects, Adobe Flash, and Apple Motion. With these programs, motion graphics are made by a process called tweening and by using keyframes. Nowadays, anyone who is willing can make a motion graphic. Till now, motion graphics still continues to evolve in techniques how to make them, aesthetically, its quality, etc.

Frank Gehry - Deconstructivism

2010-11-09T01:42:00.000-08:00

Frank Gehry is a well-renown architect who has won numerous awards. He's created many greated works, but just to name a few some of his best include:

Gehry House (Gehyr's private residence) Santa Monica, CA	Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain 1997
Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angeles, CA 1989-2004	IAC Building New York City 2007

His works are great, and with his unique style and techniques, his buildings encompass many that have come before it. He is known for being one of the most influential architects in our time. But from all the greatness and complexity of his works, it is amazing to see all his works started off from simple sketches. The film “Sketches of Frank Gehry” shows many of Gehry’s work and sums up the process of how Gehry creates his buildings from sketch to the finished product.

He does his buildings in the decontructive style. Deconstructivism is actually a branch of deconstruction. Deconstruction involves a philosophical theory that things are never certain, and things meaning something else than what they are. It questions certainty originally in the field of literary analysis. Deconstruction as an architectural style tries to break the rules on what is known to be the norm of constructing buildings. The architectural style was known to have started in the 1980s. Buildings often look contorted, broken, odd, and futuristic. I feel like this style is modern in that it looks like something that has come out of a computer – pixilated and abstract. The Deconstruction style had its influences come from the philosophical works of Jacques Derrida.

Shepard Fairey

2010-10-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

Shepard Fairey is an American graphic designer/street artist greatly known for his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” OBEY Giant sticker campaign and for his more recent HOPE poster for Barack Obama’s presidential election. His work emerged from the skateboard culture and scene.
The OBEY sticker campaign has the face of Andre the Giant from the 1987 film Princess Bride. Fairey’s intention for the campaign was to test the phenomenology concept, which is “the movement founded by Husserl that concentrates on the detailed description of conscious experience, without recourse to explanation, metaphysical assumptions, and traditional philosophical questions."

There were often controversial matters dealing with Fairey’s work because he often incorporated other works in his work but changed it. The face of Andre the Giant was placed on many various posters he designed, postage stamps, t-shirts, and many other various items. He wanted to stickers to invoke curiosity. Since the start of the OBEY campaign, Andre the Giant became an icon in today’s society. The subjects that he places the OBEY giant included war and propaganda poster, pop and street art. I find his works of different cultures interesting because I feel as if it is an incorporation of American art and of that culture. I was interested to find that he also did an OBEY poster of Hello Kitty, which is one of my favorite icons. He made this poster because Fairy is participating in Sanrio’s Small Gifts Art Show in Miami.

Rococo/Neo-Rococo

2010-10-26T11:57:00.001-07:00

The Rococo style first made its appearance in the early 18th century and branched from the Baroque period. Instead of the heavy-set and grand style of the Baroque period, the characteristics of the Rococo period were playful, elegant, charming, and it was mainly the art in which the aristocratic class used and it was often said to have reflected the "tasteless, frivolous nature of a corrupt society of the time". At the time there was a great imbalance in the French society. The French monarchy had most of the wealth while the millions of people were barely getting by and hungry. It wasn’t until after the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century where a new age had taken place had the monarchy and frivolity come to an end.

Going back to the Rococo style, it was very lighthearted and airy-feeling. There was an emphasis on interior design and furniture. Everything was intricate and decorated with curves and natural patterns. The term “Rococo” originated from the French word “rocaille” which meant “shell or rock” which was the natural patterns that were mainly used in all the decorations. Furniture was also freestanding to reflect the lightheartedness of the period. Things can be moved around easily. Rooms were decorated with elegant furniture, sculptures, ornamental mirrors, wall paintings, and reliefs. Salon de Princesse (by Germain Boffrand) in the Versailles palace is an example of a Rococo style room. In this room, the walls are elegantly decorated with frivolous wall paintings and ornamental mirrors. There are chandeliers, and freestanding furniture.

I tried to look for works of pieces done today that are still in the Rococo style, and I found a creative and interior designer company called Smanks came up a style called “Neo-Rococo”. Neo-Rococo attempts to base their furniture with all the intricate curves of Rococo furniture except greatly abstracting it. Leaving the furniture with a pixilated and modern feel.

2010-10-25T16:07:00.001-07:00

I didn’t know if I would but I ended up really enjoying watching Objectified. Objectified is a film that explains how all objects have a design and how that design tries best to reflect the use for whatever that object is. I like this concept of “form fits function” because it reminded me of how in biology and in nature in general, the same concept is also greatly emphasized. For example, all the organs in our body and our cells are shaped a certain way, look a certain way, and are made up of a specific substance all for the benefit of their intended function. Objectified shows how humans innately create all objects that they use driven to fulfill a purpose. I liked how this video reminded me of this. I would have never thought that objects can also be applied to this concept. It seems like a lot of things in this class we have learned much of our surroundings – things that have been around us our whole lives, and even before then, we don’t realize it, but now we are actually noticing that they are there. In the video there was featured a handle making company. Where the designers spent hours deciding what the best fit was for a certain handle and how it can best benefit the user for its use. Another thing I found interesting was the toothpick design. The toothpick itself was cylindrical, a pointy tip at one end and at the other end was flat with a couple of grooves a few millimeters from the very end. The purpose of this was so that you can easily break the tip, put it on the table and rest the pointy end on the broken part of the toothpick. The use for this was to keep the toothpick clean and also to show that the toothpick had been used. The toothpick was a Japanese design and it reflected their culture because of its clean look and purpose. It reflects their culture because in Japan there is a great emphasis in cleanliness in everything they do. I remember when I lived there, shoe removal was required before entering a home.

Helvetica

2010-10-22T19:15:00.001-07:00

Helvetica is the most well-known and most used typeface today. It was developed in 1957 by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann, two typeface designers from Switzerland. Wherever you go, you will see Helvetica in all street signs, logos, posters, wordmarks, television, and many more. Miedinger and Hoffman intended Helvetica to be used as having “no intrinsic meaning in its form”. The design of it is so simple, yet so diverse in its many uses. Many favor this typeface and many have made posters, making designs from the fonts.

In the image at the very top, it shows a variety of companies that use Helvetica for their logo look. I’ve known the majority of these brands all my life, yet I had no idea that they were all one typeface. It’s kind of fun just now finding this out. In the image underneath, are two posters where the whole design is composed of Helvetica letters. I like this poster for its creative concept. Both together portray the “good and bad” of Helvetica. A downside of Helvetica is that for its wide use, it is often said to be overused, but the good side (portrayed in the blue picture on the right of it) is that the design of Helvetica is simple to perfection, so it can be used everywhere. The NYC poster and the Helbotica poster are also an examples of a poster with all design elements are composed of Helvetica letters. I think my favorite of all these posters is the robot poster at the very bottom. It’s kind of hard to tell but all letters might be used in this poster. WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

2010-09-29T16:15:00.001-07:00

Art Nouveau is greatly known for its decorative, ornamental nature and distictive characteristics. Peaking during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Art Nouveau is a movement that tried to stray from the Neoclassic and Romantic styles that were popularized during the 18th-19th centuries. Instead, its art has the traditional features like those of Gothic, Rococo, and Baroque; its characteristics include sinuous, flowing lines, violent curves, organic subject matters, and it was about pushing new limits and using new materials. Artists didn't restrict themselves to traditional methods like painting on canvas and sculpting from marble, but decorated, instead, things like everyday household items. The movement was all about art and beauty [[add words here for filler BLANK]] being all around you, where everything in your surroundings, from doorknobs to a whole apartment building, are decorated in the Art Nouveau style.

The movement got its first inspirations from Japonisme (the influence of Japanese art toward the western countries). Many artists were particularly attracted to the Japanese Ukiyo-e woodcuts coming from artists such as Katsushika Hokusai.

Art Nouveau did not last as long as other art movements. It was an overnight sensation and its peak lasted only from 1880-1905. But I do particularly favor Art Nouveau for its aesthetic qualities. I also find it interesting that Art Nouveau got one of its inspirations from Japanese art. There is a web magazine I came across called Yanko Design, a Japanese company dedicated to modern international design (covers industrial design, technology, interior design, architecture, exhibition, and fashion). One of their items contains an ambient lamp based on the Art Nouveau style.

I really like it because the piece still contains the classic Art Nouveau characteristics with its floral, flowing curvalinear lines, but it also has a sleek and futuristic feel that reflects the modern time. It's kind of funny how Japanese art gave influence to Art Nouveau, and now for this piece, the Japanese created it getting its inspirations from a style that originally got its inspiration from their cultural art--confusing as that sounds, it's just yet another example showing that all art is connected.{{{{THIS WILL BE LEFT BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK}}}}

2010-09-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Before I knew what aspect of graffiti to discuss, I first wanted to look up an exact definition of graffiti. However, I found two definitions, similar, but with completely opposing views. According to the dictionary and to the view of the majority of the population, graffiti is:

"markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or any public surface,
contributing to the wrong act of vandalism."

However, according to an urban dictionary, graffiti is:

"an element of the Hip Hop culture misinterpreted and misrepresented by the mainstream media, and most especially hated by affluent businessmen and those who don't understand the roots or meaning of the writing on the walls."

Personally, I do agree that graffiti is vandalism. A building is property, and vandalizing its walls is an invasion of the owner's privacy. Most everyone wouldn't like it if a complete stranger were to go through their belongings. It's the same concept. However, I also believe, like in any conflict, there is fault and truth in both opposing sides.I think that a good way of looking at it is, we shouldn’t look at it as “it’s a problem” but rather “HOW did it get to be a problem”. In the documentary the graffiti artists explained that when they were starting out, graffiti served as an outlet for them. It was either drawing on public property OR doing drugs. For them the prior option far outweighed the second option. To them, the act of graffiti was a reflection of economic injustice.

lol.

Origin of Writing/Glossopoeia

2010-09-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

The film the "Origin of Writing" discussed the history of how man first made markings on the walls of caves like they did in Lascaux FR through Babylonian cuniform, Egyptian heiroglyphs, the Greek alphabet, all the way to the English language and to how important it is today. All of these languages were influenced by the writing that came before it. Each form of writing through history has its particular style, according to its spoken language. But it made me wonder, why and how is it that man decided to have the writing look the way it does? What made them to decide how the strokes will look, what made them decide how to phonetically pronounced their words? This documentary reminded me of how some creative people today are still able to invent their own language and writing. An examples would include the Elvish language that J.K Tolken’s made up for Lord of the Rings, James Cameron’s Navi language spoken in Pandora in the film Avatar, and the various languages spoken in George Lucas’s Star Wars books and films by Ewoks and Tatooine. After doing some research I found out that there are actual terms for making up languages and for the construction of languages. A constructed language is often known as a “conlang”. There are different brances of conlang but the languages of Tolken, Cameron, and Lucas are under the branch of “artistic languages” (‘artlang’ for short). The making up of an artistic language is known as somewhat of a process called “glossopoeia”.