Weapons and Nuclear Bombs are Dangerous Designs

 

Nuclear Weapon from http://www.jackrice.org

When it comes to dangerous designs, I think about things that can harm a human and the entire world. Although designs are meant to help human and improve the way we live, there are some designs that instead of helping they harm. The design that comes to comes to my mind that is very dangerous and that harms society the design of weapons like nuclear bombs and extremely powerful guns.  These tools are very dangerous because there are people designing these weapons more powerful every time.  The more powerful the bombs get the more dangerous they are for the world. The creation of new and more powerful weapons is critical to the world because one days there is going to be a weapon so powerful that at the end is capable of destroying the whole world.  The weapon design can bring harm to people because people countries always want the bigger weapons or be the nation with the most sophisticated weapons, leading to the creation of massive guns or bombs.  Design is supposed to help humans in creating something that can help the world , not to create something that is going to destroy the entire earth.  People need to have limits in the creation of weapons because if there is no limit, at the end there are going to be very powerful weapons that can erase society forever. Although weapons are meant to be use as a type of defense, there should not be people designing very powerful weapons that put in danger the whole world.

CFL Light Bulbs a design that benefits Society

CFL Light Bulb from http://www.ecojoes.com

Design is what makes products to be a reality. Designers are the people responsible for creating new products and design products that are beneficial to society and the world. The new designs need to be helpful not only to society, but also to the environment because we live in this world so we need to create products that are not harmful to our world. One of the Designs that benefit our society is the CFL light bulb. The CFL light bulb is design that benefits society because a light bulb that helps humans to save energy and they are more efficient.  One CFL light bulb only use 33 percent of energy compared to a normal light bulb.  This new design is beneficial because by using the CFL lights we can reduce the amount of light bulbs use in the world because the CFL last longer.  Not only they help the environment by reducing waste, but also they help use to not warming up rooms or anything that use bulbs. Normal light bulbs create heat, that can sometimes catch stuff on fire, but in the CFL light bulb can come handy because they are better because the CLF doesn’t produce as much heat as a normal light bulb. Reducing the heat people can safe energy, but also the risk of things catching on fire also decreases.  This magnificent design benefits humans by the efficiency it provides to humans, also the light quality that provides to people, and the great help it gives to the environment.

COLOR TRANSFORM:

 Abanero Pepper  http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/vegetables/caribbean_habanero_pepper.jpg

            When I start to think about colors I also I start to think about food, especially on spicy food and peppers.  Colors play a major role on peppers because colors are being use to describe how spicy a peppers is. The Scoville Rating is the scale used to determinate the peppers hotness. The way colors are incorporated to peppers is that the hotter the peppers are the redder the pepper in color is.  They way I see it connects to colors is that somehow the hotter the pepper the redder the pepper gets and also it gets redder in the the Scoville Rating. So I see that somehow the color red is seems to be as an alert color. Red in the world is use as an alert color. Humans tend to see that as a color that can affect humans in a way. For example, the stop signs on the street, the traffic light, or red alarm on a siren. Having the color red in does designs can in a way use to signified something needs to show awareness, alert, or just need to grab attention.  Red and other colors like yellow to grab attention in a way that humans see as something to be aware or to be carful about something.  In another words, when in comes to be careful about something or just to pay attention to something, the best way to grab human attention is by using red or yellow. In Albers book it talks about how red and yellow colors are describe as Warm colors.  Warm colors transmit a feeling or something to show hotness. At the end the way colors connect to peppers is because red is a warm color and can be use to describe spiciness and the dangerous a pepper can be.

The Creative Process

During the week in Design class Professor Housefield talked about the creative process of design and how it beneficiates designers. The creative process is the process of how designers can develop their ideas to create new designs. The process consists of three simple steps. The first step of the creative process is    “Sponge.” Sponge is the first step, the step where designers absorb ideas and grab ideas from other designers or environment in order to be able to create their own work. When designers absorb ideas from others like sponges, they can later have a major role in their designs because the ideas that were absorbed can create a fusion leading to a new type of design.  The second of the process is called “ Filter”.  In the filter part, designers take out the ideas that aren’t needed and they keep the ideas or things they want to keep.  Filtering ideas improve the designer’s ideas because it is the part of the process where unnecessary things are thrown away.  Meaning that the ideas that are kept with the designs are the ones that lead to the new designs.  Finally, the last step in the creative process is called “ Voice”.  Voice is the final stage where the designers show to the world his/her new idea; he announces the new ideas he has in mind. After all the absorbing of ideas, processing and filtering ideas,  it finally comes down to showing the idea. The whole point of the process is to learn from others, use the information and material we feel are necessary to create something new, so that at the end we can show it with pride. 

The MacBook Pro and Ergonomics

Macbook Pro photo from buyapplelaptopscheap.blogspot.com

MacBook Pro Photo from kennygrant.ca

When it comes to ergonomics designs, meaning products that help people to balance their mind and body with the product, I think about Apple. Ergonomics products are meant to be safe, comfortable, ease to use, high performance, and aesthetic.  Apple is a company that creates different technology products, like computers and music players. Furthermore, Apple is known for creating elegant products that can be appreciated by their design.  Apple had created the best computers, for example the MacBook Pro.  The MacBook Pro compared to safety, is one of the most safest and greenest computer in today’s market.  The computer is meant to be helpful to the environment by being mostly recyclable creating less pollution and waste in the world. The MacBook Prop by being a green computer can be seeing as a safe product because is made out of materials that are not harmful to the customers.  Besides, the MacBook Pro being safe, it also is comfortable.   The way the keyboard was designed it help the costumer to type in a more relax way.  Another spec that makes the MacBook  Pro more comfortable is the computers weight.  The MacBook’s weight is 4.5 LB. making it one of the lightest computers on the market.  Another spec that makes the Mac Book comfortable is the thinness of the computers. The MacBook Pro was design to make it lighter and thinner. If the computer is lighter and thinner, it would make it easier to the costumer to carry and put the computer anywhere they want. People always want something lightweight but steady, and the materials and the design of the MacBook Pro comes to play because the materials create a steady and solid computer, while the way the computer is design creates a lightweight computer.  Not only a product is about how comfortable its, but also about how easy it to use. Although, the MacBook Pro is a pretty advance technological computer, the way the interface is design it makes the MacBook Pro easy to use. The software and the technology adapted to the MacBook Pro it makes it easy to navigate to the different task people can make on a computer. The easy use of the MacBook Pro helps people to do daily activities like listen to music, surf the Internet, organize pictures and other stuff.  Then if the product is easy to use the costumer is going to adapt the product to their life and making them more attach to the product.  Also a good performance helps products to be unique and be high quality. The MacBook Pro is a computer is the best-compacted and best performance computer.  One of the performance features is the life span on the computer’s battery. The battery last more then 9 hrs. Then another nice feature that the computer has is the technology it has, for example the dual-processor, the advance graphic video card, and the memory controller. All this performance features make the computer very fast and attractive to the consumer. Finally, the part that attracts the consumer attention is the way a product looks, that’s when aesthetics comes to action.  People always buy or gets the products that they thing is beautiful. The MacBook Pro is one of the most beautiful computers. The aluminum metal finish on the computer creates a attracting a unique look to the computer. Not only the aluminum touch gives a nice look to the computer, but also it give a steady look to the computer.  At the end,  the MacBook Pro shows all the 5 ergonomics areas, therefore is a good example of a magnificent product of design. 

Art, Day of the Dead, and contrast

Papel Picado...image from xylocopa.com

For the Latin culture, November is the month to commemorate or honor the people that past away.  On November 2 , people celebrate what is called Dia de los muertos, Day of the Dead, and this celebration somehow makes me realize or analyze about how the art used in the Dia de los Muertos ceremonies can contrast some of the meanings and art forms use.  Many think that skulls and skeletons images can represent dead or something negative, but in Latin America does imagines contrast what the meaning of the skulls or skeletons can have. In the day of the dead the skulls can be shown in away that can have a meaning of celebration.  The images used in the ceremony can contradict the meaning some people can have about dead. In the Day of the Dead, people are celebrating and honoring the people that are resting and past way, and art show that celebrations. For example, in this paper art called Papel Picado,  paper that is cut in different images , can show the skulls and other images that can contradict all the fear people have to dead. So the way images are made can have a contrast or a different meaning to what symbols can represent in other cultures. Therefore, images can contrast some of the meanings people have, and to what the real message the art piece is trying to demonstrate.

Words and Posters

Poster from Forest Gump Movie.

Posters in the art present a formal way of using words and images. Most of the posters I have seeing on the streets or in stores have some time of writing on them. The words in the poster can project a connection to the image from the poster, or something opposite portrayed on the poster. Sometimes the words are use to create confusion for the customer to create a mysterious message on the image. Having words on the posters can also reflect the meaning or message that the artist that created the poster is trying to demonstrate on the poster. It doesn’t matter how many words there can be on the poster, sometimes the best posters are the ones that only have a word, but that word can have a deep meaning on the poster.  Also, words in posters can help people to be informed on something, for example movie posters. Movie posters not only have pictures or scenes from the most important part of the movie, however, it also has words that inform about what is the movie about and different details the public is interested in, like dates and movie characters.  So, at the end words and images can help create that interaction between images, words and public.

Word and Images

From Mom's Cancer. Fies

During my Design class on November 2, 2010,  Brian Fies, the author and illustrator of the books Whatever Happened to the world of tomorrow?  and Mom’s cancer, gave a speech. In his presentation Fies explained the reasons why he created his books. Also in his presentation, he explained how word image played a major role in his artwork. Fies uses the words to give more meaning to the images that are illustrated on the book. The image can complement the word and create a balance and create a point to the picture. Also, the words can create a contrast with the picture. Meaning the words can have different meaning to what the image is trying to show. Going back to the McCloud, word and image are a good way to create comics. The way Fies uses the words and images in his book is like how McCloud uses the words in his comics. A good example that uses words and images are comics. Comic books use images to create a story for the reader, and adding the words creates a more detailed enriched story for the reader to imagine by looking at the pictures and words. Therefore, the way comics are created demonstrates the way words and images can connect to create something that can bring different meanings into the  mind.

cellphones and design

picture from hardwareinsight.com

Cell phones improve and change their image every year or every time new technology comes out.  Back in the days cell phones were just to talk between people. But currently, cell phones are used mostly for everything.  Cell phones have been well developed that people use them not only for talking but also for checking emails, texting, surfing the Web, taking pictures, recording videos, and many other incredible things that a phone in this day and age can do. For example, the smart phones, such as the Iphone or the Blackberry. These phones are designed for the public that need a phone not just for talking but also for mostly everything they need to do that is work related or any activity that requires a computer.  Cell phones are like mini computers that can fit in our hands and pockets. The most incredible thing is the way in which the cell phones are designed. They are made of materials that grab people’s attention like metals.  Most cell phones are created to last a while.  The people that design the phones are trying to please the public with the simplicity and the technology they can bring to a phone. The best way for a phone to appear, is for it to appear simple and sleek, yet capable of simultaneously completing complicated tasks. A great example is the Iphone, the Iphone has a simple design and a simple interaction interface that allows people to effectively use it without having to know how the inner mechanics of the phone work. In the end, technology upgrades so fast that many of the products such as phones also upgrade, making our lives' easier.

Ipods

Ipod ( image from apple.com )

In today’s society the majority of products in the market are mass-produced. Products are mass-produced is to reduce the cost and waste the products can create, but also by having mass production more people can have the opportunity of have a certain type of product they want on their hands in a reasonable price. On example of an object that is mass-produced is the Ipod from Apple. Ipod is a product that allows the public to listen to their favorite music.  The first Ipod brought to the market was in 2001, since then the way people listen to music has change. Ipod revolutionized the way people listen, interact, and plays music. Before Ipods, people needed to have a CD player and a lot of CDs.  But Ipod change all of that, Ipod was able to fit 1000 songs in a compact and portable product. Every year since the Ipod came out it has been upgraded and other competitors try to imitate Ipod.  The Ipod’s interface is so complex, but simple at the same time that people has attached to it.  The way the Ipod was design was to incorporate a product to the world. The Ipod is a complex product but is builded in a simple form that any person can use it.  The first Ipod consisted to a rewind, forward, menu, and play/pause button, and now Ipods are button less, it only consists of a touch screen.  The simplicity of the Ipod makes it so unique that people have incorporated their Ipods to their daily life. From the classic Ipod with the buttons to the newest with the touch screen, things have change and improve, but the main purpose of an Ipod is the same, to listen to music and use it the way we want it.  The way the Ipod is design and produce it has make it the most popular product to listen music in the world.

Product Interaction and OBJECTIFIED

Base on the movie OBJECTIFIED people make many assumptions when they see an object.  Making those assumptions are part of the interaction people have to the content of the object. The assumptions are base on the material, the color, the way the object is made. Designers cake the best to create their best impression to create to the public. Designers spend a great amount of time creating a product that can be appealing to the public.  Currently, today’s society is more attached to the products they buy.  Products such as ipods and computers are now part of our lifes. The interaction people have to a product.  People depend on the products and technology to do things in out life. The content varies on the stuff people interact to products, depending on the reaction the consumer can have to the product.  Designers create the best product or intent to create the best products that benefit the consumer.  Any product in the today’s market is made with a purpose for the public.  Over time people change or create new interactions for products that are in the world.  All products need to have a type of interaction with humans because that is what is made, and the ones that don’t have a purpose are useless in a way. Products don’t have to have a physical contact with people to say that they and interaction with someone, but at least to have a type of connection to what people want. By creating these magnificent products designs, designers are responsible to create the best way to connect humans and products.  The best way to interact with a product is by having a physical touch to the product the visual that the product is trying to show.  So at the end all the products and designs have an interaction to people in order to be interesting.

Design and Music

People can be use music to design things because they are bringing things are inspiring things because they are getting inspire from what they are around. All the sounds or music that can be made can be use to design because they can make new music and cool things with the sounds and that can be use to make music. I saw how some artist could make visuals using their music. So the music and that can be use to be later be use to be music and design. When it comes to make a new music is making a new design because its making something’s that is expressing or showing what they what to show the world. Then its making the music and the the designs and the music is like creating they new sounds and is creating the new designs from the world or for people in the society that can be anything.  So at the end music is designing what people want in the world.

Comparison and Contrast

Comparing and contrast can be something that can bring things together even when they are not same. That means that it brings things together because it’s looking for similarities.  When people are contrasting and comparing can be like learning when they are comparing to each other and finding what things are the same. Also when people are comparing to other things is like bringing things together and find how are they are together. Comparing and contrasting is like seeing what they can see.  Like seeing and comparing when they when they are comparing when they are comparing. They can be contrasting anything that can be, so there can be contrasting anything in the world, but there can be anything that can connect to each other. Comparing different works of art that can be almost the same ort that can be completely different. But some how they are almost the same because they are being connected.  When they are similar in colors and other things so they can be somehow they are contrasting to each other. When they are connected to each other because they are art and designs.  When they are contrasting and can learn from each other because of the contrasting is like when learning and how they get from each other when they are compare to each part of the way they are being compare. Concluding my thoughts is like comparing and finding what they are when they are compare.

Design and Conversation

Design is so diverse and unexpected that can be a conversation, because in a conversation things can be out of context and unexpected. The design world is a conversation because in a conversation people learn or listen to each other. When people listen to each other things goes from one to another like when designers lean or get ideas from each other.  Conversations are so broad and there can be a conversation of anything or can make a conversation out of anything. In design there are broad things also. When design is together there can be a lot of things that can be brought to the design of anything. In a conversation there is a reaction and interaction between to people, so in design or in art there is an interaction between then designer and the consumer. A designer expresses and says when they have to say to the conversation with their designs.  Designers says what they want to say in their project, so when a designer sees others designers work and can see others conversation. Also that means that people can have conversation without having words because designs can be use to express what you want to say to the world. When a design or a piece or can have different meanings and that can help create a lot of conversations.  When people are talking to each other there are sharing so when people are showing are creating what they want to share to others or the world.  In conclusion, design is a conversation because design can be language that can be shown in the designs can help them to communicate what needs to be communicating to the public.

Design and Shirts

Now something popular in these days is having a shirt with different designs and cool pictures. This is nice way to express what you thinking and what you feeling. Shirts are the way people can see the new things. Designing the shirts can be related to fashion. The different things that go around the world can be influential to the designs in the shirts.  The nice thing about having different designs in shirts is that there can influence the way people can be dressed because people can have different ideas or visions but at the end everything is connected by a shirt.  The design in a shirt can have a lot of meanings because it has the opinions of the designer. The design in the shirt can connect people because it can be like by many. The job of a designer is to bring people together and make things that people like to have. Design is like having shirts because there are different options and different choices but the end people are connected because is like bring things together. So having a lot of shirts designs is like having the different options can be around the world. So design is connected to the designs in the shirts because is having different ideas in different shirts but at the end is coming together in a shirt. This is like different designs in the world come together in life making things work and make things look good for life and for the environment that is around us.  

Creativity from Without

Where do designers get their ideas? or how designers get their motivation for design? are the question I think when it comes to creativity. Many designers have different ways to concentrate in order to get their ideas. Some people spend time alone in order to concentrate, and others like to go out and explore for ideas. The creativity comes from the environment the designer is. Designers come with the ideas from the things they see in their surroundings. All the things that are in the world like nature, the buildings in the city, or any thing that can grabs the designers eyes can inspire them to create their designs. “ Creativity from without” is the way that designers get their ideas because they learn from what is outside. Having different ideas from the outside can make an idea more unique because is influence by many thoughts.  The different colors and materials that are in the world can motivate people to make unique designs and work of art. Also at the end all the products that we have today’s world were made by the designers that were inspire by the things that where outside in his environment. It does not matter if the designer stays alone in his room or goes around in the nature looking for ideas, but the end all designers get their ideas from what is around them. At the end creativity from without makes art or deigns more unique because it is a mix from all the things the designer gets from what is out there in the world.

Stone Soup

The Stone Soup a great story where people can learn about teamwork and contribution. Stone Soup is a story about three soldiers that came to a town asking for food. But the town people didn’t want to share their food, so the soldier thought about making a soup out off stones. Then, the soldiers stared to make a soup in the middle of the town, people were curious about the strange soup, so the town people stared to bring food for the soup. At the end the entire town was part of the soup.  In my point of view the stone soup is about bring a community together and that every one have something important to share and bring it together to the soup. Like last week in my design class we had to do a piece of art with materials that our group brought. People bringing different materials were like bringing the different ingredients for the soup. During the exercise we learned a lot from each other and work together with each other. In the design world is like the stone soup or like the art project because designers learn from each other and bring their own ideas to the table that later in the future can make a product.  The main point of the story was not just making the soup, but it was about the work, the ideas, and material people put together to make something. Leaning from each other and collaborating are the morals or ideas that we need to get from the story and use them in our life, in our design life.

What is design and what does design means?

The most complicated questions that I have been asked in my life are what is design? Is design a verb or a noun? Where did design come from? Although the questions seem to be simple, there is more then just a simple “yes” as an answer. Design is everything that we have in life. Design is everywhere we go. From the cups we drink water, or from the signs we see on the street. All of the things we have were design with a purpose. That is my reason why I think that design is both a noun and a verb. Design is a noun because designs are the ideas that were brought to life as products that we encounter in our every day life. Then design is a verb because design is the act of bringing does ideas to our world.  Design is the things created by man that are expose to the world.  In my opinion the word design is pretty complex to explain. In my design class I learn that that word design comes from the Greek word “ Oxedio”, meaning approximation and then that in Latin it means, “ to mark”. Having this two meanings in mind, I believe that design is the creaking your own mark, your own symbol, your own personality, and show it to the world in a piece of art or a product. Then the design is an approximation to out lives and something that will continue to exist forever. At the end every body has their own definition of design, but the end design will have the meaning of creating something in life.

What is a designer..?

Based to the Merriam-Webster dictionary a designer is  “one that creates and manufactures a new product style or design; especially: one who designs and manufactures high-fashion clothing”. However, in my perspective a designer is more then creating and manufacturing products. A designer is the person that brings his unique ideas to life, the person that is able to create a dream in to a product, the person that is able to invent something that is beneficial for him and others. A designer is the person that is responsible to create how things are going to look in the future. The designer is person that is creating the future in the present. The things and products that we have right now are here because some one was though, dreamed, or imagined then before and brought them to reality. Any person is a designer in his or her own way.  There can be different types of designers, like fashion, graphic, or interior designers, but at the end on thing unites them, the power to create something new for the world and society. Although, sometimes we take things for granted and we never think about how the product we have are made, who are the one that came out with the idea or how was designed, at the end we know that a great designer was the one that came out with the idea. Designers are the people at create the world that we live in because they are the ones that bring things to life, and any person has the power to be a designer.

My First encounter with design " Creation of M"

Every time I think about what is the reason why interested in graphic design, I end up in the same conclusion. When I was 10 years old, I remember my best friend talking to me about how some people were able to draw and make amazing paintings and posters in the computer. Before the conversation was over, he showed me a poster that was made in Photoshop. The poster was a picture he found in the Internet named “Creation of M”.  The picture is a mimicking Michelangelo’s “ painting “ The creation of men”. The poster just the hand of a yellow M&M touching God’s hand just like in Michelangelo’s.  The effects and the backgrounds the artist choose for his creation made the picture seem to be real. At the moment I was impressed who it was possible manipulate pictures in the computer and make them look so real. The way the M&M is in the pictures is like if the M&M was actually made by Michelangelo.  Since then, I always wanted to learn how to make my own pictures. Seeing that poster made me realize that I was missing all the cool stuff that graphic design can offer. “Creation of the M&M” created a new artist eager to learn more about graphic design. The poster also it just some words that says “ The Original” and does words make me realize that every piece of art I need to do need to be original and unique. I will never forget the “ Creation of M&M”