No school today!!!

Hope everyone's having an awesome Memorial Day weekend!  See you all on Wednesday! :)

I've got a case of the final project blues.

Week 9, Day 2

Professor Moss ended class early today to give us time to work on our final projects.  We could either stay in the room or leave, so Sandy and I first got some breakfast at Carl's Jr., then headed over to the computer station at the Cross Cultural Centers in the student union.  Both of us had a couple of hours to burn before our next class started, so we spent that time watching the videos that previous Art 220 students made for their final projects.  Some of the videos were really interesting and creative, while some were kinda boring.  I am still not sure what to do for my final project.  I need to think of something fast because I don't have much time left...

Say what?!

Week 9, Day 1

Person A passes object to Person B and says:  "This is a what."
Person B takes the object and asks Person A:  "A what?"
Person A says to Person B:  "A what."
Person B:  "Oh, a what."
Person B passes object to Person C and says:  "This is a what."
Person C takes the object and asks Person B:  "A what?"
Person B asks Person A:  "A what?"
Person A says to Person B:  "A what."
Person B says to Person C:  "A what."
Person C:  "Oh, a what."
Person C passes object to Person D and says:  "This is a what."

...and so forth and so forth.

This was the game that we played in class today.  Everyone sat in a circle and after a couple of tries, we were able to pass one object ("what")  around the room.  But passing two objects ("what" and "who") around the room, in opposite directions, was much harder.  We tried many times but we just couldn' pass two objects successfully around the whole room.  Professor Moss told us that this was a communication/concentration exercise.  We need to be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in order to succeed in the real world.

We spent the rest of the class period watching a video about Sir Ken Robinson.  He lectured for at least 60 minutes nonstop...60 MINUTES NONSTOP!  WITHOUT ANY VISUAL AIDS!  I almost died from boredom.  I'm sure Robinson was a funny guy, because my classmates kept laughing at what he said.  I couldn't understand some of the things that he was saying, since he had a British accent.  And no visual aids!  He should have at least shown a PowerPoint presentation as he talked; that would've kept me focused.  I tend to pay better attention when pictures are involved.  I did manage to get something out of Robinson's looooong lecture.  He said that "talent is buried deep and not easily seen on the surface."  It is up to us to discover talent.  Robinson gave the examples of Elvis and the Beatles; when they were young, people didn't think that they were very talented.  They grew up to be quite successful singers and musicians.  Robinson also said that the economy needed to do three things:  think differently, and see opportunities and take them; work in teams/groups; and communicate.

Reading Response #9: Stage 7: Production pg. 169-186

Production is the final stage of the design process.  This is where the idea becomes an object.  Bringing a design to production obviously requires interaction with the production team.  This can involve a number of levels, depending on the scale of the operation.  The designer needs to take on the responsibilities of being both a team member and a leader once a project reaches the production stage.  Since the designer communicates with many people on many levels, it is very important to establish good work habits and relationships with the team.  According to Aspelund, the virtues that combine the characteristics of a good leader with those of a good team player are essential because the designer must very often make a seamless transition between the two.  Working with a team requires the designer to have respect for the people that he/she is working with and respect for their abilities, experience, and opinions.  Everyone will have an opinion, so it's important for the designer to listen and respond, as often these opinions are based on experience.  Communication is a very crucial aspect of the production stage; effective communication is needed to ensure that everything goes smoothly.  Aspelund says that "respect works both ways, you earn it by giving it."  A designer should acknowledge the importance of each team member's contributions in order to bolster the pride they feel in their work.  A designer may also have to learn how to compromise.

A designer will pick up feedback from following his/her design through the final stages toward production.  Feedback comes from different sources; it can come from the client, the production team, the designer him/herself, or even from someone who has no involvement with the project.  Aspelund says that wherever feedback comes from, "let it inspire and energize you."  It's obviously easier to accept positive feedback, but negative feedback can be difficult to handle.  However, if treated correctly, negative feedback can energize a designer even further.  Positive feedback is good to hear and an excellent motivator, but negative feedback is more common.  As difficult as it may be to have one's work criticized, the designer must view this feedback as positive.  Criticism allows a designer to have the opportunity to learn how to improve his or her design.

As a graphic design student, I need to learn how to take criticism, however negative it might be.  I love receiving positive feedback on my work (who doesn't?!) - it gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.  But I tend to get really upset and pissed off when someone criticizes my work.  I need to learn how to accept negative feedback, and view it as an opportunity to improve my work and as a design student in the long run.

Ones and Zeroes, Ones and Zeroes, Ones and Zeroes

Week 8, Day 2

The title of this post is sung to the tune of Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow." 

Professor Moss started class by writing these four numbers on the board:

1

10

11

100

?

He told us he heard something about these numbers on the radio this morning.  When he asked us what number comes next, my classmates bombarded him with different answers.  "101!"  "110!"  "111!"  "1000!"  We couldn't seem to agree on what the correct answer was , so Professor Moss separated the class, with the girls on one side of the room and the boys on the other.  Both groups were asked to come up with the correct answer, along with rationale, justification, and logic that explained the answer.  We were given about 15-20 minutes to discuss among ourselves, while Professor Moss left the room.  The girls came up with two possible answers:  101 and 111.  The majority of the girls thought that the answer was 111, based on the following pattern:

1

10+

_____

11

100+

_____

111

1000+

_____

1111

10000

_____

and so on

I personally thought that the answer was 101, based on what I learned about the binary system in my Art 322 class a few weeks ago.  And even if the binary system isn't used to solve this problem, the next number should still be 101, following the ascending sequence of numbers that contain only ones and/or zeroes.  Getzabel also thought that the next number was 101 too, but we took a vote and all the other girls decided that the number should be 111, so the majority won.

When Professor Moss came back, the girls were asked to explain their answer(s) first.  Astrid came up to the board to explain how we came up with 111.  After two tries, she was able to convince Professor Moss why 111 was the answer, by explaining the girls' logic and the pattern that we discovered.  When it was the boys' turn, things did not go as smoothly.  The boys came up with the answer of 101, based on the binary system.

00

01

10

11

100

101

110

111

1000

and so on

It took three boys to convince Professor Moss that 101 was the correct answer.  Professor Moss then told us that 101 and 111 were both good answers, and that this was an exercise in communication.  The lesson of this activity was that it didn't matter what answer we came up with, just as long as we were able to effectively communicate our logic, rationale, and justification to the audience.  This is very important in the design world, because we need to be able to effectively "sell" a solution to a client by explaining the rationale and justification behind it.

The rest of the class period was spent discussing what we thought about John Coy and his lecture.  Opinions about Mr. Coy were mixed - about half of the class liked his lecture, and the other half found it boring.  No offense to Mr. Coy, but I found his presentation just a tad boring.  The only thing that I remember from his lecture was the Washington Mutual logo, so I brought that up during the discussion.

By the way, our homework for Monday was to dream about the final project.  Before going to sleep, we were to think about all of the elements for our final project and try to dream about it.  I tried doing just that, but I didn't dream about the final project...I ended up having two nightmares instead!  I think that movie we watched on Monday got me really paranoid :(

Dreams

Week 8, Day 1

We spent the whole class period watching a movie called Dreams, directed by Akira Kurosawa.  The movie is composed of 8 short segments, all of which are based on Kurosawa's actual dreams.  Information about the movie can be found here, as well as summaries for each of the 8 segments:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_%281990_film%29

I did not like this movie AT ALL  I found it extremely depressing and disturbing.  Almost each segment of the movie dealt with death.  It almost makes me wonder what happened to Kurosawa during his lifetime for him to dream such troubling dreams.  Did he experience something that was that emotionally or physically distressing?  Some of the segments in Dreams were so graphically disturbing that they actually left me feeling really paranoid.  After class today, when I walked into the restroom, I was so afraid that a deformed one-horned demon was gonna jump out from one of the stalls and attack me.  Yes, I know that this would never actually happen, but I'm just a super paranoid person who tends to have a wild imagination at times.  This is the reason why I never watch horror movies; they make me really paranoid about the silliest things, like showering (I'll explain later) or staying in a room all by myself.  I even refrain myself from watching commercials about horror movies; I always switch the channel or look somewhere else when such a commercial comes on.  I still remember the time when I "accidentally" saw the commercial for The Grudge several years ago - for the next two weeks, I got really nervous everytime I stepped into the shower.

I wish we watched that documentary instead.  Professor Moss gave us two options, but the majority of the class, myself included, chose to watch Dreams.  This movie is gonna make me feel paranoid for a while.  Maybe I should've looked somewhere else during the disturbing parts...

Reading Response #8: Stage 6: Communication pg. 141-168

The "Communication" stage has been the most enjoyable chapter to read thus far.  Communication is an extremely important aspect of design.  According to Aspelund, "designing is the art of communicating an idea, and communication is therefore a key issue throughout the whole design process."  Presentations and discussions, whether they are large or small, take place from the very beginning of the design process.  Communicating a message has 3 basic phases or moments:

1. The encoding phase, in which the message is created using professional and medium-related conventions of language and image use
2. The message itself, the form and content of what is shown; a product or construct that is created through skill and technical practices
3. The moment of reception (decoding by audiences), in which the audience makes sense of the message and places it in context

A designer's responsibility to the audience is to make certain that they get the message by presenting the designs clearly and without ambiguity.  It is very important for designers to understand their audience, what their perspectives are, what they need, and how best to deliver these needs to them.  There are different kinds of audiences:  clients, corporate officers, manufacturing/production staff, and associates/team members.  Each one of these groups have different needs and expectations, and it is up to the designer to know how to effectively communicate with each type of audience.

Other aspects of communication include the information that is to be presented, the venue of the presentation, organization and quality of the information, and language (either emotional or informational).  When making a presentation, a designer must be aware of structure, illustration techniques, and graphic design.  A presentation usually follows one of three basic patterns:  andante, crescendo, and forte-piano.  There are various illustration techniques that a designer can use when presenting a project, such as pencil, colored pencils, pens and inks, markers, pastels and crayons, and watercolors.  CAD programs, books and boards, PowerPoint, web pages, CDs, and models are methods that a designer should consider when presenting his or her project.

Aspelund compares a presentation to a performance in which a designer can prepare in the manner of an actor preparing for a role.  To prepare, a designer must be familiar with the lines, the props and setting, the direction, and the motivation behind the presentation.  Communication and presentation are areas that I really need to improve on as a graphic design student.  I always feel that I do a crappy job at presenting my projects, which is mostly due to lack of preparation.  I would put in all my time and effort into the project itself, without giving much thought to the actual presentation.  More often than not, I would either stay up late or pull an all-nighter while trying to finish up a project.  When the time came for me to present in class, I would be so brain-dead that I wouldn't know what the heck I was supposed to say about my project.  I really need to learn how to manage my time wisely to prevent situations like this.  After reading this chapter and realizing how important communication is, I know that I need to prepare ahead of time in order to make an effective presentation.  I need to put in time and effort so that I can give good presentations on my future projects.  It makes no sense to come up with a really awesome project when you can't even make a decent presentation about it.

GAUGE presents: John Coy

My classmates and I attended the "GAUGE presents:  John Coy" speaker event on May 12, 2011.  I wasn't sure what time the event was supposed to start because the syllabus stated 7:00 pm, while the Facebook event stated 7:30 pm.  I decided to go at 7 pm, just in case.  When I arrived at the music hall, there were only a handful of people waiting in the lobby.  The GAUGE president was there, and she told me that the event would start actually start at 7:30 pm.  With about 30 minutes to burn, I decided to head to Juice It Up to get a smoothie.  I had a coupon that expired that day, so what better way to spend that extra time than buying a yummy smoothie and getting a sweet discount on it?  It was about 7:15 by the time I headed back to the music hall with my 24 oz. Congo Lime smoothie, and the lobby was getting full.  Thinking the event would start at 7:30, I frantically drank my smoothie outside the music hall since we weren't allowed to bring food and drinks into the lobby.  It was so darn cold outside!  And genius me forgot to bring a jacket.  So there I was, standing outside the music hall in a short-sleeved shirt, trying to finish a smoothie as quickly as possible.  I was really surprised that I didn't end up getting brain freeze.  I did finish drinking my smoothie by 7:30, so after I threw it in the trash, I walked into the lobby, assuming that the event was about to start.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.  Due to "technical difficulties," the event did not start until 8:00 pm.  Man!  I should've drank my smoothie slower!  What a waste!  I didn't even get to enjoy it that much because I thought the event would start at 7:30 and I wouldn't be able to bring my smoothie into the music hall!  Okay enough about my smoothie dilemma - I'll move on to the actual event now...

There were still some technical difficulties once the event began, so Mr. Coy first took some questions from the audience.  After those technical difficulties were fixed (by none other than Professor Moss), Mr. Coy was able to show his slideshow to us during his presentation, which was a relief because I tend to pay better attention when pictures are involved.  Mr. Coy has quite an interesting background; he was the first president of AIGA LA, and he was the recipient of some kind of design award in 2010 (I didn't get down the name of it).  Mr. Coy has a rather impressive resume as well.  He has done projects for a wide variety of clients, including the Getty Museum, the UCLA College of Fine Arts, UCLA's Graduate School of Architecture, various Los Angeles festivals and concert halls, and South Coast Plaza.  Mr. Coy also designed the logo for Washington Mutual, which I thought was really cool because it's such a well-known logo.  I had no idea that Mr. Coy was the one who designed it.

Mr. Coy's advice for design students is "to keep tuning in to what feels good, what's really interesting for you to do."  Like Professor Moss told us at the beginning of the quarter, it's important for us to find a passion for something because we'll find it much easier to enjoy doing it.  Art is my passion, and I always find it exciting to work on assignments and projects for my art classes.  Mr. Coy also told us to "pour your heart and soul into your work, care about what you do and show it."  He told us that if we ever got into a so-called "designer funk," we should "get away from it and always come back."

Reading Response #7: Stage 5: Definition/Modeling pg. 117-139

The "Definition/Modeling" stage of the design process talks about how to move a project from the exploration stage to a "more definite embodiment" in the physical world.  This is the stage where a concept becomes an object, where a designer begins defining his/her idea in as much detail as possible and create a model to bring it into the world.  The first step of the Definition/Modeling stage is to look at the constraints and specifications to see that everything has been addressed.  Every designer must deal with the constraints and compromises of practicality and production.

All designs have needs, which must be met in succession.  The following needs are listed in the order of priority:

1. Functionality
2. Reliability
3. Usability
4. Proficiency
5. Creativity

Like sketching, modeling is a very efficient way of exploring a design.  Creating a model is the best way to become acquainted with the possibilities one's design contains in regards to texture, functionality, and manufacturing techniques.  A model can not only be used to show what a design can do, but the whole model-building experience can be used to explore and solve issues of functionality and construction.  A model will also allow the designer to try finishes, textures, and techniques.

When creating a model, a designer needs to take the following strategies into consideration:

• Dimensionality
• Functionality
• Choosing a Scale
• Choosing Materials
• Time Management
  

The most important thing that I got from this chapter was that one "can never hope to see perfection, but rather the best possible outcome."  I am a perfectionist; I try to give 110% on everything I do.  But having been an Art major for about a year and a half now, I've learned that perfection can be impossible to achieve.  I can spend hours and hours working on a project trying to make it "perfect", but in the end there's always going to be something that I won't be pleased with.  Due to time constraints and a very busy schedule, sometimes perfection just isn't attainable.  The only thing that I can hope for is the best possible outcome; as long as my project is finished by the deadline and follows all of the criteria, then I should be confident that it's good to go.

Reading Response #6: Stage 4: Exploration/Refinement pg. 97-116

Exploration/Refinement is the fourth stage of the design process.  This chapter talks about how to explore and refine concepts to make them clearer.  According to Aspelund, the "most recognizable method of exploring design is to visualize it through sketching and modeling."  Sketches are used for two main reasons:  to explore the possibilities inherent in the idea and to communicate the idea to someone.  Aspelund talks a great deal about the importance of sketching, offering these following tips for graphic designers:

• Sketch quickly and repeatedly
• Sketch constantly
• Sketch large and small
• Avoid limitation; use different media
• Consider the purpose of your sketching
• Practice

Sketching is an excellent way to describe and drive one's thinking.  Designers should carry around a small pad and sketch out every thought and idea that s/he has.  The scale of the sketches should be changed every now and then.  One should sketch large to get a feel for scale and to envision detail; small sketches should be used when a designer wants to focus on the form and avoid going into too much detail.  Designers should also experiment with different media, such as crayons, pencils, markers, and paint.  Speed, color quality, and accuracy are points to consider when experimenting with a new medium.

As a graphic design student, my art professors at CSULA are always telling me to sketch, sketch, and sketch.  Sketching is a very crucial aspect of design because it helps bring ideas to life.  My classmates and I are always told to sketch out lots and lots of ideas before starting on a project.  That way, we'll have plenty of ideas to choose from when we start on our projects.  But I don't think I do enough sketching though; I would just come up with one or two sketches and call it a day.  Sketching is definitely something that I need to work on if I want to become a better graphic designer.  I need to learn how to sketch quickly and constantly.