How Color Transforms A Single Deisgn

              
            Color has a magical way in making everything look better. Our world is filled with color. Our eyes are attracted to what is appealing, and most of the time, it involves color. A single design can have a variety of color, or it can have no color at all. Color can transform a single design. The question is how does the one design without color compare to the design with color? How does it transform the design?
                For example, I've walked past Macy’s department store many times, and I am always drawn to their amazing window displays. They design their windows so well, and so beautiful, to attract shoppers, and at the same time, giving us an incredible display. So, I thought, how does a window display that has no color transform the window displays when it is designed with eye catching color? Below will be the black and white window display, and then another window display that is very colorful, both made for the Macy’s winter display.

                                       Pictures from Google images: Macy's Window Displays

Looking at the black and white, it is flashy and shows more sparkle. It is in the hues of black and white, and silver. So, being that they are simpler or less eye catching, not many people are drawn to it. It still shows winter time, but in a different setting than the color window. It portrays the colors we view as the coldness of winter time. The colors in the second display are very bright, and vivid. It transforms to something that catches your eye, and it uses a variety, but in a harmonious technique in order to display what we perceive as the warm colors of winter time. The window that is filled with greens, reds, and yellows, is far more eye catching than the window that is filled with blacks, whites, and silvers.

Colors can also portray a certain moods and feeling. The black, white, and silver one portrays a dark and icy feeling. The white can resemble snow. The sparkle shows the night life during the winter time, where it is dark and cold, but a lot of sparkle because there are many celebrations during the winter time. The color window display portrays a warm and joyful feeling. The colors are happy and bright and it shows the playfulness of winter time. It resembles toys and children. The difference in color show different interactions with the audience. Many would be more drawn to the happy and warm feeling from the colored window display. The colors portray a happier interaction with the people viewing it.

The color transformation of a single design makes a difference from interaction. It shows the transformation through dark and cold, to warm and joyful. Colors allow us to have interaction with the design. It gives us a mood and a feeling from the colors. And through interaction with the colors, we have interaction with the design, which is design as a conversation. Being able to transform a single design with color allows us to have conversations with the people and send a message. In this case, it is the message of winter time.

Color interacts with our eyes. It draws and attracts us. It can transform one design into something that is far more interesting to the eye. We see certain colors that are bright, and we perceive something, like the winter time. The colors create an interaction and a conversation between the design and the people. Like many designs in society, color transforms the designs. It is better to have color, than to have no color at all.

Design is Dangerous

                                                Image from Google

                A dangerous design is anything that is harmful. One example of design that is dangerous to humans and to our society is the gun. A gun is a projectile firing weapon. It is used against anything, and anyone. When triggered, it is used to hurt, or even kill. It was designed as a use of defense in times of war, but now guns may be used on the streets. There are even stores, where you can just buy guns and bullets. It is dangerous to our society because it creates fear for people, and there are possibilities a gun may be shot at you at anytime.  Through cases of murder, and hostages, the gun has been used as a weapon to harm people. It creates problems in our society, as it creates an unsafe environment and danger for the people.

                The danger from a gun can be intentional, or unintentional, depending on the person triggering it. But most of the time, it is intentional. Guns kill. There for it is a very dangerous design. The gun has evolved to become more powerful and have more efficiency. It had been designed in so many ways; there are so many types of guns now. Guns range from small pistols, to rifles, and huge machine guns. It is used in war to kill mass amounts of people. It makes me think, what is our society designing? How does this benefit us, by killing? This design does not benefit us, only to take the lives of people we do not like, which is just injustice. This dangerous design does not improve our society in any way; it makes our society dangerous and cruel.

Utopian CFL light bulbs

                                    Picture and some facts from: http://www.eco.nadel.com/blog/

               Day after day, green house gases are polluting our atmosphere, which affects our world around us. The eco-friendly CFL light bulb was made to eliminate these problems, and at the same time, it is also cheaper for us.  If we all replaced at least one of our light bulbs with a CFL, we would eliminate greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions of nearly 800,000 cars. It aims to improve our society, throughout the environment, and for our future. And, being that it is cheaper, it makes our lives easier.

                The CFL light bulb is designed to improve society, because in order to improve our society, we need to make sure it doesn’t negatively affect our living. It is designed to use less energy and provide us with the same amount of light other light bulbs give to us. Because it uses less energy, it does not harm our atmosphere. It is designed be simple and efficient. It uses about 75% less energy than standard light bulbs and lasts up to 10 times longer.

                The design of the CFL light bulb is utopian. It is a part of a design that creates a better and safer world for us. As more and more products are becoming eco-friendly, it is shaping our society with improvement and innovation.

Edible Fashion

 What is edible fashion? It is a construction of a garment made from edible foods. One in particular that draws my attention is chocolate. Normally when the garment is constructed, there is a base of fabric between the person and the chocolate, just to make sure the design doesn’t melt! But everything is made out of chocolate. It takes a skill of fashion construction, and chocolate showpiece techniques.

                Salon Du Chocolat, is a chocolate fashion show celebrated in Paris. It is filled with amazing chocolate pieces. Each design is unique, fun, and beautiful. It’s amazing what you can do with chocolate and fashion. Here are a couple of my favorite designs from Salon Du Chocolat:

                                                   Pictures form Google images

                The designs are amazing, and it just shows how design can be interpreted in so many ways. We can use any media, and just combine it with any type of design. Design is so endless, and there are no boundaries. The chocolate show demonstrates how you can transform something we see on a runway and twist it up with something completely different, like chocolate. Chocolate can be art, it can be sculpted and designed, but many of us have never thought that chocolate can be fashion design. The chocolate is designed in a way to make it appear as if it’s not chocolate you are looking at, but garments. It just shows we can apply design to anything; we just have to open our minds.

Basis of Design Criticism: Hair Dryer

               Every day we go through several products, but how many of us actually think about how each is designed? The products that we use should follow an Ergonomic model. Ergonomics is a human centered design. It is made to be task appropriate and user centered. However, sometimes products don’t follow the ergonomic model, which is why there is a basis of design criticism. It consists of 5 stages: safety, comfort, ease of use, performance, and aesthetics. I will be criticizing something that I use on a daily basis, The Revlon Shine Boosting Hair Dryer.

                                                           Picture from Google images

                So normally when we shop for hair dryers, we normally don’t second guess if it’s safe or not, we just assume it should be made safe for us to use. Well, that’s how I normally am. This hair dryer is actually very safe. There are frames in the front and back, to ensure nothing gets caught or sucked in. It is also detachable in the back, so you can clean it, to ensure nothing will burn while you dry your hair. The exterior is smooth, no harmful edges. And, there are no complicated wires and parts that will harm you. The safety of this hair dryer is well thought about, and will only cause harm if it’s in contact with water; and it already has a warning sign attached to the wire to let the user know.

                The comfort of this hair dryer is simple. It’s lightweight, so it eases strain on your hand while drying your hair. The different settings allow you to set it to your liking, from hot, warm, or cool temperature; and low or high pressure. When you use it, it never gets heated from the interior. It is easy to use, which allows you to be comfortable with using it daily.

                Many of use buy products to make our lives easier. So, the hair dryer is very easy. You plug it in to get power. Then you have two choices of setting, temperature, and pressure. There is one switch for warm and hot. Then one button you hold onto, if you would like cool air. And, then you have low or high, it’s simple as that. When you’re done, you just switch it off. As you can see, it’s not complicated at all to use this hair dryer.

                I believe the number one thing we all look for in products is the performance. We buy a certain product to achieve what it is advertised for, and when we use it, we expect those results. So this hair dryer is supposed to have a shine boosting effect. From my experience, I believe it does make my hair shiny. It definitely doesn’t dry out my hair, so that’s good. The heat settings are what I expect from most hair dryers. The pressure setting are great, because sometimes the high setting for dryers disappoint me, but this one works very well. This hair dryer was built very efficiently with the user in mind.

Aside from performance, what gets most users is the aesthetics. We enjoy have and looking at beautiful things, therefore the products we search for should we beautiful, too. This hair dryer is actually in the design series. So, it has a design on it compared to more simple hair dryers.  It is all black, and in the center it has a black and white abstract design. The areas around the buttons are white, while the buttons are black. It’s not too designed, but has enough design to catch your eye. This hair dryer is beautiful and efficient, what more can a customer ask for.

                From all of the 5 stages that I used to criticize the Revlon Shine Boosting hair dryer, I would conclude this hair dyer was in fact a very good design. It follows the ergonomic model, and is definitely user centered. It works great and looks great.

Words and Images: Advertisement

                When it comes to advertising, like any combination of words and images, they are meant to interpret a message. When you look at the picture there is one part of the message, then the words also give us another message. Both messages are meant together and give the audience an impact from the advertisement. For example I wanted to analyze Nike’s advertisement.

                Nike has a famous slogan, “Just Do It.” It is the philosophy of grit, determination, and passion, but also infused with a little humor. Look at this ad below.

                                                        Picture from Yahoo Images

       

                The point of this ad is to suggest wearing Nike shoes when doing a certain activity. More, specifically, the message is that you can wear Nike shoes when skateboarding. The phrase, “Just Do It,” suggests that you can be like the guy in the picture, wearing the cool Nike shoes and skateboarding. It may also suggest to people who have in interest in skateboarding, should just do it. The advertisement, is appealing, short and simple, and sends the message they want. The image shows a cool guy in the Nike shoes skateboarding which is appealing. And the Words suggest words of advice, to be like this guy if you want to, and become cool. Then the phrase, “My Assault,” is making a suggestion toward his activity of skateboarding. The only problem with this advertisement is that it is not appealing to everyone, only to those who are interested in skateboarding. But, overall, the use of words and image come across effectively for the right audience.

                The use of words and images together has to be thought about. You have to think about your message, the appeal, and the audience; how you want it to be portrayed, and how you want it to impact your audience. When you achieve the right use of words and images, you will have an effective advertisement.

Words and Images

                                                       Pictures from Google Images

                 In one of class lectures, we had a guest speaker, Brian Flies, come to our class. He spoke about his two books, Mom’s Cancer, and, What Happened to the World of Tomorrow? In his lecture, he explained his design process and the importance of image and words. Image and words are two things that make up comics, and without them, well there would be no comic.

                Words always go before the image. The words explain what is happening and the main point, while the image follows it and shows us what is happening, or what you are describing. When you are thinking about the words to use, you have to remember to not write too much. It is easy to write with no limit, but the test is to write with very little words and go straight to the point. Brian Flies explained the importance of removing information. It is better to get to the main idea out, than drown it in words that are irrelevant to the point. The key is the write what you want to say and remove what is not needed.

                When you are choosing your image, there’s a lot of trial and error. Sometimes it works with what you’re writing, but sometimes it doesn’t. You have to make sure the image is expressing your writing and what you want to show to your audience. It’s almost the same as words, you try not to put irrelevant things, but you make sure it comes across the way you want it to. Once you have your image, try to remove any unnecessary things. The words and image should have gestalt, unity. Like Brian mentioned in class, the words should have a nice flow across the page and the images is what ties the comic together.

                So the importance of words and images are explained through Brian Fies’ comic, but it is just important anywhere else that involves words and images.