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Personal Thesis

So this project hits really close to home on a few things I hold dear, mostly my interest in graphic design. I love designing, creating, producing etc, but what really spurred my investigation into work and play is that there are times when I absolutely fucking hate it. I get sick of worrying about pixel perfect typography and balanced compositions. Why should I care? After awhile school changed from learning about fundamental graphic design decisions to basing those decisions off of a bunch of hipster bullshit that we idolize because it's written in a book. But I'm over that, and I think that's where my thesis is pointing at- for me, fun design is making shit that I like, and work is trying to justify the fun I had to everyone else. Of course the act of communication requires a second party, and graphic design is a primary form of communication, so there's always going to be someone to impress, and that's why this isn't a simple question. How do I keep the delight of my design alive while still needing to bounce it off of someone else? I'm also just gonna go ahead and say I'm sick of talking about graphic design as a field, or the new face of graphic design, or designers as authors or any of that shit. Who cares? Sure it's fun to kick theory around but after awhile you'll be faced with a problem, and all that's gonna matter is if you've got a designer's mind to back up your designer's vocabulary. I don't sound like a very fun person. Haha.

#personal

Response 4 - Practice from Everyday Life

Response to “Practice from Everyday Life” by James Goggin. Notable sentence: "This discourse is essential for graphic design, and can ideally prodivde critical viewpoints from which to consider the discipline and its position(s) in wider cultural and social contexts." SPECIFIC LABORS OF MY DESIGN PRACTICE studying sketching working grocery shopping playing music pen tool text boxes photo editting typographic analysis programming going to class paying attention in class sleeping reading eating netflix LABORS SEEN SO FAR IN MY THESIS PROJECT sketching On some sort of level I sketch out everything before it hits the screen, be it in my head or on paper or whatever. I think of sketching as a work of translation, translating what I want to say from words to graphics. photo editing I had to edit and resize like six million things for that one book first semester. It was arduous but fun. I did it again for the Botnick Iterations, and that was fun too. pen tool The pen tool is like the dopest shit man. I never have a bad time with the pen tool. programming I messed around with an app for a project first semester so I guess I can include this. I love programming, it's like another language. Communication dude. sleeping I sleep probably like 40% of the time I'm doing anything so it def deserves a shout-out. working I go to work anywhere from 10-40 hours a week, and if I didn't my designs would not only be different; they'd be worse. I think it's good to keep grounded. I'm not some sort of crazy design-minded theorist, I'm just a dude. Who needs beer money. And rent. reading Reading's super cool. I think part of my interest in graphic design stems from an appreciation for written communication. Makes your head spin a different direction for awhile. I'm counting assigned readinds and read-for-fun type stuff. LABORS THAT I COULD TRY OUT what are some other crazy things I could do paying attention in class I guess I could try that. playing music I play a lot of guitar and stuff but I never really tried to tie it back to my thesis project. reading I'm getting a lot from these essays and I think it's important to take another look at written works. I've started to establish a line between what I see as interesting discourse and what I see as off the wall arrogant designer bullshit. The second one isn't 'fun' for me, it's work, working on looking like I know what I'm talking about.

#writingassignments

Second 10 of the Iteration through Constraint assignment.

#studioassignments

First 10 of the Iteration through Constraint assignment.

#studioassignments

Response 3 - Typographies

Response to: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByW8Rh1rH6qCblZ0UmpBNUhPeUU/edit Typography is the analysis of how image reads. The classic and most widely understood example is that of text written on a page, such as what you’re reading now. However, what would it mean if parts this text were to be shifted to the right? What would the introduction of a square in the dead center of the copy signify? Graphic design is the construction of systems, similar to the written language, that allow the designer to send a message or give things meaning. Design is the creation of a code, if you will, a code that speaks in a new way regarding the content. My focus on work and play will (hopefully) go deeper than the written language can effectively communicate, necessitating the use of a new typography, or system of communication. As it stands, I have a lot of ideas that I find difficult to communicate, which is good. The concepts I’m considering will need to be fully fleshed out using a new communication system. My current explorations are trying to find things that speak about work, things that speak about play, and ways to use them most effectively. Originally my ideas for playful were things that broke the norm- huge, lumbering text, bold, unorthodox accents, etc. At this point however I’m thinking that these techniques are a bit too easy and obvious, which for me is the opposite of fun and interesting. It’s a work in progress.

#writingassignments

Response 2 - Constraints

Response to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByW8Rh1rH6qCNWNKSUpZR2Y3Mzg/edit?usp=sharing Design as a game is an interesting idea. Does the imposition of rules create a game by default? I would say sure, by a loose definition. In the world of game design itself, theories exist that try to divide games from puzzles, draw division between ‘art’ games and ‘non-art’ games, blend the lines between game and cinema, and on and on ad nauseum. From the simple perspective that interaction is created by adherence to a rule set, however, design could easily be considered a game. An argument could then exist that draws a line between art and design, stating that design operating under constraints while art does not. The author’s statment that each creator has inherent rules based on skill level, access to tools, etc seems to abolish this theory, however, as even the most open-minded art piece operates within the constraints of the physical world. What do we do that doesn’t abide by some sort of grand rule set? What is there that we do that isn’t a game; that isn’t design?

#writingassignments

Response 1 - Lupton

I'm kinda behind on the reading assignments so the next five posts or so are just gonna be a dump of responses. Woo. Response to: https://www.typotheque.com/articles/the_designer_as_producer Lupton’s ideas of production draw a line in the middle of the broad concept of creation. Rather than calling all art ‘creative’, he manages to find a divisor that separates the birthing of ideas and the building of the objects that communicate them. While an artist (or an ‘author’) is someone who is able to ‘[dredge] unique forms from the depths of the interior self’, a producer is someone who can actively create and communicate these ideas to the world. No judgement is passed upon these two to indicate which is ‘better’, only that the idea of the modern designer may encompass the tasks of both. This new role is what he means when he discusses the ‘rub of de-specialization’. A poster designer could reasonably be expected to take their idea from authoring, through production all the way to circulation and promotion. While empowering, the responsibility to become familiar with new and emerging tools and technologies lays a rough road. Lupton quotes Walter Benjamin’s ideas that advancements in communication technology were tarnishing the traditional artistic genres, but ends up with a more positive spin–a modern designer’s toolbox, while presenting a more rigorous learning curve, contains more and more options every day. Benjamin sees a relation between content and production in a traditional sense. Much like Adolf Loos, his ideas of production seem to attribute intrinsic value to materials and methodologies. It is here where I tend to stray away from their mentalities, and view the ‘rub of de-specialization’ as less of a rub and more of an opportunity. My thesis project in question exists in the authoring stage at the moment, but relishes in the chance to exist as an idea before being grounded to a specific media. Rather than designing within a border set by a chosen method, I want to view the decision of production as yet another design choice, one that adds nothing more to the project than more means to the end goal of communication.

#writingassignments

Iterations through a Rule Set

New project is to set up 10 rules and create 30 things that follow them. Here's my rule set— 1 - printed deliverable 2 - format (paper dimension) must be considered/related to content 3 - formal repetition to create detail 4 - grid system for each 5 - elements that break the grid for each 6 - each iteration describes a physical scene 7 - awareness of texture 8 - must assign a price for each iteration 9 - no margin (full bleed) 10- blend type, form, image and texture

#studioassignments

Botnick Iterations - 4

http://www.scribd.com/doc/204817956/04-Retypo-Additions This one's not as cool as I wanted, but the addition of images seemed like an interesting way to add content and interest. I'm gonna go back to this.

#botnickiterations

Botnick Iterations - 3

http://www.scribd.com/doc/204817945/03-Original-Retypo A simple next step was to find an answer to my handwriting as well as the concept, and to do this I retyped the notes in a format similar to the second iteration. I wasn't expecting as progressive of an iteration, as it was really just copying, but being able to compare this with the second iteration finds an interesting division.

#botnickiterations

Botnick Iterations - 2

http://www.scribd.com/doc/204817939/02-Original-Remap Rather than leaping directly into reconstructing the content, I decided to try and maintain the original writing and merely reformat. The way this answered 'legibility' was to clarify the concepts and ideas portrayed by the lecture, not so much my shoddy handwriting.

#botnickiterations

Botnick Iterations - 1

http://www.scribd.com/doc/204817923/01-Original-Scans Here I've simply scanned the notebook that I took the notes in—seemed like a thing to do. I wanted y'all to know exactly what the source material was so I didn't feel I had to hide or edit things. All out in the open.

#botnickiterations

Ongoing Assignments #1 - The Botnick Iterations

// We're doing some weekly-ish projects for this course to keep us active while grinding away at the big thesis concept. They're open ended, and as such we need to make a proposal before working. This is the first. Problem statement: Reproduce the notes taken by Jackson Hill while attending Ken Botnick's lecture on Process given at the UIC Innovation Center on 1/24/2014 with the intent of legibility. Proposal: Ken Botnick's emphasis on the search for the delight in design runs pretty parallel to my thesis focus. His idea was that some design decisions exist solely for the purpose of the delight of the maker and the user. I would question how this element affects the response to a problem, such as the one presented. For this project I intend to answer this problem through design approximately ten times, with the goal of exploring solutions that find delight in different ways. While the problem itself is quite straightforward, it could be answered in a large variety of ways, and in exploring many solutions I hope to find trends that can be pinpointed as 'work', 'play', or otherwise.

#studioassignments #botnickiterations

A bit of background...

Connections

Here's a short book I did to sort of reflect on where I'm at so far. I feel like my thesis emphasis has changed quite a bit from what I originally intended, which is a good thing. A starting point.

Green Day @ I Heart Radio Billie Joe Armstrong September 2010 I'm a loner/loser high-school punk rocker at heart and I will always love Green Day, even though Uno Dos Tre was almost complete dogshit. I've always idolized Billy Joe as someone who is able to fight the lines of conformity with purpose rather than just to be different. I'm unable to call his breakdown at I Heart Radio a temper tantrum or a publicity stunt, because the edge he gave it with reminded me so much of the edge that I heard and loved in Green Day's records. To paraphrase, I don't wanna grow up, I wanna burn out- I want to keep saying what I have to say until it falls on deaf ears, because if I want to say it when no one's listening it means I truly believe it, right?

#show #references

Dispatch: Zimbabwe, Live at Madison Square Garden Dispatch January 2008 This concert was so cool as a whole, but nothing beats the nostalgic vibe of hearing Steeples from atop the band's old touring van. Crazy. Dispatch never gets too off the wall creative music wise, but they take advantage of their independence from a record label in so many cool ways (riding a van into a concert, giving free tickets seemingly at random, playing with loads of cool indie guests, etc). I totally respect that. They have the sound they want to make, and they're making it in their own way, and when people fall in love with it, they return the favor. All of their music but this concert in particular feel and sound like a labor of love. I've never been able to completely convince myself that my work feels that way, but I'm confident that at some point I'll be able to. Throughout the semester I'd like to have a few of the 'week projects' or whatever be focused on doing something unconventional, but still effective, if that makes sense. I want to find problems that have a powerful solution that exists in an unconventional realm, a question that makes me look deeper than 'right and wrong'.

#references

Bob Dylan September 1964 Cigarettes, in my opinion, are pretty neato. I know there's a lot of bad edge to them but they've been a pretty significant part of my life for the past year or so, and I'd say I have a pretty solid understanding of what they're all about. That being said, looking at this image doesn't give me the impression that Dylan's an irresponsible youth making poor decisions, but someone who's trying hard to balance a lot of things in his life. I get that. He's confident enough in his music to let his true personality, faults and all, get up on stage and perform for people. Does this confidence stem from arrogance? A high self esteem? Not too sure, I'm less familiar with Bob Dylan than I am with tobacco to be honest. However I can pretty confidently state that the blend between real life bullshit and the work he's putting into his music is something I'm striving to obtain, not only in this thesis project but for the rest of my life.

#references

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