ART-124 Journal @sclunow - Tumblr Blog

Dragon tutorial, tumblr edition, part 3.

Week 14 - My Choice

I’ve always been a fan of aesthetically pleasing technology. When something looks as streamlined as it operates, it makes a user’s experience all the more pleasant. However, one branch of technology design that seems to fail entirely at making effective, clean looking products is the world of gaming hardware and peripherals.

By simply searching up “gaming chair”, “gaming headset”, or “gaming graphics card”, one can find technology that has excessive geometry, hard angles, and rainbow lighting strewn all about it. In a culture that values streamlined, minimalist design that works well without superfluous add-ons, it’s a wonder this style proliferated to the scale it’s at today.

GTRACING Gaming Chair with Bluetooth Speakers. https://www.amazon.com/GTRACING-Bluetooth-Speakers-Ergonomic-Computer/dp/B07PHT5JLM

Oddly enough, even the community it’s catered towards seems to dislike it as much as the general public. Many of my friends who also play video games reject the aesthetic part of gaming culture entirely, instead opting for whatever technology they can get their hands on that’s devoid of the design stereotype. Their peripherals are often of high quality, but are unfortunately made in accordance with what companies think people in gaming culture want.

I’d argue that it’s far more effective to design so that it’s good design rather than catering to an imagined demographic with bad design. The consumer audience for this kind of gear could rapidly expand given an aesthetic makeover--powerful rendering technology and high performance computers should not be limited to those who play video games.

With that being said, I’ve noticed a marked shift from the edgy design of gaming technology to something more effective and economical. Take, for example, NVIDIA’s GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti graphics card.

admin. September 20, 2018. https://tamilnadubusinessline.com/2018/09/20/nvidia-geforce-rtx-2080-vs-gtx-1080-ti-which-graphics-card-should-you-buy/

Unlike its predecessor, the GTX 1080 Ti, it lacks excessive geometry and texture and opts for a streamlined aluminum casing. Where the 1080 evoked memories of cringe worthy gaming culture, the 2080 appears refined and as a graphics card that would be right at home in any computer.

Overall, I think we should put an end to “gamer design” and push forward towards design that’s in line with modern design values. Once companies shrug off the poor aesthetic qualities of “gamer design”, this technology can be put into the hands of a wider consumer base and please more of those within gaming culture as well.

Week 12 - New Media

As the World Wide Web entered the era of Web 2.0, the demand for interactive websites and design grew at an unprecedented rate. The three fields that have the greatest effect on interactive design are graphic design, animation, and programming. Without a the influence and collaboration of these three professions, visual communication on the World Wide Web through websites would not be nearly as effective today.

Graphic designers create the first assets and pieces of design we see on any website. With the advent of Web 2.0, the demand for quality graphic design increased as the internet experienced a surge of novice designers creating websites. Once trained professionals dedicated time to the world and exploration of web design, interesting and experimental solutions emerged ranging from the colorful layout of the Comcast website to the creative DIY banner generator of the promotional Snakes on a Plane website.

Animators create the “motion graphics” that liven websites and draw our attention in. Although graphic designers create visually pleasing media, they often lack the technical training to understand motion on a frame-by-frame basis. On any website with motion, the work of an animator can be found in tandem with that of a programmer; for example, in the design of “010101 Art in Technological Times”, its creator had to have thorough knowledge of what “worked” and “didn’t work” in animation. When I used the website, the presence of animation was at the forefront the moment you entered. Its landing page is full of animated and linearly shifting numbers and letters at different rates, and background elements seamlessly transition in and out. However, these elements feel connected and well executed, which indicates a knowledge of motion and what makes pleasing animation.

Programmers play a sometimes understated role in the development of interactive online media. Behind the clean graphics and moving parts of any interactive media is code, whether it’s JavaScript, Flash, HTML, or C++ among others. As Web 2.0 began, Adobe Flash and its users fronted the effort to make fun, interactive websites. A thorough knowledge of Adobe Flash became essential in creating complicated, interactive websites with information and animation abound. One example of excellent early coding with Adobe Flash is the “Thinking Spaces” website by Hi-ReS!. “Thinking Spaces” is notable for its use of Papervision 3D, a “Flash engine for rendering in three dimensions” (pg 402), in order to create a 3-D photo collage that its users can manipulate (pg 401). The software was notably “not easy to learn” (pg 402), which is a reminder of just how valuable coders are to the creation of experimental websites like this. Without their expertise, design breakthroughs on the web may not have been possible.

Week 11 - Graphic Design

On page 423 of our reading, the book introduces a “citizen designer” as a designer that embraces the idea that “everyone is a designer”. However, their goal is not to inspire creativity as the quote may imply, but to advocate for social activism, namely a rebellion against corporate greed and the exclusionist air that citizen designers see around the professional design world.

The “do-it-yourself”, or DIY, movement is an example of a “citizen designer” inspired movement. Because of the usual simplicity of these projects, nearly anyone can effectively complete them. However, because these DIY projects are often published on the internet; the author points out that the act of publishing these projects has led to companies grabbing hold of the movement and using it for their own advertising means, which therefore defeats the idea of “sticking it” to corporations.

However, with the rise of DIY come a whole host of design issues. Designers are concerned about the “degradation of design standards that they say has occurred as more and more internet content is derived from the work of amateurs working from standardized templates” (424, Eskilson). It encourages bad, reproducible design that often gives a “homogeneous” look to bountiful amounts of websites and online media.

On page 425 the author goes into the broader social implications of a “citizen designer”, more specifically the definition of a “citizen designer” within the professional realm. A “citizen designer” in this case is a designer that breaches the confines of their profession to create social impact and impact societal issues (425, Eskilson). Advocates of the citizen designer range from historical designers like William Morris to modern day designers like Samina Quraeshi. The latter’s idea of a “citizen designer” embodies those who “use their skills in collaboration with people from the govenrment, industry, and private life to benefit the world at large” (425, Eskilson). Overall, the philosophy of a citizen designer is change minded, inclusive, interconnected, and considers society as a whole instead of just the ideas of the design world.

There are often two schools of thought when it comes to “citizen designer” ideology: optimism and pessimism. On one hand, designers like Bruce Mau spearhead the optimistic side of things. His exhibition, named Massive Change, focuses on the wide scope of positive effects that various modern world aspects have instilled into design. It has a “commitment to optimistic bravado” (427, Eskilson) that renders humanity as a overwhelmingly positive force. It also advocates for the potential for anyone to be a designer who can make a positive impact.

On the other hand, designers like Jonathan Barnbrook of Barnbrook Design, Shawn Wolfe, and Daniel van der Velden see the shaded side of the coin; their works often attack the negative aspects of our society, namely capitalism and the over saturation of underlying toxic corporate identities. A key document from this side of things is a manifesto penned by Barnbrook design called First Things First 2000. It expresses these designers discontent with the current banal role of designers in the cooperate world. The United States’s is also demonized through discussion of its infrastructure and emphasis on cooperate greed. It received mixed reviews from other designers.

So, what is the application of the idea of a “citizen designer”, and how does it impact our daily lives? The way I see it, the idea of a citizen designer can apply to both our home and professional lives. The powerful combination of both schools of thought--optimism and pessimism--can lead to actual change! By recognizing the horrid, greedy, and unimaginative status of the corporate world and the banal designs therein (a pessimistic view) while also viewing the opportunity for positive social change (optimistic view), “citizen designers” can get fired up about making much needed changes to the world at large.

Comments and Predictions about Postmodernism

(Opinion: I am aware that I’m making a lot of sweeping comments and suggestions that may or may not be holistic opinion of my generation. However, I did think that this concept was interesting enough to discuss, and I’d love to have further discussion about it!)

Unlike most styles preceding it and arguably following it, postmodernism had the unique opportunity to intertwine itself deeply with fields outside of the visual arts world. Its contributors’ works pervaded throughout the rock industry, supported now-recognizable and classic psychedelic culture, pushed and confronted both type design and its surrounding industry, and most notably formed into the “postmodernism of the resistance” (362, Eskilson) which focused on protesting issues such as racism, sexism, and class-based discrimination.

Ironically, its predecessor modernism was and still is relatively cold and unfeeling; modernism is often made up of fine lines and clean forms. When it first broke into the scene, it was a breath of fresh air for those inundated and tired with ornamentation and whimsy. Nowadays it’s often so universal that it feels sterile in any environment.

For all of its coldness, however, it is some of the utmost readable design there is. Few other styles and design time periods can lay claim to the legibility of modernism and the International Style. It uniformly coats most of the planet, and designers all over utilize its standards and conventions to efficiently convey anything from products to the goals of architecture firms. Sometimes it even manages to break its own mold, as some designers apply raw materials and work with increasingly abstract and organic forms.

What modernism doesn’t have, however, is the political power of postmodernism. Modernism’s lines and clean forms speak eloquently of progress, success, and a break from our past, but speaks not of the tumultuous times our culture is experiencing behind its clean glass and concrete curtain.

This is where my generation’s own form of “postmodernism” may step froward. I feel as if my generation may be predisposed to challenge the scaffolds and pillars of art and design set in by our predecessors. Our nation’s youth has begun to harbor a deep sense of unrest in regards to global warming, Big Pharma, socioeconomic and racial discrimination... the list goes on. However, my generation also tends to be shut down in our efforts by the current establishment; our efforts are publicized and praised, but often die with time. With that being said, we may eventually turn to a form of postmodernism in order to convey our thoughts more properly and widely in order to spark true change.

Will this movement and prediction ever gain enough ground to be noticeable? I have no idea. Although movements spark up all over the internet that may be indicative of a postmodernist art direction, they often drown under swathes of funnier, more lighthearted content. This is where the movement may die; my generation, although astonishingly and wonderfully politically active and opinionated, is also notably escapist and pessimistic. It’s not uncommon to see those in millennial and gen-z generations be vocally sarcastic and speak with dismissive irony about the current state of our political system and planet. We often feel powerless.

This is where art and a postmodernist-esque movement may step in to empower us when we feel this way.

AFTER NOTE: I hadn’t yet read the contemporary design section of our readings at the time of writing this; the idea of a citizen designer kind of reflects what I was talking about!

Week 10 - A Quick Note

Eskilson often mentions that sans serif fonts are less legible as body text fonts, and, while he never says they shouldn’t be used, he implies they’re not the best pick for this design aspect. Why, then, are the default fonts on many word processors such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word sans serif? I decided to dive into some quick research in order to see if I should swap up my standard typeface.

After looking into it a bit, I’ve taken note of a few guesses and answers from sources of varying reliability. I started on StackExchange to see peoples’ opinions and potential misconceptions on this, because surely the proliferation of sans serif fonts as body fonts must involve some misconceptions. An answer by Charles Boyung 1, who later links to a reliable study 2 , says that the studies for serif vs sans serif on computer screens are inconclusive, but the studies for text on paper more often say that serif fonts are far easier to read.

The study2 , published by Alex Poole in 2008, references a conglomerate of different arguments for serif and sans serif fonts alike. One such idea is that the serifs increase space between letters so that the eye can process each letter and word with more ease. Later in the article, he presents the argument that “sans serifs are better on the web”. However, after presenting each argument, he presents an argument against that.

Since that study seemed to bring me no further to a conclusion, I scrolled further down the forum. However, I only found more and more “inconclusive” results, or studies that contradicted each other. It seems that the results, no matter where you look, are still inconclusive. For now, I’ll keep using sans serif, simply because I prefer it. 1. https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/4013/why-not-use-sans-serif-fonts-on-print-design 2. http://alexpoole.info/blog/which-are-more-legible-serif-or-sans-serif-typefaces/

Week 10 - Design

One of the most surprising concepts that repeated itself throughout the readings was the idea of politics and fonts. Up until these readings, I simply considered font design and the evolution therein to be isolated to the design world. One example that truly got this idea across was the reoccurring relation between Germany and its Blackletter font. Blackletter font, upon its invention in the Renaissance, became the font of Germany, and it seemingly stored within it the pride of a nation’s design work. However, this pride stifled German font design in the long run, and it was all due to these political associations. Whenever new typefaces challenged Blackletter, conservative Germans argued that it was “snubbing” this long held and traditional font. As Eskilson put it on page 230, “...it was impossible completely to avoid a political reading of typography...”.

It was also interesting to see how some fonts solidified themselves in history as gorgeous and masterful, whereas others are considered stepping stones towards these great fonts. The Victorian and Art Deco eras fall into this category. While the Victorian age can blame its lack of notoriety on its sudden surge of untrained designers, the Art Deco era of type design seemed to fall flat, much like its corresponding art period, simply due to an aesthetic that failed to resonate with people for long.

Font design has also made several shifts in how it’s practiced. Originally, designers carved out their typefaces with plentiful elements of artistry intermingling with design. For example, the fonts of the Renaissance, especially Gothic and perhaps Roman, featured more flourishes and serifs than common fonts of our age. Likewise, Nineteenth century Victorian typefaces (pgs 45-50) amplified the idea of the art within type design with the proliferation of exaggerated decorative fonts. However, once the Bauhaus era arrived several years later, fonts like Bayer’s Universal became popularized. Unlike the artsy fonts of these prior eras, Bayer’s design was “developed ... only using the compass, T-square, and triangle” (pg 230), emphasizing therein that font design was shedding the flourishes of the art world and entering the scientific method of the design era.

Week 8 - Industrial Design

Today, one cannot separate daily life from design; it influences basically every functional object around us. That being said, observing the countless designs in our everyday lives can give us peeks into what makes “good” and “bad” design. Much of it comes down to preference, while some of it comes down to the basic design principles that govern the way industrial designers work today.

1. (Above Photograph) My first designed object is a mailbox I found outside of the student union. Although it isn’t the most flashy and technical, it is indeed effective design. It aligns with all seven of the Seven Principles of Universal Design in that its function is easily read on all accounts. Plus, its distinctive shape and USPS Blue color make them easily identifiable without being overly attention grabbing.

2. (Above Photograph) The second piece of design I looked at was right across the street from the mailboxes; the Zao Milwaukee Church. I believe architecture is one of the most prominent forms of design, seeing that we interact with it on a daily basis. The Zao Milwaukee Church, although old, fits in well among the UWM Student Union, Zelazo Center, and various housing beyond. Its architectural design speaks to its purpose; take one look at the structure, and it’s easily read as a church due to its tall, rectangular spire, ornate window decoration, and occasional crosses. Although I have not entered the building, from the exterior architecture I can assume the interior design features some form of transept and nave to accommodate both the pastor and those attending church.

3. (Notes) The third piece of design that I use on a regular basis is my X-Acto knife. Its design is simple; there is a 1 inch long replaceable blade that fits into a slot at the top of the blade holder. The mechanism that holds the blade is operated via rotation of the handle, which has a textured grip both towards the bladed end and in the middle. The middle textured section has a cursive “Excel” imprinted on it and polished to be like the rest of the blade holder, which has a smooth chrome finish. A plastic blade guard covers the blade when it’s not in use. Above all else, an X-Acto knife is quite simple and intuitive to use; it’s a knife meant for precision cutting. It’s effective in its sole task of cutting through material like paper, task-board, and foam.

4. (Notes) After looking further through my architecture pouch, I noticed another interesting piece of design; my triangular scale, also known as an architect’s ruler. Much like the X-Acto knife, this ruler has a rather matte chrome finish, and is made out of aluminum. It is divided into three “sections” which all attach in the middle. Each section has two sides with a different form of scaled measurement. For instance, one part of the ruler displays normal inches, and the other side of the ruler is scaled to 1″:3/4″. It too displays good design practices; it performs its sole task well since the measurements and ratios are indeed accurate, and the numbers and measurement lines on the ruler are clear and not easily worn away.

5. (Above Sketch) This is one speaker from my set of harman/kardon computer speakers I received from my dad quite some time ago. They were made some time in the early 2000s judging both by their design and by how Amazon lists the first list date as April 12, 2001. Link The speakers are gray throughout, with the exception of the green “on” light positioned in the center of the bottom third of the front of the speaker. The bottom third, along with the back of the chassis, is made of gray plastic, while the top 2/3 of the front of the speaker has a cloth covering on it. The right speaker features two dials: one for volume and one for tone. Between these two dials is a headphone jack. Finally, on the backside of the right speaker are two AUX style inputs--one to connect to the left speaker, and one to connect to the computer--and one cable to provide power to the speakers.

Even without knowing what “tone” and “volume” are, a user could easily figure out how to operate the speakers given the immediate feedback of volume and tone the speakers give upon use. There’s also tolerance for error, given that the speakers are solidly built and there is little repercussion for turning one dial or another too far (besides suddenly hearing your music too loudly!).

6. (Above Sketch) This chandelier hangs above my desk in my room. Although its warm white coloration is plain, its ornamentation is anything but; the entire chandelier, save for some plain metal sinuous curves, is covered in motifs that evoke flora. There’s flowers “growing” out of the center form, and the light bulbs, which represent enlarged candle flames in shape, sit within small nests of upturned leafs. This is an art nouveau chandelier through and through.

7. (Above Photo) This Hunter space heater’s design reflects its purpose. There is a single, simple display panel that displays the temperature of the room. If a user hits either the “+” or “-” buttons on the heater, the display will switch to a blinking version of this number to indicate what the goal temperature is. The heater itself takes up most of the design, given that it has to put out a lot of heat to combat the heat leaking out of the room. The unit sits atop a small, hollow plastic base upon which the heater may rotate 180 degrees if it is set to do so. If the buttons indicators weren’t worn away from use, the design could be easily read. The numbers on the display are large and easy to read from any position in my room. Overall, I find that this design is quite effective.

8. (Above Photo) I use these J-Lab JBuds Air wireless headphones on a daily basis. The whole design of the headphones is black, with the exception of the LED indicators on both the case and the headphones. These LEDs can alternate between blue and white to indicate various statuses. For instance, if I take on headphone out, that LED on the case will go out. However, if I simply close the case with both headphones in, the LEDs will flash white with a battery indication; 3 LEDs for full battery, 2 for medium battery, and 1 for low battery. The headphones themselves are 3/4″ long, and the case is 3″ long and 1.5″ tall. The headphones and case are easily usable, and easily rechargeable as well; to charge the headphones, simply place them in the slots in the case, which are lightly magnetic to hold the headphones securely within. To charge the case, take out the USB Type A from the bottom of the case and plug them into any computer or USB Type A input. These headphones nail all seven of the universal design principles. They are usable by any person with ears, therefore giving them extremely equitable use, they can be used with one or both headphones out of the case, and they’re incredibly simple given that the user must only take them out and put them in their ear. All the information is visually given via LED indicators and verbal feedback with an in-ear assistant telling the user the battery level of the earbud along with indications on whether both earbuds are joined and connected to a Bluetooth device. The tolerance for error is high because they’re non hazardous and can survive any number of drops. Finally, no user needs to put much effort into using these earbuds, given that all a user must do is take them out of the case and put them into their ears.

9. (Above Photo) I mostly wish to pay attention to the text on this bottle. The overall design of the text is reminiscent of old poster design back when designers used fonts abound on their designs. There’s an interesting mix of bold, normal, serif, and sans serif fonts that dominate the whole label. It gives the product a bit of an older, more natural feel, which makes sense given that it’s supposed to be a gentle, natural hand soap.

10. (Above Drawing) My final designed object is my desk at home. It reflects the simple yet vaguely rustic feeling of the arts and crafts movement. The wood is uniform throughout the desk, and its texture is smoothed out. The metal legs of the chair, made up of two equally sized rectangles on top and bottom, with one bearing a wooden panel within, have a treatment on them to appear a dark gray color. The joinery of the metal is not perfect at the edges, which enhances the feeling of “handmade” that is oh-so present in arts and crafts furniture design.

Closing Thoughts Even this brief synopsis of design doesn’t cover the breadth of design out there. As this course proceeds, I hope to gain a wider view of design that encompasses even the simplest of everyday objects.

Week 7 - Architecture

The 7 universal design principles capture all that makes design, whether it be modern or from the industrial era, great. After being developed in 1997 by a group of various designers,1 these principles began to guide young and old designers alike during their design process.

Two of the seven design principles I find are prominent in much of today’s design are Principle 3: Simple and Intuitive Use, and Principle 1: Equitable Use.

Principle 3 focuses around products that are visually legible not necessarily through their use of textual or spoken language, but through their visible language. These products can ideally be “read” by any person, regardless of culture or language. Specifically, these products follow 5 guidelines: they are uncomplicated, consistent with common expectations for the product, readable regardless of language, visually able to order importance, and able to provide feedback once the task is accomplished1. All of these guidelines essentially advocate for the simplicity in design of a product in order to make it efficient.

However, I find that the minor downside to this principle is how it potentially makes products “cookie cutter” and lacking in innovation. If a product must be “consistent with user expectations and intuition”, designers may become wary of pushing innovations in said design.

That being said, plenty of products follow this principle. A few such examples are my wireless charging station by Samsung and my Bose QC15 headphones.

Above all, this charger is incredibly simple. Its design is, in essence, two circles, with the bottom circle curled up in order to hold the phone. There is a single port on the back of the base (not pictured), and it’s the only port on the base. It’s clearly a USB-C port. In this way, this product complies with the first guideline of eliminating necessary complexity. It’s consistent with the expectations of the average cosumer because there’s clearly a front, open space to place your phone, and a lip at the bottom that indicates where the phone should sit. Because the only text on the charger is the small, inconsequential “fast charge” on the face of the charger and product information on a tag inset on the bottom, it doesn’t necessarily let many language understand it, but it doesn’t need to because of how intuitive the design is. There’s no information to organize, so it doesn’t need to adhere to the fourth guideline. And, at last, it provides feedback via a small LED at the bottom of the front of the charging base. When the phone is succesfully charging, the LED lights up red. The phone actually participates in this feedback as well, as a spinning circle with a charged percentage pops up upon successful docking.

These QC15 Bose headphones, released in 2009, are more complex than my aforementioned charger but are still simple and intuitive to use. The notable mechanics and components on these headphones are two rotatable ear cups, a small switch to turn on the headphones, a port for the AUX cord, three dots for where the microphone is, an adjustable headband, and a small slot for a AA battery. These mechanics serve to enhance the user experience by maximizing the comfort and flexibility of the headphones; therefore, the mechanics are necessary and do not subtract from the design by adding complexity. All of these mechanics operate just as one would expect, therefore adhering to the second guideline. Because they’re headphones, they do not need to accommodate for varying use of language; the only text on the headphones is the BOSE logo, which is the same in all languages, and small text under the silver ring around the logo that says “QuietComfort 15″. There is no information to organize, so it also doesn’t need to adhere to this guideline. Finally, it provides feedback in various ways. If you turn the headphones on, a green LED lights up indicating that they’re successfully on. The noise cancelling also turns on, which is an audible cue. If the user has successfully put them on, the headphones will feel comfortable and create a seal strong enough to allow the noise cancelling to work.

Principle one is also prevalent in today’s design. This principle covers how effective designs should be accessible to whoever wishes to use them, regardless of ability. These four guidelines should be followed: all users should have identical means of operation (or at least equivalent when an identical means is impossible), “avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users”1, provide sufficient security, privacy, and safety measures for all users, and appear appealing to all users.

The first designed object I found that follows principle one is the elevators in Cambridge Commons. All users, regardless of ability, may use the elevators because of their ease of access. The buttons within the elevator are easily legible and large enough for people of any ability to use. There are also handrails within the elevator for those who may need assistance standing. Users are not segregated because... it’s an elevator. There’s very few ways a cubic space can segregate or stigmatize its users. The security and safety means are built into the elevator with its safety break systems and redundant precautions. Cambridge Commons elevators exhibit very simple, streamlined designs that make one hard pressed to dislike their design.

My second example of a designed object that adheres to this principle is the Milwaukee City Buses. Because the city buses are for public use, principle 1 is especially important; the buses must accommodate users of all levels of ability at all times. That being said, it most certainly follows the first guideline of providing equal means to all users. The bus has a ramp to allow those with wheelchairs on, has seating that provides identical means of use to the elderly or disabled, and has identical seating throughout for all users. Users are not segregated, as the bus’s interior is an open space with identical seating throughout. The only segregation comes with the disabled and elderly seating, but that’s hardly segregated and more designated for ease of use. The safety and security of all passengers is taken into consideration with the design of the bus. As all vehicles have, the buses likely have safety systems within the inner workings of the bus. There are bars across the bus for those who are standing so that they may balance while the bus is in motion. Finally, the bus’s interior and exterior is appealing in its simplicity; it uses very bold yet emotionally neutral colors. They stand out in the city scape without being interruptive, which works since they need to be noticed while not being an absolute eyesore.

Bibliography 1. http://universaldesign.ie/What-is-Universal-Design/The-7-Principles/

Reflection on the “Elements of Design” Project

I was assigned “tertiary colors” as my design element for the project. At first, I thought it would be easy to identify tertiary colors in my environment. I figured that, since we live in a society that places value on colorful logos and advertising, I could find a number of logos and industrial design that utilized tertiary colors.

As I wandered Milwaukee in search of these examples, I found my hypothesis quickly disproved. Everywhere I went, I found advertising in reds, light blues, and other basic primary and secondary colors. The architecture portion, which I had already questioned early on, felt nearly impossible to accomplish. As an architecture major, I’ve already noticed how architecture values muted pallets with bright, bold colors as accents. Tertiary colors rarely make an appearance.

After looking back on my project, I have some reasoning about why I couldn’t easily locate tertiary colors in everyday design. It boils down to the psychology of color. Because of their lack of presence in most every day design, I surmise that tertiary colors do not have the same emotional impact as primary and secondary colors.

Primary colors are bold and their emotional connotation is easily read; red is bold, bright, and in your face, calling forth your attention, while blue might evoke a sense of calm or security. The three primary colors are all heavily present in today’s design world; just looking around the library and through the window beyond, I can pick out various designs that use these colors. For instance, the red of car taillights, caution signs, and Dorito’s packaging all evoke a sense of urgency and conceitedness. Another prolific example in the Milwaukee area of primary colors is UWM’s “UWM Gold”, which is recognizable across all of its branding. Yellow is a bright, eye catching color, which may serve as a reflection of UWM’s intended image as a bright, vibrant campus.

Secondary colors are also heavily used in design. Being a mix of two primary colors, green, orange, and purple all still make frequent appearances across designs in my area. To my immediate right is a green Exit sign in the library, and there’s green on the Milwaukee city buses.

It’s when I look at tertiary colors that I find some issues. Tertiary colors, being a mix of primary and secondary colors, feel immediately muddled and less clear. They do not have the same emotional impact as their primary and secondary cousins, and emotional impact is valued in today’s design above many things. Thus, in retrospect, the non-availability of tertiary colors in today’s design is unsurprising.

#tertiary colors #reasoning #reflection #project #UWM

Journal Week 6

The architecture surrounding Milwaukee varies greatly from location to location. Much of the architecture is industrial or modern, and usually without ornament.

UW-Milwaukee’s architecture varies quite a bit for what a small area of Milwaukee it takes up. A building’s qualities usually vary in regards to their building’s purpose. For instance, SARUP is an incredibly modern and industrial building. However, just a few blocks over are the PSOA buildings, which are far from modern with their brick construction and older interiors. The newest research building is a return to modern form, just as SARUP is. This variety of architecture may reflect the variety of studies and students present at UWM.

Outside of UW-Milwaukee one will find a hodge-podge of different architecture. The hospital just down the street from Cambridge Commons (not pictured above), with all of its curves and white walls devoid of ornament, stands tall against a skyline fit with highly ornamented, older architecture. Among the older architecture are squat polish flat buildings, along with Victorian homes scattered among them.

Week 5 - History of Design

1. Unknown, Beat Keane Get The Green!, 2020. Poster. Print, 11 x 17 in. Cambridge Commons, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

2. Howard Christy, Gee!! I Wish I Were A Man, 1917. Poster. Photolithograph, 40 7/8 x 26 7/8 in (104 x 68.2 cm). Imperial War Museum, London.

The first two design objects I wish to relate are these two posters, one advertising Professor Keane’s handball class1 and the other recruiting for the navy2. Although this relation may seem like a stretch in regards to content, I think their use of design is similar, even with the 103 year difference in the time of their production. Both have the main viewpoint set as a human figure, with one being water colored looking and the other being a photoshopped image of Professor Keane. They both also use bold, eye catching fonts in various sizes and colors, which serve to catch the eye of a passerby. Although they’re calling for quite different things--one for recruitment into the military, and one for “recruitment” into Keane’s handball class--they both serve as effective advertisements, with the latter having clear links to old styles of poster making.

Unknown B.SAS Student, Chair Model for ARCH 100 Fall Chair Competition, 2019. Model chair. Wood, leather, glue, chip board. School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Wisconsin.

William Morris, Sussex Chair, 1865. William Morris Gallery, The London Borough of Waltham Forest.

The most obvious link between these two projects lies in how they embrace the ideals of the arts and crafts movement. Both express their materials and don’t hide the clear craftsmanship behind the way the chair is put together. The designs lack much ornament and use a limited breadth of materials in their assembly. There are also plenty of geometrical motifs between the two of them; the student’s chair sports a plethora of straight, direct lines, and the Sussex Chair employs that motif as well, albeit in a more “classical” manner.

Unknown, A Sign Pointing Out Popular Spots, N.D. Steel, paint, other various metal.

Gustav Klutsis, Fundamentals, Agitprop design, c. 1926. Pencil, ink, and gouache, 7 1/16 x 4 13/16 in (18.1 x 11.9 cm). Merrill C. Berman Collection.

My final two projects are a sign just outside of Cambridge Commons and a Russian concept for a “dynamic display sign” (199, Eskilson). Both signs feature bright colors are unique forms, as well as a three-dimensional aspect that breaks free of the traditional 2-D sign. The modern sign found outside of Cambridge Commons seems to push the ideas of Klutisis’s design further by incorporating color throughout the whole sign as well as extending the unique sign elements all the way down the pole. Although the modern sign does not rotate as Klutisis’s plan did, I still believe their inherent design relations are significant due to their links in color and experimental form.

Week 4

For my designed object, I chose the Bublr bike system. I found this particular stop outside of MIAD after wandering the city for a short while, and decided that this commonplace commodity in Milwaukee fit the idea of a pleasing design.

Description

The Bublr bikes are stowed in saturated sky blue racks, which are all connected. From there, the racks are connected to a pole with their logo on it and a Bublr bike sign explaining how the bike system works. The bikes themselves are the same color as the racks, which I found quite eye catching among the gray tones of the concrete and buildings around. The down tube and seat tube are not connected by a top tube, which I thought was an interesting choice. That explained why the down tube was the thickest part of the bike; without the top tube completing the triangle that normal bikes have, the Bublr bike needed more material. Bublr bikes also feature a small red reflector just under the black seat, and a light of the same color held above the back tire by a tire cover over the top third of the tire. A final interesting design aspect is the presence of a small black plastic basket in the front of the bike, which makes sense for a bike meant for city travelers on the go. Most of the bike seems to be designed for a convenient method of travel with the least amount of risk for breakage of the bike’s mechanics.

I find that the bikes fill a unique niche in Milwaukee’s design. They’re an eyecatching color much unlike many of the colors in Milwaukee, and the closest design that I could find relating in color were the various posters and signs. In a way, this makes sense because the Bublr bikes are mobile advertisements for themselves, so the bright colors grab attention just as the signs are meant to.

Another potential link falls into their modern design, which seems to fit nicely with the more modern downtown area around MIAD.

WEEK 3 JOURNAL, PART 2

Image Entries 5-10

1: Small White Flowerpot (Notes) This flower pot is a quaint example of art nouveau design. The object is functional as a flower pot, but it has floral decorations similar to that of the art nouveau movement which emphasized such forms.

2: Nightstand (Notes)

I questioned whether to include this design at first, but after later consideration I felt it fit the arts and crafts movement. The wood’s roughness fits the rustification and handmade feeling so present in the arts and crafts movement, and the roughly treated dark metal at the corners also emphasized this.

3: Lamp Post (Drawing)

This lamp post is a prime example of art nouveau. Following the industrial revolution, the mass production of cast iron designs was all the rage. This lamppost, with its sinuous curves and metal material, along with natural green colors not present in my sketch, aligns with all the trends of that movement. This is especially prominent in the area of the signpost with the small circle and curved triangle, since this decoration is almost unnecessary but is clearly inspired by nature.

4: Chairs (Photo) These chairs are a clear reference to the arts and crafts movement. They have a modernist hint with the simplicity of the curves and forms with little ornament, but they give off the appearance of being somewhat handmade. They’re simple yet effective, which seems to be a form of design methodology for the arts and crafts movement.

5: Newspaper (Photo)

Newspapers with photos, at the time of their invention, were a massive innovation. At first printing presses could not align photos side by side with text due to technological hindrances, so most newspapers included illustrations. However, as technology improved, so did photography and newspaper printing; thus, the newspaper with pictures in it was born. Although these prints were originally priced quite high, therefore making them only accessible to those with plenty of disposable cash, the prices gradually decreased so that anyone may grab a copy with minimal cost. Newspapers also reflect innovation in typefaces as typefaces with serifs became the standard for headlines along with a separate font for the body text. Today, newspapers pack their prints with tons of typefaces, something originally quite difficult to do.

6: Cupholder

My father designed this himself for his car with the idea of making a better, easier to use cupholder. Although it wasn’t made at the time, it reminded me of the arts and crafts movement--it has simplistic forms, being that it’s all straight edges and circles, yet it maintains a hand made feeling. Once again, this is highly characteristic of the arts and crafts movement.

Mid Journal Post 3 Commentary

I’m finding it difficult to comment on designs that include art nouveau. Much of what makes up art nouveau is, as we’ve defined design, not inherently design. Art nouveau includes many elements that are flourishes and inherently not functional as design elements. If design is the creation of functional objects, would that render much of the extra flourishes involved in art nouveau as simply art and not design? Could one argue that the flourishes of art nouveau are functional in their ability to serve as an accent, therefore justifying their spot as design? As we’ve discussed previously, it seems there are elements in our world that blur the line between art and design.

WEEK 3 JOURNAL, PART 1 With these first four entries into my set of ten design observations, I focused mostly on covering a wide range of typeface developments, and then threw in some extra focuses on art nouveau and gothic design styles. With the advent of plentiful typefaces, designers of posters and other graphic elements of everyday life leaped upon an opportunity for more bombastic signage. Of course, this eventually came to be frowned upon as designers cluttered their posters with all manner of fonts and text in a wild attempt to grab a passerby’s attention. As displayed with the “East Side Family Chiropractic” practice sign, the idea of using multiple font faces in a single image is still used today, although it isn’t as extreme as such posters from the 1830s like The Seigge of Troy, or The Great Horse of Sinon (Eskilson, 40). A like scenario is displayed in the District signage, but to a slightly lesser degree, as it only features two fonts. More notable is the fact that the District sign features “slab serifs”, a 19th century typeface invention. This face gives the words a sense of weight and presence. Its original purpose “...was to grab the viewer’s eye amid a busy urban milieu...” (Eskilson, 46). I certainly think it accomplished that, seeing that I found it eye catching enough to photograph! Finally, this photo shows a hint of art nouveau in the decorative border around the word “DISTRICT”, which emphasizes sinuous curves that hearken “plant like” imagery. This is a distinct trait of the art nouveau movement. In the picture featuring the pamphlet from the UWM Neighborhood Housing Office, I would like to draw attention to the way the type and images are arranged on the page. Although this is commonplace today, the idea of images being justified to the right or left of text was an innovation during the 1900s. As photography emerged, magazine and newspaper publishers found that their letterpresses would not allow for images to be printed alongside text. Therefore, the idea of photographs in magazines, pamphlets, or newspapers wasn’t popularized until the 1920s. Today, this innovation is so commonplace that it’s unnoticeable! Finally, I’d like to discuss the Calvary Presbyterian Church, designed by Henry C. Koch. This red-clad church is a well known example of Gothic architecture in Milwaukee. Its historical references are obvious: the pointed arches, ornate decoration, and overall stature with its height and spires directly reflects the Gothic design of the past.

Week 2 - Design Thinking

After reading “Design Thinking” in the Harvard Business Review, my design definition is as follows: design is any form of development of a practical, efficient, and optimized answer to a problem. I say this because of the variety of design issues and solutions the article brought up, ranging from solving eye care issues in India to designing new devices for sinus surgery. I included the word “development” in my definition because it reflects how design is not a “one and done” kind of practice. It requires iterative thinking and design skills, an one may go through many designs for a product, or “answer”, before the designer and their team arrives at the final solution. An obvious object that includes plenty of design thinking is my phone, which is a Samsung Galaxy S9+. Phones of antiquity prioritized function over form; they need not look too sleek or modern since they simply had to do their job. In contrast, phones today (from the rise of the flip phone on) nearly have their own form of fashion. From their UI to the design of the casing, the consumer wants the newest, greatest, and best looking phone! Therefore, the design thinking is clearly on display, and incredibly focused on how a user might interact with the product. In comparison to the previous edition, the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung opted to move the finger sensor to under the camera, taking into consideration the negative reactions of people who constantly smudged their camera due to the awkward positioning of the sensor. One could say all the previous versions of Samsung’s phones were a prototype for this phone, but to see an actual working prototype, look no further than this article, and this article that features leaked AutoCAD schematics, both of which show prototypes for the phone. Although they’re obviously similar to the finished product, it shows that Samsung was constantly making prototypes of their new phone before they released it to their audience. The phone’s UI also shows clear features of design thinking, which are exemplified through how easy the phone is to use. Similar thinking applies to my other devices, such as my Dell laptop and my Wacom Cintiq, however both of which were a bit more difficult to find documentation on in regards to their development. Hands down, the article that most interested me is The Most Important Design Careers of Tomorrow. Specifically, the idea of a “conductor” piqued my interest. It seems like it’s an unsaid necessity as we demand more and more out of our devices and their connectivity to the cloud and one another. I also thought the idea of potentially taking on design was an interesting concept. I honestly thought the design industry, even as AI and supercomputers develop, would be untouchable; that human beings would always have a grasp on the arts and design field. Gavin Kelly, the co-founder and principle of Artefact, even threw a funny yet negative idea out among all the other more positive, hopeful futures: “Come the singularity and there are no more design jobs.”

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