A Journey of Discovery

Art & Design Blog 

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Brooks Stevens

Clifford Brooks Stevens (1911-1995) is a renown Industrial Designer from Milwaukee Wisconsin. Most of his works are now kept at the Milwaukee Art Museum, staying in the city he loved most. Stevens was born and raised in Milwaukee, only leaving a short while for schooling. It was here that he began his own firm Brooks Stevens Industrial Design, built his home, and became the only Midwestern founder of the Society of Industrial Designers (SID). Brooks believed that Industrial Designers “in today’s business world should be a business man, an engineer and a stylist, and in that direct order”.

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Contemporary- Milwaukee Art Museum 

This building gives one a feeling of adventure and wonder. The effect it has on the landscape is minimal and yet overwhelming. The large field is overwhelmed by the beauty and uniqueness of the art museum, and yet the building seems to flow seamlessly with the waterfront.  

Historic-  All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral

All Saints’ Episcopal Cathedral is a Gothic Revival Church in Milwaukee, designed by E. Townsend Mix in 1868. It gives a sense of antiquity to the area, its tall spire and Gothic architecture make it stand out compared to the buildings around it. 

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Happy Halloween folks~

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfZwTH3Q4yM)

The Glowforge 3d Maker Machine

This lazer is leading technology- for the everyday Joe. Whether you are an Industrial designer prototyping an object, a parent making toys for your kids, or just crafty in general- this lazer cutter is for you. 

That being said... I’ve decided I need this in my life... 

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Design Thinking

According to Tim Brown, author of Change by Design, a “Design Thinker  will bring (desirability, viability, and feasibility) into a harmonious balance (18)”. This means that design thinkers use there skills to improve objects designs, or create never before seen items, with goals in mind that their item will: 

Function properly

Sell, and be sustainable for the business

Make sense to people and for people

Many people are unaware of the many products that human centered designers, industrial designers, and design thinkers create. Everyday objects such as telephone cases, control panels (such as on cars), and even things as simple as hairbrushes are designed and created by these people. 

The methods of creation that these designers work by (bullets above), show themselves in the finished objects. Such as in the Otter box for Samsung: The design of the product is meant to protect the phone from breaking when dropped. This phone case does it job excellently, protecting phones from breaking when dropped up to 6 feet! The design itself is not unappealing, although slightly bulky. It even has grips for those with slippery fingers- all of these aspects reflect that the designers did their job. The Otter box functions properly, sells (its design is pleasing to the buyer) and makes sense for people to buy. Another example of design thinking in everyday objects is car consoles. Cars themselves are make by mechanics and engineers, but the interiors and consoles are made by designers. They make these consoles to function easily, in order to sell them to manufacturers. But the design of the consoles is meant for the buyer. With an ease of understanding (labels), easy push buttons and knobs (so it can be used while driving), and a beautiful look- what buyer wouldn't want a console like that in their car! Finally, the hairbrush shows very simply what designers do. While this hairbrush would be able to do its “job” without the pink tips on the bristles, rubber coating, and angled handle- all these aspects make sense to and for the users who may buy it. The pink tips on the bristles are rounded, and protect the users head from getting scratched by hard plastic. The handle is coated with black rubber, giving the user a better grip. This is especially present with how the handle is shaped. The handle is wider at the bottom, allowing the user to grip the handle with less force while using the hairbrush. 

These 3 seemingly random items are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what design thinkers, industrial designers, and human centered designers do- but I hope that it opens your eyes to the amount of dedication and hard work that goes into seemingly everyday objects. 

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This is the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex- and it is one of the most visually stimulating buildings on campus. While some have done presentations of this building already, it is usually shown from the front. I wanted to shed a little light on the beautifully designed back of Kenwood. The repetition of windows and lines gives off harmony, while the different sizing of those windows brings a unique life to this building. 

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MORE SIGNS! 

The Gasthaus- Although this picture is blurry (which is completely my fault because I didn't want to look like a nut taking multiple pictures of a poster in the middle of a hallway) I want to take a minute and give my opinion about the Gasthaus logo (specifically the giant “G”). When combined with the background the yellows in the design seem to clash- and not in a way that brings positive attention to the sign. The “G” itself has “The Gasthaus” written on its top left hand side. This tiny script was hard to read and distracted me from reading the rest of the sign (with the important bits on it). Although a well put together sign, I feel that if these two aspects were tweaked that the overall design would be improved. 

UWM Building and Faculty Directory- While obviously functional, I thought the way the buildings were drawn/designed on this sign was absolutely fantabulous. By minimizing the color pallet to a few colors (vs what the campus actually looks like) the artist simplified the map while keeping it natural looking. 

Campus Grade School Fence- The child-esk art that hangs outside the elementary school gives a life to the campus. The bright colors and cartoon characters parallel the children who go to the school. During recess especially, one can see (and hear) the children running and playing- a beautifully paralleled background to these paintings.  

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CEILINGS!

Ceilings are so cool and I’m going to tell you why. Ceilings have the power to change the atmosphere of a space, they can make it seem small and cramped, or open and full of life. Besides the obvious height at which a ceiling is placed, the decorations that adorn them are just as important. Much like the paintings of Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel-  the adornments of a ceiling can be the focus of a space. I choose to target the ground floor ceiling of Sandburg Hall (first picture), and the ceiling of the Grind coffee shop hallway in the Union (second picture). While both designs are not the main focal point of the spaces in which they occupy, they both reflect the mood and motion of those spaces. 

This portion of the ceiling of Sandburg hall lies in a crossroad of hallways. I believe the geometric shapes of the ceiling reflect the hectic nature of the intersection when people are passing through it. The hallway of the Union on the other hand reflects the constant movement of people walking down it. The organic “flow” of the entire piece makes your eye follow it from one end to the other- much like people walk from one end of the hallway to the other. The zigzag pattern within this form suggests the hectic nature of walking through a crowd. 

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Signs of UWM

I wanted to do a brief study of the signs of UWM, since signs are a great medium to show different aspects of design. Its even there in the name: de-SIGN. 

Since these signs are on a college campus, it makes sense that they are the school colors (Yellow and Black). Besides being school colors, the Yellow on black gives the signs contrast, making it easy to see- especially from far away in crowded hallways. 

The ‘arrows’ on both signs are a simple arrow head- highlighted by the yellow. This design choice stresses the “direction” aspect of the sign, which is its main function. If the words were highlighted instead of the arrows the signs would give off a completely different vibe. It would seem to stress that those locations are right by the sign instead of pointing to where they are.

Focusing on the outdoor sign- the arrow heads themselves are made by using negative space. The arrow heads are cut out of the sign, an aspect that caught my eye the first time I saw it.   

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Throughout the book “Design: A Very Short Introduction” by John Heskett, Heskett constantly changes the definition of “Design” with different times and locations around the world. In its essence, Design is the human process of making and shaping the world around us. The ability to design makes us human. This is shown within Heskett’s book when he speaks of the evolution of human technology. Hands were humans first tools, and through observation of how our hands worked, early peoples built shovels, knives, bowls, and much more in order to increase productivity and ease in which their jobs were done. This advanced design process is not seen in any other species, and was the beginning for design as we know it today. As time progressed, design changed from just building tools of survival to decorating and inventing a wide range of things. 

The most significant part of “Design: A Very Short Introduction”, was the way Heskett chose to portray design as fluid, adaptable, artform, that changes depending on where you are in the world. 

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So yes- I took this photo in 2012, but my inspiration for the way I see and treat the world haven’t changed even in 3 years. Fall is my favorite time of the year, I cherish all of my friendships, and I find solace within books and poems. Although these things may seem a bit ‘normal’ to love, they have impacted my life in more ways than I can count. I took this class because I aim to be a designer- I’m not sure which type yet (studying mechanical engineering & looking into industrial design at the moment... but we will see what happens...), but I want to create. So naturally I thought this class would be a perfect fit, and so far, so good. I believe that with my previous knowledge from design courses I took within High school,  and the numerous art classes I’ve taken throughout my life, that this course would stretch my limits and push me towards the future.