bainmegh

[bainmegh]

Week 15 - Final Thoughts

I think the future of design is going to continue to advance with the growing types of technology that become available to the general population, as well as the major event that are happening and that will continue to emerge and develop with time. After Covid-19, I think we will see new technologies and designs for how to exist in public in a more sanitary way. Things won't go back to how they were before the pandemic, and I think in stores there will continue to be greater expectations for cleanliness and how transactions are made, possibly having more touch free ways to open doors and wash hands in bathrooms. There could be new technology implemented for customers in certain spaces to wipe down or sanitize an area themselves before they use it, in case they suspect the person responsible for doing so didn't do it before hand. Giving people the option to take some sanitary measures into their own hands could help make everyone feel more comfortable as they begin to go in public again. I also think a lot more places will continue to use some of the features we used during quarantine, like live stream concerts, meetings, classes, etc, for accessibility and convenience purposes. I think these technologies will develop greatly in the coming future, as they will be more widely used than ever before. The pandemic raised a lot of sudden issues that the world had to rush to fix, but in the process I think we may have found many ways to fix other issues that existed before the pandemic, and since some of these solutions are already in place, why not continue to utilize them?

[bainmegh]

Week 14 - Your Choice

I think one thing I would like to talk about is the difference between design and art. Just as a fun rant, I understand why it is important to be able to make the distinction between them, and that the discussion for the definition of design is an extensive one. Every time I have to decide whether an object is design or art, I go on a mini rant in my head about how almost anything could be design, and even more so on how everything is art. With the vague definition of design essentially being "something created to solve a problem for others," it can be easy to look at an object and say, "oh, this shelf is design because it was made to carry books, solving the problem of how to store books in a way that makes them easily accessible while still being distinguishable from one another." But my brain can look at something that is art, or that "solves a problem for the artist," and say, "but this could solve the problem of how to decorate wall space or add some color and abstraction into someone's home." So in that case, anything that is art could serve a purpose for someone besides the artist. And a more clear and well known idea is how all design is art. Everything we see everyday was created by someone to look and function in a certain way, and they put their own aesthetic decisions into the outcome. I'd say that anyone who creates anything is an artist. End rant.

[bainmegh]

Week 13 - New Media

The digital aesthetic of design is an aesthetic that is smooth, clean, and simple. Designers that utilize this aesthetic are likely trying to attain a look that is futuristic and technological, and likely would like to be able to pair their designs with the newest technologies that will continue to develop. The digital aesthetic is one that is constantly developing and changing, mirroring the way that technology develops. Elements become more refined and discreet with each development, creating an even cleaner look that is constantly competing with older and newer designs.

An example of a company that utilizes the digital aesthetic would be Apple. Every product that they release has key differences from the product that came before it. These differences usually include a thinner device with less buttons that require even less effort to use than what was required previously. Some examples of the steps that Apple has taken to simplify their technology are, first, the transition of leaving the classic home button behind and instead utilizing facial recognition instead of fingerprint recognition to unlock the screen. This expanded the surface area of the screen on iPhones and iPads while still allowing the device to be thinner and cleaner than before. They also removed the headphone jack, changing their earbuds to connect through the charging jack. This was also likely a tactic for them to be able to sell their AirPods more successfully, since people often still want to be able to charge their device and listen to music at the same time. The design of their computers have also been shifting in this direction as well, as they got rid of the top line of keys on the keyboard that held the f-keys, as well as volume and brightness functions, and replaced it with a touch bar that could replace the keys they removed while also adding more functionality, all without increasing the surface area needed to hold these elements.

[bainmegh]

Week 12 - New Media

The improvement of technology is fast moving, and because of its constant growth, the things that are considered "New Media" are constantly changing with it. Interactive design strategies are constantly being applied to new technologies and are also constantly being improved and expanded on existing ones.

Social media has had a huge influence on interactive design through how information is broadcasted and how people connect and communicate with each other. Different platforms of social media have been developed for different modes of sharing information. Apps like twitter and facebook can be used to share information that can be retweeted or shared to other people's timelines as a means of spreading information that someone believes in or finds interesting. Twitter utilizes a word limit that keeps text short and quick for viewers while facebook allows any amount of text in one post. Facebook is more likely to be used as a platform for keeping up with people that know each other in their day to day lives, while twitter's format encourages its users to connect with people from all over the world, and to follow people who post content that the viewer is interested in. This is just one example on how these subtle differences in the interactive design of these applications affects how they are used.

Another example of this is the difference in interactions between platforms like Youtube versus apps like Tiktok. Youtube allows people to upload videos of any length, allowing more freedom for creators to make their own creative decisions about video length and how to pace their information. Tiktok has a 60 second time limit, with many creators utilizing 15 second videos. This can affect how much information is given in each video, and usually encourages creators to keep a faster pace when making their content. But the short length is more likely to hold viewers attention, while the scrolling functions allow for a wider range of content to be viewed in a short amount of time. Youtube is more likely to be used to seek out videos and content that people already have an interest in, so they can learn new information intentionally in a field they already have knowledge of. Tiktok allows for viewers to constantly discover new information and new creators, expanding their knowledge on certain topics that they might not have been aware of before.

Platforms like Facebook were some of the first examples of social media. The applications that followed, like twitter and instagram, were likely inspired by their predecessors, but improved the functionality of the interactive design through speedy distribution of information and shorter length of content. This development is still constantly being implemented to these platforms, the emergence of Tiktok being the most popular recent development.

[bainmegh]

Week 11 - Graphic Design

The citizen designer is someone who addresses societal issues or social causes through their work. This is someone who wants to expand their field of work beyond the regular client/designer interactions, and rather use their knowledge and skills to confront pressing issues in the world they live in. Examples of causes that many citizen designers focus on are climate change, consumerism, as well as human rights causes. The concept of the citizen designer comes from William Morris, the leader of the Arts and Crafts movement. Morris believed that design could benefit and influence social change, while demanding reform and action. Citizen designers often collaborate with people from the government, the industry, and private life to try and achieve their goals. They also have a negative view of others who classify themselves as apolitical, which previously was not uncommon since many once viewed politics in design as inappropriate. Many citizens designers use sustainable materials in their work and encourage others to do so. Sustainability to the common citizen designers includes natural, social, and economic methods that promote environmental and societal health. They try to educate their fellow designers (or even non-designers) about the many ways that different design methods and materials can be environmentally damaging. They develop strategies to minimize environmental harm and spread the word to everyone who will listen. Citizen designers can often be seen as engineers, activists, or administrators, but they still consider their practices to be design. They tend to use the broadest definition of the word “design” in order to promote inclusiveness, and to make sure that anyone can make contributions to societal issues. Bruce Mau states that “Massive change is not about the world of design; it is about the design of the world” (Graphic Design, A New History). Mau believes that anyone should be able to participate in societal change, and that certain designers aren’t the only ones allowed to be advocates for social causes. It is highly valued by citizen designers to keep themselves educated, so that they can continue to have awareness of history, technology, and contemporary culture, and how all of these things come into effect within society. 

[bainmegh]

Week 10

Before this semester, I never truly considered how much thought and processes went into the typography that we see everywhere in our world. I never realized how extensive the history of type was either. I only saw words on a page, or on a website, and my brain subconsciously assumed that it was just words. I find it interesting and fun that throughout the semester, while studying type, my eye for certain type decisions has become a lot stronger. I can look at what I’m typing right now and see that the font is a serif style type. I learned that there are sub genres to certain type styles as well. Under a san serif style type face, there are other typefaces like slab serifs and humanist type. I never considered before how these different stylistic choices truly influenced how a product was seen by a consumer. 

I also enjoyed learning about how people react to certain type faces. Like how people in the Bauhaus preferred a sans serif typeface because it was an indispensable type. It was also cool seeing how people designed type to reflect other concepts in the world, like how some san serif typefaces were meant to reflect the machine age and to be read proficiently by computers, or how a certain age of type was designed to reflect the proportions of the human body. 

[bainmegh]

Week 9

[bainmegh]

Week 8 - Industrial Design

I noticed that the Pringles logo is different. They simplified the icon in an effort to redefine Pringles’ visual features, but left the text the same. It is now more minimalistic. I’m not a huge fan of it, I liked him better with hair.

Since I’m home, I went to the store to buy some of these Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. A lot of candies change their packaging design when it draws close to holidays, and I’d say it works pretty well. I tend to get excited over these eggs as well as the Christmas trees (although the actual candy never looks quite right, which is probably a product of rapid production and lack of care).

A lot of cleaning brands use bright, neon colors for their products in an effort to catch customer’s eyes, but I feel that using bright yellows and obnoxious greens doesn’t give off the idea of “cleanliness” as well as some of the brands that use lighter tones that are easy on the eye. Using colors like the ones on the right sketch gives off an idea of fresh and clean environments while the bright yellow on the left kind of reminds me of germs and gross things. 

Popular culture is used in a wide range of products in stores that attract people of all ages. These Scooby-Doo fruit snacks are a popular items for many people. Customers are more likely to look in the direction of things that are familiar to them and things that they enjoy or that evoke emotion in them, making products like these a fan favorite.

[bainmegh]

Week 7 - Architecture

One of the key principles of universal design is tolerance for error. This principle is put in place so that designers of objects or buildings are able to minimize accidents or injuries from unintended use of their product. To accomplish this, the designer can place elements in a way that removes certain possibilities for how people could misuse them. They also tend to put warning labels on these products to warn users against accidents that the designer can’t prevent in creation. An example of this I’ve seen my whole life is on blinds and window shades. On almost every set of blinds you come across, there is a label that gives a choking hazard warning. The strings that control many blinds are long strings with small plastic pieces that can be misused, especially by children. To to prevent these situations, the warning label warns the user to keep the string out of reach from kids and warns the user against these dangers. Many designs for blinds today have new mechanisms that don’t require strings or small plastic pieces at all. The consumer is able to physically push the blinds up and pull them back down whenever they please, without any need for a string that can be dangerous to some. 

Another key principle is low physical effort. Designs that utilize this principle require low physical effort from the consumer, meaning they are efficient and comfortable to use. An example of this in my own space would be the use of technologies like Chromecast and Roku. Technologies like this allow the users to stream movies, TV shows, and other media to their TV, moving media from multiple locations all to one platform. They don’t need to get up to switch a DVD or try to connect their device to the TV in some other complicated way--through an HDMI chord for example, which is not too difficult for some but for others who struggle with technology it can be a hassle. The user can stay in one place for however long they please and change their selection of media with a couple taps on their phone, computer, or tablet. It also helps that applications like Netflix and Hulu will auto play episodes of the selected TV show for a certain period of time, saving the user even more energy (though it is a little amount) that would have been spent changing episodes every 30-45 minutes or more. 

[bainmegh]

Week 6 - Architecture

efMilwaukee Art Museum

The MAM utilizes a moving brise soleil, which is an architectural feature that deflects the sun and reduces the heat inside the building. This structure is designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, and is a visual that is directly associated to the MAM, as it is beautiful and unique to Milwaukee.

(image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/rVUABjB-3BI)

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block

These modern houses on Burnham Block are architectural designs by Frank Lloyd Wright. They are being preserved to share Frank’s vision for “efficient, affordable, and life-enhancing housing.” (Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block website, About Us)

Bradford Beach County Park

This building at Bradford Beach juxtaposes Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings with its rounded features.

[bainmegh]

Week 5 - History of Design

[bainmegh]

Week 4 - Found Object

While exploring my block, I came across this police call box. This is an item I’ve seen in passing before, but I’ve always just ignored it since I didn’t know how it functioned. While I was walking around searching for design objects, I decided that this would be an interesting item to look into further. I'm not sure if it functions anymore, upon examination I couldn’t figure out how it would operate. But it was at some point used to call for help in an emergency, one side calling the police and the other calling the fire department. There have been multiple iterations of how these call boxes have been designed over the years, this one resembling a style from 1924. 

The police call box has a rectangular shape, with many sharp corners. There’s a column style post holding it up, with square details on the interior. There are also some aspects of this box that are curved as well, adding balance to the sharp edges and corners. This metal structure is painted a bright blue, so it stands out on the street corner.  

Some items that look similar would be an old fashioned street light and a postal mailbox. The physical design of the police call box matches that of a street light styled this way. Meanwhile the blue color, height, and placement of the call box resembles this mailbox. All of these items were created and placed to help people who are out and about on the streets, but they all serve different functions.

[bainmegh]

Week 3 - History of Design

This Ikea photo frame hanging in my bedroom has a minimalistic aesthetic to it, as it is completely white and rectangular. It has a thin frame with a thick paper border on the inside to frame the photo within the frame itself. Its simple look gives the consumer creative control over where to place it, as it can match with most furniture. For example, in my room I have it placed near a white bookshelf and above a wooden dresser with white drawers. Its rectangular shape gives me more freedom to be able to place photos and paintings around it that frame it nicely. The aesthetic intended with this frame juxtaposes the criticized “more is more” aesthetic from the 19th century with its simplicity. 

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ribba-frame-white-90378427/

This bookshelf from Ikea has similar properties, though it is much larger than the photo frame. The bookshelf is not from the same collection that the photo frame is from, but that doesn’t stop these items from looking good together. The white surface combined with the rectangular shape and sharp edges makes these items look like they belong together. That is part of the appeal when it comes to minimalistic furniture. Even if the consumers aesthetic isn’t quite minimalistic, these items can be used in so many different ways. The plain style of the bookshelf also allows the buyer to use each shelf however they may want to. I personally utilize this space mostly for books, but I also have items that won’t fit anywhere else in my room that fit well here. There are also some items placed here that really don’t have a place anywhere in my room but I was too lazy to put away. 

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/billy-bookcase-white-50263838/

This deck of cards, while also minimalistic compared to other card decks, could not be mass produced and sold without the original inventions of movable type, the printing press, or the steam press in the mid 1700’s. The emergence of mass production in industrial revolution made objects cheaper and more available to the public. This specific deck of cards is a collectable item, so it may not be as cheap or widely produced as other decks of cards, but even with this information it is still produced enough to be able to be sold to many people for collection. Many modern collector’s items today would not be able to be, at least somewhat, mass produced without Johann Gutenberg, the development of type, and the Industrial Revolution. 

These cards are also offered in many different styles, which encourages buyers to collect them all. The top images are of cards that are gold and shiny, and some of the faces contain golden details that match the back color. These ones are pink with faces that contain both light blue and black text and suits.  

The box has a unique design as well, that mimics a crate. The brand of “Peelers” Playing Cards expands into other types of playing cards as well, for example “Squeezers” that feature images of grapefruits, and “Carvers” that feature watermelons. This shows a well-conceived marketplace, where the producers are able to continue makings brand that are tied together but still different enough for people to want to purchase them. I just went on their website myself and I think I’m about to make another purchase! 

https://www.riffleshuffle.com/collections/playing-cards/products/peelers-v3

This is a mug I received from the 3D art teacher at my high school. Although it was a gift, he still sold his work for both himself and to raise money for the art program. During the Industrial Revolution, when items were being mass produced and sold, artists began to notice a lack of craftsmanship. This was the beginning of the Arts and Crafts Movement. A man named William Morris started a company, Morris & Co, to sell homeowner goods. This mug reflects my art teacher’s work through its visible imperfections, just as Morris would reflect craftsmanship through hammer marks and exposed joints. This mug also sticks out from other mugs that are mass produced through its curvy form and dripped glaze, as manufactured mugs are often all shaped as perfect cylinders with a logo or image printed onto the side. I personally prefer the mug from my teacher, as I enjoy the abstracted look and visual craftsmanship marks. 

The opposite of that mug would be this lamp I purchased last year for my dorm room. The design of this lamp is very simple and it is built from cheap material. This is an item that is extremely mass produced and cheap for college kids to purchase for their college housing. It is also easy to take apart, as it can be compressed into multiple small pieces, making it convenient for transport to new locations. Although it is cheaply manufactured, I’ve grown to like it. It’s been very reliable and I prefer it to my ceiling light since it isn’t as harsh.

https://www.kmart.com/simple-designs-1-light-stick-torchiere-floor-lamp/p-02482538000P 

This is a TV stand I got from my brother. It has a utilitarian look to it, with the sleek vinyl design, the combination of round and sharp edges, and the balance of the stand itself. This is a good example of the definition of design, as this TV stand solves the problem of where to place things like DVD players or gaming stations, as well as the issue of hiding all of the messy wiring that comes with these electronics. The clear table as well as the base of the tv stand serve as perfect surfaces for electronics and the gaps in the neck of the stand are placed so the user can weave the cords through them and hide them behind the stand. The neck of the stand goes back about half a foot behind the TV, but nothing else is behind it to keep it standing. The structure itself looks like it should tip over any second, but everything that reaches forward from the TV creates a balance that stops that from happening. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ameriwood-Home-Galaxy-TV-Stand-with-Mount-for-TVs-up-to-50-Black/20564653

My Yeti Rambler is a good example of an idea that meets consumers wants and needs, as well as how design has become more incorporated into today’s everyday products. Water bottles like Yetis and Hydroflasks are advertised as bottles that are both durable and will maintain the temperature of the liquid placed in it for hours on end, and they follow through. They also both have sleek designs that are pleasing to the eye. They come in multiple colors, sizes, and styles based on what the buyer intends to use them for. The companies found new ways to design the water bottle, and this attracts customers from everywhere. These water bottles have increased in popularity, creating a competitive water bottle market. Other companies have started creating insulated water bottles as well, rather than cheap plastic ones. 

https://www.yeti.com/en_US/drinkware/rambler-36-oz-bottle-with-chug-cap/21071070029.html#pos=18

https://www.hydroflask.com/

[bainmegh]

Week 2 - Design Thinking

Before reading Design Thinking by Tim Brown, my understanding of design was simply that it is the act of creating something that solves a problem or serves a purpose to a population outside of the designer. Now my interpretation of the loose definition of design has widened. While my view on design hasn’t changed, I can now say that design is the product of observing what people want and need as well as being able to implement a solution in a way that can connect with them emotionally through aesthetics, functionality, and marketing. Design thinking has a spaced process of inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Teams that utilize this process will go through the first two steps multiple times as they refine their ideas and take their design in new directions.  

One product I use that I believe implements design thinking is my Yeti Rambler Bottle*. Although I am not one that spends a lot of time outdoors, I can appreciate my Yeti because it will keep my water cold all day no matter the environmental conditions. Looking at the bigger picture of Yeti, they advertise durable, long lasting, and “built for the wild” equipment like coolers, drinkware, bags, and gear. On their website, they talk about their experiences as kids with a passion for the outdoors**. They emphasize their frustration with coolers that would break down easily due to the cheap material they were made from. This was the inspiration step for their brand: To create outdoor gear that consumers wouldn’t have to replace every year. They used their own experience for the ideation phase of the design thinking process. They ended up coming up with a large quantity of different types of gear for camping that were reliable and convenient for people like them who spend lots of time outdoors and were waiting for reliable equipment to become available to them. When they were ready to implement their creations, they built their brand for those people. Their website features images of their products in an outdoor environment as well as with people participating in different outdoor activities. They have a clean but bold aesthetic and a slogan that will connect with their targeted consumers. They managed to create their brand in a way that shows their customers that they are genuine, reliable, and enthusiastic about building equipment just for them. I believe that the Yeti brand is what Tim Brown would describe as “the result of hard work” as well as the result of the “human-centered discovery process.”

I think the most significant concept from this week’s reading would be the focus on human-centered inspiration. There was heavy emphasis on understanding consumers lives and using that understanding to find innovative solutions to problems. This information is valuable to the process because with no people who need nor desire your product, there’s no market or space to sell it in. It’s important to understand what people want and how people function to be able to create products that serve them. Taking your own experiences is a great direction to follow as well, because most of the time there is a large population of people who have gone through the same experiences that you have.

*https://www.yeti.com/en_US/drinkware/rambler-36-oz-bottle-with-chug-cap/21071070029.html#pos=18

**https://stories.yeti.com/story/our-story

[bainmegh]

Week 1 - About Me

My name is Meghan and I identify with she/her pronouns. I’m a sophomore this year at UWM and this is my first semester going into the DVC program. I am taking this course to prepare myself for portfolio review at the end of the semester and to learn more about design in general. 

The only experience I have that relates back to design goes back to when I was part of the yearbook team in high school. I would create DPS layouts, take photos, and create graphics for the pages. I was the photography editor my junior year and then the video editor/photoshop editor my senior year. One small project I’ve worked recently was designing a book cover for a poetry book my friend is self-publishing. 

I find that I feel most inspired when I’m working on projects that I’m passionate about or when I feel proud of the work that I am doing. It can also be motivating to get occasional recognition for the work I am putting into my projects as well as compliments towards projects I’ve completed. Because of this I tend to share my work with my friends and get feedback from them to stay motivated for upcoming work. I’m also excited to get feedback on my work in multiple classes this semester and to meet more students in the PECK community. 

I haven’t been making many purchases lately because of both COVID-19 and a lack of spending money. I did recently buy a new case for my iPad, I found one that has a smooth and minimal design as well as a muted color that I won’t find irritating. Other cases looked heavier or were designed with harsh colors or accent pieces that I wasn’t fond of. The case I purchased connects to the iPad magnetically and has a flap on the side that will ensure that my Apple Pencil stays attached to the iPad. It does a great job protecting my iPad without weighing it down when I’m holding it, and it looks aesthetically pleasing in any space I place it in when not in use.