hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 2: Packaging Photos

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 2: Packaging

Research:

First step to designing the packaging design is to get some background information on seed packages. Some things I searched for were biodegradable options, unique seed packages, and what exactly goes on a seed package. Here are some example I found to get some ideas from.

Thumbnails

Some concepts I wanted to try were a unique package design that has a simple design pattern that would look well in all colors. I developed many different package layouts that were either biodegradable, unique, and simple.

After narrowing down to the top three ideas, in the end I chose to design the cone shaped seed packages. It is a shape that will catch people’s eye and can be very traditional and simple.

Roughs

Not too long after starting these roughs, I decided to scratch the idea and pick a new package design. This design would be very inconvenient, and I want something simple and sophisticated to go with the brand story, so I made the decision to go with something similar to this design:

Roughs

Here I laid out some simple designs from the logo on the sides of the bag. This simple design adds an elegant style to the packaging to make customers feel like they are buying a product of the finest quality.

Final

The simple yet elegant designs on the sides and the faded logo on the back tie the package design together. The colors palate would very depending on what kind of seed, but the colors would be a soft darker tint of the color wheel.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 1: Final Outcome

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 1: Roughs

6. Roughs

I went through a lot of revisions in this stage trying to refine the exact look I was going for, modern yet sophisticated. I had to simplify my thumbnails a lot and made sure the seed read as a seed. I wanted a trustworthy logo that makes the audience feel welcomed and know that we are a loyal company they can count on.

Roughs Round 1:

These were very rough drafts, but I was not pleased. I was trying to put so much detail in the logo, I decided to try just incorporating one seed in the sheild.

Roughs Round 2

The circled logo was my favorite and the most pleasing logo, so I went forward with that design and did more revisions.

Roughs Round 3

The logo on the very bottom right is the one that I chose to go with. It was simple, elegant, modern, and exactly the kind of image that fits the LegaSeed brand story. Next was testing fonts and colors..

Roughs Round 4 

I decided the logo on the top left was the exact color that I wanted and fit with the LegaSeed brand as well. It is a soft green that is sophisticated and trusting. 

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 1: Thumbnails

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project_1:Brand_Story

4. Brand Story

 Something that I learned from the branding lecture in class was, “Your target customers are those who are most likely to buy from you. Resist the temptation to be too general in the hopes of getting a larger slice of the market. That’s like firing 10 bullets in random directions instead of aiming just one dead center of the mark–expensive and dangerous.” (ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE) With that said,  ere at LegaSeeds we pride ourselves on our affordable quality heirloom seeds passed down for generations. Our seeds are Non-GMO and produce flavorful and luscious produce for an affordable price. We have starter kits for beginners who are just learning about gardening. Our kits come with three seed packets of your choice, fruit, vegetable, or herb, starting soiling for the seeds to sprout, and all the information a person needs to know, from optimal growing times to watering schedules. There are subscriptions options which will send you one seed packet of your choice each month, and is a great gift idea for those green thumbs you know. LegaSeeds is bringing a modern twist to the sophisticated culture of heirloom seeds.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 1: Naming Process

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 1: USP

2. My USP for my client

With the information gathered on heirloom seeds, I decided that my company will sell high quality, open pollinated, non GMO seeds at a fair price. I also wanted a wider market that allows beginner gardeners to start their hobby or if teachers or parents wanted a project for the kids to learn about heirloom seeds, they have all the information to do so. 

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Project 1

Project 1 in Concept Strategies was to create a brand for a company either selling heirloom seeds or any kind of food brand. I chose to do a heirloom seed company that sold quality seeds at a fair price. Here is the process:

1. Research

My research included finding out what a heirloom seed company was, what made them so special, and what competition do I have. I found out that heirloom seeds are seeds of plants that have been passed down from generation to generation, non GMO, open pollinated, more nutritious then regular old seeds, and have an important role in preserving the genetic diversity of plants. The kind of people that buy these seeds are seasoned gardeners, and farmers who want the best quality plant for their business.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

The capital letter L in serif fonts have a serif at the top of the letter, comes down to a joint and then ends with an arm. The body of a giraffe fit well with the flow of the letter L because the ears are used as the serifs on the top, and the body is formed with the joint and arm of the L.  The capital letter A san serif font has two strokes and a bar connecting those two stroked. The bar of the A is used as a handle for a caution floor sign and the body of the sign is used for the strokes of the “A”.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

In this composition I chose the sloth, rhinosaurus, platypus, and hummingbird to be depicted in pictogram form. Using a variation of styles such as graffiti, watercolor, hieroglyphic, and geometric, the final outcome is a black and white geometric rendering of the chosen animals. With the use of triangles and the silhouettes of the animals, the final rendering is a combination of geometric and minimalistic styling.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

For the Vernacular Type project I chose to do a wooden sign collage to emphasize the homeliness feeling downtown Bastrop has. Using the color pallet yellow brown and black, threshold, and the multiply blending mode, the final product is my rendition of Main St. Bastrop, TX wooden signs.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

The metaphor being conveyed in this composition is how beauty fades and will melt away, so we should not spend so much time with the materialistic things in life. The two opposing forces are the candle and the lipstick, representing an internal external opposing forces. The candle was replaced with the lipstick and was then surrounded by wilted flowers to represent the hierarchical importance of the lipstick as the candle, and to show how something that once was so smooth, soft, and beautiful will eventually end up withered and wrinkled in time. The black curtain was chosen for the background to contrast the colors of the flowers, the red wax, the burning wick, and the smoke. The negative space around the staged props was carefully arranged to make sure the focus would be on the lipstick. The lighting chosen to spotlight the lipstick physically and metaphorically as the spotlight society puts on external beauty. People spend a lot of time masking their external appearances that they often forget what is most important, the internal self, the flame inside. Instead of using a lit candle flame, a fizzled out wick with smoke coming from it was used to better represent how external beauty will eventually fizzle and fade away.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

The Importance of Preparation in Creative Thinking

Angelina Lodes

12.10.18              

Imaging 1, Caleb Horn

Design Writing no.2

               Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems from a different and unique perspective to develop innovative ideas. Creative thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is the process of solving problems from an indirect and creative approach, and usually involves using nontraditional steps to solving a problem. There are four steps to the creative thinking process and out of those four I believe the most important one is preparation.

               First, no good idea comes from just one brainstorming session. Great ideas come from multiple resources including your own mind, nature, other people’s thoughts and input, and observing the world around you. Noticing things that may have gone undetected in the past or looking at the problem from different perspectives help give the designer a more rounded collection of data to use. You don’t even have to start with an idea in the preparation phase, all you need is something to write down thoughts and information and you can start by going on a walk or checking out a new store. Even the grocery store can be an excellent place to do your creative thinking while grocery shopping. Start looking at the places you go to daily in new perspectives and the ideas will just start flowing. It doesn’t take a million places, only a million ideas.

               Secondly, gathering information is just the beginning of the preparation stage. After all that can be possibly gathered from the resources around you, then comes the organizing phase. You read, sort, organize, and outline it all to help you in the next stage, incubation. The Peak Performing Arts Center had an interesting article on the creative process and emphasized that “you cannot just hope for inspiration to strike, you have to plan and prepare for creativity.” Preparation is the key for success for anything you do. Whether you are cooking, cleaning, or creating, you need to prepare for every one of those situations

               Lastly, before coming to the incubation stage, a designer must make sure they have exhausted all their preparation resources, then start building ideas. While gathering information you may come across an unusual finding that may make for a good design product. It is important to note all thoughts while gathering information, so you can go back and expand them even further. What you thought was a silly idea could turn out to be the best idea you have, it’s all about changing your perspective.

               In conclusion, all the steps of creative thinking are important, but preparation is what sets you up for success or failure in any circumstance. Gather as much information as possible and become acquainted with what it is you are trying to solve. Without preparation, creative thinking will not be successful.

Citation: “Creative Thinking Process.” The Peak Performance Center, thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/thinking/types-of-thinking-2/creative-thinking-process/.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

The Importance of User Feedback in Human Centered Design

Angelina Lodes

12.10.18

Imaging 1, Caleb Horn

Design Writing no.1

 Human Centered Design

And

The Importance of User Feedback

                 Human centered design is a concept based on user experience and human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. Instead of making a product solely based on analyzing data and surveys, human centered design uses the user’s feedback of the product to find solutions for problems they may have not thought of when designing the product. This design concept is an approach to interactive systems development and is based on participatory action research that goes beyond documenting problems, but, instead, produces solutions. This way of thinking is one of the most important parts about being a designer and will make any product a successful product.

               First, the process of human centered design is like the overall design process, however in between prototyping and iteration, there is the most important step of all, user feedback. Without this step the designer would not know if their solution is on point or if it needs to evolve or not. In “IDEO’s human centered design process: How to make things people love,” the author explains that observing user behavior and putting yourself in the situation of the end-user are the key to figuring out what people really want. People get so wrapped up in the design aspect of the product, they forget about the importance of how the user feels while using the product. The product could be one of the most high-tech developments of its age, but if its not user friendly, then there cannot be success.

               Secondly, information gained from user feed back is fuel for their designs. David Kelley, an IDEO designer, once said “If you want to improve a piece of software all you have to do is watch people using it and see when they grimace, and then you can fix that.” Sometimes the best ideas are staring us right in the face, but we cannot see them because we are not looking at it from the user’s point of view. If the users are the focus of feed back and design, then the result is a product tailored to suit the needs of the people.

               Lastly, user feedback leads to bigger and better ideas. An example used in “IDEO’s human centered design process: How to make things people love,” was a project for improving hospital patient’s experiences. IDEO had one of their team members put themselves in the position of the patient. When they presented their findings, they started with a six-minute video clip of the ceiling. When asked the purpose of showing the video, the team explained that when you are a patient in the hospital you spend all day laying in a bed, staring at the ceiling. This does not make a person relaxed, but instead is a really bad experience for patients. This was a huge revelation and the team immediately acted on the idea that improving patient experience could be as simple as improving the small things that make a big impact. They implemented four easy solutions to this problem which included decorating the ceilings to be more aesthetically pleasing, installed white boards for people to leave messages, changed the colors of the rooms from the hallway, and installed rear view mirrors on wheelchairs and gurneys, so the patient can see who they are having a conversation with. This simple solution was staring them right in the face, but they only realized it when they were submerged in the patient’s point of view.

               In conclusion, user feed back is one of the most important steps in human centered design and is the key to forming successful ideas and products. Putting yourself in the situation of the user and using that to form solutions can turn a good idea into an amazing idea. It only took a person six minutes to realize what needed to be done when they were in the point of view of the patient. Taking the time to understand what the user needs and basing the deign on those needs is what makes a product successful.

 Citation: “IDEO's Human Centered Design Process.” UserTesting Blog, 5 Dec. 2018, www.usertesting.com/blog/how-ideo-uses-customer-insights-to-design-innovative-products-users-love/.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Manuel Herz’s Ballet Mechanique Housing

In a residential part of central Zurich, architect Manuel Herz has designed a house with a striking façade comprising operable horizontal and vertical louvers. the building, which contains five residences, is located in close proximity to Le Corbusier’s ‘Heidi Weber Museum’ and references the institution’s colorful metal panels and striking geometry. the design also takes cues from its bucolic setting, which is filled with a surprising array of plants, installations, and objects. The scheme comprises horizontal and vertical louvers with a rounded triangular shape, which unfold to become accessible balconies with corresponding roofs. The vertical louvers darken the rooms when closed, or provide privacy and intimacy when open. the adaptable nature of the design means that a series of temporary spaces can be created and used depending on the time of day or season.

[hitchhikeroftheuniverse-blog1]

Design wants to be about everything

Designers have a tendency to want to expand the scope of their project briefs. Why is that? Is it arrogance (“we’re the expert problem solves, let us handle this”) or could it be something in the nature of design?

In an article titled The Problem of Design Problems one of my professors, Kees Dorst, describes three properties of design problems that explain why they can be difficult to get a handle on.

First, that they are underdetermined, meaning that a lot of the criteria to determine how succesful you’ve been depend on the type op solution you choose. Only through coming up with designs, and working out their implications, can you determine what it is you’re trying to do.

Second, design problems are also for an important part undetermined; in lots of ways, designers are free to work according to their own preferences and abilities. Sometimes it just doesn’t matter much what type of solution you go for, as long as you pick one. In these areas, designers can pretty much go ahead and do whatever the hell they want.

Although third, you can’t really do whatever you want. Some restrictions and criteria are indeed very much determined, independently of what path you take within a project. When you’re designing something for a commercial client, for instance, it probably needs to make some money for them. And it’s generally taken to be a good idea for whatever it is that you’re designing not to kill its users. These are solid, objective requirements.

But even when your design problem turns out to be relatively structured and determined, with lots of nice clear, undisputed criteria to fulfill, there still isn’t a deductive path from problem to solution. You’ll have to be creative and think something up.

And there, I would add another difficulty with design problems: inflation.

Because any solution you think of to solve a problem in design, apart from the former not following logically from the latter, is likely to have a host of other properties and effects, in addition to solving your problem. Environmental effects are a classic example, of course, but they also show up in the form of unintended uses and unexpected affordances. Designs meant to achieve one goal turn out to be useful for other things. Good designers notice these unexpected properties and effects and turn them into features. But there you go: that means that good design is liable to answer more questions than the original one, and this extra functionality might be quite a departure from the initial brief.

Furthermore, the indeterminacy of design problems means that a design proposal may impose unexpected limits and requirements on its users or environment – on its context. This is a second source of inflation, as designers might be tempted to try and take control of the environment, or that aspect of the user they’ve inadvertently created a requirement for, and adjust the scope of their design to include it.

Ask a designer to fix the doorknob, in other words, and they’re liable to redesign the door, the room, and the entire house along with it.