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p5 loop project 

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Sketch of my info graphic

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Data Sets Chosen

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/acs/pdf/child_welfare/ct/2016/2016SafeHarbourLocalLaw23Report.pdf 

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/state/new-york

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Personal Project

For my infographic, I decided to concentrate on human trafficking in New York City. I decided to do this infographic because this is a topic that is affecting millions of people worldwide, yet it is barely talked about. Human trafficking is a business that generates millions of dollars at the expense of the victim’s freedom. I decided to funnel the data and base it solely on New York City so that the reader can have a better understanding of the impact this black market business has on society, even though it is not talked about.

The data I am using is coming from the National Human Trafficking Hotline and NYC Open Data. Both of these organizations created their own data sets. NYC Open Data states that:

“Local Law 23 of 2013 requires an annual report to the Speaker of the City Council, documenting the number of youth in contact with DYCD and ACS “who are referred as, self-report as, or who the department (DYCD) or ACS later determines to be sexually exploited children, disaggregated by age, gender and whether the children had contact with either DYCD or ACS or both agencies”. The law also requires DYCD and ACS to provide a “description of the services provided by the department and ACS to meet the needs of youth who are or have been sexually exploited.” Lastly, the law requires DYCD and ACS to document their methods for collecting data regarding this Population.”

This means that their data is coming from reported cases from those who have sought help and asylum. Meanwhile, the National Human Trafficking Hotline states that:

“The statistics contained on this website are based on aggregated information learned through signals -- phone calls, emails, and online tip reports -- received by the Hotline. The data do not define the totality of human trafficking or of a trafficking network in any given area.”

A potential bias could come from NYC Open Data, this is a government-based data set. This data set contains information that could harm tourism, safety, and public opinion of New York City; hence, I believe that those in charge of this report will use euphemistic labeling to downplay the impact and dangers of human trafficking in their city.

There is a multitude of potential blind spots and reasons why this data can be skewed or inaccurate. The first big drawback to these data sets is that not all cases are reported. There is no way of knowing the exact amount of human trafficking instances because some go unreported due to many reasons: the victim may not feel safe disclosing the information or the victim is still suffering from the traumatic shock or, even possibly, the victim would not categorize the event as human trafficking.

This leads me to the second potential blind spot, what is the threshold people have to categorize an event as human trafficking. As stated before, there could be victims of this injustice that are unaware of it.

Although this data set is not perfect, I believe it has more than enough information to start a conversation to create awareness of this injustice.

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I got the data of the average selling price of one room apartments of different neighborhoods of NYC.

This information came from Real Estate Price - StreetEasy, Bloomberg, NYC Department of Finance.

I decided to do a money bag and inside have a dollar bill in different sizes proportionate to the price of the apartment. It seemed like a very easy way to visually see what neighborhood are more expensive than others without having to read much. 

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Conditional- changes background color

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Week 8 response

I believe that all of these articles have one underlying theme in common: deception. Design, although intended for the common good, has found its way to harm the user.

In the first article, we see how social media algorithms managed to become almost as an extension of a person. Initially, however, the user did not sign up for their account to be set up this way. Having an algorithm that keeps track of where you are and what you did in the previous year creates an unwanted service for the user. Each social media platform deceived the user in what they were getting, and although the algorithm was intended as a way to make their lives more efficient, in some cases it created a hardship.

Maps can also be used to deceive. Another historical example not mentioned in the text was a dispute between Texas and Mexico and where the border lies. Each sovereign had their own version of where the border is. This dispute created so much tension that ultimately ended in war. On a personal note, my friend chose her dorm based on floor plans, which could be considered as a type of map. Although it was unwise of her to not visit the unit first, she based her decision based on what the floorplans indicated and it showed that it was an apartment big enough for three people to live. Once they chose the dorm, when school started they realized that the dorm was substantially smaller than what they had anticipated. This is a perfect example of how designers can use scales to their advantage to deceive the customer to attain what they want.

Discriminatory design deceives the user on what reality is and how things are supposed to be. One example that comes to mind that was mentioned in the article was how women public bathrooms have a baby changing table, yet most bathrooms for men do not. This is an implicit insinuation that women are the ones that are supposed to be with their kids at all times and take care of them. Although it was not intentional, this design only reinforces the role that the mother is the primary caretaker. This type of discrimination is probably the most dangerous because if there is a design that is so mass produced, yet no one noticed that there is something wrong, that should be a clear indicator that there is something inherently wrong with society and there is a problem that should be addressed. I believe that the best way to combat discrimination is by approaching a design with a diverse team and have the target market of said design be part of the design process. I believe that this will clear any sort of discrimination from the beginning and avoid any additional problems.

I genuinely believe that Coca Coca has some of the best designers in the industry. Their marketing is so embedded in American culture, something that has only been done by a few companies. Their marketing tactics, whether it is a commercial, a cameo in a movie, billboards, etc, are all centered by the well-being and acceptance of the consumers. Whenever you see a   commercial you feel good and in your subconscious, you believe that if you drink a Coca-Cola, you will feel good. So eventually this will be the driving factor that will lead you to purchase a CocaCola. Also, their logo is red, red indicates hunger. Fast-food companies such as Wendy’s and McDonald's also use this color, as well as yellow. They also use yellow because our eyes see the color yellow first. So if we are driving down the road the color yellow will initially attract our attention and then the red will subconsciously tell us that we are hungry. 

A design is something that is critical to the markets. From a business standpoint, you cannot have a capitalist economy without design.

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Still image 

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Week 7 response

On page 3 of the article, the author states:

“they [surrealists] meant to reanimate this dormant intensity, to bring their minds once again into close contact with the matter that made up their world. André Breton’s maxim “Beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table” is an expression of the belief that merely placing objects in an unexpected context reinvigorates their mysterious qualities.”

I believe this to be true. In music, for example, DJ’s and artists experiment with a technique called “sampling”- it’s when you take a part of a song and remix it to make it your own. Then that remix you create will work as the base of your song where the artist will sing over it. Here, we see songs that are decades old come back to life. For example, the song ‘Otis’ by Jay Z and Kanye West sampled ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ by Otis Redding, J Cole sample Paula Abdul's ‘Straight Up’ to create his claim to fame song ‘Work Out’. These are only two out of the hundreds of songs that have sampled to create something new. In the quote above, when the author says “reanimate this dormant intensity” followed by when Brenton says “placing objects in an unexpected context reinvigorates their mysterious qualities” perfectly exemplifies this tendency of artist sampling older songs.

Sometimes artists do more than a sample, they will completely cover a song- meaning they will sing the same lyrics to the song with their own melody. The song ‘Stand by Me’ was originally by Ben E. King, however, John Lennon recreated this song and it is arguably more famous than the original. Would this be considered plagiarism? I do not think so. I believe that when artist cover and/or sample song its is a form of praise to the artist and the song. I believe songs must be sampled and covered to keep them alive and allow them to become ‘classics’. There is so much music in this world that comes out every day. Now more than ever people’s attention span for music does not last for over a month and then they move onto a new album. By sampling and covering music people have the opportunity to re-appreciate the original song and have a new perspective on it.

Innovation feeds off each other; if the world around us can not influence us, then our room to grow will be limited to our single mind, not the world around us. Jaden Smith once released a video using a flight of stairs as a metaphor for creating something new. He explained it as when you an artist creates something he/she moves up one step, then you take that and let it influence your art and then you move up step above the previous artist- this trend then continues and everybody keeps going up the ladder. I believe if we keep influencing each other we can continue to create fantastic work.

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Here the link to my collection of pens of all the pages on my website. 

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WEBSITES THAT INSPIRED ME

I decided to do a music website. The three websites I chose were:

Pitchfork- https://pitchfork.com/

Billboard-https://www.billboard.com/

Vibe Magazine-https://www.vibe.com/

These are all websites that I constantly keep up with and their layout makes it easy for music lovers to navigate through and find all of their music discoveries!

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Emotion & Design

For me, one of my favorite architectural designs is the Guggenheim Museum; for me, it just makes sense. This building was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, instead of making a regular model for a museum, he chose to create a spiral design. This spiral connects every layer/floor of the museum together. The advent of this design was perfect to be exhibited for a museum. The Guggenheim Museum was a hub for new art and idea, having their building exemplify this is a great way to show their commitment to the arts. This museum is one of the most renowned museums globally, it is a landmark for New York City- catering to millions of tourists worldwide.  

The way this museum works is that all visitor should start at the top and slowly loop their way down. This allows guests to pass by every artwork without getting lost or distracted. Although, there are several galleries that “derail” the visitor, it is easy to get back to the spiral and continue with your tour. I visited this museum alone and because of the design I was able to see the majority of the artworks. Museums such as the Met and the Louvre, although architectural masterpieces of their own, one downside to them is their layout. These museums are so huge that it is easy to get lost and miss out on a multitude of pieces you were expecting to see.

This design broke every boundary- there has never been a museum such as this one. The inauguration of the Guggenheim was a pivotal moment in the art world. However, all of the buzz created around this design makes me think: how and why did it take so long for someone to formulate this design? Lloyd-Wright optimized the user experience by making it easier and more interesting to roam around. For a medium-sized museum this seems like the perfect solutions to enhance the experience and highlight all of the artwork. Then I start questioning, why has no other museum has adopted this model?

In our past reading, Don Norman stated that “Good design means that beauty and usability are in balance.” I believe Mr. Norman would agree with me when I say that the Guggenheim is a prime example of this. Visually this museum is spectacular, especially during fall- being next to Central Park and seeing the curve of the museum surrounded by trees is quite a site to see. Then when you experience visiting the Guggenheim, you are very much pleased by the way the design allowed you to appreciate the arts.

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Understanding Media: Response

1. In his in-depth analysis of the importance of technological advances and how it correlates to media, McCluhan stated a number of points that resonated with me as true in “The Medium is the Message”. Towards the end of the reading one of his final thoughts was: “The power of technology to create its own world of demand is not independent of technology being first an extension of our own bodies and senses.” (Page 15) This statement is something I truly agree with, even though I never formulated this thought until I read this text. It is no coincidence that people are always striving to be the most advance and cutting edge, regardless of what field of study you are in. For example, nations want to have have the best weapons (just in case they go to war) and technological companies want to have the most cutting-edge gadgets to sell to the public and create high sales. This is truly because people want to optimize the way they express themselves. Ten years ago everyone was content with their Nokia cellphones; now, people cannot even imagine a world without a smartphone. This further proves McCluhan’s point: technological advances breeds demand.

2.

Rihanna has one of the most successful musical careers in history: she’s surpassed all kinds of records in the music industry. Her music speaks volumes to fans who are searching for a source of empowerment, strength, and sensuality; although mostly women, Rihanna’s music has had an effect on a whole generation. Rihanna’s lyrics have never been known for “beating around the bush”, she shows her fans that there is nothing wrong with saying, and demanding, exactly what you desire. Combine those lyrics with a provocative beat and a music video that amplifies your auditory and visual senses, and you will have a huge hit song playing everywhere. The perfect example of this would be her song “Kiss It Better” which came out in 2016 on her last album “ANTI”. This song gives power to those who still want to go back to their significant other after a broken relationship- Rihanna is not ashamed of embracing this feeling, regardless of what is culturally accepted, and wants her fans to feel the same. The video being shot in black and white perfectly translates to what she was singing. The video is so raw- it’s just her experiencing the heap of emotions that comes with difficult situations.

Recently, Rihanna has taken on new projects through different mediums to emit similar emotions. She recently launched a makeup line: Fenty Beauty, one of few makeup lines that fits and appreciates all skin tones. Men and women of all colors exude confidence when they feel they look their best, makeup is one outlet to use to cover one’s “flaws”. She then continued her mission of self-love for all of her fans by launching the Fenty lingerie line; another medium were women (mostly) can have an outlet to explore their sensuality. This lingerie line is catered to fitting bodies of all shapes and sizes, not only size-two models. Both of these lines have an inclusive marketing strategy- they carefully chose their models represent all different kinds of women. Their goal is to make every woman feel as beautiful as they deserve, even if their proportions do not fit the standard. Rihanna is going against what popular culture deems acceptable by showing off how beautiful women are, regardless of their size, when they emit confidence and feel good in their own skin.

I believe that these two mediums Rihanna has chosen to explore are perfect to reiterate her commitment to making people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and background feel empowered. I believe the Rihanna was very wise to continue to express her artistic vision through other mediums after she cemented her success as a musician. When she was creating music, it was almost as a “teacher-to-student” approach of creating a sense of self-love for the listener. After years of helping men and women appreciate and value themselves she then launched both of these lines to “put it to practice” almost. Now fans can voice what they have been hiding inside them.