luna

Adidas Adicolor invited film makers to create films about color in a campaign for their shoe line. They show a diverse interpretation of each color.

I especially like the one for BLUE (maybe because of the catchy tune) …this is so not the Blue that you thought you knew!

Make your own StickerBook, sounds like fun! Check out Moo!

Epuron

Clever and funny personification of wind.

Who knew that going to school for graphic design was going to be so emotional?!
Well, thanks to Anne and Tania, we are learning very quickly.
In the process of trying to gather my thoughts on betrayal for our writing assignment, I decided I would go back through my journals and see if I could find an entry for the incident that I want to write about. This of course lead me down a very strange path. I did eventually find a brief entry and a whole lot of other stuff too…

That feeling, what is it?
It is a peaceful feeling- nostalgic and sad
as if releasing or confronting
something from the past
It brings tears
It is the pain sheltered
in the depths of the soul
that rises to the surface
in a moment of weakness
and breathes deeply the fresh air
It claims no specific origin
nor does it have a clear message
It merely wishes to be felt
That’s all,
just to feel it awaken, glide effortlessly
through it’s course and then
dissipate slowly.

Spider

I recently got bit by a spider and had an allergic reaction, but it doesn’t compare to this…WOW!

I thought I would pass this article along as a tribute to Mason and his class...A Brave New World for TV? Virtually

Eddie Ueahara - Dance to Express, not to impress

Quotes and different rants
Seth Godin talks about the fact that Amazon spent millions of dollars on an innovation that allows the user to search their books for content. The reason, because “funtionality is the new marketing”. They are so successful because they are catering to and providing a service that is customized for the user. They are interacting with people. “Interactions are a million times more powerful than interruptions.” I think that time is very valuable and we want and are starting to demand that our experiences be as efficient and talored to our specific needs as possible.

When discussing Flickr, Godin says that, “By making it easy for people to use pictures, you allow a massively parallel publishing operation to take place, spreading the word in ways you could never execute on your own”. I think that this is only enhancing our ability to have mass communication and it is something that people can really enjoy and have fun with. I think that the idea that the Beastie Boys had of giving out fifty video cameras to fans and having them video tape the same concert and then editing the footage into one film is great. It’s communication, interpretation, entertainment, and creativity.

“As we enter the broadband world, with better browsers and all sorts of tools to improve the Web experience, is everyone going to be stuck emulating what succeeded in 1999?” I think that we may get stuck in a repeat mode because of a reliance on what functions best and is most effective, but there will still be a need to stand out and deferentiate from everything else and this may come in the form of making the experience constantly improve for the user.

Networking and knowing people can greatly accelerate your road to success; we see it all the time. But you may think that “It just doesn’t seem fair or right that all too often access is determined based in relationships or past glories, not some other measure of quality.” Well, I think that Seth points out that you don’t necessarily need this or to use it as an excuse for your lack of success. “In a world where things are viral, you’re more likely to succeed with passive networking (strangers recommending you) than the old-school, active kind. In other words, make great stuff, do your homework, build your audience, and when you’ve got something worth talking, people will talk about it.” I think that we are communicating with each other more and more and we’re able to share and spread other people’s ideas.

I think that one thing to take away from all of Seth’s insights is a need and a wilingness to constantly adapt and embrace change. The rules keep changing and the same standards don’t maintain themselves. “Today’s Purple Cow is tomorrow’s mad cow.” Point being that there is a lot of competition and it is hard to stay remarkable. “It won’t just happen for you. Learn to evolve or watch it go away.”

One of Sylvia’s recommendations to us first quarter was to do new things, to seek new experiences, and to try to approach things differently. As designers and as individuals, I think that this is important for personal growth. By practicing this behavior we open ourselves up to new perspectives which offer new insights and solutions. If we were to do the same things, in the same way, over and over, we would never learn anything new. It can be used as a tool to invent a new Purple Cow. “Figure out what the always is. Then do something else.” “Figure out what the always is, then do exactly the opposite. Do the never.”

I think that change in general usually makes most people uncomfortable because it provides an unknown. So, maybe we can change the way we view it so that it is less intimidating to us, and we can give it a cool name, like “zooming”. “Instead of spending time thinking about change, let’s all sign up for zooming lessons.” This lesson is invaluable to us in this day and age in order to keep up with everything going on and developing so quickly around us. “Zooming is about stretching your limits without threatening your foundation. It’s about handling new ideas, new opportunities, and new challenges without triggering the change avoidance reflex.”

I think that considering brand success and failure is interesting. What makes one more successful than the other and why. Why do we make the choices that we do? Why is Mac the cool, creative kid and PC the dork who can’t keep up? Why does the car we drive become so important and so much a representation of who we are or a reflection of our personality? When addressing these thoughts, Seth points out that when marketers can create a self-esteem value with the brand, that is what makes it a success. “A true brand is something where the self-esteem value far exceeds the utility”.

What is free pizza?
Free pizza is the prize that we receive. It can be an unexpected or unnecessary side benefit. It is something that enhances the experience and makes it that much better for us. The thing that makes something remarkable isn’t usually directly related to the original purpose of the product or service.” It’s the FREE PRIZE INSIDE, the extra stuff, the stylish bonus, the design or the remarkable service or pricing that makes people talk about it and spread the word.” The ice and water function on the outside of a refrigerator door is Free Pizza enough, but you get a second helping when you notice that you can also illuminate it for night-time use.

Why is it important to be a purple cow?
It is important to be a purple cow because it is what sets you apart from the main stream, it makes you stand out, it makes you remarkable. In a world of sensory overload we need to constantly find new ways to get people’s attention. And even when something works initially if it doesn’t eventually change than ceases to remain effective or remarkable.

What are the major differences between print and interactive?
A major difference between print and interactive is that interactive creates a conversation and print can be seen as talking. Interactive illicits a response. Interactive is more dynamic and in it’s nature is able to change and morph into different things, where as print is always going to provide the same experience at least in itself if not in the interpretation. Interactive puts the user in control of how the story gets told and the experience is left up to them to determine. Interactive is a customization of what it is that the user needs or wants, it is geared more to catering to specific individual needs. Interactive can be seen to provide a richer experience because of the ability to encorporate sound and movement. Print can be just as beautiful or as well done, but it lacks these engaging tools that more directly reflect the world we live in and how we experience it.

List videos you feel students next quarter should watch.
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/sc/theowl.mov
http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2006/11/112706.html
http://www.hillmancurtis.com/hc_web/film_video.shtml
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_sEDyFVIg6Y&mode=related&search=

A list of articles and sites to pass on…
I think that it can be a little overwhelming at times because there is so much imformation available to us. The positive side of this is that we can satisfy our cravings very easily. Whatever it is we are thinking about or want to see can usually be accessed. Here is a list of some stuff that I have been exposed to recently. I really enjoy Debbie Millman’s blog, I think it has a great wealth of imformation and links.
http://debbiemillman.blogspot.com/
http://www.strudel.org.uk/blog/astro/index.shtml
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
http://www.inhabitat.com/
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate//index.html
http://reddit.com/
http://digg.com/design
http://www.wired.com/
http://designsponge.blogspot.com/
http://www.noristudios.com/sketchbook/sketchbook
http://www.howdesign.com/links/index.asp

What is your perspective on digital publishing?
My perspective on digital publishing is that it is a great resource in the way of communicating, networking, and self-promoting.
I was definitely a little resistant at first because I am usually more of a reserved type of person and to be honest, I find some of it a little intimidating. I realize that it is just a matter of becoming part of a bigger picture and using it to your advantage.
With blogs and with Flickr you have self-expressions, ideas, and questions that are basically just thrown out there to the masses to see if anyone will bite. As we reach out and try to communicate with more people, the world becomes smaller and smaller, but also more interesting.

Themes for photo streams.
I like the self-portraits because they help you get to know people. I also think it could be fun to pick a quote or maybe even one word and have people respond with digital images. I like the idea of taking pictures of things that are obviously outside or their normal surrounding. Pictures of self-made or existing sculptures. Or maybe even have the class decide as a group what the themes should be.

Ideas for next quarter.
I think the collage book would be really cool. I like the idea of a collaboration of thoughts and perspectives. I think organizing another show like the one at Octane or having the students make a video for the data blitz could also be fun.

The major tags for a web page.
html
head
title
style
body

The value of CSS.
CSS are the cascading style sheets that can be used to change the attributes of the major components. The value of CSS is that you can go in and easily make stylistic changes while maintaining the core structure.

Questions for next quarter?
Why is all of this important, what impact does it have on us? How does it affect us- how does it change the way we live and perceive the world? What are the positive and the negative consequences? What are the best ways to use it to our advantage?

Link to Flickr