Mind Map

This is my mind map of design. I did it on how you create designs. I started with designs by hand and designs by COmputer and then moved on from there. I had to use Microsoft Paint because neither of my computers at home or the library had Microsoft Vizio, if they did then I would have used that program to create my mind map instead of Paint.

Font

Font is a great design which can help grab attention or describe something. When somebody chooses the font for something, its so that object can grab the readers attention. A font is a typeface which has many different genres. Some fonts are simple, some are complex, some fancy, some casual. The movie Helvetica is a great example of how much font matters in advertising. The helvetica font is simple but also very "edgy" so people can read it and are still attracted to it. For advertising purposes, the company wants the font to stand out but they want it to be legable also. helvetica met all of these rquirements and has now become a very popular font. Font is very important because its the most important thing that catchs the viewers eye.

Color

The definition of Color is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue, and many others. Scientifically color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye. But in design color is what we see and how it effects us. Colors individually can bring certain emotions to someones body. Blue represents being sad while green represents being happy. Yellow is known for being mellow and red is equal to being angry. But when colors are mixed together in a form of design they bring out many emotions. When combining colors people feel all the mixed emotions together which tells people a full story. Without colr the world would be black, white and boring. I believe color is one of the most underrated aspects of life. I love the facts that we can see a huge range of colors which is never ending.

Architecture (Random One)

In architecture there are two different forms of design. You can either make hand drawn blueprints of the inside and outside of the building with dimensions sized down, or you can design the building using auto-cad on the computer and let the computer do most of the work. My dad is an architect and he prefers hand drawn plans. he sits at his desk, lays out the blue print paper and goes to work drawing and measuring the appropriate dimensions to match the house. He believes by hand drawing it, he can trust all of the dimensions and designs. But also auto-cad is another great way to design. you use the computer generated dimensions and put the pieces together to create the house. architecture is a very tricky form of design both with auto-cad and hand-drawn. You have to design the outside involving windows, doors, and everything. But on the inside architects also have to worry about the sizing of rooms so that wires (electricity) and pipes (plumbing) can all fit and flow properly. The main design of architecture involves making sure all the measurments and dimensions fit perfectly into a so called box (hosue.)

Music (Random One)

Music is one the greatest and only forms of art which doesn't use sight to show its design. There are so many different forms of music ranging from classical to country to rap. All these different genres of music are extremely diverse within their music and people associated. Music tells the listener a story about anything and can make the listener think about things in many different ways. Some artists sing about life being poor and trying to come up and become something, while other artists sing about either falling in love or having their heart broke. Music can be about anything in the world. A reason why I love music so much is because in many songs, you can put yourself into the artists story because you have had an experience exactly like his/hers. The listener can relate the song to them in their own lives which brings out peoples emotions. This is why music is one of the most creative designs.

Graffiti (Random One)

Graffiti is one of my favorite forms of art and design. Graffiti though is sometimes either considered a form of art, or property damage and a crime. Graffiti became big through the Hip-Hop culture and style. It can picture many different things through its design. Graffiti can either be used as a"tag" or as a picture of art meaning something more. A "tag" is a design in which someone places their personal design on something to let people know that they were there. On the top Right is an Example of somebody's "tag." Other forms of graffiti are designs in which people do for design. The designs could just be something they thought of and wanna do or somebody could pay them to paint something on their property. Graffiti is a very intriguing form of design which has many different aspects to it.

Animation (Random One)

Animation I believe is one of the craziest forms of design. This type of design has gone through so many changes through technology. It started off as a very basic concept but with the growth of technology it has grow too. Animation is advanced now that animated people look almost real. Animation has many different forms of designs shown through all the many different cartoons. There's more realistic animation in which the designers try to make the animated characters look as real as possible, and then there's animation in which you know its a cartoon but the design and details are all very complex. Animation is a great form of design involving the use of computers to create a cartoon with great detail.

Design Quote

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
-Henry David Thoreau

When I read this quote I immediately knew this was the one I wanted to put into my blog. When you "look" at a design in either a piece of art or anything, you would point out the physical features such as what shapes are in it or certain objects that are in it. But when you "see" a design, you are analyzing it and actually looking deeply into the design. You are trying to figure out what is going on within the design and what the artist or designer is trying to make you feel. By "seeing" the design, you are using your senses to feel many emotions. This is what the artist is trying to get the viewer to do. Henry David Thoreau was a great author and poet. He wrote many great novels such as Sir Walter Raleigh, The Landlord, The Service, and many others. Many of his last contributions were all from an environmentalist perspective and how he saw the beauty in nature. he was known for using natural observation and symbols in his works.

Typefaces

A typeface is a set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, designed with stylistic unity. They can be made up of letters, numbers, and other symbols. This is a sign for a New York subway entrance. The first font is a large normal font stating which subway your are entering. Then to help people out, the sign has numbers and letters in different colored circles showing what stops the subway makes. At the very bottom is random information that passengers need to know on this subway but in a smaller font. This is a typeface because of all the different symbols, letter fonts and number used to help people know which subway they are at. They do all of this in an aesthetic design.

My Design & Culture Blog List

http://www.thecoolhunter.net/

This Blog has many different categories on Design and Culture. A couple of these categories are "Design, Lifestyle, Architecture, Ads, Fashion, etc..." Their slogan is "Roaming the U.S & The Globe...So You're In The Know." The designers of this Blog are trying to display the latest designs of buildings, fashion and everything for people so that they can be updated in their lifestyles. They display many articles and pictures on their blog showing new designs made and being made. These designs are either concepts or never seen and make people see how something can be made in a different way. The mission of this blog is to keep people updated on the latest trends and designs.

http://hypebeast.com/

This blog is very like the other one poster above. Hypebeast uses many other blogs to create a great online blog about fashion and culture. The main uses of this blog is for new designs in fashion and culture. They keep the latest fashions and fashion designs and display them for you before they go out to stores. All the culture trends posted on this blog are of new designs. Also on this website are music videos in hich you see all the different designs of the artists fashion and backgrounds/special effects used to try and appeal to a certain social group. I use this site to see the newest designs in fashion trends and see if I like the new designs.

Propaganda

I found this propaganda poster very amusing. So that people would start car-pooling and help save gas, the government tried to put fear into these people. During World War 2, everybody in America hated and feared Hitler. Knowing this and the need to save gas, the government created this war poster. The slogan is very straight forward and abrupt. They are trying to make people who drive alone feel bad and feel like they are against America. By joining a car club America would save gas for the military. During World War 2 everybody was scared and filled with fear. So by threatening people and putting fear into them, the people would most likely start Car-pooling and help America.

Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

http://www.ludosabato.com/mau/

From each of the four categories I will choose one point posted by Bruce Mau which I believe will help me in my future.

CREATIVITY:

• Make Mistakes Faster - "This isn't my idea -- I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove." When i read this i instantly agreed. I always have believed in the concept of from every mistake you make you learn something new. This point is very useful because he is right. The faster we make mistakes, the faster we can learn from them. by learning from these mistakes we can gain more knowledge and become a better person. This could help me in my future with design or creating a new project because from making mistakes on other projects early, I can learn from them and I will be able to improve on every project after. With these mistakes coming quicker I learn faster and I become more knowledgable quicker.

IDEOLOGY:

• Don't Be Cool - "Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort." I loved this point made by Bruce Mau also. He is trying to say that by trying to be "Cool," you are not being yourself and just trying to fit in with the crowd. The conservative fear is your fear of hoping you can fit in and not acting like yourself so that you can fit in. If you act like yourself you can be more helpful to all then just being like everybody else. This would help me with my projects in the future because I wouldnt just follow the crowd with how did my projects or designs. I would be more creative with my designs and go outside of the ordinary. This could help me become more creative and help me stand out from everybody else.

WORK ETHIC:

• Take Field Trips - "The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphicimulated environment." This quote is telling people to get off their butts and go outside and explore. Just like in elementrey school, kids would go on field trips so that they could gain more knowledge. By staying indoors and just letting your brain rot, you learn nothing useful and prevent your brain from gaining more knowledge. You also are just holding back your own creativity. Thsi would help on future projects and designs because now I will most likely spend more time outside going on adventures with my friends.

COLLABORATION:

• Laugh- "People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves." By laughing, you are happy and more comfortable with yourself and your surroundngs. By laughing you are having fun. By having fun your creativity could be able to grow. When you are laughing you are expressing what you enjoy in life. This could help me with my future designs and projects because if I am laughing and having a good time then I would be able to enjoy my work. By enjying my work, I would have more creativity and be able to excel better on these designs and projects.
  

Visual Metaphor

A common metaphor seen in everyday design is a light bulb representing an idea. This picture takes the common metaphor a step farther. In this design the man has a light blub as his head with the wire on the inside spelling out "idea." Obviously the suit shows us that the man in the picture is a business man. This is a visual metaphor of a business man having an idea. Most likely for either himself or his company. This design is a more creative version of the common metaphor of a person with a light bulb over their head when they have an idea. The business man dressed in his business attire had an idea, and the metaphor we see is his head becoming a light bulb showing that he had an idea.

www.hillmancurtis.com

http://www.hillmancurtis.com/index.php?/film/watch/obamaminute

The video I watched was created for the Obama campaign. They shot four 20 second clips for obamaminute.com. These clips were silent so that the viewer could create their own opinion and feel their true feelings on this subject. The artists philosophy on design is to let his viewers gain their own opinions on his subject matter. Each seperate clip showed a different person going through a different part of their life but all sharing the same goal of electing Obama. All these clips show people living their normal lives but standing together for a higher purpose. Hillman Curtis's use of the silent clips helps him use his style of design so that the viewer can truly feel their emotions.

Design. Culture. Language

Design:

Design means a work of art (Painting, Picture, Sculpture, etc...) which gives the subject a certain understanding. When driving past Quick N' Loans Arena on the gateway District in the Small Midwest City of Cleveland Ohio. You will notice the large Nike billboard which pictures Lebron James doing his signature Chalk Toss with the saying "We Are All Witnesses." This was put up for marketing purposes by Nike, but to Cleveland it means much more. Even though this seems like a simple Design, there was actually much thought put into this design. The design was made to show who Lebron is. The picture is of Lebron's chalk toss. The chalk toss is Lebron's well known pregame ritual. Just by seeing the stance of the person in this picture, any basketball fan would be able to tell that it is Lebron pictures. A person can understand this design right when they see it and it helps give Cleveland more of an asthetic appeal.

Culture:

Culture is an integrated pattern of human behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning. Lebron has changed the city of Cleveland since he arrived in 2003. Cleveland has always been a major sports city, but the Cavaliers were always third to the Cleveland Browns (football team) and the Cleveland Indians (Baseball team.) But now Cleveland's entire culture is based off of Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. You can't walk around anywhere in the city of Cleveland without seeing someone wearing either a Lebron James jersey or a Cavaliers shirt. The Cavaliers are Cleveland's economy, without them, Cleveland's economy would be even worse than it is already. During basketball season, all anybody in Cleveland cares about is the Cavaliers. Everybody tunes in for every game and the next day all people are talking about is the Cavaliers. People's behaviors on certain nights all depend on the Cavalier's games. If they win, then everybody is happy and goes and celebrates. But if they lose, then everybody is sad and down throughout the night. Cleveland's cuture is based off of the Cavaliers and Lebron James.

Language:

Language is a system for encoding information. The only information on this billboard is "We Are All Witnesses." These simple words describe Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron is one of the greatest basektball players in the world. Everytime he steps onto the court he does something incredable. "Witness" is the main word in this statement. A witness is someone who has had first hand knowledge in an experiance. The fans in the stadium and watching the game on tv see how great he is on the court. The language on this billboard describes what everybody sees when watching Lebron play. They witness greatness.