Response to playing the add-value card November 30, 2009

Response to

Washington State has to play the add-value card, not low-cost-leader ace

by John Talton

I think this might be the most interesting and directly impacting topic we have discussed in class so far. Boeing a local Seattle legend company sending a major portion of work revenue out of it’s home state…seems improbable. Yet in our current economy, it is all about the buck. Who makes the buck, who pays the buck, and who reaps the rewards of the almighty buck. The disparity in pay between Washington employees (at $26.00) and South Carolina (at $15.00) means that Boeing will reap immense benefits from the sale and production of it’s million dollar planes. Why is there such a difference between wages? Washington’s medium wage was $17.92 during 2008 and was $13.85 in South Carolina. That is only a $4.00 difference between states, but there is an $11.00 difference according to Boeing.

It seems to me that just because we are in a recession, Boeing is taking advantage of utilizing such cheap labor. With Seattle losing a large number of jobs, what will this mean for own regional economy?  There will be a loss of tax revenue affecting many levels of our local industries and trade. With all we will be losing, what can be done to fix problems that have surfaced in other post “boom” areas? Developing local talent and educating workers…why not also implement more work immersion or internship programs? This could also help improve the quality of K-12 education and higher levels too. Research projects should be localized, and local focussed for results.  Lure top talent here, the creative people are also likely trendsetterrs who will bring in more talent to the area.

Recessions come and go, we as Americans have weathered the high and low times. Carry on my way word soldier carry on…There’ll peace when you get home… We survived the 1970′s, we can survive this recession as long as we focus on the people and not the profits.

Response on Hybrid Thinking in Design November 9, 2009

In our current economy and point in history, it seems almost essential to apply hybrid thinking in our individual creative outlets. As evidenced in the article, “

Forget Design Thinking and Try Hybrid Thinking

by Dev Patnailk

It is not always essential to be a designer, in order to achieve, impliment, and enhnce creative thinking. Proctor & Gamble’s Claudia Kotcha achieved success in hybrid thinking for the company and increasing their sales to double in the span of only 6 years. How a former accountant, promoted to VP achieve such success? She examined the problem as it stood, then viewed the current “solutions” the company was using. Seeing the gap between the problem and the success, she was able to view the problem not just as a VP, but also as an average employee. With multiple viewpoints she was able to see multiple solution in her hybrid thinking.

You can also tune Monday through Friday @ 11:00 PST to the excellent Food Network program “Good Eats” with Alton Brown. He was an early and successful innovator of hybrid thinking, in mixing food science with culinary instruction. I love this show, but never knew how inventive it actually was when I first viewed it around 2003,2004.

Both these designer exell in displaying a new trend in business, that can also be applied to daily life. Hybrid Thinking, or ” how can I solve this one problem, from multiple viewpoints?” I always hated story problems in math class, but hybrid thinking is almost like a story problem in the design world… that I can solve!

Book Review: Logos 01 November 4, 2009

Logos 01: a book review

Published in 2007 by Rockport Publishers, this book is an excellent introduction the art and implementation of the logo design.  In our every day lives we are inundated with logos of all shapes, sizes, and colors. From our earliest memory we begin to recognize color and shapes as our brain grows. Much later in life we understand these colors and shapes have a meaning both visually and contextually. The logo is primarily designed to be recognizable with our cognitive mind. How does one create an effective logo that will be instantly recognizable? Logos 01 is a beginner to intermediate study of the logo design. They books takes you through the planning, creation and implementation phases when designing a logo. The book seems to be primarily focused on business logos, but the process could be easily applied to non-commercial ventures such as non-profit, sporting teams, and even music applications. The book takes the reader through the entire logo design process including: planning, creating, and implementing while providing numerous visual examples of the particular logos that are being reported upon in the book.

Logos 01 begins with a brief introduction as to why logos are important, and cites numerous examples visually and chronologically of the history of logo design. The first example that is visual as well as chronological is Red Wing Shoes, whose initial design dates back to 1905, Red Wing has evolved their logo over the past decade, and has applied its logo to multiple products, not just shoes anymore as they also have some apparel items.

Next in the book come examples of the different meanings and interpretations of a logo. For instance Logos have a visual translation and will often tell a story with just a few simple words as evidenced by the logo (2WICE) an arts journal that is published twice each year, and is targeted to creative people of all walks of life.
The planning section of the book takes the reader along the process of information gathering, and the purpose of planning, rather that just creating a logo. Involved with the planning phase is the informational gathering and research narrative, which goes on at length as to the importance of researching your client’s needs. If they don’t know what they want, then how can you, as the designer knows?
After you have conducted, gathered, and organized all the research and information, it is time to create. This is the most visually organized and exemplified section of the book. According to book, creating should but not always imperatively be done with the following ideas in mind. Simplicity, Uniqueness, Inspiration, layout, color, emotion, memory & meaning, typography, technical considerations, and protection (copyright) are all factors that should be considered during the creation phase. These factors could be implanted into the design in stages of working with the client, but it is best to consider all before presenting ideas to the client the book warns.

Now that the logo has been created and the client is satisfied with the result, Logos 01 takes you through the implementing phase.  This is the phase in which the logo is “launched” to the general public, and hopefully the business takes off making the logo a household name. This is the section of the book I found most interesting and informative. As I am a multimedia designer who has created logos in various forms, but not yet really launched a major logo.  I found the case studies in this section the most helpful. What intrigued me most, is that in school I studied the technical aspects of designing with programs and products for my chosen field, but really only had one or two classes that caused me to think of what come next, after my design has been finished. Implementing is all about the next phase. In this section the logo case studies are explored with the themes of potentiality, objectives, flexibility, accessibility, style guide, budget, timeline, and evolution.  The design process is the most fun, but in reality implementation is the most important. Things to consider, even during the design process should be. Who is the audience for the piece? Can the logo be transmitted to more than just stationary and envelopes, will it be applicable to multiple products?  Will the particular color choice or graphic stand out with a unique style? What is budget a client is willing to spend on the logo creation? Keeping in mind that research is one of the most costly portions in logo creation. How long will this logo be used, indefinitely or short term?  When will the next step in the logo design come along, and how would it be likely to evolve from its current state?  It’s these questions that I never really considered as a student designer, but is now attesting to need for critical thinking in my design work today.

Everyone has a favorite product, and with that product comes its logo, easily identifiable to the user. Logos 01 is a fantastic introduction to the design process of logos and branding identity. Although designed primarily for logo design, I find that the book is applicable to other areas of design, in that the book has caused me to view my art as more than just mere art.  I love to design, but now having read Logos 01, I design with a purpose and understanding of what will be the next step for creative work.

10 heuristics product evaluation, iViva la Vinyl! October 25, 2009

I’d like to challenge the 10 Heuristics theory with a product that was once thought outdated and on the road to obsolete. Having kept alive and well since the early 1900’s, this product been challenged by a contending product, only to have bested in the late 1970’s. Again in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s another contender entered into the mass consumer market. The new contender was victorious and the Age of the Compact Disc ushered in a new digital age, only to be replaced another ten years later by the advent of the MP3.  However since about 1905, vinyl records have lived on besting the 8 Track, Cassette Tape, and even Mini Disc as a popular form of audio listening enjoyment.
1.    Visibility of System Status.  When you look at a record, it is obvious it is a record. History may play tricks by showing a laser disc as a pale comparison, but nothing else looks like a vinyl record.
2.    Match Between System and Real World.  Technical jargon is minimal and easy to understand. The only examples of specific technical jargon that come to mind are: rpm (revolutions per minute) speed play (45, 33 1/3, 78), and “flip to side 2 to continue listening.
3.    User Content and Freedom.  One of the most accessible “outs” from the vinyl record is to simply lift the needle off the record and replace it with another on, or simply turn off the record player.
4.    Consistency and Standards. All record players seem to have a universal standard of the ability to play all 3 speeds (45, 33 1/3, 78 rpm), making them compatible across the globe.  As well as the vinyl record itself is defined by its chosen size/speed. The only exception to this rule is the 78-rpm record. It is no longer an industry standard, and has become increasingly rare to find, as production ceased around 1940’s sometime.
5.    Error Prevention. No warning bells or whistles when a record fails to play. Just persistent annoying “skips” when the record grooves are scratched.
6.    Recognition rather than Recall.  Because record players have a 3-speed industry standard, users need only consult the record to know which speed it is to be played at.  Play itself is simple as the user need only lower the play head needle onto the beginning of the only groove on the vinyl record.
7.    Flexibility and Efficiency of Use.  Single actions for play, plus industry standards allow the simplest form for audio enjoyment.
8.    Aesthetic and Minimalist Design. Remember the old “shoe box” portable record player. Designed to be so simple toddlers could use it. On/off switch, play needle, and speed control were the only control options required for use of the product. The vinyl record itself, has only one groove. One option, how much simpler car it get?
9.    Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover From Errors. If the record skips or sounds band, you can easily replace it with another.
10.    Help Documentation. Both the vinyl record and the record player utilize the less is more ideal, as evidenced by having only 3 speeds of play, 1 single groove to apply the needle to, and audio keeps a contact with the listener. Engaging them when the vinyl has finished playing, to flip to the other side to continue.

Gold Record I own.

Share a design October 19, 2009

This is a logo design I created for a local client. She owns an Acupuncture and Birthing services  company in addition to massage. We are working to update the logo to include an aspect for the massages, which she just began to offer.

Textile Design October 5, 2009

Although I am primarily interested in logo design, the production and evolution of textile design appeals to me as well. Having read the article “Textiles: Design and Manufacture” from the Hucthinson encyclopedia via The Learning Commons website, I find myself a little bogged down in the details. The article makes the point of saying people have always controlled the first and last stage of textile production. It begins with the field hands who pick the cotton, moving up to factory workers who process the cotton (which has been regulated by machines man invented for ease of production). Designers buy the fabrics from the factories in order to process the material in form that is appealing to the public, so the public will buy increasing a demand for more fabrics to be produced, thus keeping the cycle of interaction between materials and humans going on until new methods of production are conceived to lessen the human interaction throughout the entire process.

Works Cited

Textiles: Design and Manufacture. (2009). In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide. Retrieved from http://168.156.198.98:2226/entry/heliconhe/textiles_design_and_manufacture

Reflections on TED, John Maeda September 25, 2009

My first reflections is wow! I have never heard on TED, might have heard in passing about John Maeda as his name sounds familiar. What I took away most from Maeda is that you are never too old to apply yourself to a new medium or adventure. I liked how he was able to push the boundaries of “traditional” art and use everyday life to explore, and explode conceptions of what we perceive as one object, but can be used in multiple ways and directions. TED was so interesting, aptly for our region as P-I just went under. Could redesigns have saved it? I think in the P-I case no, it was a stuffy old newspaper, that didn’t really want break away from it’s time tested mold. I wish I had some copies of the papers he helped to redesign, so I could tangibly view them, and the dramatic mix up from the standard newspaper conceptions of layout.