thursday!

Alrighty...
well today we imported our images/sketches into illustrator and started making them in there.  I've had a lot of experience with illustrator/photoshop in high school, so I'm pretty excited to be using it again! I'm also learning lots of other tricks and tools in them that I didn't know were there before, so that's really cool.

I also liked working on the sketches where we assimilate a word to our object.  It's another chance to be really creative and work on my problem solving skills!
I've attached some pictures of some scans of my sketches!

:)

Tuesday

So we continue to sketch!
I'm finding it a little hard to make sketches for the texture...I'm not quite sure how to express it, because my object is mostly smooth and it's hard to come up with different ways in which to show it's texture.  But I suppose that's where the problem solving comes in!
I really like drawing the "indexes".  It's finally a chance to use your imagination and see what you can relate to your object!
Alright well hopefully I'll get some pictures of sketches on here soon!
:)

Faculty gallery

I really liked Margie's pieces in the Art and Design faculty gallery.  I also read the magazine article next to them that went with the paintings.  It's really cool how the pieces are so simple, yet they convey a lot of meaning about society and culture.  The contrast between the more antique items and/or pictures and the more modern objects was also intriguing because they made a statement about each other.  I also liked how the objects were arranged on the page...it was so simple, yet you could tell that a lot of thought was put into where each object was placed.

How these pieces relate to what we are learning in class:

The drawings we are doing in class are supposed to be very simple, yet convey a lot of info about our object at the same time.  Margie's works are the same way. They only have a few items in the paintings, yet  they hold a lot of meaning.  Our main idea in this project is also to create symbols and representations of our hand tools, just like Margie's paintings are symbols of society and culture.

:)

Today

Today in class we worked on the next four types of drawing our objects.  I really like the one where we use any non-traditional materials because there aren't really many restrictions and you are free to use your imagination.  I also liked looking around at other students' art and seeing how they perceive their objects and what their style is like.  I feel I am learning a lot in this project about interpreting ideas and doing so effectively.
:)

website!!!

I ran across this website! They are zipper headphones...and our group actually came up with this idea in the last project.  I think it's cool someone else had the idea too!!!

www.yankodesign.com/2009/04/22/zip-up-tangles/

Understanding Comics Reading/Tuesday class

This reading really helped me understand the difference between icons and symbols, and even the differences between each of those individually.  It really opened my eyes to the world of cartoons, and how much thought actually goes into comics, even if they are just for entertainment.
I liked also how it mentioned that icons are universal.  It's cool that an artist (even me!) could make something that can be understood by anybody, no matter what their language and background.

I'm really excited for this project!! I'm liking what we're doing so far, with the fast sketches and drawings.  With more practice, I really hope to be a pro at it by the time we turn this one in.

Here is my original object:

And here are some of the "painterly" drawings I did in class today.

Why I chose Graphic Design

I have always been into art since I was little, and I always knew that I wanted an art-involved job.  My interest in graphic design began in middle school actually, when my mom mentioned that I would be good at it.  So I kinda kept it in the back of my mind and when high school came around, I became involved in a lot of art classes and a few design classes.  All of my teachers noticed my gift for it, and they encouraged me to continue my art/design education.  One of my counselors mentioned that KU had one of the best design programs out there, so we decided to check it out...and I just loved the campus and everything about KU.  Ever since our first visit, I knew that I was going to end up coming here.  


I also knew that all companies are in need of graphic designers, so with a degree in graphic design, it figured that it should be fairly easy to find a job, as long as the economy hasn't gone completely down the hole by the time I graduate.  I thought about other majors that you can get in art, and some of them you can't really get a job in (such as painting, sculpting, etc.) so graphic design was my best bet, and I could really enjoy it.


With a career in graphic design, I really hope to create art and designs that are different and not just cookie-cutter.  I want to create art that will make others stop and think, and maybe even inspire them.  I want it to make them feel good.  I'm not quite sure as to exactly what I want to design (billboards, logos, advertisements, packaging, etc.) No matter what my job ends up to be, I want to encourage others and make them happy...maybe even turn their days around.   

new project :)

We turned in our process notebooks yesterday and presented our redesigned object.  It was cool to see other groups' presentations and see how their process went about redesigning their objects.
Im really excited and ready for this next project!  I feel like this one will be a lot more fun because we can draw on the knowledge that we learned from this past project.  We will also get a chance to do some more stuff on our own.  I'll start looking for some hand tools and maybe get a change to put some pictures up on here :)

poster!

Yesterday, we finished up our poster and final prototype.  I've always liked making posters and what-not (my major is graphic design) but it was almost challenging designing this poster to have hierarchy and focus on some things over others.  I did most of the poster in Illustrator and Photoshop.  I was already pretty familiar with both programs before, but I liked being able to familiarize myself with some other basic tools and functions that I hadn't known before.
Our projects are due tomorrow! I hope I get everything I need in my process notebook!
I've really enjoyed this project.  I liked it because it wasn't too difficult (even though it did have it's challenges) and I was able to have fun doing it.  I also enjoyed getting to know some of my classmates better. :)

summary of the IDEO video

In the IDEO video that we watched in class, ABC Nightline gave a project to one of the biggest design companies in the US.  They told them to re-design the shopping cart in five days.  The video followed them through these five days and the process that they used to design it.  All of their ideas (there were a lot) were voted on and so they chose the best ones and combined them to create a new and improved shopping cart. After designing it, they took it to a local grocery store and showed it to the employees and shoppers there.

I thought the process that they used to make the shopping cart was really interesting, and kinda cool.  When they were coming up with ideas, they just threw out any idea that they had, even if it was crazy or ridiculous.  Some of their crazy ideas were actually good ones, and they used them when making their final prototype.  I think that this video really opened my eyes to the fact that ingenuity isn't that hard to have!  All that they really needed to design their shopping cart was the process to design it, and their imagination. It was all really informal, and they all had a lot of fun doing it.  It seems like an ideal job to me!

protoypes/badly designed object

Our prototype making went really well today. We made headphones out of cardboard and clay, and a case to hold the headphones as well as the attachments for them.

So since I haven't put up much from my own object from before, I might as well post some pictures and my interviews and what not.

I found a paper towel holder at the dollar store...its really flimsy and cheap and perfect for this type of project!


Here's what people said when I interviewed them about this object:
Where would you use this?
R-in the kitchen or bathroom
N-kitchen
C-kitchen, bathroom
M-garage, because it's ugly!
J-garage

When would you use it?
R-when something spills and you would be able to grab a towel without holding the entire roll
N-cleaning up after dinner
C-when you have paper towels!
M-something needs to be cleaned
J-wipe up oil, clean out the car

Something you like about this object?
R-the ends are able to hold the roll by themselves
N-the color
C-the color!
M-easy to install
J-lightweight

Don't like?
R-too flimsy, not good material
N-too flimsy!
C-it's really thin
M-not aesthetically pleasing
J-breaks too easily

Any improvements you would make on it?
R-change material or reinforce the plastic. make it so that you could attach it without screws...or just set it down on a hard surface
N-higher quality plastic
C-better material
M-make inserts longer
J-stronger plastic

So basically, they wanted a paper towel holder that was sturdier and nicer looking, and still usable.

So here's some sketches of the original object: (sorry some are sideways)

And here's some of my ideas for a re-designed object: (again, sorry they're sideways!)

Sooo yeah. Enjoy!

wellllll

Well i kinda sorta forgot about this whole blogger dealio! So i suppose i should start working on blogging stuff.
Tomorrow we are supposed to get into groups and talk about our poorly designed objects. Im really liking this project so far. Even though Im going into graphic design, I find the whole process of making the product useful for the consumer very interesting.
I dont have much more to say now....sooo...
TTFN!
:)