Composting For Tomorrow Designs

These are the different designs I came up 

with for  the logo of the company I created

in my proposal, Composting for Tomorrow.

Social Communication Design Proposal

   Composting is not a particularly new phenomenon, but it has been occurring more frequently today due to the push for people to ‘go green’. Composting is the, “natural breakdown of organic material” into a soft and crumbly substance (Environmental Defense Fund). Items that can be composted is limited to, “kitchen wastes” which is, “fruit and vegetable peels/rinds, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, and similar food items as well as chemical free sawdust, wood chips, leaves, grass and other plants from the yard (Vegweb.com). Items that do not fall under these categories should not be composted. By placing these scraps into a composting container, their resulting substance because of decomposition is extremely rich in nutrients and minerals. Therefore, compost is an excellent additive to soil for growing plants in that it, “contributes to pH balance, and the healthy development of plant roots” and also adds oxygen to the soil (Environmental Defense Fund). Also, because compost is made from organic materials it creates beneficial bacterial organisms, and mixing compost with soil can stop, “soil disease-based organisms” (Chiat).

 The Problem

   Composting should be done by individuals because it reduces the amount and/or size of landfills (Mitchell). Landfills emit a high amounts of carbon dioxide and methane and many other toxic gases into our atmosphere (Lou and Nair 3792). These are Green House Gases (GHG) contain heat within our atmosphere, causing the crisis of global warming, as well as polluting our air (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).  GHG emissions are mainly due to the lack of oxygen in the decomposition of organic and inorganic waste that accumulates at a common landfill (Lou and Nair). When organic materials are disposed of with regular garbage and sent to the conventional landfill, they do not receive enough oxygen to break down as fast as they could with composting, thus causing larger landfills, as well as contributing to GHG. Organic waste that can be composted makes up about thirty percent of waste in landfills (Vegweb).

Proposal/Location/Client

  My proposal is to make composting a community project that will not only benefit our world, but each town involved in it as well as the individuals who chose to participate. The community project will be driven by my imaginary organization I’ve named CFT (Composting For Tomorrow). Composting bins can be quite expensive, ranging from fifty to five hundred dollars depending on quality and size (http://www.cleanairgardening.com/accessories.html). With my project, compost cans, very similar in shape and size to a garbage can, would be sold to members in the town for an annual fee of twenty-five dollars. Individuals who buy the compost can will have to register with the organization and will receive information on how to compost successfully. It takes between three and four weeks for material to break down into usable compost, so the compost will be collected once a month. The registered compost users will put their compost can out in front of their house on the street, like they do for garbage, on the day for pick up and it will be collected by a  member from my created organization.

   Part of this proposal includes the construction of a garden area in the participating town.  The composted materials collected will be used to grow fruits, vegetables and various flowers, trees and other plants in this community garden area. Within this garden area there will be small stands or stores that will sell the flowers, vegetables, and fruits grown in the garden. Any excess compost that is not used to grow the plants in this garden will also be sold or delivered to the nearest composting facility. Individuals who are registered compost users with CFT in the town will have the benefit of receiving a certain amount of free fruits, vegetables, and/or flowers from the garden twice a month. Individuals who are not members can still purchase the products grown in the garden. Everyone, CFT member or not, can take advantage of this community garden as a place to gather, walk through, have lunch, or just view the scenery of flowers, trees and other plants within it. There will be some benches throughout the garden area. Also, this garden area will serve as an employment opportunity for people in the community to upkeep the garden, grow the plants and sell them under the supervision of organization members.

   This proposal not only benefits the town or individuals who participate, it benefits our Earth. It will decrease the amount of GHG emissions into the atmosphere because it will reduce the amount of materials in landfills that create GHG. It will also decrease the size of  current landfills and prevent new ones from forming. It will also educate people on the process of decomposition and the power it holds in our world. 

Conclusive Review 

  My proposal is to sell people cheap compost cans and free information on how to compost. My proposal allows them to throw their organic food and yard waste into the compost and have it be picked up once a month. The compost material will be used to grow food and other plants in a large community garden that is a result of this proposal. The food and plants grown in this garden will be for sale within the a small shop or stand within the garden. A certain amount of the products will be free to people who purchase the compost bins twice a month. People who have not purchased the compost bins can still purchase the products grown and sold in this garden. Excess compost will be sold with the other products or delivered to the nearest compost facility. This garden area not only serves as an outlet for commerce for the town and employment opportunities, but also as a place to people to gather, observe the plants being grown and relax. Overall this proposal not only benefits a community, but the advantages that composting has helps improve our environment and world. This is a design to rework towns and rework our world.

1,130 words

 Works Cited

 Chiat, Jennifer. “What is Compost?” Green Living. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Building_a_Compost_Bin>

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/accessories.html

Environmental Defense Fund. “What is Composting?” Dec. 28, 2006. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=2028>

Lou, X.F. and Nair, J. “The impact of landfilling and composting on greenhouse gas emissions-   

   A review.”  Bioresource Technology  2009. pages 3792-3798. 

Mitchell, Deborah. “Compost to Reduce Landfills.”  Charity Guide. 2007. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. <http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/compost.htm>

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”  9 July 2010. Web. 7 Dec. 

1. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/index.html

Vegweb. “Introduction to Composting.”  Compost Guide-Composting Fundementals. 2009. Web. 

  8 Dec. 2010. http://vegweb.com/composting/

KAREL MARTENS report

Lauren Jastrebski

Seminar in Design

12/1/10

  Karel Martens is a contemporary Dutch graphic designer, born in 1939. He has been an active graphic designer for over fifty years. His work includes designing signage, coins, stamps, phone cards, books and other publications. His work includes the element of, “traditional workmanship and simplicity” (KNAW) This is evident through the paper he chooses to use, such as the Japanese/Chinese fashion in which he binds his books (Hyphen Press). He has produced two books, Printed Matter and Counterprint. His work uses simple colors, forms and type, but the manner he combines them creates a seemingly complex, but legible piece. His work often includes the repetition of colors and forms (Bravo).  Generally his work exemplifies his interest in the printing process and techniques used to create a design on paper (Eye Magazine). He has been noted that what he loves about graphic design is working with limitations, because of the ability to, “exploit” them  and see where the design ends up (Bravo).  

    He also teaches design. He has taught at the Arnhem School of Art, which he also graduated from in 1961 (Bravo). He then taught at the Jan Van Eyck Academie in Masstricht, and Yale University’s graphic design department in the United States (Bravo). In 1998 he and Wigger Bierma, founded the Werkplaats Typgrafie (WerkplaatsTypografie.org). WT is a two year Masters Program for graphic design in the Netherlands. Martens has received awards for his work, including the Dr. A.H. Heineken Price for Art in 1996 (Bravo). In 1998 the Leipzig Book Fair gave Martens’s Printed Matter the prize of being named the, “best-designed book, ‘in the entire world’” (Bravo). 

Interior of his Printed Matter

    In regards to issues we’ve discussed in class, Karel Martens has combined art and design throughout his work. This is primarily because he graduated from Arnhem School of Art as a Fine Arts Major (Bravo). Rick Poyner claims that, “good designers also cross over into art”  and while it is the opposite in Martens’s case, the combination of art and design is definitely apparent in his work. His work has been criticized for, “remaining in the realm of superficiality and beauty” (UCLA). Superficiality and aesthetics is typically more the focus of an artist, whereas a designer’s goal is delivering a message. However,  the attention paid to the aesthetic does not denote a lack of legibility. Martens makes sure that his work is legible, so a message is delivered to the viewer (UCLA). Everything seems carefully placed and treated. Matthew Collins suggests that, “the essential difference between design and art if that design has function while art has mystery” (qtd. in Poyner 97). Martens’s phone cards, stamps and books are functional pieces, but the way in which he chooses to convey their information, especially for the phone cards and stamps have an artist’s touch. The overlapping of colors and type creates forms that are legible, but also transgress into patterns of color. For Martens design has taken over his career, but his fine art training gave way for the things he has produced. Martens thinks that his, “lack of professional instruction” in design actually benefits his work (Bravo). He states that, “I’m really happy that it was that way, because it gave me a broader experience” (qtd. in Bravo). This statement is in line with the notion that, “the open collaborative methods” that result from having knowledge in different areas allows, “cross-fertilization” between disciplines (Beegan and Atkinson 309). 

  Martens’s graphic design is not just a career, it’s his lifestyle. His work has a purpose and is functional. His phone cards and stamps were used throughout the Netherlands, their legibility and uniqueness was a combination of successful design and information conveyed. He still teaches and works with young designers to pass on his knowledge and expertise in the field. His work with OASE, the Dutch architecture magazine which he began directing in 1990, also displays the functionality in his design work (UCLA). Overall, his work evokes a cheerful quality because of the bright but simple colors he uses and organic forms. Despite the intense time spent on the compositions of his work, each piece is still legible to the viewer and serves the purpose to inform.

Dutch phone cards

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Works Cited

Bravo, Amber. “Dutch Master”.  Dwell, At Home in the Modern World. May 2010. Vol. 10

  Issue 5. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.dwell.com/magazine/big-ideas-for-small-  

  spaces.html>

Eye Magazine. “An Anti-Monument to Success” 2001. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. 

       http://www.eyemagazine.com/review.php?id=69&rid=160

UCLA. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. http://classes.dma.ucla.edu/Spring06/155/projects/ryan/  

      karelmartens.pdf

 KNAW. “Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Art for Karel Martens”. Press release. 4 Sept. 1996. Het Trippenhuis, Amsterdam. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. <http://www.knaw.nl/cfdata/news/pressrelease_detail.cfm?nieuws__id=183>

Playtime & Monterey Pop

Playtime by Jacques Tati

  Playtime is basically the documentation of a 'modern' world set in Paris.  The film captures how people function in this modern world and interact with it's  products, specifically Monsieur Hulot and the American tourists. The buildings, furniture, windows, doors, clothing, and even the travel advertisements are industrial, some are not functional (such as the chairs) but it is all considered modern.
  Kent Jones's article on the film states that it was a result of Jaques Tati's strive to create a, "supremely democratic film that would be able 'everybody'". Jones also discusses the extremes Tati went to to build the set for Playtime.  From the set being so large it had its own, "power plant and approach road" to Tati having it shot with the expensive 70mm format camera. I didn't know that it took ten years to make the film, but I wasn't completely surprised because the sets they create for each scene, and the overall motif of the film, seems very meticulously put together to achieve the feel of a  impractical "modern life"of Paris and it's people.


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Monterey Pop by D.A. Pennebaker

 Monterey Pop is a documentary of the 1967 music festival in Monterey, California. The documentary focuses on the people at the music festival, the setting of it and the musicians that performed there, capturing the culture of the sixties. It's lively and intense with emotions. Armond White, author of "Monterey Pop: People in Motion" says this even was an instance of "people in motion" because of the, "loose, give-and-take" accounts between, "spectacle and spectator". Meaning, the  honest emotions of the audience resulting from the performers and the general atmosphere of the event. White makes note of the way the documentary was filmed in regard to the camera work, with close intimate shots of people and the, "long, hand-held shot". The cinematography really captures the spirit and mood of the event.


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Comparison of  Playtime & Monterey Pop:

   Both movies attempt at illustrating a modern world. However,  Playtime does so intentionally and Monterey Pop's purpose is not to reproduce specific accounts of modernity, but to document humanity at the time, and just so happens to reveal modern life. Everything in Playtime was organized, attempting to be perfect, but bland. It also seemed that the city and everyone it in was interested in the future and the most modern and newest things.  In Monterey Pop the complete opposite is happening. People were interested in only that specific moment. The people and performances are spontaneous.  Playtime  is so strict, while Monterey Pop is  fluid and natural.  Both movies capture a "cultural phenomenon". But their cultures are structured so differently. There definitely is a sense of Monterey Pop in the restaurant/dance scene in Playtime, when things start to get really wild and unpredictable. But since the purpose of that scene was to show the lack of function and sustainability their modern furniture/life had, I think Tati also expressed that in the actions of the dancers in that scene, who like the restaurant were breaking free from something.
  The way each was filmed is also  distinct to the  atmosphere being conveyed. Whereas Playtime was shot with expensive cameras to capture the most intense, "clarity and depth" Monterey Pop was obviously filmed with a handheld camera a majority of the time and  goes in and out of focus. The mood for Monterey Pop is more important than the aesthetic, and it's just the opposite for Playtime.
  In regards to what we discussed in class about Modernism, I'm thinking of the magazines shown. How David Carson's designs for Ray Gun magazine were modern, but in a completely different way than the the more clean and traditional magazine displays we looked at.
 Overall, both depict modernism is very different ways, but both convey the significance modern trends had on effecting people and lifestyle.

11/3/10

PIXEL PERFECT- Lauren Collins

• Article follows the working process of Pascal Dangin, the premier retoucher of fashion photographs.
• Dangin has retouched photographs for severl magazines including Vanity Fair,  Harper's Bazaar, Allure, French Vogue, Italian Vogue, V, and  Times Magazine.
• Collins calls Dangin the 'human oxy pad'.
• The article recounts  situations of Dangin at work, readjusting particular characteristics of the models, coloring of the image and gradients among other things.
• Brief history of Dangin's life is given: his mother was a piano teacher, stepfather a guitarist, he was raised in a small town, at age fourteen he left home, worked in a hair salon in Paris, was drafted into the French Army, later was discharged and returned to the salon he worked at. 
• In 1989 he moved to the United States & began doing hair for photo shoots in NYC.
• While in NYC working around the photo shoots he became interested in the computer use for the photos which began his deep interest in retouching.
• "People hire Dangin, in the broadest sense, for the assurance that behind every abtruse technical step there will be an artistic intention."
• Dangin believes that creativity should influence technology, not for technology to influence creativity. In that sense Collins says Dangin is a purist.

   It's really amazing to think about how much work goes into making something look attractive, and that so many people go to Pascal Dangin for HIS opinion on how to make someone more attractive. 

Readings for 11/3/0

Museum Piece- Todd Hays

• Article focuses on the process of April Greiman's poster for the exhibition  of the Museum of Modern Art's  The Modern Poster exhibit in 1988 & brief history of her education and work.
• She studied design at the Kansas Art Institute.
• At KAI she was introduced to the Swiss style of design.
• She  incorporates Swiss typography in her work & contemporary elements.
• 'Design' changed to 'Visual Communication', to stress the new impact technology was having on creating design.
• Cal Arts is where  Greiman first began working with computers in her designing.
• Today computers are a trademark of her design.
• Some of her work includes: 1984 Olympics posters and  designing issue #133 of   Design Quarterly.
• HYBRID IMAGERY.
• Hybrid imagery is a process Greiman  has, "pioneered"  and is the creating layers of information from different time periods-basically the history of something. She did this in the  poster for MoMa to, "carry a message, be visually stimulating, as well as help solidify the significance of the modern poster".(74)
• The elements in the poster represent time,  evolution,  the medium itself represents the present & technology,  and the past.
• Computer programs she uses to create the poster are discussed, such as Paintbox and Empire Graphics. All the work was done on Mac computers.
• Greiman has embraced new technologies for designing, when many other designers have been weary to use them.

  Her move to california was inspired by a trip there in 1976, and she decided to live there because of what she calls the, "entirely new and unique sense of color and light" (74).  It's interesting that she says that because it's essentially true of her work as well.  This article states that she is one of the first designers to use a computer, specially the Mac. Further research I did on her introduction to using the computer was an interview with her by Josh Smith. In it she says that she was at first hesitant to use the computer, but she says she was, "immediately hooked." She says she almost exclusively works with digital tools. The  description of techniques and programs she used on the computer to create the poster outlined in Hay's article are very systematic and no decision is hasty. The process to create the poster resonates with the final product, which looks calculated and formal.  This satisfies the Modern Poster's purpose to represent  the process she uses to make it. 

Hashi, 1985

   Josh Smith's interview with April Greiman was really insightful to her and the process of her work. In it she states that she sees, "everything an as object in space."  This definitely resonates with her work because her work looks as though every object was carefully placed and relationships between forms were considered. Examples I  found for this are her 1985 Hashi poster. It seems so minimal but each line or form is significant to make the space.

  Some designers have argued against abandonment of traditional designing methods for  computers. But just because she primarily uses technology to make her work does not mean she has sold out at all. In the interview she states that she has turned down jobs from big corporations, such as an annual report for Northrop because she, "wouldn't have anything to do with weaponry." It's good to know that there are designers who uphold their own values and morals, even if it means turning down money.  She also states in the interview that she hasn't referred to herself as a graphic designer since 1984 because  at the time she was using computer and video many other graphic designers resisted it, so since her work was not considered graphic design by the design community she called it  commercial design.

 * Relating to our last readings on the difference between art and design,  Greiman says that she thinks there is no difference between fine art and design. 

Recycled Houses

I found this.. some people are living in houses that are constructed completely from old/recycled materials. Here are some links:


http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/02/garden/20090903-recycled-slideshow_index.html

http://quazen.com/arts/architecture/seven-strange-houses-made-of-recycled-materials/

Re-design idea:

Don't throw away any holiday, birthday, congratulations, etc. greeting cards. Instead of buying new ones you can just rip off side someone else wrote on, and turn the card into a  post card/one piece card. This will save you money, you'll be able to keep the important message someone sent you (if you choose).  Also, it will cut the space you're using to store the card in half, because half the card will be gone!

Readings 10/27

But, is it Art? by Kees Dorst

• Artists determine their own goals, have no particular audience and no limitations.
• Artists become designers when they give themselves limitations.
• Designers have goals set by someone else essentially i.e employers, a job's purpose, specific criteria. 
• Designer's work, "must fulfill some practical purpose."
• Limitations can contribute to personal development for the designer.
• When a designer develops their own goals they become an artist.

 I never really thought that there was such a divide between artists and designers.  I thought it was interesting that Dorst says, "..good designers also cross over into art, although they tend to ignore that fact themselves." Why? Why can't a designer think like an artist and an artist think like a designer? I think having all the  knowledge possible and experimenting with  the ideas of different professions gives greater results. It is important to be able to develop your own ideas, goals, and concepts, and having to work within specific guidelines   is tougher, but to be able to do it successfully is admirable and  an art in itself.


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Art's Little Brother by Rick Poyner

• Designers have an, "inferiority complex when it comes to their relationship with artists and art."
• Design is currently playing a bigger role in our culture than art.
• Design is not looked at for serious discussion-books and exhibits are ignored.
• Artists are using design in their work because of their, "fascination by design's role in contemporary society and commerce."
• A designer works for other people- they work for practicality, function and purpose.
• Artists work for themselves- they work towards, "truth of his own vision."
• Art does not have a function, it is mysterious, says art critic Matthew Collins.
• Designart: the way artists deal with patterns and design elements incorporated into their painting, drawing, sculpture, etc. 
• Designer is a planner, problem solver, supervisor, provides instruction and  can be detached from their work. 
• Designers are superficial and about aesthetics.
• Artists use deeper meanings in their work, aesthetics are not as important.
• There is a split between function and vision.
• Many artists are using design and art together in their work recently. 
• To allow design and art to embrace each other's practices can  result in new ways of thinking and research.
• Design is everywhere whereas art is not.
• Everyone is affected by design, not everyone is affected by art.

     Poyner's argument,  "we need  a wider public understanding that design is a means of personal and cultural expression with the potential  to equal and even exceed art's reach," is a statement I agree with. I think  this article brings up several valid points that despite the differences that have historically separated design and art, design should be  given more credit, and there should be no shame in incorporating both mediums. The several references to artists and designers and  their comments on working with one way over the other really solidified the seriousness of the divide between art and design.  Such as Donald Judd's design work that he kept a secret so that his art wouldn't be, "demoted to the same level" as design.  I understand the purpose for doing so, through his explanation of furniture function vs. furniture as art, but this whole concept seems so bizarre to me. While there are obvious differences, I always assumed the two go hand in hand. 


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M/M Conversation

• Dialogue between artist and designer specialists is something they are interested in.;
• 'Relational- aesthetics'- art production should be a collaboration of specialists and the audience and the process and information exchanged, not just about the final product.
• Historically designers have not been given space to have exhibits and show their work on on the same scale that artists have.
• Concludes with: some  art is as bas as design and some design is as bad as art.

 I think the dialogue they is entertaining as well as informative to how the two connect design and art. Mathias Augustyniak's statement, "an ongoing problem for artists today is the question of how their work can be effective beyond the art world".  In the other articles the issue is how can design smoothly become part of the art world, but here he  claims that artists want to affect people the way designers do. I also thought it was interesting that he says artists have detached themselves from the economy and everyday life and that they have  stepped outside of the real world and into an, "exclusive space called art." That is relatively true, because since both have different goals for their work they have different considerations and visions. Blamey counters that which saying artists are actually detached from society in general.  Blamey also states that designers are very active in society and their work is, "omnipresent and fundamental in a way that art just is not," but still, art is in a higher realm than design because of their independent nature. 
    When Amzalag questions Blamey on if today Michaelangelo's work at Saint Peter's Cathedral would be considered design or art. Blamey says that in the fourteenth cent. artists were expected to do commercial work and would mix aspects of science,  art and design together. Today he says the qualities that separate artists and designer are blurring. Since artists and designers are trying to get more recognition I think it only makes sense to combine their work.

Ten Ways to Practice Sustainability for Design

1. Recycle printer cartridges, paper and all your materials.
2. Use water-based or vegetable-based inks for printing rather than toxic based inks.They produce less solvent emissions and chemicals.
3. Use recycled materials whenever possible.
4. Use materials form local producers, this will support their small business and have an overall positive social impact.
5. Decrease the font size of the design and overall volume of the characters and images.
6. Remove all the weak-links from a design, design it so that it will need none or little maintenance.
7. Utilize biomimicry in your design.
8. To reduce your carbon footprint, use as little or no toxic materials.
9. Print on both sides of the paper.
10. Do research before you purchase a product! Purchase the most sustainable product; printer, computer, television, even clothes,bags, etc. The less you buy the less waste you create.
11. Edit and review your design before printing so you'll only have to print once.

Readings for 10/6/10

PROFESSIONALISM, AMATEURISM AND THE BOUNDARIES OF DESIGN- Gerry Beegan & Paul Atkinson

  The article is basically a back and forth debate of how professional designers and amateur designers contributions throughout history.  I think both types of designers have their benefits- amateurs are not under the pressure of "the marketplace" (310)and are able to freely create whatever satisfies them, whereas the professional designer is under the pressure to have a job in their field, but is also educated and  equipped with the proper training to make efficient decisions.

In regards to Ellen Lutpon and Steven Heller's argument, I have trouble picking a side. If we're talking about someone using Lupton's book and getting a professional design job with no professional training, then I  agree with Heller.I agree with Heller's claim that by simplifying design does "devalue" the profession that people study in-depth for years, indeed lessening their credibility and "elite status"(307). However, Lupton's point is that design should be of, "universal relevance to everyday life" rather than "elite status" (307) is something I agree with, and based on the previous readings on sustainability, I think more professional designers are trying to go Lupton's route.

 Also, the mention of the dilettante's work  and their Russian Miriskusniki group- molded from an "educated upper-class dilettantes" culture is essentially a amateur/professional in one. 

• 'Professional' is to have received an education in a particular field/subject.
• Professionals define themselves and their work through scholarly periodicals, organizations and educational standards (Beegan & Atkinson 305).
• Until the Arts & Crafts movement, design was a professional's job. The Arts and Crafts movement encouraged amateur designing.
• The article states that because of shows, magazines and guide-books that urge/show people how to make and "do things" themselves the "amateur" is very present in today's society.
• 'Amateur'  today is associated with, "leisure or hobbies, activities that are part-time, occasional and unpaid"(Beegan & Atkinson 310).
• The 'Amateur" is not restricted by corporations' demands.
• Ellen Lupton's 2006 D.I.Y Design it Yourself, a book that provides, "basic design principles" for non-professional designers. 
• Lupton's book is important in regards to the professional vs. amateur because it gives non-professionals essential design tools that are, "at the core of established design education" (307).  
• There is a rise in the design profession in the nineteenth century because of, "modernity, rationality and scientific progress" (307).
• Professional designer are important because they have been intellectually trained, with knowledge of the "theoretical" and can oversee complex problems and is able to direct others, such as, "the artisan, the builder, the sign maker, the potter, the printer, and compositor" because of his education in the field. (307-308).
• Vernacular Design: architecture, furniture, decorative art; Termed in the 19th century in regards to domestic buildings inspired by local resources and traditions that are pure and authentic, produced by amateurs, not professional architects.
• Vernacular designs are not associated with high culture.
• Dilettante design: design by people who "dabble in a range of activities without dedicating or committing themselves to any one field" (Dilettante) (309).
• Dilettantes were successful in their work because they were extremely knowledgeable in more than one skill,having the ability to, "dabble, combine and cross disciplines without attachment to an institution or professional viewpoint, encouraged hybridity" (309). 
• Early graphic design was not developed by professionals, but rather anyone was savvy with computer programs, visual design skills and commercial web-design.
• Amateurs and professionals have both been the headliners in design at one point or another throughout history.
• The article notes that often the amateur is more connected with the result of their work because they are also the consumer.

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WE'RE HERE TO BE BAD 




   "Unfortunately, schools teach students to design by limiting what the professionals do rather then developing their own approaches." I don't think this statement is true, or it's outdated. In my design classes we do some really strange projects that I couldn't have thought up. I think designers become limited when they get into the working world of design and have to comply with corporations and are then, "limited" to typical professional ideals. I did enjoy the recklessness the article gives, luring designers to be "bad" and  abandon  any professional  means of design to  become a, "missionary of art." 

• Essentially, to be "bad" is to throw away any professional or formal means  to design.
• "DESIGNERS NEED TO FUNCTION AS OUTSIDERS"
• Designers should not think like their clients to produce.
• Designers need to  get in touch with "true vernacular" to make their work stand out.
• "Non-corporate, non-designed vernacular." 
• Vernacular design is "clear and simple"
• Appropriate design- conforms to a mass population, normal, stays the same.
• Make design "dangerous and unpredictable."
• 
  

Readings for 9/14/10 (first week)

No Logo by Naomi Klein-


        The main priority for companies is advertising, branding, marketing and expansion. The priority is not the actual production. American factories have been out sourced by factories in other countries, ultimately saving the company money, so more money can be put into advertising etc. There is a difference between  a product and a brand. There are  several ethical issues  that go along with a company abandoning it's American workers for sweatshop workers in other countries, but claiming no responsibility because the company hired  someone else to be in charge of production.That issue wasn't touched on so much in the article though. Mostly the focus was companies shifting the importance from product to branding.

• Companies put a lot of effort into making customers associate a lifestyle, specific ideas/feelings, attitude  and " deep inner meanings" to their products.
• There is a difference between products and brands: "a product is something that is made in a factory" a brand is something that is, "made in the mind."
• Brands are a lifestyle, idea, attitude.
• More effort is put into sponsoring a brand, packaging, expansion and advertising by the company, rather then machines, factories, workers, etc. THE MAIN PRIORITY IS THE BRAND.
• Companies out source the factory work to other countries, so the overall cost of making the product and paying the worker is much less, while the markup on the product for retail can be about 400%.
• In fact, many companies are  not involved in the production process and "source" factories in other countries by hiring contractors to be in charge of production.
• By doing that they can claim they have no idea about the poor standards for workers or sweat-shop conditions.
• Overall, companies have chosen to focus on marketing strategies to sell their products rather than actually making the product.

---------"Branding the Individual" by Jane Pavitt 

  

      I completely agree with the ideas formulated in this piece, that people buy things to be associated with a certain idea or lifestyle, to show social and economical status. I remember being in either elementary or middle school, but definitely young, when my grandparents took me and my sister to K Mart to go school clothes shopping.  I was completely against the idea of buying clothes from K Mart, thinking, "if anyone from school knew I'd bought school clothes here....". My mom and other grandma would take us shopping at JCPenneys and Macys, which I thought was completely acceptable. I don't know where or when the idea was implanted in my head that shopping as K Mart was bad.  I think the whole idea that, like sociologist Zygmunt Bauman has stated, self construction is about gathering belongings that are of "distinction and difference." However, Pavitt's questioning of how are people able to individualize themselves through the mass production of products and brands that are easily accessible to anyone? I think it is more about being associated with individuality as a group classification, because shopping at a particular store doesn't make you an individual, it's how you navigate through life. 

 Main points of the article:   

• People choose to purchase specific brands of clothing, accessories, and other personal items because of the image they associate with themselves, or how they want to be seen in society.
• The practice of purchasing items to be associated with an idea is different among age groups.
• Differentiation and belonging are the main reasons people buy certain brands- to determine social status, as said by  American theorist Thorstein Veblen.
• Veblen-there is an important correlation between purchases and status.
• Cultural preferences= 'cultural capital'-"the expression of social difference through value judgement."
• Certain goods allow people to establish a sense of belonging for a particular group or to individuate oneself.
• More significance is put into purchases when people shop for leisure.
• Three types of shopping Pavitt says: "doing the shopping", "going shopping", and "shopping around."
• The idea of buying an identity.
• The association to self is also through leisure activities and the types of entertainment people choose to participate in.
• "Consumption has become the primary means of formulating and expressing personal identity."
• Is the consumer a victim of this play on their identity? Are consumers products of "media manipulation"?
•  Consumption is argued to be either a means for people to create an identity or to lose individuality.
• Modern consumerism- the shopper's most concerned with the representation a product gives.

Bing! It's Fabien!  by John Seabrook

   

         This article was really entertaining to read. It presents the job of creating layouts and being an art director or graphic designer, like Fabein, fun. Fabien is the art director for Italian Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. What he does best that has made him so credible is, "let the oxygen in" to an ad, making is simple but widely attractive. The article quotes Calvin Klein saying, "his work is clean and modern and visual and strong and sexy and new. It's what I want" of Fabien's work. He is an "intuitive designer". The article basically records the authors time spent with Fabien at work and on a Calvin Klein underwear shoot, recording the creation process of Fabien.  

•  This article discusses 'modern' advertising. It is, "clean and young and direct..modern is graphic as opposed to classic."

Readings for 9/28/10

Sustainability

A Question of Design by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

    This article outlines the  Industrial Revolution and its impact on the way we produce and consume products.  Typically people praise the Industrial Revolution for the technological and living advances its given us but I thought it was  really interesting that the authors  listed all the negative consequences that the Industrial Revolution has also given us. The designs and techniques for design in that time period were so primitive, and that hasn't changed much for today's industries. Given how we're so much  more advanced now and we know the effects this has on the environment and overall product life, why are Industries still working that way? I think the intention of Henry Ford and many  industry leaders of time were good, wanting to create products for everyone. However, the cheap way they did so and are still doing so is a really negative effect. It's funny to correlate that with the  recent decline for American car companies and the government bailout.  The authors say that today's infrastructure is,"designed to chase economic growth..it does so at the expense of other vital concerns, particularly human and ecological health, cultural and natural richness and even the  enjoyment and delight" (McDonough & Braungart 468).  In terms of sustainability  the products produced then and now are not for long term use. They are intended to be replaced by better/newer versions. This means that immense products occupy landfills, the ocean etc., polluting the Earth day by day. The authors suggest that designers make products that are intended to work for as long as possible to better the environment,  not to be replaced by a new design and  further damage the Earth. 

• Industrial Revolution : creation of factories, cities, mass production. etc.  
• The standard for living was raised. 
• With the new jobs and the raising population the economy grew and industries wanted to  efficiently  mass produce products to get them to the consumer as soon as possible. Example in article: Henry Ford's mass production of the Model T. Before 1910 when Ford moved into an electric powered factory  to mass produce the cars,  car parts were individually made by craftspeople and no two parts were alike, they were edited to fit with the product. 
• DESIGN GOALS of the  industrialists was to make a product that was  desirable, affordable,  and operable  for all people that could be cheaply  mass produced. 
• The way industries produced products at the time of the Industrial Revolution is  for the most part still  very similar to the way they mass produce products today, and it's taking it's tole on the Earth. 
• "cradle-to-grave" designs: only last for a certain period of time, to be thrown away and replaced with a newer/better version. "Cradle-to-grave" designs occupy landfills, oceans, cause for pollution.  
• The International Style- began in the early twentieth century. This style produced building  that were universal, the goal was to create a social and aesthetic environment for working that was clean, minimalist, affordable. The materials for these projects were large sheets of glass, stell, concrete.  
• Poor design = intergenerational remote tyranny (poor designs today hurt the environment and people or future generations)
• Designers should work to leave behind POSITIVE DESIGNS to start a "strategy of change" for the future.

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The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Janine Benyus On The Virtues of Imitating Nature by David Kupfer

    I found this article to be really informative. Prior to the reading I never heard of Biomimicry. The idea of Biomimcry seems too good to be true and I didn't think it would actually be applied so often. Several companies have contacted Janine Benyus and her team to make a project "greener" by using Biomimicry.  I don't understand why the use of Biomimicry isn't publicized more, or why more companies don't take advantage of her service. Maybe it's just easier to keep with the way of the Industrial Revolution-simple and cheap; not caring about the earth.  Biomimicry is the epitome of sustainability in design. 

• Janine Benyus is the author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, a book that describes Biomimicry as the practice of observing the way organisms in nature solve problems, and applying those solutions to our everyday urban world. It's finding a natural way so produce.
• Biomimicry is being used to create sustainable products and processes for designers, engineers, architects, chemists, city planners,  etc. (Kupfer 5).
• "Biomimicry is not about harvesting nature's resources but sitting at her feet as students" (Kupfer 6) this means that all types of design professionals can take from the natural world to build and create sustainable, safe products. 
• We don't need to find a new  source for energy, we need to change our practices and how we consume.   
• "Coevolutionary loops"- when two species/organisms keep evolving to work together. According to Beynus this needs to be applied to humans and the Earth to increase a species rate of adaptation.
• Corporations should form t"coevolutionary loops" with their customers, to maintain sustainability and  meet the clients requests for green products.
• The website Beynus has made, AskNature.org,  allows visitors to ask a question about nature  and get an easy answer to help solve a problem. This allows  not just corporations, but designers and non-designers to contact biologists and  use Biomimicry.
• Biomimicry has been applied to several projects: borrowing the lotus leaf's use of "nanobumps", which loosely collect dirt that lands on the leaf, and is easily washed away with rain. This has been simulated for self-cleaning products for outdoor roofing, paint, wood, tiles, fabric etc.
•  Main goal for Beynus's work is to boost the respect for the natural world and she says that creating more sustainable products is an expansion of that. 

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Speculative Prehistory of Humanity by Buckminster Fuller

      I think there are some  ideas brought up in Fuller's article that really resonate with  David Kupfer,William McDonough and Michael Braungart's articles.  This article references time's in history where design of machines. automobiles and aircrafts have been or not been sustainable. The article is from 1981 and I think the idea he presents on page 75 stating that,

    "humanity does not understand the language of science...Ninety-nine percent of humanity thinks technology is a "new" phenomenon. The World population identifies technology with (1) weapons and (2) machines that compete with them for their jobs."

I don't think that people today think that they have to compete with machines for their jobs as much as they did in 1981. I think today machines make people's jobs easier and more likely advance their job performance. Also, I don't think people today associate technology with weapons. I think they associate technology with computers, social networking sites, mobile phones, GPS devices, etc. Technology will always be considered "new" because technological advances are always being made-there's always something new.

   Also on page 75 in the article, Fuller discusses the idea that nature does not have to stop and think or revise it's process for creating something, it just does it in a "elegantly simple" way. This is in line with Kupfer's article on Janine Benyus and her Biomimicing  process.  Fuller says, "synergetics will make it possible for all humanity to comprehend that physical Universe is technology and that the technology does make possible all humanity's option to endure successfully." That statement is basically Biomimicry, working with with the universe to create sustainable products.

 

• The author states that humanity's technologies waste ninety-five out of every 100 units of enegry it consumes. Based on transportation vehicles. 
• There is "design-avoidable energy wastage" because of the inefficiency of automobiles.