Experience Design

In a post by Allan Chochinov on Core77, he acknowledges the latest release of the book Experience Design by Nathan Shedroff, who invented the discipline of the same name.  On Nathan's site, describes Experience Design as incorporating "Time/Duration, Interactivity, Breadth/Consistency, Sensorial and Cognitive Triggers, and Significance and Meaning."  Experience Design is not just digital and incorporates all the aspects of media a brand needs to address to create compelling experiences.

http://www.core77.com/blog/business/experience_design_11_reissued_12650.asp

http://www.nathan.com/

One Common Charger

In a recent blog on core77.com, a major development was announced in world of cell phones!  No longer will we need to have a dozen different cell phone chargers at home, hoping that we grab the right one on our way out the door in case our cell phone dies.  In an agreement reached by mobile communications consortium GSMA, cell phones will now all share the same type of charging socket.  It won't completely happen until 2012, but better than never.

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/cell_phone_common_charger_initiative_12653.asp

Design for Sustainability

Green Patriot Posters is "a communications campaign" to encourage and inspire US citizens to get involved with sustainability by creating eye-catching posters to promote a greener way of life.  Their first campaign was designed by Michael Bierut from Pentagram and included bus ads promoting green jobs and transportation.  The initiative is currently looking for entries and the winners will be distributed to a wide audience.

greenpatriotposters.org

The Rebranding of Sustainability

In Emily Pillonton's February 13th entry on Core 77, she discusses the issues of sustainability explored at a conference at Adobe Headquarters in San Francisco. Many interesting points were brought up with the main overlying idea that sustainability needs a rebranding. It is often viewed as using less and concerving, rather than something that is additive and creative. Adobe also discussed how the tools they create can aid designers striving to implement sustainable processes.

http://www.core77.com/blog/events/reflections_design_for_sustainability_roundtable_at_adobe_12625.asp#more

Picture: Core 77

Long Live the Art!

In Holland Cotter's February 12th entry on nytimes.com, he addresses the effect the economic crisis has on the art world. When money is abundant, it seems that the art world suffers. The wealthy spend their money on contemporary "trendy" works and, therefore, influence the art world to homogenize. The "boom may be over", but it appears that it will allow for more artists to flourish and encourage imagination and diversity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/arts/design/15cott.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=design

Design Writing

In a Core 77 post by William Bostwick, he discusses ways to improve your writing skills as a designer.  We can't get away from having to convey our ideas to clients and fellow designers in the form of emails, proposals, etc.  The article is broken up into five steps to remember when writing: "Use your skills", "Kill jargon", "Tell a story", "Don't be afraid to put yourself into your writing", and "Don't say too much".  In the end, you want your writing to sound like it is coming from you and to be as unique as the work it is describing.

Photo: Robert Patrick

http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/how_not_to_write_like_a_designer_5_tricks_you_didnt_learn_in_studio_12363.asp

Pratt's Walls Should be BLUE!

In a February 5th article published in the NY Times, a study conducted by the University of British Columbia on the effects of color on brain functioning was explored.  The researchers studied 600 people broken up into two groups.  Each group was given written tasks set on a background of either red or blue.  They found that the red group did better on tasks involving analytical thinking and detail oriented questions.  The blue group did better on creative thinking tasks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/science/06color.html?_r=1

Fight Over Obama's Picture

In a February 5th entry on the NY Times section Art Beat, a lawsuit between the Associated Press and visual artist Shepard Fairey over the rights of a photograph is reported.  The AP is says it owns the rights to a photograph that served as the basis for Fairey's mixed-media collage and therefore, must be compensated for the use of it.  However, Fairey claims he is protected by fair-use standards and that his is an abstracted version and very different from the original.

Photo: Associated Press

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/ap-says-it-owns-image-in-obama-poster/

Brand Platform Theme

"Skeuomorphs are versatile, user-friendly objects that bring together people of all generations."

Brand Platform Images

Abstract Photos

View more presentations from Liz Motolese.

The Start of a Brand

For our Digital Design class, we needed to come up with a Brand Platform inspired by the book Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years by Bruce Sterling, the best-selling visionary author. My concept for my brand will stem from the following quote from the book:


"Contemporary people strongly prefer to live among ritual architectural symbols of personal heritage and continuity. These pastiche forms ("colonial", "classical", "Southwestern", "Tudor") used to be stark necessities from the past's construction industries. Houses with these shapes are no longer technically necessary, but they hang around because of legislation, property values, and sentiment. These forms are technically known as "skeuomorphs", old shapes patiently carried into a new culture because they bolster our self-image, define our identities, and somehow make us feel better about ourselves. Skeuomorphs are tastefully retro and carry a reassuring message of firm purpose and continuity." (Sterling, 78)

The Fight Within

Seth Godin's blog is an excellent resource for young designers. In his January 26th entry, he talks about the struggle within to find the self-confidence to concentrate on your work as opposed to focusing on your desire not to screw up. I strongly related to this entry because I found my goals on the outside are often to communicate my design ideas clearly and to produce noteworthy work. Quite often though, my real goal that blankets everything is to just not to fail. I find myself worrying more that I won't be able to produce anything, let alone anything good. I need to embrace the fact that, yes, I may fail at somethings, but that it is ok in the long run and will make my future work all that much better.