Randy's 470

I took these pics with the only camera I had at the time. An...

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:18:35 -0400

I took these pics with the only camera I had at the time. An ipad. Not very good. I will absolutely retake pics when I fix a couple of things and then set up a good shoot.

Reading Response 16

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:45:06 -0400

The fear of failure is something that I have heard a lot about over the years. Many people have said that you only succeed through failures. W+K “fail harder” wall exemplifies this. I believe it is generally accepted that you are supposed to “embrace the failures” as Milton Glaser said in the video, because ultimately it will lead to success. It is interesting that even though we know this to be true and we hear it time and time again, but yet we are still scared of it. I know I am, and one of my biggest heroes growing up Walt Disney had many quotes on failure and to embrace the failure and keep moving forward. Yet I know that I am still scared to try new things. Even in the Adam Garcia project I chose “Learn the rules so you can break them.” It is something that I always think I am trying or want to try, because I know that if I can pull this off I can stand out. Yet I am always reserved and try to play it safe. Maybe it is in the personal projects that you are to experiment in to discover through failures? I have yet to come up with a great solution on how to make this work. I want it to work, yet I am always held up by fear.

A better video might have been, “Whats the best way to confront fear?” I know I am supposed to accept and embrace, but how? I think I have attempted this somewhat…. I have started to show my work more. Through the PSU program I have started to post stuff even if I am not completely happy with it. I painted a painting of a motorcycle and I gave it away. I think it helps. Maybe that is the key, showing your work?

Reading Response 15

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:15:24 -0400

Chapter 2 has some good tips that I need to employ and would like to try out. I definitely need a deadline when I work. I need that pressure to perform (awkward). The one tip that really intrigues me is the leaving a project on a high note. I definitely work on a project and when it starts to slip I feel more anxious to keep working until I get the solution. It sounds like I should be trying to let it go on a high note so I will be more willing to come back and be excited about a project I left on a high note rather than a project I am dreading to get back too because I bottomed out. Also he goes on to speak about presenting and writing for designers. It’s only becoming more and more obvious that along with great work, you need to be able to sell it.

Chapter 3. I was an in-house designer for 4 years (kind of) and I agree with the statements about working on a narrow range of projects. I got insanely tired of doing the same thing over and over everyday. One great thing was when I got to do something new and fresh I usually went all out and had to be reeled back in by my manager. I have never worked under someone on a project who is a designer (besides some teachers). I cannot wait for the opportunity, when the author speaks of starting over when you get out of school, I have always felt like this was true. That working under someone who’s ass is on the line is going to be deadly honest with you and it could only improve your design. One thing I noticed about Be Honest that kind of goes against the author is the sketch book. The author doesn’t seem to think it is necessary (I know every designer is different) but I noticed that what people where really interested in was peoples concepts. When people noticed my sketches in one of the brand books it was the thing that I got the 2nd most comments and questions about, and it wasn’t out in the open, you had to stumble across it. I also noticed that the person a couple of people away from me was having her sketch book really thumbed through and people were asking lots of questions. Something there??

Chapter 4 on freelancing brought up thoughts of Jolby. Those guys are awesome, make awesome work, and seem to really really fit together as a team. Its impressive. I have heard them speak twice now and have been impressed by the workflow they have come to create for themselves and they seem to really have found an amazing fit. I don’t think this last paragraph said anything really.

Reading Response 14

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:59:41 -0400

With reading 14 I totally can relate to not being respected and maybe it was because I spoke about what I thought the client wanted to hear, or working for cheap. I thought I was doing the guy a favor, but maybe I was setting myself up to fail because of a lack of respect from the client?

Another section of the reading that I understand but probably don’t do enough of is the research for the project yes, but also research on your client. It is obvious that this will only help you as you create respect in your clients mind by being knowledgeable and showing you care enough to learn about them as they have probably researched you as well.

The respect among designers that he speaks about is something I personally have only experienced here at PSU and am excited to be apart of it. The design community I experienced before PSU was not one of welcome. You were definitely treated like a second class citizen, like you were going to take work from them. It was very cold. I then come to PSU and experience the complete opposite and I feel it only promotes a community and creativity, but also pushes each designer to be better. I asked Ethan about the conference that FOGD went to and he had spoke about how the students that were there were in there own section away from the professionals and this separation was weird because here in Portland they have access to the designers.

I love that designers are standing up for themselves and getting respect for that. It goes back to an earlier reading response were the “truth” is the only way to go. Reading about people being rewarded for being honest is inspiring.

Reading Response 13

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:38:00 -0400

Technology in regards to participation might be the way to get the most people involved in a project. Designers learning code as another tool but a very open tool and one that can be set to fit the designers style and personality are interesting concepts. I feel like it might be the next step in design. I have always thought that maybe Adobe has made things too “user friendly” and easy to use. So in a sense maybe graphic design as it is commonly understood to be has become a bit automated, by the ease of someone picking up a program and understanding how to use it rather quickly due to ease of use. People call themselves designers without knowing the correct way to use them. I think that is why there seems to be this call out to use more hand done design in design right now. It is a call out to show it takes more than photoshop to create good design. Like in music with all of the auto tune anyone can sing. There has been a push for “real music.”

Maybe the next thing in design is coding. Geeks can code like a champ but can they make it look good? A designer could learn code (or collaborate with a geek) and design all the aspects of the code and how it reacts with people. This is something that can’t really be automated. It takes a design sense to understand these principles.

As far as participation if you are trying to reach a large amount of people to participate, code and the web is the only way to go. Your audience is the world, which will create richer more diverse participation with such different participants. I can easily see companies getting involved with this type of design participation as well. It lends itself well for messages to get spread while participating in a project.

Reading Response 12

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:41:59 -0400

These answers by designers makes me think of the Study Partner workshop we had at PSU. I really didn’t understand at first what we were doing as we were describing our design. We choose words that described our style or design ethic into predetermined categories. Even by the end of class I still was 50/50 on whether I had just spent the whole day not understanding what was going on. But as my next project came along, I wrote those words that we had trimmed down on my sketch book and put them on my workspace at home, and in my phone. The more I looked at those words, the more I realized that those are the things that I want to bring to every project. It came to the forefront when I was in the next workshop, was given a design description and tried to design a poster for the “client.” I put everything into what I thought they would like. When it was my turn to have my concepts looked at we spoke about how they were the client style but they were lacking. We all thought that, I was losing interest in the project. Then I remembered the words that from the Study Partner workshop and came up with two more concepts that I was into and the instructors agreed was a unique way that represented both the client and myself. It is something that I have to remember when I design and hopefully it will keep me going.

Reading Response 11

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:25:47 -0400

Milton Glaser’s 10 Things

1. I can absolutely relate to this, one of the last times I tried to do work for someone I knew and I knew he was an asshole. Somehow I thought it would be better…..I was wrong. He was an asshole and I became a “creative arm” as someone put in class. It was the worst and was kind of the last straw for me.

2. I would love to never have a job. You would either live to be 110 or die by stress at 40. If you did catch a break and work your ass off, the freedom would be amazing, just creating all day long. You would probably turn into an artist.

3. I agree with this 100%. I don’t really have a ton of friends because anyone who lied or tried to bring me down I stopped hanging out with. I don’t have time for drama or BS, neither should anyone. I have definitely met these toxic people and I do my best to steer clear.

4. The fear of failing is a strong one. The people who overcome that fear are the ones that succeed in life.

5. I agree with this one as well. Less does not always equal more. I have such an appreciation for modernism and things like art nouveau. The idea should be free to explore all aspects.

6. I agree and disagree with this set. What about Draplin? He seems to have chosen a style and just mastered every aspect of it and it looks amazing. I don’t know if he needs to be able to adapt? There are definitely designers that need to evolve and I think it is important to be opened minded. Designers shouldn’t be designing styles they should be doing what’s best for the design.(easier said than done).

7. Draw, draw, draw, I absolutely believe that you should always be learning and trying to make your life better. When you stop learning you stop moving.

8. I disagree that school teaches you to defend your work to your last dying breath. I agree that you need to be honest and listen to other people who you respect with what they have to say. Even people you don’t respect should be listened too. Give them a chance to earn respect. It’s how we learn. Listening to our peers and being honest that there are people better than us. It goes back to always learning, exploring, and moving forward!

9. Aging sucks.

10. Always, always, always, tell the truth. Lying causes to much to remember.

Reading Response 10 Art’s little brother reading made me...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:54:23 -0400

Reading Response 10

Art’s little brother reading made me think of some experiences I have had recently along the same subject of this article.

I took a art history course here at PSU and was asked the question by the professor “What is Art?” I personally responded with something like, “an artists own personal reflection of society, creatively displayed or created.” I am not saying that my answer was the correct answer but what she said shocked me. The professor who has been a curator of museums and is an advisor to the Portland Art Museum said the answer is “if the work is recognized by an official recognized organization.”

I was quite taken a back by this statement. It made art seem like this total elitist club that you can’t partake in unless you have been given permission by people better than you. You are telling me that a picture my daughter makes or a painting that I do is not art? I fail to see the difference. Obviously there is good art and bad art but for someone to judge what is art kind of defeats the purpose in my book. Someone in the article references designers are hired to create for someone else. How is this different than the baroque time period for instance. The church was commissioning artists for those paintings. Carvaggio wasn’t painting pictures of christ and his disciples for his own pleasure. The church was paying for those paintings so that is what he was painting. Michelangelo couldn’t carve big giant slabs of marble for his own pleasure, the materials were to expensive. These artists had to be commissioned to help pay for their craft. (disclaimer* I am not downplaying these artists at all.)

I see todays designers much like the artist Von Dutch (the man not the pants). He was a sign painter first. People payed him for his pin-striping ability. He was an amazing pin-striper and people would let him go wild. He also at the same time started to make things like paintings, sculptures, cars, he taught himself to machine and he would carve the engine cases of motorcycles, and guns with these very ornate patterns. In my book he was kind of a maker turned artists which kind of seems like a of artists you see and read about today.

I know we spoke about this in class....

Thu, 10 May 2012 14:16:59 -0400

Love letters to a city creator speaking about his project and daily paintings. I want to hang with this guy.

http://www.psfk.com/2012/05/steve-powers-espo-psfk-talk.html

care of Adam R. Garcia’s twitter

Have always loved this.

Tue, 08 May 2012 02:39:12 -0400

Have always loved this.

Reading Response 9

Tue, 08 May 2012 02:32:51 -0400

Designing design was the thing that stuck out to me the most about this reading. He was speaking about design of the future and what designers would be designing. It is a response I feel to all the amateur designers flooding the world with bad design. When successful the participatory design is a higher level of design that someone untrained will not be able to pull off successfully. It takes a high design understanding to create a successful campaign.

I was also really drawn to the hands on exercise at the end of the reading. I think that it would be a really cool thing to do with the kids in my project. Maybe for a future project would be an interesting thing to look into. Exploring the creativity of young kids. Designing a poster with 90% open, teaching the kids to stencil and letting them go at it. It seems like a good start to a project that is going to use participatory design in its final. People that worked on the posters would have a real sense of pride and want to show off what they did to their friends and continue to spread the message.

Schedule

Mon, 07 May 2012 17:46:55 -0400

I think this is close????

5/7 - 5/11 - Questions going to be asked written and done. Meeting with kids on Wednesday, hope to speak with at least 10 kids. Work on drawings.

5/14 - 5/18 - Meet with kids Monday ask 10 more kids. Wednesday meet with kids and ask more questions if needed. Work on drawings.

5/21 - 5/25 - All drawings done start on production.

5/28 - 6/1 - All production done

6/4 - 6/8 - Meet back with kids document their thoughts on finished product.

6/11 - 6/15 - Due on 12th.

I hope….

Reading Response 8

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:48:48 -0400

The things in the article seemed like common sense teamed up with what we have gone over in this class about participatory design. The 2015 designer will need to have a good solid traditional design base. The next things like understanding of social issues, becoming an anthropologists especially due to the new global workforce environment that continues to grow, being on top of new technologies, working within a team, and continuing to pay attention to sustainable practices. The other important factor are concentrating on a more narrow definition of an audience which can be achieved through new forms of social media practices, also changing the idea of customers to co-creators with mass customization. It goes along with what we have been going through in class. These experiments of today with gathering information, including participation with strangers and friends, are going to turn into the design of the future.

Reading Response 7

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:10:00 -0400

I love the line in the reading “to create work that isn’t finished when it’s finished.” That has to be a real creative challenge for a designer but one that is probably the future of design. With customization showing up more and more it’s what are society is going to start to expect not be pleasantly surprised by. Individuality makes people feel important, like they are in charge and people are going to start demanding it more and more. I could see it being a good thing for designers because it doesn’t seem like it is something that any untrained person with photoshop will be able to pull off. I also really was interested when the best participatory experience are not wide open. They are scaffolded to help people feel comfortable engaging in the activity. It is much like the guidelines or rules that designers can give themselves to help the creative process. It goes along with the rules and guide lines that we have been talking about in previous readings and in class.

Just because I posted so much text today. Here is a picture of I...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:17:35 -0400

Just because I posted so much text today. Here is a picture of I took of Aurora taking pictures on the WES. She was pretty funny.

Step 2: Focus P2

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:07:47 -0400

I would like to focus on these 3 artists. Adam Garcia, Pictory, and Something’s Hiding In Here.

Adam Garcia; Trust Me. This project looks like it was really a lot of fun. 2 month collaboration process, Adam asked for a unused or original piece that a creative colleague had worked on or created an original. Then Adam took that piece which had to still be in the final piece and basically repurposed the art with his own take without any interaction with the original creator. The creators had to “Trust” Adam with their work which I am sure was probably a little nerve racking for some. Giving up control of your work and not knowing what the outcome was going to be. A loose theme appeared visually of Trust and Deception. It was also a challenge for Adam I am sure because these are fellow colleagues that have trusted him with their work. So their names are on the piece as well and they don’t have any control. It was participatory because the original creators gave artwork for Adam to use in the show, without this initial step there is no show. I chose Adam’s project because I feel like it was fun for him and it is something that I would totally love to do. It has forced restrictions which I find totally interesting and it seems like a way to create a real sense of community.

Pictory; This is a really simple but cool idea for collaboration on a global scale. People submit 1 picture with a caption. It is a small caption and the ones with the right picture to go along with it really seem to capture the story and tell a much larger story without doing so in words. Their moto “A pictory= a picture + story= a captioned image= a photo story. Interesting to compare work from different contributors on the same topic. Pictory is about true, personal stories, and documentation of our lives and cultures. Pictory members don’t have to be professional photographers or writers, but they do have to look, observe, photograph, and consider. Their are weekly themes on different social documentary topics which give direction to submissions. They then are curated by the editor into one photo essay. I chose this project because I like the user submission side of the project. Not to keen on how it’s curated. I would like to see that maybe more open ended. I do however like the topic given and then seeing how different cultures tackle a certain subject on a global scale. That is pretty awesome.

Somethings Hiding In Here; Your Message Here. I really like this project. It is simple but can have such a wide range of reactions and responses. The group but in a display window for Urban Outfitters a wooden replica of a vintage marquee sign. They allowed people to send in messages and they took a picture with the message and posted it on a blog. The responses ranged from personal “I’m pregnant” to “Today was the best.” The sign automatically had a sense of relevance because it was placed in a storefront of a prominent company. Then for viewers to wonder if the messages were for them, for the store, or ??? I think this project is really pulled off great. It looks amazing and the messages are so great. They can be looked at individually or as a whole for some great conversation. I love love love the fact that the sign can mean nothing to someone or something truly epic to someone else. It looks awesome also, which doesn’t hurt.

Thesis Ideas

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:18:00 -0400

1. Ask kids at Helen Gordon Preschool a question. (like What is a good dream? What is a bad dream? What’s your favorite memory? Favorite thing at school? What is a graphic designer?) I would then illustrate their responses, and create a coloring book to give back to them.

2. With the kids at Helen Gordon, show them some pictures, have them create a story. Which then I would illustrate. Creating a children’s book. Maybe they could be sold to parents to help raise money for the school. Why is it important to be nice?

3. I would give each child a set of directions on drawing something. I would tell them to draw something like 3 circles. How they interpret is up to them. They could be varying in sizes, next to each other, far away, etc. Then I could collect them and put them into either a book or frame them and have a gallery showing for the parents.

4. Still thinking……

Week 3 Readings

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:57:00 -0400

Reading 5

Doing participatory design just because it is a way to express oneself creatively. They do not need to be complex digital pieces. One advantage to participatory design is that you can build a following before a product is available for purchase. The reading after this point really went into speaking with designers that are using participatory design in their design work right now. They all are embracing it as the future and all feel like it is a great thing when done right. Each designer takes it into account in their own way but all use participatory design to their advantage and have found ways to gather the data back to show clients that it is working. It was cool to see the different ways to get people involved and the different projects vary in the outcome. I enjoyed looking at the no smoking signs project but also the chalkboard paint project is very good way to get some immediate ease of entry participation as well.

Reading 6

This article is continuing the talk of participatory design and the use of rules to breed creative solutions. I like when Chimero says “Designers are placed in a position to plan and produce the systems, platforms, frameworks, events and artifacts that work as a conduit to facilitate these interactions and experiences.” I feel like through the readings we have had so far that this statement fits well of the designer of tomorrow. A designer will need to be more of a producer and have a finger in many different aspects of design to create a truly unique experience for the participant. One other thing that I was considering when reading the article was when speaking about jazz and improv and their setting was very important. What would be the setting for design? Is it ADX? Are these design communities going to be where the best and most creative design will come from?

Week 2 Reading Responses

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:17:24 -0400

2. Towards Relational Design and More on Towards Relational Design by Andrew Blauvelt. It was a very deep essay about design past, present, and future. Relational design the author calls it is obsessed with processes and systems to generate designs, which is different from how it used to be. It spoke about how design has always been relational in one way or another because of its function. Design produces effect of all sizes. But the author says what is different about this phase of design is the primary role that has been given to design’s form and content. It spoke of the TIME magazine cover with “YOU” being the next thing. It calls to point the individuals that feel like they have more self importance than in the past. With programs like Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr, the list goes on all promoting oneself and individual satisfaction. Deisgners will need to take these things into consideration into the future. Designers used to dislike constraints and rules of all kinds, these have now been embraced. I personally feel like it shows off ones true creativity. The relational design puts the designer as an almost creative director, standing back and watching it unfold with the guidance of the designer.

3. Foreword & What’s Participatory Design pg. 6-14. The Public wants more control, with a credit card the average person can call themselves a designer. I know this from personal experience. My old place of work we wanted to hire a graphic designer. We put an ad in the paper and in the next 3 days received 300 plus applications. They varied so much from designers with tons of experience and art directors to the a lady that designed the church flyer every Sunday. All called themselves graphic designers. The reading spoke of the definition Participatory design in that it requires user content for completion. It also said of designers of today creating open ended generative systems. Viewers are now users and the public is conditioned to contribute. Participation should challenge and empower professional designers. Takes user content and turns it into something greater than the original, in this way the designer has value to users. Rewarding them for their participation. The reading also spoke a lot about how old media and new media are colliding. The old standard was monopolized and the new technology supports the individual.

4. Towards a Tender Society. This short but sweet article was all about being brave and asking intelligent questions. Being sincere and caring about what the words are that are coming out of your mouth. Most people probably have had the same types of experiences that you have and that can be a good way to have meaningful conversations, even with strangers.

Step 1: Investivgate

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:08:58 -0400

1. Adam Garcia; Trust Me. This project looks like it was really a lot of fun. Adam asked for a unused or original piece that a creative colleague had worked on or created an original. Then Adam took that piece which had to still be in the final piece and basically repurposed the art with his own take without any interaction with the original creator. The creators had to “Trust” Adam with their work which I am sure was probably a little nerve racking. Giving up control of your work and not knowing what the outcome was going to be. It was also a challenge for Adam I am sure because these are fellow colleagues that have trusted him with their work. So their names are on the piece as well and they don’t have any control. It was participatory because the original creators gave artwork for Adam to use in the show.

2. Mikey Burton: Thesis Project. Mikey Burton did a thesis project on solving the problem of trying to get middle school kids to read. He chose books that questioned authority and gave them a rock poster like cover and aesthetic. The case that held the books had the same look and feel which lent itself to be something that the kids would hopefully keep and read again. It wasn’t really a participatory project as far as I can tell. He had a very specific audience he was going for and I think he nailed that.

3. Lisa Congdon: Collection A Day. Lisa gave herself a project of taking a picture or painting a picture of a collection everyday for a year. The project was very successful and garnered her a lot of attention. They made a book of her blog. The project is not participatory. She used her own collection, but was very disciplined in her work and that is what seems to be the thing that pulls it off.

4. Jessica Hische: Daily Drop Cap. Jessica is trying to beautify the internet by allowing people to use her drop caps in non commercial ways. It is more of a blog of passion more than anything else. It is participatory to an extent but in a way that Jessica will probably never see most of them used.

5. Frank Chimero: The States. Frank has chosen to take each state and fit something inside it. Seems very simple but the work is really good. People following want to know when their state is coming so something must be going right for him. It is not really a participatory project. Frank is doing the project for himself first over anything else. It has become a passion for him and that is probably why it has become so successful.

6. Keetra: Anonymous Hugging. Keetra has a very participatory project involving hugs. A curtain of sorts with arm puppets are sewn into. The artist goes behind the curtain and sticks arms in sleeves. Then the public can come to up to the wall and get a free no commitment anonymous hug. I am sure for the public that is coming up to get the hugs is liking the fact they don’t have to worry about what the other person is thinking because he or she has turned into nothing more than a thing. Hugs just feel good also.

7. Jessica Hirsch: Folk Feng Shui. Jessica has created what almost seems to me like a creative exercise sort of. It appears as if she has a dedicated area and then allows people to come up and put their stuff or personal belongings that they have on them at the time, and arranges them into creative layouts. It is very sculpture like and participatory because she gets people to give up their stuff for a little bit and allows Jessica to touch and manipulate them. Context is everything.

8. Somethings Hiding In Here: Your Message Here. I really like this project. It is simple but can have such a wide range of reactions and responses. The group but in a display window for Urban Outfitters a wooden replica of a vintage marquee sign. They allowed people to send in messages and they took a picture with the message and posted it on a blog. The responses ranged from personal “I’m pregnant” to “Today was the best.” The sign automatically had a sense of relevance because it was placed in a storefront of a prominent company. Then for viewers to wonder if the messages were for them, for the store, or ??? I think this project is really pulled off great. It looks amazing and the messages are so great. They can be looked at individually or as a whole for some great conversation.

9. Pictory. This is a really simple but cool idea for collaboration on a global scale. People submit 1 picture with a caption. It is a small caption and the ones with the right picture to go along with it really seem to capture the story and tell a much larger story without doing so in words.

10. My Parents Were Awesome. This blog is super simple as well but takes you back and makes you think of stuff you probably really didn’t think about. It’s cool to see these parents and grandparents and look at them in a different light.