Reflections on AIGA part one

Wow, they’re spicing up the world of student design competition and adding another step by challenging students in real life scenarios. It’s funny that the emcee had made a reference to the show Project Runway, which I think was an influencing factor in the way that the AIGA had approached the 2007 student design competition. If you haven’t seen Project Runway it’s a fashion design competition hosted by Heidi Klum that challenges the best of designers to design and make clothes with certain themes or clients in mind while dealing with time and budge constraints.

So back to the matter at hand, the Command + X student design competition part one, which challenged seven students to redesign the Denver Broncos’ logo. I felt that some of the designers seem to just take elements from past logos and simply passed them off as a redesign with simple tweaks here and there. The evolutionary designs seemed to lack execution while the revolutionary designs were on point with execution and fresh ideas. These designers took the past logos into consideration to direct them in their redesign, which looked and felt fresher.

On another note I thought the judges pointed out some valid points with some of the elements in each design but I felt that they didn’t have a clear direction in their judging and felt that they were looking at the designs based on their personal tastes instead of looking at the designs objectively as clients representing the Denver Broncos franchise. I thought the “Farrah Fawcett” design that was put in the two truly showed there bias and the clear fact that they criteria when they were judging because the “Farrah Fawcett” design in my opinion lacked in execution and appeared to be an easy solution to the challenge.

Overall, I’m excited to see how each student will meet the challenges. It’s like American Idol for designers. lol


Image from: http://designconference2007.aiga.org/dc-commandx

Are ad'g and graphic design moving toward delivering 'experience'...

Yes, I think that advertising and design is moving toward delivering “experience” as the end product for the simple reason that we as a society are constantly inundated with hundreds of different ads at every turn we take. It only makes sense that advertisers and designers try to deliver to their audience in the only way that will catch, hold and influence their opinion. I keep hearing that it’s all about the experience because then you have a story to tell and memories to look back on. When you look at it from the point – of - view that an “experience” can be passed onto family and friends it creates a far better reach then advertisers have ever imagined. Look at the whole history of oral stories that have been passed on from generation to generation having an effect on what we believe and think for example “Urban Legends” and “old wives tales”.

So what better way to get into the already clouded minds of the public by creating an “experience” that can be used as jump off to create more buzz around a product. It sort of like the way viral ads work in the way it spreads like a virus with the simple form of communication.

Headstart 2008 - Yesterday was the day

So I’m writing this blog on my way to Headstart 2008 at CNIB. I have to be there at 8:30 am put it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting there on time. The workshops don’t start till 9am but I’m volunteering for the morning then going to the afternoon workshops. Maybe I’ll come back to post about each workshop that I’ll be attending today. The workshops include:

Networking – This is definitely an important part in making a name for ourselves so I’ll be listening carefully.
Freelancing – This will come in very handy.
Working Abroad – This should be interesting because I’ve always wanted to work in England or even the States for that matter.

Hopefully, I’ll learn something that I’ll be able to pass on to you. I’ll be taking notes.

What I’ve learned so far is…

• Those things that appear easy are difficult. And the things that appear difficult are easy.
• That nothing worthwhile is easy.
• People want to help and see me succeed even though I can’t see it for myself yet.
• That talking to people is better then ignoring the problem.
• That working hard is not a chore.
• I need time to understand and fully grasp things.
• I can’t keep doing stupid things.
• Procrastinating is not something I should be proud of.
• I’m not as scared to speak in front of others.
• I spend more time doing nothing then I do doing something.
• I am capable.
  

Image by: Bethany Carlson

Things that make me happy :D

• My Zen V
  
• My Macbook
  
• Good music
  
• Great design
  
• Figuring something out
  
• Finishing my homework
  
• Making other people smile
  
• Sleeping
  
• Great Food
  
• Free Food
  
• Spending time with good friends
  
• Dancing my butt off in my room
  
• Candy or Chocolate
  
• Long Weekends/Vacations
  
• Going camping and getting away from the city with friends
  
• Campfires
  

Image by: Rodolfo Clix

Design is...

Understanding the process and nature of our society.

When examining the idea of what design is to me I think it’s about understanding the needs and wants of the audience. It’s about being able to find solutions to problems that affect our society. It’s about understanding the individuals we are trying to reach on a psychological level to reach them on a personal level instead of an artificial level.

Do Designers have Environmental Responsibilities?

Yes, I think designers have a responsibility to be informed and educated about the impact that their designs may have on the environment. Being a designer is not simply designing it has transformed into a career that has many different job descriptions. And being environmentally aware or at least informed should be an important part of the design process. As they say“ it only takes one to make a difference” because that one can teach the rest that we should be taking responsibility for our work on a larger scale. I think people fail to see the importance of this matter in the long run because it doesn’t directly affect us in the present. Look at the natural disasters that have occurred over the past seven years, which have been linked to global warming. We create this illusion of this ideal world in our designs and the impact that has on society is phenomenal because of the reach and influence that we possess. I think my taking that into consideration we should be conscious of the effect that one designers have on the world.