Final

Social Design

Many groups such as the Rural Studio go about helping the community by changing the lives of people who are not able to help themselves. Through these events they are able to understand the people and bring forth a new life given to them. My idea is for stores such as GameStop, supermarkets and other big companies to stop using plastic bags since people have a tendency to liter. Instead of having plastic bags the stores can use stickers made by designers which has the store logo on it and facts about littering in general. These stickers will be helpful to the community since they will be placed onto the purchased item, instead of having a useless bag which people usually throw away. The use of stickers on products helps regulate the consumption of plastic around the world. After doing a little research about plastic bags and packaging goods, I found out that it makes up a large portion of waste today. Also plastic waste is one of the leading waste found on beaches, sidewalks and roads. Plastic bags are very hard to recycle due to the fact that they have very little value in recycling. Another negative fact about plastic bags is that they are very light and can easily be blown by wind and eventually float into oceans, rivers and lakes. Plastic bags can easily kill aquatic life by consuming these unknown objects. With the use of stickers being placed on bought goods it stays on the package until it is obsolete. Personally when I go to GameStop I always refuse the bag since it is easier to carry the game box. Plus the bag is more of a hindrance for me due to the fact I have no use after I get home.
Using stickers can also help designers show their talent and create a new image for the certain company/store. With stickers they can have different kinds for certain events or holidays. The use of stickers can allow designers to create many different kinds of unique logos that represent the store.
Having stickers instead of bags can help with the environment and begin a new trend of having people recycle more. Stickers may cost more to mass produce and distribute around the world but it will cause less harm to the environment. The environment will improve due to the fact that hazardous material will not be floating around. This will help with the increase of wildlife and lower the pollution level of the world. Without plastic bags is the first steps in converting the world into a safer and healthier place.

Resources:
http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-background-info.html
http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/plastic-bag-facts

#8

Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami is a well known contemporary artist around the world. He was born on 1963 in Tokyo, Japan and attended The Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He came from an artistic family who all enjoyed the art art world.  Murakami is not just a designer but he also does paintings. At first Murakami was going to study Nihonga but he lost interest in it and became more interested in the otaku culture of anime. This lead him to start a movement called "superflat" which was influenced by manga and anime. This style "superflat" consists of flat planes and images which comes from the style of anime.
Murakami is not only an artist but also a businessman, he founded the KaiKai Kiki LLC which is a studio in which they produce his work. This studio holds biannual events which helps amatuer artists get exposed to the national and international art scene. He has had many exhibitions throughout the world from Serpentine Gallery in London to the Boston museum of Fine Arts. His art is very well known in the Japanese culture due to the never ending growth of the anime/manga population. Some critiques call his art childish and do not take him seriously but Murakami ignores the criticism, the style he choose to pursue has its own aesthetic qualities to them.
His art grasps the understandings of modernist culture in Japan through his cartoonist style of design. This style of his has given him much recognition around the world and he was listed in Time's Magazine as one the most influential people in the world of 2008. The use of color and the ways in which he develops his works is very unique. The colors are very vibrant and the use of imagery brings the art alive. His art has a reoccurring theme to it, from eyeballs to mushrooms and flowers his style is creepy yet intriguing. One of my favorite pieces he has done was Kanye West "Graduation" album cover. He gives the album cover his usual anime/manga feeling into the piece which was really interesting due to the fact that most album covers do not have this style. Also by incorporating the japanese culture into the album cover it helps describe the art he wishes to make. His style is also influenced by what Murakami calls it "Poku" which is pop and otaku culture. Poku reflects how otakus are fascinated by manga and anime through the character development. His career began through his fascination of otaku's and the way they acted.
Murakami is one of my favorite designers at the moment due to the fact that his art is much different than what is seen today. Also I am a fan of anime and manga i find myself enjoying his artistic talent more than other artists/designers. His art draws out the culture of Japan with images that create a sense of fast movement and cuteness that can be seen all around Japan. The piece below is Kanye West's album cover, Graduation:



resources:
http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2004-Ko-Pr/Murakami-Takashi.html
rogallery.com/Murakami_Takashi/murakami-biography.html
http://www.jca-online.com/murakami.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Murakami

#7

The two films Monterey Pop directed by DA Pennebaker and Playtime directed by Jacques Tati are both very similar yet at the same time shows different aspects of modernism. Playtime uses the setting to show their view on modernism with buildings being very structured and linear. Also the colors are all gradations of black and white. The setting of Playtime uses very simple structures and colors to show the modernistic views of the 20th century. Monterey Pop has a different way of showing their views on modernism, and that is through the music. The concert being held has many different kinds of genres playing from rock to Indian music. The other aspects Pennebaker uses to show modernism are the people, the way they dress and act. The clothes seen in pennebakers film are differs from Tatie film. The hippies wore loose comfortable clothes which showed their feelings of freedom. Whereas the clothes worn by the actor in Tatis film were machine-like and bland. Different views of modernist

#6

Museum Piece - Todd Hays

The article talks about April Greiman and her success in the graphic world. She was one of the first designers to use technology when developing her designs. Greiman pioneered a process of hybrid imagery by making the posters three-fold. This process made the static images into dynamic ones, creating a sort of 'moving poster' which Greiman created. Not only did she pioneer this process, she also used typography in a different way which created space and movement in her designs. Her new methods of designing threw her into fame within the design world. People were very intrigued by her unconventional ways of designing which involved computers and changing how her posters are viewed.

http://www.idsgn.org/posts/design-discussions-april-greiman-on-technology/#interview
This interview on April talks about her first computer experience, at first she did not see computers as something to do with design. She was very optimistic about them at first but when Mac developed a stronger system it developed her style of design. She may not consider herself a graphic designer but much of her work is in the category of a designer. Her newer pieces and pieces she is doing at the moment reflect that of multi media. Not only does she use design but she also incorporates photography, typography, and much more. Greiman uses her own photos which she does not change, she uses the originals to keep the originality of things.

# 5

Art's Little Brother by Rick Poyner

Poyner describes in his article how designers have an inferiority complex when it comes to artists and art. This is due to the influence of wealth and fame artists receive that designers hope to gain. Many think that design does not stand on equal ground with art, but through the years design is not part of the world and can be seen everywhere. Poyner also writes about the different views of artists, they are free to pursue their goals however they like. Designers go about their work mechanically using digital tools similar to those used by artists. Poyner describes how some art is not art but furniture. These pieces are too similar to things in which people use to decorate their houses and their is no distinction between them. Many different artists/designers Poyner interviewed have come to understand the difference in forms that they have created art with. They know that without art there is no design and vise versa. Art and design stand on equal grounds, even though some might believe that design is the new art of the twentieth century. People may never see the original art form perfected over the hundreds of years but they see art everywhere due to design. Designers and their works will always be around people even if they do not know it.

• Art and design are equal in term of being "art"
• Design is the new form of art in the twentieth century. 
• Design is a means of personal and cultural expression in which artists/designers can show the world. 

But, is it Art? by Kees Dorst

Kees writes about how goals formed by a designer is partly formed by others. Unlike artists who have their own goals and ideals designers are influenced by others. He also writes how these goals set by artists determine whether or not the artist can become successful. Even though artist and designers are different they can also be similar in the way they think. To become successful in each category one must think like the other. The goals of artists and designers can be limitless, but that also depends on the person.

• Artists thinks like designers while designers also think like artists. 
• Projects can have unlimited potential in the way they go about it. 
• Different things influence the thought process of artists and designers. 

Discussion by M/M

In the discussion with Mathias he describes what it is to be a specialist in each field is like. After mastering one field can an artist/designer move onto the next field. He then describes how artists have become detached from the world and live in a space of their own. This can be very true at times, artists have a unique way of thinking that others may not be able to comprehend making them seem detached from society. The article also talks about how artists and designers treat one another. In some instances there is a lack of respect for designers while at other times it is vise versa. Most of the people interviewed do not discriminate between art and design.

• Similar views between the interviewees about art and design. No negative thoughts about the difference in design and art.
• Many of them believe in equality and quality between art and design. 

10 things paper is used for....

1. Recycle paper that is trash
2. Use recycle paper for posters, flyers and other forms of advertisement.  
3. Use printers which uses less paper.
4. Create work through the internet and stop using paper overall.
5. Find an alternative source to print on. 
6. Do not print drafts, only print out final products.
7. Make the designs smaller and more compact so that each sheet of paper will have multiple designs. 
8. A designer can become more technology based when sketching and use a tablet of some sort. 
9. Use any scraps to form a new piece of paper which can be used to print. 
10. Promote use of recycled paper or an alternative source to other designers. 

#4

Bad

The article describes how designers should think. They are the ones to pull the strings when designing, instead of listening the the company make the rules. The author describes designers as outsiders, who act indepently but also listen to the voices of the people. It also describes what the main points of being a designer is, to be able to change a product without changing the product itself. Through this process designers become too involved wit the company and become insiders. The article also goes into the processes of design firms. One part are the designers who design everything while the other hustle's companies into buying the posters, ads, etc. As time goes by we find that designers are not as needed as the design themselves. The last part of the article was the most interesting for me. The author writes that being different is the best thing a designer can do, following all the rules that were taught does not create good works. Instead being "bad" and breaking away from the norms is what design is all about.

• Designers should be different and not become too attached to the company they work at. 
• Once sucked into a company the designer becomes any other worker there, they become insiders.
• Being different is how we can separate the good from the bad.
• Be "bad".

William-Morris

The design poster was very interesting in the fact that the typography was all the same but the color of the text were all different. This create an effect of the words being stronger. Especially the last one with the black background it really emphasized the idea he was getting at. As the color change in the words the message becomes stronger and more full of emotions. Although each poster is the same, it feels different as you look through them. The method of creating emphasis not only comes from the size of each word but also the placement and form. William-Morris was able to create it just by changing color in each piece. 

• Change of color helps emphasize the words.
• The typography he used really works with the sentence. 

Professionalism, Amateurism and the Boundaries of Design by Gerry Beegan and Paul Atkinson

Beegan and Atkinson get at the point of how the relationship of amateurs and professionals always change through modernism. The difference between the two is the reputation they get, being a professional has many perks in which amateurs strive for. Profession was different back in the sixteenth century compared to now. It was a title used only for upper class work like law, medicine and divinity, but now profession can be referred to many different kinds of jobs. Amateurism can be seen in a positive way since it is the splitting image of an average person. There jobs relate back to regular people and the designs they make go with DIY. Vernacular modernism is a pure and more authentic than other pieces due to the fact that they are made by hand compared to machine. Vernacular design was more for amateurs due to the fact that they are able to experiment and have fun with designing. The worries of being a professional is not present.

• Many differences between being professional and an amateur. 
• Different movements through the decades help form a new road for designers. 
• more advance technology.