On Wednesday evenings (time yet to be determined) lectures and discussions
will be led by Professor Anthony Williams on the subject of graphic design
and its related topics in room 406 (tentatively) of the COM-D building.

Guest speakers and discussions will be arranged to help young designers
place themselves in context to the world of design. Topics will include, but
will not be limited to; typography, contemporary aesthetics, grid systems,
kinds of design jobs “out there”, etc.

This will be an opportunity for students to not only develop a more
comprehensive idea of their design and what graphic design they are
interested in pursuing as a career, but also to help create a stronger
community of youth who are excited or interested in graphic design.

Yours, Angela

Jackie was showing me her assignment for the class, and it reminded me about the things we were talking about. What is relevant to people today etc. Pretty interesting stuff, you can check out more of his assigments from this link. (good thought starters)

look up:
John Maeda communication arts
is Mr. Maeda a programmer, designer, artist, researcher or a scientist? why do you think communication arts is so expensive?

write:
write about a piece of art that you’ve seen within the last month and really liked. what made you stop and notice? how does it please or disturb you? what did you think the artist’s thought process was? what do you think was the discovery or observation that motivated the piece?

design:
your life.

bring:
photograph #5. set up blog, with all your photographs so far, and going forward, to be updated weekly.
your favorite example of graphic design/art direction. base entirely on aesthetic and emotional response.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/30/mini-how-to-remove-the-windows-bsod-icon-in-leopard-make-os-x-a-little-less-smug/

Samples of student work I came across when looking for a web design class.
Eric Altbush-check out his banana video for 4D, someone actaully did something in that class.

http://www.ocasadimension.com/

this is what i was talking about

http://www.jetset.nl/lostformats/01.html

One of the things that i was thinking about on the way back after our discussion was what everyone is interested in these days, and one of them is facebook, or profile sites. And then i was thinking, could it be because people feel really disconnected so they need something to latch on? To summarize, people today are really lonely, and that’s kind of the state of the human condition today, if we think about it. could our project then be talking about why we are so lonely today, or could it be about helping people overcome this feeling and connecting people, or in a larger scale, the world? It sounds a little bit like my _friends project, but no, i’d be interested in doing something that will actually improve people’s lives.

 Anyway, thats just some thoughts, feel free to respond or we can talk about it more next time. About the books, i change my mind and think maybe its important that we both write a paragraph or two about our book and film selection, just to help ourselves articulate when we talk to each other, and then exchange our write-ups when we meet. It doesn’t have to be formal, just casual writing will do. Here are some questions that we should think about while writing the paper:

1) what the book/film is about, or the argument that the author is stating, if any
2) how the content of the book/film is used to serve the author’s thesis (how he proves his point)
3) why do you like or hate this book/film

 i think those are pretty important questions we should defintely tackle, and then if you additional material you are welcome to write more. So we should have it all printed by next week and we can talk about it. If possible, we could sit down together to watch certain excerpts from the film. Hope this isnt too much work. Let me know your thoughts or suggestions, if any.

Sebastian Kaupert
COMD-459P-01
Lecture Tuesday 05:00PM - 07:50PM, Steuben Hall, Room 406

Description
Students establish and explore the principles essential to a holistic understanding of design. Flexing our communication skills, we look at people, relationships, business, culture, trends, history, media, results, professional practice, and technology, to arrive at a much broader understanding of creative problem solving.

Red Bull Headquarters Link

Journal Entry while in Japan for exchange after a vigorous discussion:

There are the two extremes, art and designs. And anything in between is not worth settling for. Sometimes it’s necessary, but it should not be what we strive for. And the two diverge in what the function of each is, however they come back round if the method and attitude of discovery and exploration is the goal. And that is how good design can end up being appreciate as art, even if there was no intention to be art itself.

Interesting art allows people to relate to it. If you create art for yourself, without the intention that people can get something out of it, and purely for the sake of showing it off, it should be kept at home and only for that purpose. However it is important to continue to create, and constantly appreciating things, so that they inspire ideas for art that has a purpose.

Art is not defined simply by that fact of calling it art. Things can be appreciated as art, even if they were not intended to be. It just depends on how the viewer appreciates it. And yet the initial attitude and approach of solving the function is what determines what will be more highly regarded and what is not.

i was thinking how in design, we learn that form should always accomodate concept, and that it should provide a certain function and not be just mere decoration. So i was thinking of superheros changing costumes and thought of Batman and Superman; how Superman’s costume doesnt really do anything for his powers, but Batman needs his cape to block bullets and his claws to attack. Then i think again and realise maybe Superman’s power is greater because it is formless and cannot be seen.

If you strip Batman, he is useless. But if Superman is naked, he can still fight.

So what have we learned today?

On the Planet of Wa, they had a custom that all Warians upon reaching adulthood would have to dedicate the rest of their lives to stage acting. Half of their daily lives would be spent on stage, the other half would be spent on whatever else they wanted. Their lives depended on acting though, the basic economy and social structure rested its heavy arms on it. everyday there were audiences, and when u were not acting, u could watch; and even when you were acting, you were watching too. Some Warians fall in love with stage acting that they dedicate more and more of their lives to it, forgetting their real lives outside of acting. Heroes are made through the theater, and losers too. The acting was important to a certain degree; it affected how you were treated off the stage. Acting was essential to the Warians because it allowed them to express themselves in ways they wouldn’t in their real lives.Some of the scripts were about the future, sometimes of the past. It showed what the Warians saw value in, their morals and their ideals.It was in a way their dream of what they think the world should be. But they knew it was separate from the real world, because liberties could be taken on stage, and stage life could never merge with real life, because it was only temporal. Sometimes they have a different script, sometimes they replay the same ones. Sometimes certain actors become too old to carry on playing a role, and they let the younger ones take over. it was a cycle that worked out and ensured prosperity for its people.

Then one day, the Warians decided to take acting to the streets.

And they never stopped acting again.