Illegal/Rogue Design

Design is a culture that infiltrates everywhere around the globe, into the homes and lives of every country, culture, religion, political affiliation or belief. No person is safe from design, for as a human being, one is constantly creating and being influenced by the creations of others. From the smallest functioning tool to the industrialized and mass produced economy of the modern world, design has its place in every life. Sometimes, certain designs are banned or looked down upon. For example, the illegal and rogue cultures existing in many modern adolescent populations. Specifically, I would like to focus on drug culture. It is interesting to discover that drugs inspire people even more than sobriety, especially in the realm of design.

Things like piercings and tattoos are often seen as unneccessary elements of design, things that display an attitude of disregard or disrespect for the rules. Drug culture escalates this same idea, yet many musicians, actors, and various other categories of artists are only socially approved of once their designs have been inspired by the illegal. This does not come as any sort of surprise to those immersed in that culture, for the drug culture is often about blocking out the bad in life and experiencing an otherworldly happiness or state of understanding. Altering one's state of mind often results in a higher state of art as well, with greater appreciation for color, texture, and idea. Also, the same attitude of drug culture in its disregard for rules must come to apply to the rules of design, for drug immersed designers are more likely to take risks in their art as well as in their lives. So, if this type of drug culture is so looked down upon that it is deemed illegal and highly punishable, why is it that the rest of society sees the products of such a dangerous way of life as some of the greatest works ever created? Is this a reflection on the human race's inhibitions against rebelling, while we all still harbor an innate desire for these "out of the box" experiences?

Design History

In the field of design, it is important to study designers aside from oneself. We find inspiration from preceding designs as well as concurrent designs when creating our own, but to know the work of other designers is more than inspirational. In the past few months, I have been exposed to many different designers and their different mediums of design as a part of my learning process. By studying the works of artists like Cy Twombly, Nathan Shedroff, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Charles and Ray Eames, Christine Gambito, Andy Goldsworthy and more, I have been exposed to their different takes on design and their process and message.

It has been important to be aware of these designers and their past work as well as their current work, and it is likewise important to remain aware of other designers as I grow in my own design career. By studying designs outside of my own, I create a context for myself to design within. Every design has a message; the designs of OBEY present a more obvious political message that provides a good example. Political messages or just a social commentary are constantly being created by designers everywhere, and it is these messages that allow designers now to see and understand the time period and the meaning of such designs. By playing off of these designs and techniques, we learn to propose concurrent or contrasting ideas to already existing enterprises. This is what gives design its purpose, the message and the process are the true driving forces behind design. With designers constantly pushing to create something that will present their ideas or the social ideas they experience, we must be able to pay attention to such comments and understand the role of design in our society.

More Sustainability

Nathan Shedroff's book, Design is the Problem, is in no way the first that the design world has heard from the sustainability issue. In fact, sustainability has become more than a mere issue, it has morphed into a trend, particularly in design. After the initial concern over global warming and diminishing resources, the design world in particular has been sent into a frenzy, with everyone attempting to hop on board to prove that their design thinking has always been eco-friendly and that their designs will always be "green."

Unfortunately, sustainability in design is more than the "green" movement and the trends, it comes down to the fundamentals of design and the thorough thinking of designers and consumers. Shedroff recognizes these more important aspects of the move towards sustainabilty, saying that design can never be fully sustainable, but that with work and thought, design can stop being the problem and become a more sustainable solution.

Shedroff's book goes through the different ways to be more sustainable in design, beginning with the idea. Function and aesthetics must conform to sustainability, resulting in sleeker, simpler products such as the thin aluminum keyboards manufactured for Apple Inc. Shedroff's process then takes care of itself, once designers begin to think about their products in a more sustainable way, use of raw materials will follow. Shedroff stresses this, that materials must be minimized so as to be rid of excess waste, and that they must be both enduring and recyclable. According to Shedroff, the application of these aspects of design thinking will lead to more sustainability in design, invoking greater creativity in designers and elminating design as the problem.

Opposites Attract-Colors

On the traditional color wheel, each color has an opposite, a "complement." Some artists will start out thinking that to use complementary colors in close proximity is not to be done, a sort of color taboo. However, the use of complementary colors is much more than the existence of opposite ends of the spectrum, it can invoke strong emotion and therefore sell the intensity of a design through the conflict and resulting harmony of the opposite colors.

For example, the most common combination of complementary colors in modern society is the combination of red and green, especially during the winter holiday season. The red and green combinations invoke thoughts of Santa Claus, presents, winter, family, and food. Despite cultural differences in the world, most will at least recognize Christmas from the combination of red and green. The complementary colors are able to invoke such an easy association because they have such impact when placed together. The red and green theme of Christmas is known worldwide for it represents a thing of so much harmony and celebration that it is easily recognized.

Though red and green are opposites on the color wheel, no new artist should shy away from such use, rather, the art world should and does recognize the potential impact possible with complementary colors. In this case, opposites attract to produce something with more meaning, something likely to be remembered, all because of harmonious color conflict.

Objectified

Gary Hustwit's film Objectified explores the processes, meanings, identity, and properties of design objects. The film presents numerous designs, from little, every day gadgets to larger scale, industrial technologies. Hustwit explores these objects, discovering them from the inside out.

In exploring design, Hustwit has found his belief that "every object tells a story," that every design has more meaning behind it that its mere function or appearance. Rather than remaining with our predisposed ideas of an object, we are encouraged to wonder about its function and how its structure lends to that function. Then we must ask why its function is important in society, or if it is unimportant, why it continues to exist despite a lack of necessary function. These questions lead on to further exploration of how the object was made and who made it. These details will give us insight into the reasoning behind designs, the passion and thinking behind an object.

Objectified takes the viewer through this process of deconstructing design and rethinking it with many objects and many different designers. It is the difference in passion and creativity between these people which is significant in design; innovation and new aesthetics or functions arise not from design itself, but from the designers who pour themselves and their thinking into the objects which then tell their story.

Gestalt Gives Power to Advertising

An image used as an advertisement looks to call attention to itself, therefore such an image should draw the eye in and invoke an emotional response in its viewer. This image shows a Southern California attitude, what with the sun and the surf; showing off natural beauty.

This image makes great use of focal point to draw the eye in with the incomplete circle. At the ends of the circle, there is an implied line which the eye continues along down the shadow of the body. This line is broken then by the horizon, bringing the eye back out and around to encompass the whole picture once more. The colors contribute to draw the eye in by emphasizing stronger silhouettes in the body and the horizon, contrasting with the soft, blurred lights of the water and the lens.

The circular line of this image not only begins the eyeline, but it surrounds focal point, drawing in and then sustaining the attention of the viewers eye. By encompassing every element of this design within the dark, visually strong, circle, everything is tied together. This grouping unifies the elements of the image to come together into a feeling of nature and beauty, that attitude of Southern California.

An image or a design isn’t simply good or bad, interesting or boring; it takes many elements to build an aesthetically powerful image. Lines work to draw the eye in, sometimes unifying elements in order to sustain focus within the image. Colors, contrast, and silhouette give meaning. All of these elements work together to create a successful image; giving the tools to manipulate viewers and potential customers.

Nelson Gallery

The African-American made quilts shown at the Richard L. Nelson Gallery show more than beauty and craftsmanship, they certainly tell stories and invoke feelings and memories of hardship and hope. The quilts speak of hard-lived lives and of morality and ideals. Through their dark and bold colors and the off-kilter juxtaposition of line, this artwork truly represents the purpose of art itself.

Color plays a huge role at this gallery, throwing together mixes of dark and bold or the more subtle flashes of bright color. Dark lines dominate this particular quilt, casting shadow on the whole piece. Darkness for this artist represents the sorrow, hate, pain, and work which soiled America during slavery. However, the darkness of the quilt is broken up by flashes of meek yellow and a hearty pink. These small bits show the hope and perseverance which, despite hardship, manage to shine through and contend for dominance amongst such shadow.

In addition to being lit by pieces of color, this quilt's dark, bold lines are brought to a stop by each other as well. The positioning of the quilt's squares allows each piece to stand out on its own, while it also recedes into a background all together. The bold lines which pop out, are forced to break and make way for the lines of another piece; preventing dark colors from overwhelming any one piece of the quilt. Such juxtaposition represents coexistence as well as conflict. Each separate square has its own colors, its own dark mood. Yet when sandwiched by its surrounding squares, one squares colors compete with those of the others, despite similarity. The squares, like people, have their own identity and emotion; both of which are put in check by the proximity of other squares, causing conflicting eye line and a possibly confusing pattern. However, when viewed at a distance, the quilt is harmonious and flowing as a whole.

Though the dark lines and competing squares represent the hardships of slavery and the sad conflicts of humanity, the pops of color and the overall harmony of this quilt hint at hope and a will to overcome.