Class Reflection 10!

I thought design 200 was very insightful for my future and becoming an interior designer. Gabe, you were awesome! I learned so much from you and what you had us do. I'll definitely use your advice throughout the next four years. It also made me look through design at a new perspective, what our generation needs to focus on, and how we can change the world through design. Overall, it was great and I'm so glad I took this course.

J10: Project progress continued..again.

Journal 8: http://afisk2014.blogspot.com/2011/02/coleman-project-progress.html
Journal 9: http://afisk2014.blogspot.com/2011/03/coleman-project-progress-continued.html
Group members:
Alicia: http://alwyatt123.wordpress.com/
Alex: http://dsgn200alex.blogspot.com/
Anne: http://sincerelyanne.blogspot.com/
Maria: http://katdesign200.blogspot.com/
Zach: http://bobich007.blogspot.com/

For the rest of the project work days, we focused on getting everything together on the PowerPoint and finalized any drawings we had to accomplish for the final product. We weren't the best organized but we got what we could done. Personally, as a whole, we did not work well together. Mine and other group members' intelligence was insulted too many times so I became tired of the situation. Our presentation wasn't the best and it showed. I helped with final drawings, commented on ideas for improvement but that wasn't enough for some people. I did what I could but I guess my personality and her headstrong persona collided and it didn't end as well as it could have. It's all done with now.

Coleman Project Progress continued..

Since the last update, we have finalized our product for Coleman as Thermoware, which is a line of products that keep food at initial temperature once put into the product. Our specific product we are using as an example is an appetizer tray because it is for more of a diverse audience. We finished our presentation and documented our progress as shown:

Packaging also was finalized to hemp plastic: cheap, environmental, and innovative.
We have definitely been successful in broadening our ideas a little more than being too specific which was a huge obstacle we had to overcome the last time we were working on this.
I think everyone will find what we have to present very interesting and different but still what Coleman needs.

Reading Reflection Number 8 son!

In chapters 9-10 in Heskett's reading, he covers material about context and futures. About context, I found the three contextual influences to design practice interesting. I think this is definitely the most important element of design because this could make or break a product or could even bring up legal issues. Now along with futures, I got that design and methods are evolving every single day.  Designers should remember this because if we don't try to evolve products then nothing would get better.

Coleman Project Progress!

Links to group members' blogs:
Alex Niedzwiecki
Alicia Wyatt
Anne Deis
Catalina Hernandez
Zach Bobich

For our design project so far, we have toyed with the idea of something for the home, naturally. But we also want to incorporate Coleman's products that can withstand extremities, otherwise being durable. We also wanted it to be something that families can use.
At first we thought of coming up with a lamp/flashlight combination product. But Catalina came up with a really cool and innovative idea to make something to keep food warm. She drew out one that looked like a shamrock to represent the coming holiday. It had sections that could be removed from the base so it was easy to wash. These parts also keep the food warm and cold.
We then improvised this product to make it look more versatile instead of seasonal so it can be used at any time. We are still trying to finalize everything but it's going to work like the shamrock design.
I have been contributing with research on what materials to use for the design. So far everything is going good except there has been some tension and people getting offensive (Sorry, I'm not trying to start trouble but it's true). Regardless, we have made a lot of solid progress. Pictures coming soon!

Reading Reflection 7!

In this week's reading, the idea of a cradle to cradle model was introduced. Basically, a cradle to cradle model is the result of when something happens then it causes another reaction and the process goes back and forth. Basically, when something dies it helps the environment in the long run. This makes sense to me because new things in the environment can grow from that. As the chapters go on, a point is made that all things should be designed differently. I agree since different designs need to be adapted to certain environments. Finally, I realized that as a designer, I am going to work to create things that are going to benefit my environment and the places I live so not only I can live a healthy life but so can the people around me. If we don't do something now, we are going to have severe problems in the near future and they will come fast.

Class Reflection number 7!

Since I wasn't in class on Monday, I'll talk about Wednesday and what I learned. We watched a few short videos by Charles & Ray Eames, learning the ways of design which was very useful because it was almost like these films were a breakdown of different aspects of the design process. Also, we broke up into our groups for our next assignment that is making me very anxious.

Online Scavengar Hunt!

5 Links to Retailers/Manufacturers of Outdoor Recreation/Camping products(links):
- Century Camping
- Coleman
- The North Face
- Slumberjack
- VauDe Sports
3 Images from Outdoor Trade Show Booths:


Timbaland Outdoor Equipment


Deuter

Magnet Clothing

5 Manufacturers of Indoor Home Goods (links):
- Ace Hardware
- Waterloo Gardens
- Home Depot
- Crate and Barrel
- Lowes

3 Images from the Indoor Home Goods market:


Resource International


Luxx Box

Indoor Gardening Expo

What is an indoor home good?

An indoor home good is a product used inside a household to serve a purpose or carry out an action inside the home.

Possible Home Goods:

Letterforms in Design!

Can you guess what letters are in the designs above?

Reading Reflection 6!

In McDonough's Cradle to Cradle, chapters 1-3, it talks about the Industrial Age and its effects on the environment from the materials used to how they are disposed, how people tried to reverse these effects from factory dangers, and the way people can read books from libraries, internet, or recycled paper books, like Cradle to Cradle. I think the author makes a good point on how we should use these materials because greenhouse emissions will be reduced and it's an innovative way to use materials again and again. If all books were made out of recycled material, think of how much that would save nature. Everything is made out of paper basically so I think we should definitely consider this an option in future designs.

Class Reflection number 6!

Last week's class was by far the most interesting because we watched the Rip!: A Remix Manifesto, which is mainly about copyright infringement and illegal downloading of music to simply make remixes. I absolutely 100% find this to be a violation to our rights as citizens to express our creativity. Also, I find it ignorant that the artist of the songs, when charges are filed against the illegal downloaders, do not get compensation for this. It's just very petty and a way for companies to get money. It should be up to the artist to decide if charges should be filed. After all, these companies would not have money if it wasn't for these artist creating this music. Girl Talk should be able to remix these songs because even the celebrities enjoy it just as much as regular fans do. I really learned a lot about these legal issues because design goes the same way like music does so I know now to be cautious with what I will and will not do when it comes to the point where I have to design my own product and market it.

Design and the Environment

For this blog, I decided to base my sources off of design and environment because out of all the topics we covered last week in class, I thought this was interesting and vital to the creation of a design. So here are five sources that caught my eye.

Source #1:

John Hardy, an environmental designer, created a school for children in Bali out of bamboo. All activities and materials used in the school are environmentally friendly. For example, all chalkboards are made out of bamboo and the meals are cooked with organic food on sawdust fires. This relates to a few of the 6 Stages in Product Life, even though this may not be a "product", because of the choice of materials, manufacturing, and use are what makes this design so innovative to the examples of environmental design.

I just thought this was really interesting because our environment is suffering from the way people create things and this is just a way to show with careful thought that anything is possible. This school is going on for three years with about 160 students so it is very successful. I think designers could use this as an example for their future designs, also. If they didn't exactly build a school out of bamboo, one could incorporate, for example the bamboo chalkboards, in classrooms. It's a start.

Source #2:

link:  Ducha Halo: Portable Shower

Scrolling down the page nearly halfway, a team of designers from the Art Center College of Design was sent to Chile to solve a problem in a community relating to the water availability and lack of running water systems, such as showers. In this project, the team created an expensive, environmetally friendly shower that is nearly $17 dollars that uses a simple pump, valves and hosing that yields a 15-minute long hand shower with water heated over coals. It is very convenient to the environment because it's timed in water usage. One won't be able to excessively use the water amd waste it.

I found this very interesting because of the way it is inexpensive, does not consume excessive energy, and doesn't waste unnecessary resouces. This will not only help the environment through conservation of materials but will help out the community that is lacking such technology. The simplicity of the product is very important, also.

Source #3:

Link: Go Watch-less!

For this source, an author of a blog gives reasons why someone should not wear a watch and the environmental advantages to doing so. The main point is most people don't need watches, so the advantage would be people can reduce packaging and manufacturing of batteries and noble metals. Less of that means more to nature.

I never realized this in a way this author has. I think less battery packaging would be important because the harmeful metals and chemicals used to make batteries are very damanging to the environment and harmful to people as well. This viewpoint should be encouraged more.

Source #4:

Link to site: OFFECCT

I discovered this website that designs furniture through benefit of environmental design. The company OFFECCT uses Scandanavian traditions to create pieces, like this sofa, to benefit the ecosystem. All materials used are recyclable, which is something we discussed in class as a helpful tip.

I think this is a very innovative way to showing the advancment of design. The most important thing that stood out to me about this company was the way they produce their designs is considering the emission of pollution so they can reduce greenhouse gases. Companies, in my opinion, should pay attention to issues like this because anything we can do will save our planet.

 

 

Source #5:

 

Link: Candy Wrapper Chair

 

Emiliano Godoy teamed up with Ecoist to create a chair made out of candy wrappers and wood called the 'Snowjob'. It is made out of materials that haven't been recycled yet but could be so one of the wrappers has the recycle logo visible on the chair (except the wrappers haven't officially found a purpose to be recycled). Plus, it is appealing to the consumers who would possibly buy this product.

I think it is appealing the way the chair looks and once I learned what it was made of I was much more interested in buying it. The way the materials can all be recyled makes me support the idea even more because reuse, refill, and recycle are the three motivations to environmental design, which is exactly what this chair conveys through its purpose.

Reading Reflection 5!

In McDonough's  introduction to Cradle to Cradle, he explained how some things that we use today are made with toxic materials that aren't told to us when we are buying that "great chair". Some of these materials cause health problems that we are oblivious to. So, he and his partner Braungart are trying to revolutionize the way of design by helping out the environment, making materials Earth-friendly. Bill is inspired by his experiences abroad in Japan with how their homes were built with paper walls to the scarcity of resources like water. Michael created the EPEA to encourage environmental research. I think these guys are the evolution to future design because if designers of now don't consider the environment then nature and where we get our resources to make the things we need and want will run out and we won't be able to reproduce them since they come from a natural source. As concluded at the end of the intro, nature really doesn't have. People do. I couldn't agree more. We are the only ones that can make a difference!

Class Reflection Number 5!

Last week, we learned about the usage of color. Even though I knew some color meanings, some of them also were a bit of a surprise. For example, the color pink means beauty which I never knew. Also, white conveys purity, which is also a shock. I also learned that color is crucial to design because it gives a product a certain mood, psychology, hierarchy, and marketing. This now makes sense because as I think of how I choose an item to buy, the color does make a huge difference. Aside from color, we also learned about Environmental Design that evokes sustainability, is humanistic, and based on ecology. I think this needs/will be the evolution to design because of how the ozone layer is depleting with pollution and landfills. The 6 stages in Product Life is something designers of this age need to look at if they want to save the environment and improve it's condition because in reality, the earth IS getting warmer and warmer. To go with this, we watched four short videos about product design like this. One that stuck out to me the most was Michael Pritchard's water filtration bottle that, one, is an easy and affordable product to unfortunate countries that cannot afford an actual filtration system and two, is very effective and safe to the environment. This design saves thousands of lives by preventing tainted water intake from children and their families. I believe this is the revolution of design, making something so simple so effective in helping save lives with just a few pumps of a bottle. The filters are disposable and environmentally safe. Last week's lecture was very eye opening to the way people should look at design through helping others and making the world a better and easier place, which I admire.

50 Things!

My neighborhood:

1. All of the businesses are in the middle of town.
2. The houses are closer together when one gets closer to the center of town.
3. Churches are all on the outside of town.
4. Last mailbox on my street is mine because my house is on the outside of town.
5. Older houses are made out of brick.
6. Town is surrounded by rural land/farms.
7. All town buildings are made out of bricks/concrete.
8. Side roads are gravel.
9. No trees in the busy part of town.
10. Town business buildings are symmetrical.
11. Restaurant, bank, market, gas station, etc. are all in walking distance.
12. Sidewalks are all deteriorated.
13. About 95% of houses have siding.
14. I also noticed that pretty much all houses as you are leaving town has a garage.
15. All cars going in town park on the side of the street.
16. Farmers' houses are all located away from the farm.
17. The nicer and bigger houses of the town are located on the outside of the village.
18. All the houses on my street are designed the same.
19. I noticed that most of the houses have white trim around the windows and they are all the same size.
20. Most houses on my street going out of town are located on a hill.
21. The streets have many potholes.
22. There are no crosswalks.
23. All streets connect to the two main roads in town.
24. All the businesses are old buildings.
25. All businesses are in one connected building complex.
26. The two different apartment complexes are next to each other.
27. As you leave town going south, the houses get newer.
28. As you head north down my street, farm houses are much more popular.
29. The cemetary's fence is from the 1800s.
30. The small bridge is the oldest piece to the town.
31. There is no police department or police force.
32. Firehydrants are located every other street corner.
33. There is a street with two story houses only.
34. All houses on my street are connected with a gravel alley.
35. My street has no center/edge lines.
36. The corporation line is marked by a creek that runs through half the town.
37. Roofs on the houses are all shingles.
38. Farm house and barn roofs are all metal.
39. The cemetary is grouped in categories. Military, family, alphabetical, etc.
40. Cemetary headstones are made out of black granite if they are newer.
41. Military headstones are made out of stone.
42. Street signs are green.
43. There is one central traffic light.
44. Everyone on my street drives a truck or SUV.
45. I noticed my street does not have street drains.
46. The elderly live in the southern part of town.
47. If a house has a driveway, it's a long one not close to the road.
48. All streets have a stop sign, literally.
49. The street lights are motion activated to conserve energy.
50. The majority of houses have two stories and a basement.

Scavenger Hunt!

For assignment three, we were given a list of five clues that relate to design of some kind and had to document our findings thru photographs! My wonderful partners and myself worked together with the usage of our navigation skills, resources like our cameras and my iPhone to find what we needed. Here is some pictures and info about the what we found.

CLUE #1= Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohr

Something really cool about this chair is the way the design is a measure of the human body. Also, I found it interesting how the structure is almost like one of the tanning chairs one uses in the summer yet it is very comfortable.

CLUE #2= UP armchair by Gaetano Pesce, Magazine: "DAMn 24: Contemporary Culture"
This chair was part of Pesce's UP series so when it was packaged it was vaccume sealed so the consumer could be part of the art experience, since it inflated into the chair once taken out of the package. This was possible because it is made of polyurethane foam.

CLUE #3= Wexner Center of the Arts, designed by Peter Eisenman
Since its opening in November 1989 the Wexner Center was already in the process of being transitioned from a "contemporary visual art center to a fully multidisciplinary facility" encompassing: (visual art (exhibitions), media arts (film and video), and performing arts..



CLUE #4= Mathematics Tower, designed by Peter Johnson

We found that the building has many cracks up and down where parts of the wall purtrude outward from the building, like in the first picture above. I think this shows either the age of the building or maybe a design flaw in the way the bricks were laid out to create the structure.

CLUE #5= The Thompson Library, designed by Acock & Associates

The Thompson Library at Ohio State renovation presented great challenges  such as the removal and cleaning of about  1010 tons of limestone panels and the reinstallation of 770 tons of limestone panels on both: exterior and interior of the building. The panels that were not reinstall were stored and labeled as, “re-use” material.  

Source: www.ascribehq.com

Links to teammates blogs:

Alicia Wyatt: http://alwyatt123.wordpress.com/

Catalina Hernandez:  http://katdesign200.blogspot.com/

(They were great teammates! A lot of fun!)

Class Reflection number 4!

Last week, our discussion was about Accessibility, which I believe is one of the crucial concepts when trying to design a product. Most importantly, design is made so that any person can use something, such as making a sidewalk ramp for a disabled individual. Eventually, all people will be older and won't have the same functionality like we do now at our relatively younger age. That is why we should all be concerned about how things are designed because I know when I'm older I want to be able to use most things that a regular person does. Design is evolving every single day because of accessibility, that is why it's SO IMPORTANT!! Aside from importance, I found the statistics of people with disabilities to be so shocking. 19% of the population has a restraint on how they live and need special attention when it comes to using public facilities. This statistic will continue to grow as people get older every day so it is very important we don't fail to accommodate people with such issues. This lecture taught me a lesson in what was important because most people use things and take it for granted, thinking most people use things all the same way, which is far from true.

Reading Reflection 4!

In Heskett's chapter 7, he discussed the way identity is made through the way companies design their products. I found the way he explained how corporate identity gets confused between image and identity very insightful. Sometimes corporate executives get carried away in caring too much about the way a product looks or the way it is advertised. In reality, it's the way a product works that establishes identity in the market alike to the product. I know when I buy something, yes I like it to be eye appealing but I don't buy something that isn't going to work or get the job done. Sometimes I find that things that are the most eye appealing has lesser work performance. As I began reading chapter 8, I really got confused on what it was trying to say about systems. Is it the way someone goes through a process to create or design? The way someone thinks to finish a product? Or is it all of these things together? I do understand the way it says a system uses information to convey steps to a consumer so he or she knows how to use the product. Otherwise, this chapter left me somewhat confused on what it was trying to say about systems.

FACES!

Well, our journal assignment this week was to find things that have a face in the design, not purposely but you can find it in the item.

Cini Boeri!

In my research for a very interesting designer, I came across this picture of a '71 snake-like sofa designed by Cini Boeri. This interest took me to the point of investigating this designer further since I don't know much about her.
Cini Boeri, born in Milan in 1924, has worked for many furniture designers and companies before making a name for herself. After graduating from Milan Politecnico, she worked for one of Italy's most famous architects, Gio Ponti. He helped kick-start her design career. Most of her works adapt to humans and the environment it is used in. In honor of her excellence in home and office furniture design, she has been rewarded many prestigious designer awards that are difficult to attain. I also found that aside from being a designer, she also is a lecturer at colleges and design schools to upcoming or striving designers, giving them advice on how to create successful pieces and being individual to their designs. It's good to see someone taking interest in other designers' success. In my opinion, I think Boeri's designs are an interesting way to show abstraction through lines and form in furniture. Her pieces are puzzling to look at and I think that's why I took notice to her. I like to look at something and think about it. Boeri does just that through her creations.

Some of Boeri's pieces:

"Serpentine Sofa"

Eco-friendly rocker table

"Serpentone"

Sources:
Greenberg, Cara. Op to Pop: Furniture of the 1960s. 1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1999.

Whittaker, Jessica. "Cini Boeri." Free Articles Directory | Submit Articles - ArticlesBase.com. 24 Oct. 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. <http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/cini-boeri-615586.html.>

Images:

http://images.artnet.com/WebServices/picture.aspx?date=20050524&catalog=103987&gallery=423927739&lot=00215&filetype=2

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://design-milk.com/images/2009/10/cini-boeri-4.jpg&imgrefurl>

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ionoi.it/images/article/22/2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ionoi.it/index.php%3Fpages%3Doctober&usg=>

Gaetano Pesce!

10 Facts about Gaetano Pesce, pop art furniture designer:

1. Works consist of mixed performance art, sculpture, ceramics, architecture, furniture, and industrial design.
2. Famous for his 1969 UP series. (A really cool piece was the seventh member, which was the oversized foot sculpture.)
3. The furniture in the UP series was literally vaccum packed for shipping so it sprang to life upon opening, making the consumer part of an "at-home art happening".
4. Polyurethane foam, 90% air, was key to Pesce's creations!
5. The "UP series" was based on the furniture swelling "up", hence the given name.
6. Given the description as an artist designer, instead of the typical "designer" name.
7. Created a chair that resembled an umbrella, and once the button was pushed, it folded out, just like an umbrella.
8. All pieces are built around individuallity so not all pieces are related.
9. Very very very independent thinker!
10. "Broadway" chair was created with springs so it could have the seesaw effect. Nevertheless, his chairs each have a certain type of personality. Such an individual and interesting man.

Sources
Greenberg, Cara. Op to Pop: Furniture of the 1960s. 1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1999.

"Gaetano Pesce - Biography and Offers." Ketterer Kunst, Art Auction, Book Auction München, Hamburg & Berlin. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. <http://www.kettererkunst.com/bio/gaetano-pesce-1939.shtml>.

PIERRE PAULIN: Pop Art furniture design!

I decided to focus my designer discovery assignment on Pop Art design of the 1960s. So here is the first I found interesting:

10 FACTS about Pierre Paulin:
1. He is from France!
2. His furniture pieces are done through "twisting foam-upholstered steel frames into sensuous sculptural seating."
3. Part of the inflatable, architecture movement, very famous in Paris.
4. Sold one of his chairs for $5000 at an auction in 1998.
5. Creates abstract chairs, like his "Tongue" or "The Mushroom", to look ergonomic. Always uses bright fabrics like magenta, green, pumpkin, etc.
6. His furniture is based on different themes since he basically creates them like a sculpture.
7. His pieces all resemble a variety of shapes and angles, expecially in his tables.
8. The design company, Artifort, gave his furniture light to social revolutions through the every day styles of life.
9. Furniture is built in units so they can be linked together.
10. Paulin's 1968 exhibit, ABCD, of seating arrangements was based on pop art, like Lichtenstein, Warhol, etc. The fabric over the seats were created with that in mind.

Sources:

Galerie, Juille. "PIERRE PAULIN - Biography - Ipso Facto Gallery - Art Gallery - Megève." Ipso Facto Gallery - Bienvenue. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. <http://www.ipsofactogallery.com/html/>.

Greenberg, Cara. Op to Pop: Furniture of the 1960s. 1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1999.

Reading Reflection Number 3!

In Heskett's Design: A Short Introduction, we were required to read chapters 4-6. Specifically in chapter 4, a paragraph stuck out to me that talked about the design process and how there are many different processes that adapt to the variety of products some designers must work with. I really don't understand what is meant by this. Does this translate as each product is made through a different process by the book or is the product made through the designer's viewpoint? Or is it a combination of both? As the chapter goes on, it begins to talk about how a designer is basically supposed to reinvent something once they are given the product. I agree because a designer is supposed to constantly make a product better and better. Going on, chapter 5 begins to talk about the importance of communications or instructions some products may have in order for them to be used. I really didn't know that graphic designers are responsible for creating communications but according to Heskett, they have the knowledge of signs, symbols, type, color, and pattern which is crucial for this part of production. Also, I didn't notice the importance of communications as much as I do now. I just looked at it as a means of "just words" but without them, we wouldn't know the proper way to use or care for a product, so I found this interesting for those means. Finally in chapter 6, I believe anyway that the environment of a where a product may be used or how it's use may be affected is an important factor of how a product is made. As a future interior designer, environment is what I will be focusing on the most so products in a room can adapt to the layout of the area. From wallpapers to textiles, the choices an interior designer makes on behalf of these areas is very important to the functionality of products and room usage so I found this chapter the most important on my personal behalf since this is what I will be controlling in my career.

Class Reflection 3!

Last week in class, we discussed the Design Process. I found it interesting how thorough the steps are to successfully design something for a client. I think this is very important and useful to becoming a successful designer because knowing constraints and doing research to figure out if the design fits the standards of the client and makes he or she satisfied. Knowing this information, designers can please the client and become successful with their creativity since all designers have their own style. I think after learning this I will grow as a designer because I have a guide to satisfying the customer, which is what a designer is suppose to do. In the film "The Deep Dive", the process was used to build a shopping cart and their design was successful and beyond because they not only met their clients standards but put their own twist on the product, leaving the client more than satisfied. All in all, I believe the design process helps a designer not only follow the rules "by the book" but opens a window of opportunity to make a name for his or her self because they can add their own signature twist to whatever they are designing, creating their own style.

Survey!

For my survey, I administered a handwritten survey to a group of ten people relating to interior design content, which is my intended major. The choices were very likely, neutral, and very unlikely.
Question 1: Would you ever consult in an interior designer for home improvement advice?
Question 2: Have you ever helped design (paint, choose furniture, etc.) for a friend's home?
Question 3: Have you ever designed a room at your own home?
Question 4: Would you hire an interior designer to design the rooms in your home?
Question 5: Do you know what a blueprint is?

RESULTS:

From these results, I realized some people don't really understand how important an interior designer could be because a person has their own style and how they want their room to look. But an interior designer is trained to give a client the room he or she desires and more.

"Design is to design a design to produce a design."

In class last week, a quote that was brought up in class from Heskett's book showed design as a verb and a noun, but if one breaks apart the sentence it's a step by step process to produce one design. "Design is to design a design to produce a design." Basically, design is used to produce a single design, which is used as something a person can use. Without design, we wouldn't get products that we use every day. In class, we also talked about production before and after the Industrial Revolution. Machinery, like the steam engine, was created, and that has evolved into bigger and quicker production today. All in all, the evolution of design was an insight to lecture and it's amazing how much has changed through process and technology with all of the new materials being created and how they are made.

Reading Reflection Number 2!

In the assigned reading from John Heskett's book, Design: A Very Short Introduction, I found the evolution of design and designers, from as far back as the year 600 B.C., like the woomera of Australian aborigines who created hunting spears, to present, was very shocking and interesting. I think what stuck out to me the most was the way Heskett said design is basically evolved from different cultures. Each has their own style and method to design, which makes sense if one was to really look at something from two different countries and actually compared the two. The example used in the book was toothpicks from Norwegia and Japan, the forms and style are uncomparable, besides the obvious that they are both a form of toothpicks. Aside from product evolution, the process of producing these materials have changed tremendously since it has went from craftsmanship, which is concentrated construction of a product one by one, to factory production which likely doesn't have the quality of a craftsman's product but it saves time with a surplus quanitity of the product. Even though some things are good quality, it seems like factory production is careless and quality of product isn't as good if there isn't concentrated creation on it. It would be merely impossible to do this with all production but maybe with design at it has been evolving according to Heskett will create a way to improve factory production and quality.

Patterns, Patterns, Patterns.

I decided to explore around my room to look for different patterns because I have an assortment of interesting things that I never knew I had. In my opinion, a pattern is basically anything, doesn't have to be repetitive like some people may think. But I also believe symmetry has a huge relationship to what a pattern is.
(Going from top to bottom for each row)
1. In my closet, I saw a sun dress while I was getting ready for the day and it had this vibrant orange, pink, white, and black flower pattern. It stood out to me the most out of all my clothes.
2. On my wall, I have a series of old Couture magazine covers which is arranged into a symmetrical collage. They all relate to the same subject, creating a pattern.
3. My curtains are made of panels that are hung in a constant way so I figured this would serve as a pattern. Also, the way the panels flow together caught my eye.
4. I have a basket that normally holds magazines and books from being scattered across my floor like a typical female's room would look alike..Anyways, the weaving of the basket material creates an overlapping pattern from a focal point, which is in the middle.
5. On the bottom of my boot, I noticed the eagles in even rows and they were alternated so either way I looked at it, the pattern was the same, which was pretty interesting.
(Second row top to bottom)
6. I have a door hang that is a collage of 1960s flashbacks. Simply, a collage is an abstract pattern. It stood out to me because it's actually a piece of artwork I did in high school that is one of my favorites.
7. This is actually one of my favorite accessories I have which is my Ed Hardy hat because it reminds me of Snookie on Jersey Shore since she always wears one. The design on the hat was a thought out pattern the designer wanted hand-sewn; it was carefully placed and laid out with the perfect balance between sequins, color, and thread. *FIST PUMP*
8. My favorite scarf has a repetitive design of white and purple flowers so when I wore it one day I decided to document it for this purpose.
9. For this pattern, I had to use my favorite purse design that happens to be what my dad got me which is my limited edition pink and beige Coach canvas handbag. It's my purse of choice simply because it's PINK, so of course it stood out and is worthy enough to be a part of this blog with it's pattern of overlapping Coach c's.
10. Lastly, my headband is intertwined chains that create a braided pattern. This was the last thing I bought for myself so I noticed the pattern it created.

'TIN' lamp by Yar Rassadin

On http://www.dsgnworld.com/, I searched for an article relating to Parisian design because French designers have always grabbed my attention with the way they shape, create, and choose their color palette for some of their most basic designs; it almost makes them look effortless. But, their ways of innovation are outstanding and a man working for Triode Design out of Paris, France by the name of Yar Rassadin is a superb example of future design. He inversed the purpose of a light bulb and a lamp shade by creating a working light fixture. Instead of the lamp shade being placed over the light bulb, it was placed inside of the light bulb. My goal as a designer is to take a simple object and give it a different purpose, which is exactly what Rassadin did through his TIN lamp design. If you want a good example of how simplicity is a good and successful thing, this is a good example of that.

Check it out: http://www.dsgnwrld.com/tin-lamp-by-yar-rassadin-7072/

Myself in a Blog post!

My name is Allison Marie Fisk. My friends call me Allie, with an "ie", which rarely anyone gets right until I tell them so. I live in a dinky town surrounded by cornfields and livestock, located an hour south of the big city of Columbus and I went to high school with Ohio State's own, Nathan Williams, which is pretty awesome since he's kind of a big deal. I speak a slight bit of French, I love the color pink (Love is an understatement!) and I really do adore my family and my friends like no other people on this planet. Aside from that, a person couldn't label me with a stereotype. I'm involved in anything and everything from golfing to rapping. (I don't just rap for anyone!) Everyone just needs to know that Nicki Minaj might just want to step aside and make room for me. I count my blessings because not everyone has luck like I have had. I'm truly blessed for being an Ohio State Buckeye, as we all know it isn't easy getting chosen to be one. Overused as it sounds, no one is promised a tomorrow. That saying has created who I am and how I live. I'm not afraid to make myself look like a fool or speak my opinions. This is how I'm going to be successful in pursuing my career as an interior designer because one has to stand out to make a name for his or herself. Design isn't ordinary, it's extraordinary. With that being said, I believe taking this course will broaden my perspectives and help me excel beyond average. The most memorable people in history of any kind are not common people but people making the seemingly impossible, possible. A designer must continuously find ways to innovate and better a situation and I know I'm not on a level close to being that good of a designer yet so that is why I am taking this class. I'm looking forward to learning different ways to design but I am concerned if I can keep up with the future of innovation because I'm juvenile to the subject but I have confidence this course will get me towards my goal of becoming a renowned interior designer.