Since we are making the majority of the book represent P’s, I was thinking of ways to do it. I picked 3 words at random, from the lists previously made, and the words in smaller font are merely synonyms of the word. I know its not accurate typographically, or even in design, I am only thinking of the content here.

We don’t need to use these words of course, I was just thinking of a way to convey the idea.

Here are some more words I thought might be relevant:

Perception

Precedent

Product Identity

Prototype

Pattern

Project

Photograph

Pictogram

Perspective

Persona

Practice

Pre-Production

Production

Post- Production

Pattern

Pixel

I have chosen a few quotes for our book after combing through the blog repeatedly. I have here, a compilation of 8 quotes from well established designers and 8 from our interviewees (a mix of designers as well as non-designers). I thought we could have 4 of each on the front two pages and 4 of each on the last.

Established Designers:

“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” Walt Disney

“Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it’s so complicated.” – Paul Rand

“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

“The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.”  - Victor Papanek

“A designer knows he’s achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint Exupéry

“Design is as much a matter of finding problem, as it is solving them.” – Bryan Lawson

“People ignore design that ignores people.” – Frank Chimero

“As far as I’m concerned, all design is storytelling. Brochures, websites, and books tell stories in a very familiar way; they have covers, chapters and pages….even logos tell succinct moral tales.” – Chamli Tennakoon

And here are responses that we got from friends and family when we asked them the question ‘What Is Design?’

“Design is to make something simply function, whether it be visually, creatively, practically, or all of the above.” – Chris Jensen, Designer

“Design is the art of conceptualizing and crafting a body of work in a language that can be communicated.” – Pawlu Mizzi, Designer

“Design is everything. Look around you, it’s literally everywhere.” – Yanov Cutajar, Designer

“I would tentatively sum up design as a communicative process leading to tangible solutions that satisfy client needs.” – Julian Mallia, Designer

“Design according to me is a framework of your thought and the method to successfully convey that thought.” -Priyank Prem Kumar, Designer

“I felt that the design is reconfigurable, it is based on your perception of things, of course, it’s not entirely material. Then you need to arrange it and do some combinations, that is to say to give your work of your own thought and spirit, make it have you own unique personality. Your final design has become a part of the perception of others, it can combine yourself with outside world, it will have another association and let people learn about your spirit.”–Menthem, Designer

“Design is a unique statement on life, a choice from all possibilities, a combination of the form and the function. Moreover, design changes the world.” –Yandong Guo, Non-designer

“Good design makes life better. Bad design makes life worse”- our very own Echo Tion, Designer

Do you think these are enough? I tried to pick the most relevant ones I could find.

Back Cover:

Animation for Product: ‘Fashion Runway’

 

I tried a few different layouts keeping the various suggestions in mind:

I don’t think it makes sense to have both the hand and the pencil. Personally, I prefer the pencil, not sure why. Just do. A slightly brighter one:

It can be brighter, if required. I just thought making the surroundings muted would make the type stand out more. I am going to upload all these and the psd to Dropbox so that Aleksandra can work on them as needed.

Also, I am aware that the left side must now read ‘Design is…’. I have the file for that and I’ll upload it to Dropbox as well. It can easily be replaced.

 

So, I started of with a rough sketch of what it could look like:

The first draft of the layout, which believe it or not took me all day to make, mostly because I couldn’t decide if I should draw the entire thing out or arrange stuff digitally. So I spent most of the time going back and forth. Anyway, here it is:

I’ll upload this to Dropbox as well. And Veronica will also be trying to improve this layout. If anyone else wants to have a go, they can find the Photoshop file in the ‘process’ folder in Dropbox. I’ve labelled most layers properly, so there shouldn’t be a problem. Also, if you find it too difficult to improve this one, you can find all other files in the same folder. So if you think it’ll just be easier to start over, you can do that as well.

About the coffee cup stains, don’t you guys think it’s busy enough as it is? The type for ‘What is design?’ and ‘Process’ is just my handwriting, so if you wish to replace it, go right ahead. And let me know what you think.

 

Here are some more elements I’ve thought of:

Iella, do you think this blue is okay? And I liked the mock you drew up. So, if you want you can take elements from this and make an arrangement or we can work that out together.

Also, if you look closely, the Polaroid has ‘Your Face Here’ written on it. Do you think we can do that? After all, we have given that as the title of our exhibit. And do you think the parachutes delivering packages is a bit much?

The Light bulb thing:

I thought we could make different forms of the light bulb for each word, as it is the universal symbol for ‘idea’. We can show the idea ‘developing’ through the process. So the word, ‘Discover’ can have an unlit bulb, the word ‘Define’ can show a lit bulb, ‘Develop’ can have a brightly shining bulb, and finally, ‘Deliver’ shows that the idea=bulb has taken flight. Hence, the wings. Do you guys think that works, or is it too juvenile?

 

I’ve been working on the doodles for ‘Process’. And I was thinking something like this, maybe:

The thought cloud with the circle will be the hole for transparency. The elements can be shifted around a bit to accommodate the space and the position of the circle.

Also, elements for other words:

So, as you can see, I have a few ideas for various things, but I could use some more ideas. Do let me know what you think.

I tried out some more things for the Process panel. I have tried to make various fonts:

Some, I’ve traced over existing fonts to make them look more sketchy, and some, I’ve just scratched out on my own. And I have saved each letter as a layer, so it won’t take a lot of time to redo any of them. I just duplicate the layers, when required.

A few of these, in my opinion, look more refined than the others, so we could use them for different words.

Here are some other things I’ve tried to do today:

And the type for ‘What is Design?’ and ‘Process’.

Do you guys think the ‘What is Design?’ is sketchy enough or should I use one of the other doodle texts that I made? And does the word ‘Process’ look finished enough? Should we use an existing font for that?

 

Just an idea for how the layouts could look like if we were to incorporate other products into the panel.

Function:

For this, the products can be neatly arranged and used as a backdrop for the photograph (I used Iella’s pose for now):

Form:

We could make it more swirly and either use it as a backdrop:

or wrap some items around the figure. I though it might be too much to do that though, as the model will already be wearing an expressive enough outfit.

Let me know if you have any other ideas.

Also, I am working on the type for the Process Panel. But ideas for doodles for the elements of ‘Discover’, ‘Define’, ‘Develop’ and ‘Deliver’ are most welcome.

We tried a few tests on the door today. Our animation isn’t working out as well as it was on the prototype.

The reflections on the glass surface is proving to be too much of a hassle, and we tried quite a few things and angles to try and improve it, but it is far too risky to carry on with it and find out, at the last moment, that it doesn’t work at all.

We can hardly see through the bars. Even if we squint hard, we could only make out a blurry shape on the other side. And this was only inside, we will hardly be able to control the reflections outside! So, we have basically decided to scrap the idea. We will still have it on the prototype, and the book. But we need to make sure everything doesn’t fall apart at the last moment. So, the space that was to be used for that, will now simply say ‘What is Design?’. We can match the font on each panel with the rest of the display. For example, the Process panel will have a sketchy ‘What Is Design?’ and Product can have it in a very flow-y font.

Also, the template that was:

will now be:

where the green bits are transparent.

What do you all think? Any other ideas?

Hey,

So I tried out a few things in type, I think this was the look we were talking about:

Maybe it would look better with different fonts:

Although, eventually, it will all be doodles, I think we should find a way to make different font/type/text somehow work together. I’m working on it. I tried it out digitally, but I am starting it in my notebook or sketchbook. I will be able to scan it tomorrow, and I’ll upload it then! For now:

Doodles are clearly meant to be literally ‘doodled’, it doesn’t look so good when made digitally.

So what do you think? Is it readable?

Our book cover! :

Here’s hoping this’ll work just as well on the doors:

I need to consult with Mariana about some measurements, but we are basically set. I will begin working on the animations for the book. I am planning to do the fashion runway thing for ‘Product’, I am thinking about the others, let me know if anyone has any ideas for Process and Progress.

Our group decided to ‘interview’ some designer friends to get a grasp on what designers think ‘design’ really is. Iella, Alexandra and Veronica have posted with quite a few responses. The following are a few responses I got for the question ‘What is Design?’ from friends.

‘I feel design is everywhere, everything we see around us is design. Be it a car, house, roads, nature or a small thing like a pin. Even the labels on the designed products are a part of design.
Everything has been designed in a particular way.
While designing a product, we designers create Design keeping in mind the cost of manufacturing, safety, innovation or its influence in the market by following our creative impulses. Then the branding of that product is another aspect of design which totally changes the look and feel of it adding its value and creating demand in the market.
In a nutshell it’s like turning a concept into some valuable/ desirable form making it meaningful and presentable.’

  -Nehal Sadhu (A 3D Animator and exceptional illustrator)

‘According to me, Design is an activity that changes an idea or thought into a plan for something useful.
It can be the design of a building, a product, clothes, technology, nature, graphics, a service, anything.
“Design” doesn’t only refer to fashion and style. People need to realise that everything around us is designed and it makes a big difference in nearly every part of our lives.’

  -Namrata Shankar (An animator and character designer)

‘Hmm well off the top of my head. Design is a word people use to add instant aesthetic and intellectual value to their thoughts. “Design” now available in tablet form.

Hehe just kidding, that’s the sarcastic answer.

Well Design according to me is a framework of your thought and the method to successfully convey that thought.’

  -Priyank Prem Kumar (A vast range of creative things that I can’t begin to describe.)

I also asked a few non-designer friends, but most were terribly uneducated and unaware of what design is. Some came close:

‘I really have no idea what Design is, haha. But I’ll tell you, it has to do with coming up with the blueprints for any number of creative projects–animation, landscaping, house-building. I’m afraid that’s the best I can do. :/’

  -Scott Carpenter (A very talented writer)

My mother on the other hand, showed surprising insight and understanding about design:

‘Design is everything. I could move two cushions and call it design, as long as it’s appealing to my eyes.’ (Note: Even my mum thinks aesthetics are important to design). When I told her she can’t say that everything appealing is design, she gave me compelling argument, the gist of which was:

‘Everything we do is by design, intentional, and therefore, is design.’

This may be going in too deep and probably quite philosophical, but that was her view, I agree with it.

 

Hello again!

Since we have been trying to get approval for using the revolving doors as our exhibit space, I gathered some examples of advertisements being displayed on revolving doors. This shows that this has been done before, and didn’t cause any accidents. So, here they are:

This photograph is that of a shopping center in Prague, advertising Prague’s Planetarium. Their new project system shows its visitors, a suggestive view of the universe, as if they are a part of it. The movement of the universe inspired them to create a non-traditional, functional interactive model. And they used the revolving doors at a shopping center to implement the idea. Ingenious, isn’t it?

This is an advertisement for Axe Deodorant. As the door revolves, it shows the man sleeping with different women. Sordid, as all Axe adverts are, but still quite effective.

The Outdoor Advert titled REVOLVING DOOR was done by Leo Burnett, Toronto advertising agency for product: Herbal Essences in Canada. The adverts above have used a completely opaque format for their convenience.

The following though, have incorporated transparency into their designs, which is still quite effective.

This clever advert was created by New York’s Saatchi and Saatchi. Using a revolving door as the animation tool, the life-size image of a ballerina dances when the door revolves.

Another advertisement that has cleverly used the transparency to their advantage.

So, now that we have permission to use the doors, provided we have some transparency, we have decided to use the template that integrates transparency but doesn’t compromise our design:

The green areas in the image will be transparent to allow visibility. It will also work with our design to lend interest to it, rather than take value away from it. We will also be using the movement of the doors to incorporate animation, but more on that, later.

 

Ha! Paradox. This person definitely thought ‘outside the box’, to come up with this. For those who don’t know, this blue box is the TARDIS, a time machine from a popular BBC series, Doctor Who. Its bigger on the inside! I just thought it was ironic and funny, since all of us are obsessed with thinking outside the box.

I found these two posters while prowling the internet:

This makes sense to me. The purpose of design is to get the message across. As for art, the artist may have a singular intent for making a piece of artwork, but it may be interpreted differently by the viewers.

I think this is going to be the hardest thing to do. Defining design is not easy, folks. This is mainly because there is never going to be one definition that says it all. Design doesn’t fit into universal mapping properties.

I came across so many statements about design, and I found myself agreeing with pretty much all of them, even when some contradicted each other!

I’ve avoided writing this post for so long, mainly because I don’t know what to write! But I have narrowed down on two possibilities: Design from the user’s point of view and Design from the designer’s point of view.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, good design makes the product shine and is in some cases not noticeable, because the designer has done a good job of it. But I feel like that’s only from the user’s perspective. A designer on the other hand may marvel at the genius and simplicity of the same design. The user of a product may not be too interested in the skill with which a designer has met his constraints.

Is it easier to define when broken up? What is Graphic Design? What is Communication Design? What is Exhibition Design? What is Packaging Design? In my opinion, yes. It’s easier to define these smaller yet still large components of design than try and define design as a broad concept.

About Wikipedia’s definition of design from Daniella’s post, it’s a laboured sentence, but it does seem to cover many areas. It seems to work as a general statement.

I found myself agreeing with this statement the most:                                                        “As far as I’m concerned, all design is storytelling. Brochures, websites, and books tell stories in a very familiar way; they have covers, chapters and pagers… even logo tell succinct moral tales. Thinking of design as an act of storytelling may help you focus your choices as you work.” – Chamli Tennakoon

This works, because design as an act of storytelling fits into the realms of design being a key tool for communication, and I find that thinking of design as storytelling does help me.

Hence, Design: because you can’t not communicate!

Hey guys,

This is just a fun little thing I found that I wanted to share with you all.

Also, here’s a link to the ‘Missing Missy’ joke that one of the other groups referred to. I laughed a lot at it, but also felt strangely sad for the owner of the cat. Let’s just say, strongly mixed feelings about this one : http://www.27bslash6.com/missy.html