Utopian Design in Society

The backpack is in my eyes an underrated utopian design.
It is something for everyone, young, old, male or female, trendy or old fashioned, and nonetheless is useful to everyone. Though some may find it not as stylish as their luis purse, there are times when a backpack cannot be replaced. It allows the owner of the pack to be hands free while keeping them comfortable and safe. Saddles can have bad effects of wear and tear on the body by favoring one side, and could potentially put you off balance, though I agree that is rare. The only time a backpack could be harmful is when its weight can be overbearing, but overall, I would say it is one of the safest, most comfortable, and sensible ways to carry around our personal belongings. There are many types, from school backpacks, to hiking packs, to stuffed-animal packs from the zoo (or unstuffed animals with straps to be more accurate, later stuffed with papers and such).

image from
http://www.camelotbears.com/bears/panda-bears/panda_bears_apparel.html

It can be geared towards comfort and health precautions, with padded arm straps and horizontal reinforcement around the front for extra fit. Or it can be as simple as a kindergardeners favorite TV show character happily displayed in rainbow plastic on the back.
While its accomplishments seem minimal, I would say the backpack is a utopian design because so many of us have one and use it, which means its functionality must be good. But most importantly it allows us to move forward in society, by not having to think about how to best transport our belongings with maximum protection and ease, many of us chose the good 'ol reliable backpack!

Design is Dangerous

Traffic jam on Los Angeles highway. Photo by Atwater Village Newbie

The car.
It was designed to make our lives easier, give us more liberty and freedom so that we could rely less on the train, bikes, buggies, etc. We could get places faster and do it on our own schedule, not when the conductor shouted "all aboard!" The car was a luxury item, not  truly a necessity, and it has become a danger to our society for two main reasons.
The first being a direct effect to society and the way we interact. Since people drive places, we are less likely to see people walking down the street or biking by if we are all cooped up in our cars with the music blaring only thinking about when the light will turn green instead of enjoying the nice day outside. It also forces us to be places less often, and going to or getting to places longer. When the city is designed around the car, nothing is close and people are forced to drive and commute by auto, especially when public transportation is not promoted or thought of as a waste of money which in some areas is a true problem.
The second major danger is to the environment. It is no new fact that cars pollute, and that our supply of oil is not infinite, so why do we build cities around something unsustainable? Not only is the physical act of driving harmful to the environment, but the resources to build roads and freeways takes a lot of maintenance and is not friendly to the earth. The more paved roads we create, the less rainwater can be reabsorbed into the earth and less plants can be planted to filter our polluted air. I should not like to end up like Mark Altshuler's short film "Logorama" where we let corporate america take over and design everything purely for financial gains. Yes, the car can help us and be an easy alternative to walking or biking, but when does it go too far? When does the convenience of driving become a necessity because we MAKE it one, not because it actually is one.
While smaller and more efficient cars are great, they are still cars. And thats a fact.

image of a mall parking lot from http://www.makingthishome.com/tag/green/page/3/

COLOR TRANSFORMS

Color can transform a design in many ways, but it is most powerful in commercial marketing. My mother always told me that the only reason I wanted Lucky Charms Cereal was because the box was colorful, and she had a good point. Color displays subconscious messages and attracts our attention in many contexts, especially in the store. Josef Albers, in "Interaction of Color," mentions briefly that the differences in color; what we like what we dont like, how we feel about one color or another, depends upon the person. However, I will also point out that society has a lot to do with the way we perceive color, perhaps it is mostly a U.S. phenomenon, but I am sure it occurs in other places as well. For example, a blue toy is meant for a boy while the pink to toy is meant for the girl. So the box of Lucky Charms is rainbow colors, and therefore will appeal to all children because there are many colors and favorites to draw them to that product. Parents, on the other hand, I have found go for the simpler designs and not as many colors, because it implies a simpler cereal which they intake as a healthier product with less junk and additives. The way color is all in our heads, as Albers explains, because it changes depending on the context and is not always going to evoke the same visual experience, but he is certain that a different experience is going to occur.
So what if we switched around the color theories that marketing designers use for cereal, could we make kids beg and stomp for healthy cereal if the packaging is still colorful and enticing? Or another possibility, what if mom and dads cereal were suddenly springing with all the colors and funny cartoons, would they hesitate even if it was the same cereal inside?

society and its design: Davis

courtesy of clipart.com

I almost tripped over a curb the other day and was wondering who in the world designed a ramp that was going to have a protruding side curb. Especially being in Davis, I think not only a pedestrian, but a biker might not notice it and could seriously get injured. Perhaps there is a reason to make something more dangerous, maybe its function is to discourage bikers or others from using the ramp, but on the whole, I don't feel like that is a big enough problem that I am aware of to justify adding the curb.

There are many other design faults that seem to be present in community just beyond campus. For example, one aspect that I think would greatly improve davis is to add a pedestrian/bike cross in the middle of La Rue between Hutchison and Russel. It would increase safety since most people that live in the apartment complex across the street from campus jay walk all the time, jumping the curb on their bikes or having to slow down in front of oncoming traffic to get off their bikes and walk across the divider. In turn, a walkway would slow down traffic and create a more walking biking friendly environment for the students at UCD. Another reason for slowing down traffic is because many sports games are held on Hutchinson fields, and I have seen many stray balls go into the street and people then have to dodge speeding cars to retrieve them.  It would also break up the long stretch of road, and like they have done on Russel next to the Russel fields, it would be a reminder to drivers that pedestrians and bikers are common and keep them conscious and aware of their surroundings instead of just seeing a straight road that subconsciously means you can go fast.

Everyone could benefit from a crosswalk on La Rue, and I think it would be one of the smarter and more progressive designs that the city could implement instead of stupid useless ones like a curb on a ramp.

5 Areas of Ergonomics

Last year my mom cut her finger on a can that she had opened with an old-school can opener. The edge was so sharp that the cut it was bad enough to send her to the hospital on a weekend to get stitches and get a tetanus shot.
She was determined not to let it happen to anyone else, and found this new can opener by OXO that prevented this sort of catastrophe from happening. Here are five reasons why I think this can-opener is good for any household.

Safety Reasons: The difference between this can opener and other can openers is where it cuts the can. OXO has designed it so that it is actually slicing the lid on the inside of the lip which leaves the top round and smooth and cut free, a great safety feature that does not fall into the over-designed category, but solves a basic common problem that people often face when opening cans.

Level of Comfort: The handles are big and have a gradual curvature, which allows the grip to remain firm without receiving few and painful pressure points. The knob to turn the gears that cut the can is also nice and big with gradual curves instead of some of our earlier ones which had a metal bar that was very uncomfortable if the can became even slightly hard to open. Also, the material on the handle and the knob are soft yet have a slight roughness to allow maximum comfortable grip. Sand paper might be more useful in obtaining a good grip, but the comfort level would certainly be lacking.

Ease of use: Perhaps it is easier to use because it is a new blade, and new blades tend to be sharper than old dull ones, but I find that I still expect the can opener to catch or go off course which means I have to readjust and start all over again. The OXO can opener always has an easy and consistent cut line which surprises me every time since I have become conditioned over the years to anticipate frustration with can openers. The fact that it cuts on the inside not only is a safety design, but functions as an "ease of use" design since you don't need to maintain the can opener at and awkward angle. You put it flat down on the can and start turning and once it fits in to place its not going anywhere.

Performance: My can opener, that my mom bought me specially so I could have one in my apartment, has done everything that I have expected it to do. Like they say, it appears to the consumer as an effortless design. I have less worries while using it, I can enjoy it more and the results are consistently exceptional. Every time I finish cutting open a can I run my finger along the edge, just to make sure, and without fail, it produces a smooth safe surface that I wont get cut on and also is safe to put in the recycling without future danger. It has not failed me yet because it remains a simple design; not batteries or electronics required, so it is sure to last for a long time.

Aesthetics: Last but not least, the look of the can opener is what you would look for in a kitchen utensil. It is all black, which goes with many pots and pans and other gadgets in the kitchen, and is a simple design look that will appeal to most customers. It does not appear to have any extra parts that would confuse a user, therefore its form is relatively explicit about its function, and while it is not exactly the same as the earliest can openers, which as I mentioned before have metal handles or bars in certain places, it is a recognizable tool that will go in anyones kitchen.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this product. It is a great example of how we can improve modern tools and designs to make them better and not just "fancier." I don't need internet on my can opener so don't try to make my phone come with one. Often, less is more, and this product is everything and nothing more than what I want in a can opener.

whats your function?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht96HJ01SE4&feature=related

One aspect of design that I love, is the idea that a design can have many unintended purposes as I have stated before in previous posts. The discovery of new functions for old forms is largely under-practiced. As Professor Housefield in DES 001 at UCD says, we should all, even as adults, be involved in "play." This youtube video is from a group in Canada that decided to use mostly computer parts to recreate the famous Bohemian Rhapsody song.
Despite its entertainment value, it actually is a great example of many important design elements. The form of a design often directly reflects it function or purpose. When we see a scanner, we see the place where you put the paper to be copied, the place where the new copy will come out, and all the buttons to make it start and stop. What we do not see is a guitar, or a musical instrument to be even more broad. That is where constraint can test not only a designer, but the consumer of the product when putting a design to work. Through play, we might more easily discover these non obvious abilities that form has.
The concept or the message that the video sends is that you can do something cool with unexpected tools and allow many people to enjoy it, especially thanks to youtube and other mass media, our design and uses of design can be widely shared to promote more imagination and stretch the limits of possibilities.

Words Images Power

i-want-you-flat.jpg

This image, of uncle sam, has power because of the combination of words and the image. Separately, "I want you" is such a broad phrase that is doesn't have any strong obvious implications when you read it and don't know its context. Granted, the typeface does send a message of being a stern strong statement because it is in all caps and the word "you" is enlarged and colored opposite the other two. This striking contrast focuses the eye on the word "you" while the mind puts emphasis on the meaning.
 The picture on the other hand, is an obvious reference to the United States of America, with the red white and blue colors represented in the national flag, as well as the old school top hat and the clothes worn by the early Americans. By covering up the words, it look as if a man representing "America" might be scolding the viewer since his brows are slightly furrowed and his mouth is slightly turned down in a frown.
But we all know that Uncle Sam was recruiting us for WWI, and the message sticks with us today because it was such an intense combination of words and image that we can even associate it now to this meaning with just one of the two components, i.e. just the words of just the image. We have had significant exposure to assume this specific image always goes with these three words. Someone who was not familiar with the add and saw the picture by its self would lose the meaning of the combination, and that is how we know the importance of them working together.
Oh the power of words and images.

What I word see if I knew what to look for

Comics. A largely under-rated art form. I think one of the reasons is we think, “comics are so easy to understand.” And we think, compared to a high level novel or text book, that reading comics is so effortless and shouldn’t be taken seriously. 

But think for a second, why IS IT that we understand comics so well? Why does a comic strip get across a message that even the best film cant portray from the book, and the message that cinematography can say that a book cant? 

The reason? Words working in unison with images. The Gestalt principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is never better used than to describe the relationship words have when used in conjunction with images. Brian Fies, a cartoonist who has published two comic books, uses this power in one of his works to help his reader understand the hardships of someone in the family having cancer. I think of it as, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that picture says fewer and more specific words when it is paired WITH words. The words help narrow down the picture of the language, and the pictures help say what the words cannot. It is the same way body language is a huge component of human communication, it is not just what you say, but HOW you say it, and comics allow us to put that third variable of communication, combining the visual and verbal aspect of understanding, and putting it on paper. If I say “nice to see you again,” I could be honest or sarcastic and you wouldn’t know with just words. I would have to tell you, that Im saying it sarcastically. But if I drew some pictures of someone rolling there eyes and slouching and with a disgusted look on their face, you would understand quicker and more clearly that I meant it in a certain way.

That is the power of comics and its unacknowledged powerful use of images and words. 

The Death Star at UCD

Many of the students at UC Davis are familiar with the building nick-named the "Death Star" for its futuristic angles and shapes that make it one heck of a maze to wander through.

It is, none the less, a very interesting design.
As someone who tried drawing it incorporating perspective, the building was more challenging than I had anticipated because it offers many design and art theories that change with any slight change of positioning within the buildings walkways and staircases.

The first and foremost aspect of the building that really makes it feel like a maze is the lack of change in color between the walls and the floor, and how the time of day and lighting makes one wall and floor look continuous while others have powerful shadows. The entire building is cement gray, and therefore, where a wall in the distance meets a foreground, the eye can easily get confused at the angles and the distance and even the surface they are perceiving. There is also a lack of symmetry, which does not always stand out at first but to which the eye must grow accustomed to. Because there is no symmetry, the focal points can be giant spaces where many walls and angles meet, but also allows for multiple focal points, such as a big window in a slanting wall, or a tree in the courtyard which makes a strong contrast with its organic shapes to the straight hard man made angles of the building.

I highly recommend taking the time to walk around the building and think about the angles you see, not the angles you assume are there. Look for as many design aspects, color, size, shape, texture, contrast, functionality, and aesthetics. The building is sure to get you turned around, so be adventurous as a first timer, or if you think you know your way around, try and find a new way in and a new way out, explore the idea of not having a grid pattern and still being able to get to the same spot by taking a different path. Get lost!
Have fun :)

Ring Ring Riiiiing

Take a look at your phone. Examine all the fancy new features it might have, be it internet, the latest games, voice activation or itunes top 10 songs as your ringtone. It has become an accessory that can match any outfit with all the latest phone covers that sport your favorite color or your dedication as a sports fan with your favorite team logo. Visually, the phone has gone from a clunky, typically black heavy object, to a small sleek and slender personalize-able rectangle that is becoming easier and easier to lose. While some phones best feature is the visual appeal, what does color, shape, size and durability mean if basic functions are not being improved.

I find that while phones are becoming more and more advanced, many are missing simple functional aspects. For example, is it not true that most phone screens become extremely difficult to see in direct sunlight? The content of the phone, the literal message that your object is displaying to you through icons on your iphone or just the numbers of the time of day on your home page, is being overlooked and left behind in the marketing world when companies feel the need to engineer the best keyboard or the coolest applications.

When is design going to take a step back and look at the most important part of its objects, the reason it was designed in the first place. Isn't a car a car if it gets you from point A to point B? So why isn't my phone even letting me make a call in the middle of the day? Why does it seem that design is moving in a direction that is sacrificing function for form?

Content and form working as one

Cover of the DVD of "Objectified" by Gary Hustwit

The documentary "Objectified" by Gary Hustwit brings up many situations in which content and form work together. When we think about content and form, its is usually the form that determines the content, but what happens when it is the other way around?

taken from "The Glorious Toothpcik" on the Journal of the American Enterprise Institute

In the film, they bring up the discussion of the toothpick, and everyday recognizable object for most people in our society. One man brings up the fact that many do not know the Japanese toothpick has a decoration on the end, perhaps to serve as decoration, but can also be broken off to show that it has been used. Furthermore, the tiny bit that is broken off can also be used a stand. This makes me think how the form of an object can change when you better understand the content. If you do not know that you should break of the end, you do not understand the full meaning behind the design, and therefore you do not use its form to its full potential. Such a simple object can be enormously misunderstood, and the design of the toothpick greatly underestimated. Now we might be wondering what else we are we using everyday, and yet not using at all? And perhaps a better question might be how do we avoid this under-usage of design? Do we need to have instruction manuals for toothpicks? Or can the design somehow better speak to its audience about its form and content and how they work together? Design is all about its relation to society, and when a society does not understand the content, how can they fully understand the form? Maybe we should ask design to speak more clearly, or is it those little unknown facts that make design interesting, since this means there might be infinite ways in which we can "newly" use the tools we already posses.