The ANTIDESIGN

Is advertising really harmful? This question may have been up to debate a few decades ago but at this point, it's relatively agreed on that advertising has a very powerful effect on the way we think. As designers, we have an obligation to apply a certain ethic and moral principle to our work. The allure is that advertising is a very lucrative business to be in right now, and there's nothing wrong with marketing, but it's crucial to be aware of the impact that our designs are making on the world.

Ads are everywhere and we may feel like we can tune them out but the fact is, these images are carefully designed to get through to you. No one is above it. The advertisement shown here is for a credit card, something that we all know how to get without being reminded of how easy it is. Credit companies find new ways to try to trick us into debt faster and faster. Most credit card companies have "exclusive" cards for an annual fee, catering to the elite (or those who wish they were 'elite').

What kind of effect do all these loan and credit advertisements have on children? Children are exposed to so many advertisements that it is necessary to consider how ads impact their lives. Designers need to look at ads through a child's eyes as well as their target market because children soak up everything they see like a sponge. How can it be morally ethical to train a child through bombarding them with advertisements that having a credit card makes you elite? or that taking out a loan is a simple thing to do?

Many companies have turned to sustainable design as the hot button of environmental disaster grows ever larger. Renault is a company that sees the need for a "green" car that can still perform well as an invitation to expand. They plan to launch a new version of their "Zoe" model as a performance version.

The original Renault Zoe was adored in Paris when it was released thanks to it's plethora of internal gadgetry. Continuing to grow on their successes, Renault plans to boost the engine, and add interest peaking extras like skin hydration, air cleansing, and scent therapy in the new Performance Zoe. These futuristic concepts make this car a model of Utopian design. Every aspect of the Renault Zoe was designed to improve life, and it is notable for being a high class electric car already, but with this performance version, it is clear to consumers that this is a company that can't stop trying to improve life for their clients as well as the environment.

Color theory is about a-lot more than the color wheel we learned in first grade. In high-school art classes kids are often taught about color mixing with pigments, but beyond how to mix paint, what do we need to know about colors that isn't already obvious?

Marilyn - Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol spent much of his career looking at pop culture and putting his own spin on it to emphasize the effects of consumerism. In his famous Marilyn portraits Warhol tweaked Marilyn's natural colors in odd ways, but this design is valuable in more than just it's message. The image of Marilyn is something recognizable as beauty, but with the change of colors some of these copies look almost grotesque. It is incredible but even with the most deformed colors in this piece, the image of Marilyn is still recognizable. It is also worth questioning why certain images in this piece are pleasing to the eye and others are repulsing. We have so much invested in color when we look at art.

Rene Magritte's famous work "The Treason of Images" touches on how image can deceive. Color in this same way has the ability to trick the eye. The optical illusion below gives a simplistic hint at the potential color has in tricking the mind. The two labeled squares are actually the same color but they don't appear to be the same at all because of the context of the image.

Beyond context, color actually has the ability to change the way that other colors around it appear. A bright color surrounded by muted and unsaturated tones will pop out. Artists can utilize these tricks of color to convey a message. Making this kind of emphasis can really grab attention and say something to the viewer.

The work of Richard Long has long been a source of inspiration for designers in every field. His ephemeral installations are signature and easily recognizable, as they have an elegance that can only come from a great designer, while still maintaining a natural element.

Stone Line 1980

Firth of Forth Mud Arc

A line the same length as a straight walk from the bottom to the top of Silbury Hill

Piemonte Line Images from Richard Long's Website

Ephemeral artwork is something to be pondered over. The temporary nature itself is something that demands recognition. Walking past a marble statue everyday doesn't warrant any response because it will be there everyday and our psychological filters depend on that. When something strikes us as intimately ephemeral it catches our attention. These pieces aren't something to be preserved like the Mona Lisa, they remind us to enjoy what is here now, and they mimic our own transience. Momento-Mori.

Here is an interesting and currently ongoing project by artist Roman Ondák. "Taking place" is a temporal work existing an interior gallery space. Each visitor to the gallery room has an opportunity to have their name recorded at their height, along with the date. The concept is the slow formation of a black line at the average height. The only names that are at all legible after a while are the names of those who are true outliers. This project is 'taking place' at the temporary stedelijk until January 9, 2011.

"taking place" pictures from designboom

This piece was not created by the artist, bringing up once again the ever present question of 'what is art', but the design of the infographic itself is art. The concept is a new convenient way of recording data that is designed in such a way that the mean becomes obvious and the outliers become known.


This installation is actually a current rendering of this concept. It was previously presented at MoMa in 2007 under the title "Measuring the Universe". Roman Ondák's gained notoriety in the world of art and design from this concept, and has become quite a name to know.

Resume's aren't a topic of much interest. We all learned how to create a resume from a business class or relative, and pretty much took for granted that it's just the way things are. As artists and designers, when we apply for job positions, we aren't just sending employers a resume. We also include our painstaking ever-improving portfolio, but is it enough?

by brazilnut

A resume is a place to display our skills, and as designers (especially designers in visual communication fields) shouldn't our resume be a tribute to our style and creativity as well? We take on this initiative often with business cards and websites, but in our resumes we very well can go to all the same extremes to make an impression.

These are some designers who took an extra step in being remembered, and shared their resume's to inspire and push the boundaries of our presentation in everyday life. It's fun to look through and see the unique and creative ways some artists have found to make themselves known; and what an exciting thought that we could all be this creative in the way that piece of paper or PDF document we send out to those judgmental employers and have that document really represent who we are.

by johnnywall

by rei-pash

by puziah

by xiruxiru

The way we present ourselves to society is constantly under scrutiny, and we feel this. There are so many little ways like this that we can make impressions, improve our image, and be remembered as designers. It might be time for even those outside of the artistic field to start getting bold with their resumes.

The Droid X is Motorola's contribution to Verizon's line of Android phones, the Droids. To get through the basics, this phone features an enormous touch screen display along with buttons on the front face. I will try not to dwell on comparisons but the Droid's natural competitor would have to be Apple's iPhone (it's smart to keep things like this in mind), but if you're interested, there are nice simple comparison charts all over the web.

To start, this phone is huge. This isn't so much of a negative thing as it is a shift. The way the user is forced to interact with this giant device is entirely different than one would with a cellphone. I like to use the word 'device' with this product because I've found it to be more useful when it's treated more like a computer than a phone. Getting back to the size, this phone is much larger than the iPhone, and in overall aesthetics the iPhone is far more pleasing and sleek. Although awkward to look at (only because it defies the modern schema around what cellphones should look like), the odd jut in the back of this device does not interfere with it's mobility, nor does it effect the utilization of the phone negatively.

The specs for a phone like this aren't as important as the overall feel of this phone in utilization.The user interface is simple to use, and very well designed. It is easy for a first time user to figure out how to use the phone features, the texting, or the browser. Anyone who is already familiar with the structure of a PC's user interface can also easily alter settings, play music, install applications, and save, alter and transfer documents. This phone does definitely appeal to users who have the background knowledge that using a Windows OS provides, and caters to the customize-ability that we Microsoft fans have become accustomed to.

Using the keyboard is something that I was worried about (being new to touch screen keyboards), but I found it to be simple and efficient, even without turning the screen horizontally for larger keys. The phone is comfortable to hold, even while making calls, which was somewhat unexpected due to it's bulky rectangular appearance. The speaker is of great quality and is loud enough to hear and use at a comfortable distance while using the speakerphone feature.

As far as performance goes, this phone is a beast. There are many productivity oriented applications, but I have found the most useful to be the Google Maps navigator, the calendar, and the clock. The navigator was well thought out. The iPhone also uses the Google Maps system, but isn't so well linked to an effective navigation program. The Droid X comes with Google Maps preinstalled (like the iPhone), and is linked to the phone's preinstalled navigation software. This truly allows users to use this phone as a GPS while driving directly from Google Maps, instead of having the classic step by step instructions (and having to click the next button each step of the way).



A few negative notes; the camera is an impressive 8mp camera at the back of the phone. This is one of the most useless features of this device, and it's boasted as one of it's best. The camera application takes almost 5 seconds to load up, and the button to take a picture is so hard to press all the way down that more than half the time, it turns out that the photo was not taken. It also would have been unbelievably useful for the designers to think about how far programs like Facetime and Skype have gone, and put a camera on the front of the phone. I would have easily chosen to give up the 8mp and HD video for a crappy camera that I could use for video chat. The battery that came with the phone is also very unimpressive. Verizon offers an extended battery at an (enormous) extra cost, but its worth the money only because the phone is practically unusable (with just about 6 hours minimum usage) with the original battery. A phone should come prepared with a good battery in the packaging; this one just wasn't up to par.

This phone is alot of fun to use and it's customize-ability and simple file transfer system has won my heart. When people buy a phone today though, we aren't looking for something that's going to last forever, or that we could see ourselves with even in 5 years. The safety that consumers crave from buying these kind of devices has to do with whether it's worth the money. This phone is definitely pricey, at about $360 without a service plan at this point. This phone was well worth it for someone who values being able to customize all aspects of their phone and not have to worry about jailbreaking an iPhone and any repercussions of doing so. I wouldn't reccomend this to users over 40, as most of the features are exciting because they appeal perfectly to their market; college students.

Tuesday we had a guest speaker in my Des001 class to talk to us about the design process of a working comic book artist. We heard a wonderful presentation from Brian Fies, the artist who created Mom's Cancer and Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow. It was incredible to hear from someone working in such an artistic field, and after hearing about his books, I immediately wanted to run out and buy them.


Brian Fies walked us through his own personal creative process while making these comics. He started out slowly by taking us through his character designs for Mom's Cancer. Because this book's concept was drawn from life, his characters already existed in life and it was up to him to turn them into comics. In contrast, his character designs for WHttWoT were based not on life, but were created from his head. Because of this, Brian Fies put alot of thought into the appearance of the main characters in the story and their alter personae. We were able to see some of the inspiration for the sci-fi action heroes' costumes and his well thought out decisions around some of the major differences between the two characters.

The process of character creation is something I haven't delved into much, but this presentation was inspiring to me. The level of detail and thought put into each artistic decision is just epic. I look forward to reading Brian Fies work.