The artwork in the BFA show was all very intriguing to me. You can definately tell all of the hard work that the artists put into their artwork for this show. This makes me excited for when we will have the chance to do that. The work that you spend so much time on can be shown to a lot of people, and people that are outside of your major. I like looking at all of the work but I think the Graphic Design stuff was the most interesting to me because that is my major. I like seeing what other people have done and the creative ideas they come up with. I thought the whiplash type was really interesting and I like it a lot. I enjoyed going to the BFA and looking at all the great work that students have done.
World Changing Website Ideas…
Concept 1: My first world changing idea is based off of the Golden Rule; “Do onto others as you would wish them to do onto you” which translates into, treat people how you would like to be treated. I don’t think that there are enough good things done in the world today. I do not know one person who likes to be disrespected by someone or yelled at or talked about, so why do people do the same to others? I feel that people need to do one good deed a day or say one nice thing to someone a day. I think this would make the world an overall better less violent place. On my sister’s birthday she went out to dinner with her friend and there was an elderly man who was sitting at the table next to them. He ended up paying for her dinner and also told the waitress that it was her birthday, so they came out with ice cream and were singing happy birthday to her. He left with out her being able to say thank you. So, she felt that it was her responsibility to do something nice for someone else in result. On my website I would have The Golden Rule be the emphasis of the page. I would have examples of simple things that can make a difference in someone’s life, also maybe a place for people to tell stories of their own.
Concept 2: Another world changing idea is only eating organic food or no meat at all. Now a days no one can be exactly sure what they are actually consuming. The book “My Year of Meats” had a major influence on my believing in this. The book focuses a lot on DES which is a steroid that is used to help make cattle bigger which can result in many effects on the person that eats the meat. On my site I would compare animals that are given the drugs compared to free range animals, also people who eat the meat that has been given steroids compared to vegetarians/people who only eat organic food.
Concept 3: My third World changing website idea is to focus on Recycling, there are many environmental issues that arise from the lack of recycling and I think it could be world changing if more people participated in it. I would show on the site what the world could end up looking like in the future if not everyone recycles and compare it to what it could look like if everyone does recycle. Also show all of the bad things that are happening to the world from not recycling.
BLOG!!!
Since I have been learning quite a bit about blogs the past week or so I thought that it would be interesting to see what the chapter titled “Blogs” was all about. I checked out Kevin Fox’s blog, Fury. He is a designer at google, and also Khoi Vinh’s blog, subtraction who is a digital design director working at the New York Times. I found these both interesting to read because they offered me the opportunity not only to learn about certain issues in their specific industry that they are “blogging” about, but also to see the world through the eyes of an expert. I think that it is really cool that some experts have blogs on line and are available for me to read. In the chapter Heller says that if you are considering starting a blog of your own, be warned: Doing it well takes up far more time than you might think. There are so many aspects to a blog that you can include to really make it unique. I agree with Heller saying it takes a lot more time than you think. Heller also talks about how having a blog is beneficial because it can give you a chance to flex your design muscles, but also provides you the space to capture your thoughts and forces you to articulate them clearly. One reason why I like having a blog is the fact that I can use certain design skills to make my blog personal and fun or exciting to look at, this is why I like the fact that he said blogging gives you a chance to flex your design skills. You can simply look at someone’s blog and notice certain things about design right away. Also I believe that it does force you to capture your thoughts and articulate them. I think everyone should have a blog just for that reason. Not many people take the time to write, blogging gives you a terrific chance to do this. When you are blogging, you also want what you are writing to make sense, since other people will be reading it. This relates to what Heller is saying when he talks about how being able to write convincingly is the second most important skill a digital designer needs to succeed. Clients who do not know how to evaluate your talent as a designer will be able to appreciate your writing skills. Heller also talks about how having a blog gives potential employers and clients a way to get some insight into your personality and interests and to get comfortable. I agree with this and think this is a good reason to have a well-designed blog. If a future employer or client comes across your blog and it is put together terrible or the writing is awful they me be a little more timid hiring you. If you want to find out about someone’s personality I think looking through their blog would be a great way to do it. By reading what someone has to say and how they go about saying it, can tell quite a bit about that person’s personality. Also how their page is designed and what features are on it can tell a lot about a certain person. Heller says that before we set up our own blog, we should consider contributing to others, like posting comments for example. I did not think that a blog could be so rewarding in the end. Not just kids blog, but professors do with their students, experts do, and graphic designers do. I think blogging is becoming more and more popular and I think that more beneficial things will come from it. I never really thought of it to be this serious. I just thought it was a place where people write down whatever they are thinking (which it is) but it is also a lot more than that. This chapter made me realize how helpful having a blog can be to your career. I never saw it that way before, and I never thought it was such a big deal. I think by having a blog can really sharpen up someone’s communication skills, which will make us better designer. I am actually really glad that we were forced to set up a blog, I think having a blog will make us better writers, communicators, and designers. I have never blogged before this, but I think that I will learn a lot from it in the end.
