Many times, in designing with a particular purpose in mind, many things can be overlooked. This is the case in the designing of the roads for speeding cars, when the pedestrians and the other users of the road are not taken into account. Many people are killed every day because of these issues. The infrastructure in many parts of the United States is not well taken care of, therefore pedestrians and bicyclist are kept away from performing activities, such as walking and biking, that are very important for their health and well-being.
Studies have shown that pedestrian paths and cycling lanes increase the level of walking and biking in a community. Outside of Charleston, SC, a three mile path and a bridge have been built, constructions that accommodate pedestrians, and bikers. Also, the Arthur Ravenel Bridge connects the Charleston peninsula with a town in South Carolina. The initial project was designed without the pedestrian paths and bike lanes. Protests and strikes, supported even by the Charleston Mayor had the architects relook at the plan, and add these amenities.
Charleston, SC bridge
Dangerous designs, such as the road designed for the high speed cars, with no sidewalks or bike lanes, occur all the time. Danger is not rare in design, but with careful observation of the people those things are designed for, the danger can be minimized.
The invention of the light bulb changed the human existence, and it was one of the greatest discoveries human race has ever known. It was invented in the 1879 by Thomas Edison.
Thomas Edison was not the first one to try to invent the incandescence lamp. Many others before him, tried to do the same thing, but they couldn’t get the filament hot enough, as to start burning: “The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments. I was never myself discouraged, or inclined to be hopeless of success. I cannot say the same for all my associates." - Thomas Alva Edison
An electric light bulb is “an electric lamp in which a filament is heated to incandescence by an electric current. Today's incandescent light bulbs use filaments made of tungsten rather than carbon of the 1880's.” (For more info, see: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/lightbulb.htm)
The light bulb, known in the past as the electric lamp, has a filament that needs to be heated, so that it can start glowing and generate light. The bulb is the glass that encloses the filament.
The invention of the light bulb was one of the greatest discoveries in the human existence, and set the tone for many other discoveries to come. The incandescent light bulb was a utopian element because it certainly improved the existence of the people at the timeof its discovery, as well as for generations to come.
Color is a primary mean by which a design is given identity. A good example that color plays a crucial role in design is the design of Takashi Murakami, called Killer Pink. It basically consists of the repetition of the smiley faces that change size and color throughout the design. All the figurines are the same, but the diversity comes from the combination of warm and cold colors. Blues, purples, whites, reds, pinks, blacks, and a variety of other colors, compose the faces and the wings of the figurines. Each face, and each of the wings only consist of two colors, and they stand right next to a pair of opposing colors. For example, there is a pair composed of pink and yellow standing next to a blue one. Also, the bright colors are combined with the dull colors, to achieve visual unity and balance.
Murakami-Killer Pink
The composition is balance mostly through the colors. In each side, for example, we have a big figurine composed of pink and purple and black. Also on the lower left and the upper right, we have two figurines that are half-off the picture. Only their yellow faces, and some of the wings are visible.
If the same composition would be viewed in black and white, the effect would not be the same. The visual balance would have to be mostly achieved through the form, shape, and the size of the figurines, and it would not arise the same interest in the viewer.
The Killer Pink by Murakami, states once more that color is a very important attribute of a composition, and it can create visual balance and visual unity. If used appropriately, color becomes a very useful and important tool for a designer.
Airtouch is Steelcase new advanced height adjustable desk that enables workers to change their working position throughout the day, so that they can either sit or stand while working. This new innovation is a pneumatic desk with an adjustable work space that moves up and down, depending on the position desired. It can be used while sitting on a chair, or while standing up. The goal of this desk is to improve performance of the workers, while maintaining their health and well-being.
The image below shows two different ways that the Airtouch desk can be used in a working environment:
The desk has 2 basic components, the adjustable foot and the work space. It is very easy to adjust and it can go from sitting to standing in just 1.2 seconds. Therefore, it is suitable for short, as well as long meetings. The idea behind this desk was the fact that many employees sit at their desk for hours without getting up, which really impacts their health. Research showed that moving throughout the day helps blood flow better and decreases the upper and lower body pressure and discomfort. Also an increase in productivity of the workers has been observed.
The advantages of this pneumatic desk come from the height adjustment (from 26-43 inches), the easy adjustment way-just by lifting the handle, the short time needed to go from a sitting to a standing position, and the sizes and the shapes the desk is available in. The lift handle is ergonomic, diminishing the effort to lift it up and down.
Due to the small space occupied by the desk, it is suitable for small, as well as large offices and meeting rooms. The work space is available in different sizes and shapes, and therefore can be used for holding laptops, books, and other devices. The load bearing capacity is 150lbs.
All the features presented above make the Airtouch, a great working desk, suitable for small, as well as large office spaces, for people of different sizes and shapes, creating an experience for the users. This innovation really changes the traditional way the work environment is perceived, and adds to the health, while improving the performance.
The node chair, the new invention of Steelcase is a mobile chair that gives students the opportunity to move around while sitting. There are three components to this chair: the seat, the work space and the base. The assemblage is easy and doesn’t require any tools. The idea behind this new innovation was to provide students with the freedom of movement, as well as comfort, and safety while in a class room. Also, unlike the traditional classroom chair, the node chair makes collaboration between students easier. The wheels make it moveable, the works space is adjustable, and the storage compartment underneath. The chair is also highly recommended for people with back pain, since the back is ergonomic.Safety, comfort, ease of use, performance and aesthetics, make the node chair a great innovation, that seems to improve performance and create a great experience for students and faculty, totally changing the way the class room environment is vviewed and perceived!
The video below shows a demonstration of what the chair looks like, and its advantages over the traditional class room seating.
In terms of safety, the new node chair is designed in such a way that the back, though still, resembles humans’ back, making it suitable for people with back pain and back injuries. Also the work space is larger, so that book, notebooks, and laptops don’t fall while using them. The wheels, make this chair moveable, without having to lift it up, therefore, avoiding back injuries.
Comfort is provided, first by the fact that the chair comes in three different components, that can be assembled without using any tools. The seat shell, work space and the base are all adjustable, making class room a more comfortable and enjoyable place. The work space can or cannot be attached, depending on the class room setting and the desire of student and teachers.
The new node chair has a different look from the conventional classroom chair found in most of the school around the United States and around the world. First, it has wheels, which makes moving around easier. Student performance has proved to improve when the chair is easier to be arranged without too much effort. Teachers and students are provided with the chance to adjust their classes, depending on the kind of projects. This kind of sitting is suitable for individual as well as group projects. The seating can be arranged in such a manner that students can face each other, therefore having face to face contact when working on a project together.
Secondly, underneath the node chair, there is a storage place that can be used for backpacks, or other personal items, such as books, notebooks, or coats, unlike the traditional chair that does not have this quality. The desk that is attached to the chair, larger than the traditional one, can be used for books, notebooks, laptops and other devices. Unlike the conventional chair, this new design is suitable for students of all sizes and shapes. Left handed, as well as right handed students can adjust the work surface, so that they are confortable. Even the arms of the chair are design not only as a place for elbows, but also to hold a bag, or a coat, keeping these necessary items close at hand. The design of the chair was design in such a manner that it is adequate for people with back pain and injuries. The back, even though not flexible has a shape that resembles that of human back.
The performance of the chair has been proved to be high, raising the performance of students in school. This quality comes from the fact that all the components are adjustable; therefore, the chair can be used by all kinds of students. When sitting in this chair, students’ experience is increased. They seem to be able to focus more when they sit in a comfortable chair, and when the arrangement of it can be made without too much effort.
The advantage of the node chair, over the traditional chair, also comes from the fact that the chair can be purchased or without the work surface, so that it accommodates more teaching and learning styles. There are also options in colors. Each side of the chair comes in more color options that can be matched to fit the elements in the classroom. The seat is available in 12 colors, the desk (work space) is available in 5 colors, and the base comes in 3 colors.
The Steelcase node chairs, has many advantages over the traditional class room chair. It comes in three different components that can be easily assembled – the seat shell, the workspace and the base. It can be purchased with, or without the work space. It has wheel, which make it moveable without too much effort, it has a larger work space, suitable for laptops and other personal items, it has a storage underneath that can be used for backpacks, or coats, the arms, also can be used to hold a backpack, keeping the items at hand. It is suitable for left, as well as right hand students, and it can be adjusted, so that students of all sizes and shapes can use it. Safety, comfort, ease of use, performance and aesthetics, make the node chair a very suitable object that improves performance and creates a great experience for students and faculty!
BMW ORACLE Racing is the newest technological advance as far as boats go, in the world. This
BMW ORACLE Racing is the newest technological advances as far as boats go, in the world. This wing powered boat was created to compete in the 33 America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain in February 2011. Instead of being powered by the sail, as the normal boats, this boat is actually powered by a huge wing, that is supposed to make it faster. The diameter of the wing is actually bigger than that of an airplane. Mike Drummond, the executive Director of the BMW Oracle Racing explains: "A wing of this scale has never been built for a boat. In terms of size, it dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190 ft (57 m) above the deck, it is 80% bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane." (Design World site)
The rigid wing is supposed to give the boat increased speed, depending on the velocity of the wind. Though rigid wings are not too often encountered in boats, certainly not of this size, there were a few in the past, the first one appeared at the America’s Cup in 1987.
The boat with its fixed white, shiny and lustrous wing is very imposing and elegant. If the design works, this could mean that BMW has set the bar high, for other companies to figure out how to respond to it. From now on therefore, we should be prepared tohear more and more about fixed wing for boats.
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art is a comic book by Scott McCloud, whose purpose is to teach the reader the meaning of Comics, the history and the processes to create this type of art. The book begins with the definition of comics. As McCloud states, comics are “juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and /or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.” In the book, McCloud touches subjects, such as the design process, and the steps that every artist and designer follows at one point or another in creating their composition.
The book is divides in nine chapters, and each chapter has its specific topic. The font, the size, and the location of text vary from panel to panel. Some words are bolded to attract attention and to emphasise their importance. The size of the panels and the images inside these, also vary. Each panel is separated by borders. Rarely there is any text without an image. This combination of text and visual elements creates a visual balance and keeps the reader engaged.
The juxtaposition of words and images in this book creates powerful panels that are meant to inform, as well as create a good disposition in the reader. The color is black and white (there are a couple of color pages at the end of the book). The main character represents the author and has a cartoony look. He appears almost in all panels. Some panels are darker, some are white, or different values of black.
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud is a Comic Book, that emphasizes the power created by the juxtaposition of words and images in a composition. Meant as an academic instrument, the book teaches, inspires, as well as creates good disposition for the readers.
Works Cited:
McCloud. Understanding Comics:The Invisible Art. Harper Perennial, New York, NY. 1993.
Mom’s Cancer is a Comic bookby Brian Fies that blends together words and images to describe the author mom’s battle with lung cancer, as well as the hard times that his family is going through. In this powerful book, words and images are used to express emotions, sadness, deep fears. Through the juxtaposition of words and visual elements, the readers are drawn into the world of Brian Fies, joining and being close to his family in the hard times they are going through.
The book cover is a cartoon symbolizing his mom. The panel has been cut in a half, to express the fact that the world of cancer patients is somehow double because many times their brain is sometimes in a different world compared to their body.
This comic book does a great job at expressing the effect and the powerful composition resulted when words and images are used together. The style adopted by Fies gives him the ability to express the passage of time, different actions, scenes, people, emotions, states of mind, or places. For example to show that his mom’s health is worsening, he is portraying her in a sequence from having hair, to less hair, until finally all her hair is gone. All this transitions is on the same page.
The video below is an interview with Brian Fies for the Rockweel Museum in which the author states the story behind the scenes of Mom's Cancer.
Sarcasm and irony are also used to express serious family matters and issues and involve the reader body and soul.
Mom’s Cancer won the Eisner Award in 2005 for best Digital Comic Book, and after it was published in 2006, many other awards were to come.
To find out more information about Brian Fies and his latest Comic Books, check out his blog at: http://momscancer.blogspot.com/.
In Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud defines the design or the creative process as being a “path consisting of six steps” (McCloud, 170). McCloud argues that idea, form, idiom, structure, craft and surface are at the base of design, and at one point or another each designer goes through and follows these steps to achieve a harmonious and successful composition.
In McCloud’s version, the idea or purpose is the first stage in the design process. He defines it as being the “impulses, the ideas, the emotions…the work’s content.” From this definition, we deduce that everything starts with an idea. Idea is the base of design. During the design process this initial idea can, however, be modified.
Form , the second step in McCloud’s version, is basically the visual aspect of the work. It can be a painting, a drawing, a comic book, a sculpture.
The third stage is the idiom, and it is defined as “the school of art, the vocabulary of styles or gestures or subject matter, the genre that the work belongs to… .” Depending on its idea and characteristics, design may be classified in different categories.
Structure, as McCloud defines it means putting it all together…what to include, what to leave out…how to arrange, how to compose the work. The composition and the organization in a coherent manner plays a significant role in the design process. First thing to be taken into account is the audience that the work is going to be addressed. There needs to be visual unity, as well as a smooth transition between the elements of a composition.
Craft is actually the doing part. The artist or designer applies his skills, training, and knowledge to get the job done successfully.
The surface is the last step in McCloud version and is the only step in the design process that is visible to the naked eye of the viewer or user. The surface is the finite product, the top layer of the creative process, and as McCloud puts it “the aspect most apparent on first superficial exposure to work”.
The design process in “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” is comprised of six steps: idea, form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface.The author argues that in creating a work of design, or art , each designer and artists goes through and follows these steps at certain points in their process.
Works Cited:
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics:The Invisible Art. Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. New York, NY. 1993.
