Social Media

There are a lot of aspects of design that go into all of the different forms of social media. Social media was designed to create personal interaction throughout the world. It is designed to keep up with the current news and trend. It is also designed for mass communication for a specific audience that the user wants to reach out to. All forms of social media are designed to be easy to use for people of all ages. Not all forms of social media are designed for every age group, for example LinkedIn is a social media platform for business professionals. It is a way to connect and market yourself through a professional setting. While as LinkedIn is very formal and professional, Twitter is very informal and targets the younger crowd of teenagers and young adults. Also all forms of social media are designed to reveal information about the user. Sites like Facebook and Instagram shows your friends and followers what interests you through your likes and posts. These things can reveal a lot about of person and their interests. All forms of social media have strong connections with the world of design.

Media Impact

Media is a huge part of everyday life in today's society. Media is used for communication among all different people throughout the world. There are all different types of media that target all different age groups. Media is also very important aspect in design. Media has a large impact on my artifact. My artifact is the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Media helps portray this specific place. For example the United Center was given many nicknames that all started through the media. The nicknames include "UC", "Madhouse on Madison" and "The House that Jordan Built." All of these names are still used today, and in fact these nicknames are more popular than the actual name United Center.

Another huge form of media used at the United Center is television and radio. The United Center has live broadcasts on both the television and radio for sporting events. These sporting events include Chicago Blackhawks hockey games, Chicago Bulls basketball games, college basketball games and the McDonalds High School All American Basketball Game. This is a popular arena that receives plenty of time on television. Since it spends a lot of time on television, the United Center is also opened up to many forms of social media discussing the arena and the activities going on in it.

Storyboard Final

After reviewing the storyboards of some other classmates, I realized that design means something different to each person. There are so many different scales in design. I saw some that were of a small artifact, others that were of a building or a specific place. The one storyboard that I found really interesting was Emily Durham's on the "It's a Small World" at Disney. I have been on the ride, but I did not know it is also in 6 other Disney parks throughout the world. I thought it was so cool how they are all running for being such an old ride that was first built in 1971.  I think it is also interesting how the ride describes many cultures throughout the world. It ties in well to our talk about design and how it is different in all places of the world. I think it was the perfect place to discuss design because it not only talks about the design of the ride, but also the design and culture of other places throughout the world.

noupe.com

The article discussed many examples of how design played a significant role in movies. There were several examples but three of them really stood out to me. The first one was from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. In the photo described, there are three large men and one dainty lady. It discusses the contrast because all of the men are wearing black while the lady is wearing a light pink dress so it gives a nice balance to the design. Also the pink shows a lot of irony because pink is such a nice light color, but in the movie the character in the pink is actually very mean and evil.

The second example was from the movie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The focus on this movie was by having the design represent the mood of the movie. The photo and the entire movie is in a very gloomy color, because it is representing the evil mood of the movie. It is a very dreary setting for a very dreary movie. The gloomy colors do a great job of representing the mood of the movie.

The third and final example that I really liked was from the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The example of design discussed was having a focal point. In the picture there is four people and only one of them is glowing. This automatically puts the viewer's focus on the glowing character. By having a focal point, it is a way to really grab the viewer's interest to a specific character or object. It is a great way to show importance of something in the movie.

I thought these three examples are all very helpful and something I could use to make my movie more successful.

Prown Worksheet

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Above is a picture of just an ordinary baseball. However, most people do not think about the design behind a baseball. A baseball os made with only a few things, however, these few things give it a specific identity. A baseball is made of a cushioned cork and rubber casing at its core, wool and poly/cotton yarn surrounding the core, and a cowhide cover over the exterior of the ball. These specific things come together to create a baseball. The baseball has a purpose to be strong and durable. It can take a pounding. It can be hit by a bat going the speed of over 100 miles per hour without loosing its shape. It is not only made to be strong and durable, but is also made with a lot of finesse. The seams are hand stitched and they give life to the ball. The stitches serve a bigger purpose than just adding more of a design look to the ball. The stitches allow the ball to have movement. A baseball can be thrown in several different ways, and the stitches allow it to move in different ways. The ball gives beauty to the game of baseball as a whole.

Place

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Chicago, Illinois is a city with special character in terms of design. It has a rich city feel to it because of all the high skyscrapers and other tall buildings. Chicago is home to many businesses in banking, retail stores, and hotels. All of these buildings have similar structures. They are all very tall and can accommodate a lot of people. However, Chicago also has large areas of natural space. Pictured above is Grant Park and it is home to many different things each year. One of the world's biggest music festivals, Lollapalooza, is held here every summer. These large areas of nature help break away from the chaotic scene of the city. This is also home to two of the most common attractions in the city, Buckingham Fountain and Cloudgate which is more commonly referred to as "the bean." These two attractions are flooded with tourists each year. Even though Chicago is known for all of its tall skyscrapers such as the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, and the John Hancock building, its rich natural areas are also iconic to the identity of the city.

Postcard Process

The process of the postcard was pretty simple, but it did have its challenges along the way. The first thing I did was search for a quote from one of the readings. The one I chose to use was a quote from Lawson that someone had shared in class. Once I found my quote, I started to brainstorm of pictures that would go well with the quote. The first thing that popped in my mind was a blueprint.

I chose the blueprint because the quote talked about mechanical calculation, so I thought it was the perfect picture for the postcard. Once I found my quote and photo, I just had to assemble it. I used microsoft word to create my postcard. The most difficult thing was to get the image to be the right size for the postcard. I went to the media hub in the Library and they were able to help me format my postcard. The people in the media depot were great in helping me format my postcard and getting it all printed out. I learned that it is always a good idea to get help, instead of struggling on your own. I have never been the one to ask for help, but I am glad I did.

Building

The building scale has three main buildings, the skyscraper, the airport and the home. All of these building styles tell us something about America as a country. The skyscraper was built to discuss the efficiency of Americas. The skyscraper holds several businesses all in one place. These businesses also attract the idea of socializing throughout the building. The skyscraper is also a relatively modern design. Theses buildings are very recognizable such as the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) in Chicago, Illinois. This is the most iconic building in the city and one of the most iconic buildings in the United States.

The airport is also a very modern design in America. The airport describes how America likes to keep up with the newest trends. Most airports have multiple restaurants to provide for the demand of food while people wait for their flights. All of these restaurants are popular food chains. This is because America has products that they trust and that they market these companies. Americans are more likely to go to a well-known place that they trust, instead of trying something new.

The final building design is the home. The homes nowadays are typically multiple floors that both convey socialization due to an open concept, but also privacy with multiple bedrooms. The amount of bedrooms and bathrooms in houses nowadays shows how Americans like to socialize. By having more rooms, these families are able to houseguests. These homes are also based in neighborhoods. They are typically close together, so there is plenty of socialization throughout the community.

Below is an image of another building of the twentieth century, the stadium. The stadium shows how the world is building multi-functional venues. Stadiums are typically known for sporting events, but they also have concerts, rallies, and other community events. This large space is very accommodating to tens of thousands of people. Stadiums bring people together with common interests, whether it is at specific team, specific musician, or a specific event.

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Postcard Final

Blueprint Postcard, The Lex Apartments. Personal photograph by author. 2016.

Form my postcard I chose the quote from the Lawson reading that said, “Many forms of design, deal with both precise and vague ideas, call for systematic and chaotic thinking, need both imaginative thought and mechanical calculation. The picture that I thought described this quote well was a blueprint. I chose a blueprint because a blueprint is a drawing of an idea before it is actually made. There are also a lot of mechanical calculations in a blueprint, because every measurement has to be precise in order to have a working final product. The photo is a blueprint of an Iphone. The Iphone is an iconic design in the world today and it looks so simple, but most people fail to realize all of the calculation and design that takes place in creating the Iphone. Most people just see the Iphone for what it is, a phone, but in reality it is much more and there is much more work done in designing and creating the finished product.

House

Before listening to lecture and reading the articles by Clark, I thought a house was just a place where people live. After reading and listening to lecture, I now know that there is so much more behind a house. A house can tell you a lot about a person or family. I now know what my house says about me.

My house was built in 1998 in a small town in northern Illinois. It was built in a newer neighborhood with several neighbors. The idea of living in a place that is close to many other homes means that my family liked the idea of being social and meeting new people. By living here, we have made lifelong friends with most of our neighbors. My house is a 3-story house with a basement, main floor, and an upper floor. The three floors each serve a different purpose. The basement is a place of storage and protection. We keep all of our things that we do not use often in the basement. We also use this area for protection. In Illinois we have several tornados, so when the tornado siren goes off we run to the basement and sit down there in the safety of the concrete walls.

 The second floor of my house is for everyday socializing. We have an open concept floor plan between the living room and kitchen. This is very helpful for socializing and entertaining. It is a way for our family to interact with one another and with company while doing tasks such as cooking and preparing other food. The main floor also connects to our garage that can hold two cars. This relates to our idea that transportation is close to us and our cars are a part of us, so we want them to be safe just like ourselves.

The third floor of my house has more of the privacy feeling. The third floor contains four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Each of these rooms has a door and lock so each member of my family can have privacy. This privacy shows how in society today people need their own individual space.

Postcard 1

In the book, How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified, author, Bryan Lawson, said, "Many forms of design deal with both precise and vague ideas need both imaginative thought and mechanical calculation."

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Media Depot

On Monday I visited the media depot with a quarter of my class. This was my third time receiving the tour of the media depot, but even after the third time I still learned something new.  In the media depot you can use a viewing room where you can record yourself talking. You can also use a sound booth, which will help you do a voice over for a film or other recording. The equipment helps drown out all of the outside noise from your recording. The final room you can reserve is the green room. Here you can project any image on the green screen. You can record yourself in any setting without actually having to go to that specific setting.

The one new thing I learned during this visit is that you can checkout a hard drive for a week for free as long as you have your student ID. This hard drive can be used to hold a lot of storage specifically video clips. The media depot also has many people that will help you with any of your projects. These people are considered experts with all of the technology needed for any class assignment for school such as a movie, sound clip, etc. As long as you bring them the information and your work, they will help you put it together so it will look professional.