Design is Video

This is a video summarizing my essay. Take a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjYDzENXw1U

Design Is

This is the design essay that I did for my design theory class. Enjoy

As a designer, more often than not, when we tell others what we do, (usually our parents) an explanation is needed. So what is design? Contrary to popular belief, (again namely our parents) design isn’t all posters, logos, and making things pretty. Design is communicating a concept or idea to an audience using visual tools and techniques. It is not simply rearranging words on a page, good design is purpose driven.  Without any purpose, it would be art. 

Examples of historic use of design are rock paintings, petroglyphs, and hieroglyphics. Those forms of design were used by early civilization to record events, visions and stories. They were produced using such tools as sticks, rocks or bone, which is a far cry from Illustrator and Indesign. However, not as far from QuarkXPress. Some were design for the purpose of historic markers, some are geological markers, and some are for ritualistic purposes. For whatever purpose, these crude markings were created with the sole purpose of communicating. Most importantly, at that time the need for the message to be clear was much more crucial because no one knew how to read or write but they were able to understand the message that was told because of the universal images that were used to convey what was being said.

In addition, during medieval times families had a coat of arms designed for a helmet or metal chest armor to help identify soldiers in battle or jousting matches. Eventually crests were moved off of the helmet and chest plate and onto banners and dinnerware to imply regal lineage or status. Logos of today are the modern day crests. The logos, like the coat of arms, are design to help people identify their company in comparison with the rest of the others in a similar feild.

Today, the graphic designer organizes and communicates messages in a way that affects the viewer. It establishes the nature of the product or idea in the most effective way.  By manipulating forms in a certain style, the designer can attract a certain audience for that product or idea. 

When a concept is applied effectively, it demands and hooks the viewer’s attention. Depending on the design, the way in which the concepts and messages are delivered can be altered. When a concept is effectively executed, the material will connect with their particular target audience, making the audience want to do whatever that piece of design is asking them to do. Designers have to be problem solvers. The problem that is presented when a designer is given a job to do is how to get an amount of information to the largest  group of the intended target audience. The designer must get into the mind of the consumer and find out what they need to see in orger to be affected. 

In architecture, a concept is a crucial part of the design process. Concept is what brings the architects idea into fruition. Architects have a vision, set a goal, then do endless drawings, calculations, and test before actually beginning the build. Without a concept buildings wouldn’t be architecturally sound and would probably fall apart.

When designing without a clear and solid concept, some may resort to desperate acts of design (gradients, drop shadows, and the over use of transparency). To avoid this, the designer must have a strong idea, and test it. A good idea can create a framework for other design decisions on colour, layout, type choice, format etc. This helps eliminate the need to design on a whim and with no explanation behind it. Design is not skin deep. Design does not just get designed to be a pretty picture. 

Design is a response to a need, a problem and a circumstance, and without having a solid concept based on that need, the problem cannot be solved. Pieces should be designed to elicit an emotion from the viewer. Emotions affect many aspects of human behaviour. You want to get people to donate to an animal shelter? Show a picture of a poor hungry puppy. The poor puppy makes us feel sad and unhappy; therefore we are more likely to give our money to the cause. Designing something that strikes a cord with peoples emotions is much more effective than if the designer simply put “please donate”.  Good design creates emotions within us: joy, intrigue, surprise etc. Emotions are all something people can identify with; therefore they are more likely to act. Different interest groups are involved in defining the task of design 

Within society. What is good, effective design for one group may not be for the next. Good, thoughtful, design can teach the audience something they didn’t know before.

My Design Process

Whenever I am given a design task, I go through the fallowing steps:

1. Browse the internet for related material or images of the content
2. Do rough sketches whenever and idea comes to me throughout the week
3. Show the design to friends that are in the design field
4. Show design to friends/ family that know nothing about design (to see if they get the idea)
5. Take a step back for a few hours/days
6. come back with fresh eyes and refine

Road Block!
-read award annuals looking for inspiration
- change my environment so I can look at the problem in a different way i.e take a shower, walk, ride the bus etc.

My Time With Media

During the past week, I was challenged to write down how many hours I spend on each different type of media. These are my results:
Facebook -------------------------------------- 3h
Text Message --------------------------------- 1h
Email ------------------------------------------ 1h
TV (Live) ------------------------------------- 3h
TV (Online) ---------------------------------- 5h
Movies ---------------------------------------- 8h
Music ------------------------------------------ 8h
Computer (Work) ---------------------------- 7h
Web (Browse) -------------------------------- 6.5h
Blogging (Writing & Reading) ------------ 1h
Twitter ----------------------------------------- 1h
Reading (Screen) ---------------------------- 1h
Reading (Paper) ----------------------------- 3h
Youtube --------------------------------------- 3h
Gaming --------------------------------------- 0h
Skype ----------------------------------------- 0h

   What surprised my most was how little time I spent on twitter even facebook etc. I felt as though I spent all of my time on these cites, which after I took tally of the amount of time I spent on these social media cites I found that I didn't actually spend that much time on them as I had thought. However, I check up on these cites regularly but in small increments. This tells me that Twitter and Facebook are an important piece of media because people will revisit the cites often. In addition, I found out that I spent a ridiculous amount of time watching movies or watching TV and which surprised me because I thought that I would spend a lot more time on the web browsing or doing work. What might have contributed to this was that that there were no classes this week and I worked an unusual amount of hours at my job.   I think that this graph shows how much I rely on media in my everyday life. Imagine what would happen if I didn't have media for a week, I would certainly spend much more time reading.

Introduction

Hello,

My name is Kaitlyn Yantzi and I am a second year Graphic Design student and Humber College. This blog is created for my Design Theory courses weekly journal.