Exercise 17 Movement/Motion

Implied Motion in Design

Alhambra Drinking
Water Sign

Implied motion operates in the Alhambra Drinking Water Sign because the company designers chose to use thousands of, quarter size, sequins to give the impression of flowing water (see closeup below).  These signs have been a very effective branding device for this company - now owned by Coca Cola.

Whether the truck is moving or not the sequins shift, either from the wind, or vibration from the truck, causing the the reflection to glisten, simulating the movement of rippling water.  As humans we are conditioned to believe that running water is fresh and pure. Water runs from our taps.  It runs/flows - down rivers.  Running water is perceived as Refreshing! Running water can be consumed, where as water that is stagnant can be dangerous and should not be consumed as it my cause illness. 

For my second example I chose Spinners.  Which, just by the name implies motion.  Spinners are stationary hubcaps, that spin independently of the wheel.  giving the impression that the wheels are moving/spinning, even when the car is completely still.

Spinners were originally patented back in the early 1990's for exclusive concept cars.  Their popularity increased around 2003, when they were featured in a number of RAP music videos. 

Fast, Swift, Screaming -  are just a few of the terms that come to mind. It is this perceived Speed that has helped popularize the autos equipped with these wheels.

To see them in action, click the link below.

Click Here for Action View

Tone & Color in Industrial Design

TONE - "the most important and necessary element in the visual experience...tone is, in fact, light or the absense of light" (Dondis, pg 21).

The use of TONE (on many levels) - was a very important element in Apple's line of iMacs and iBooks beginning in 1998.   

• At the very basic level, Apple's translucent design creates the illusion of changing tone, (depending on what angle it is viewed at), from solid tone to sheer.

• According to Jane Veeder's lecture notes - "Tone is related to questions of survival at barest minimum."  It could be said that when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996 he needed to wow consumers to bring them back, otherwise the company, which he founded, would never survive.  He did just that, when he introduced his line of brightly colored iMacs in 1998.

• The use of TONE: Communication - Abstract: the power to create mood.  Apple was changing the perception that a PC was only for business.  With an iMac or iBook having a computer was FUN, Stylish ... an Educational and/or Entertainment device that could be used by the entire family.

• Additionally Apple set the TONE for future products that other industries would design, using the same brightly colored, translucent plastics.

TONE interacting with ONE of the other visual design elements.  

Not only had Apple set the TONE for color in the design of these new computers, they set a new TONE for Shape! While other computer companies were still producing dull colored, box shaped PC's - Apple broke the "square" mold, by producing an organically curved computer.

COLOR is operating in Apple's use of translucent candy/fruit-colored plastics which inspired (set the tone for) similar designs in other consumer devices. Apple continued its trend of using transparent colored plastics for the shell, releasing others product in multiple colors.  It should be noted that Apple wanted to create a product that would have market appeal for everyone, keeping a more subdued design (less curves, shaded black/silver) for business professionals.

Apple's whole marketing campaign for iMac/iBook was all about the COLOR < click here

The original “Bondi blue” color, used on the very first iMac, was a blue-green hue named after Australia’s Bondi Beach shoreline. The five colors of the iBook Clamshell Series. (Top row: "Tangerine" and "Blueberry" Bottom row: "Graphite", "Indigo" and "Key Lime")

"Since perception of color is the single most strongly emotional part to the visual process, it has great force and can be utilized to express and reinforce visual information to great advantage. Color not only has universally shared meaning through experience, but also has separate worth informationally through symbolically attached meaning." (Dondis pg 55). Just as the Bondi Blue, symbolically brings to mind the beach shoreline in Australia, three of the colors above are symbolically representative of the fruits they were named after.

COLOR is interacting with ONE of the other visual design ELEMENTS. The most interesting relationship to color with these particular Apple products are the sleek lines and curves that they are composed of.  The Color is not Stark or Cold, it is bright, warm and friendly.  Likewise, the line and shape of the design is not Sharp or Harsh, it gentle and smooth and very inviting.

Photo resources used for the images included in this blog:

http://sasasekulic.info/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ibook-flavors.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcmYdPfVVtXrPG5pFzb5dmQMmbY9fkP3sOd0uK8MP4YTNgA4M-nQMIvJWCbTZnihk2_0SRFb3pWA5UtB-IKvJbW8wZdu6OL5DB2B6j8z3dmu37GyzJLjenexAOTyEuhFjp9l-MV-KRkOV/s400/imac-g3-combo.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8E_ThBke075sTYtT3-QcrAwwCPVS6BkNJyzDx71B5hr5fpXNciLLIEsTcHE54HAHLl5W-cOE-ub3WsG9fTmWNDX3GE-tJK0adnfacrdyTFMWlk-KvDYIjKxNbWME62hbEgHPQn9nZHCZV/s1600/apple_logo_rainbow.gif

http://wallpapers-diq.org/wallpapers/30/Apple_Logo_on_the_Move.jpg

Basic Elements in Graphic Design

The image, to the left
has a number of the Basic Elements that we learned about from Jane Veeder's lecture notes and our text, Dondis, chapter 3. The examples below will illustrate a few of those
very basic elements.




 

Basic Elements: DIRECTION

In this next image - Curves (indicated in red), draw
the viewers attention down the page toward the name of the product.  The juxtoposition forming a reverse-S curve that eventually brings the focus on the name of the product.

Basic Elements: MOVEMENT

Movement is often used synonymously with the afore mentioned "Direction." The orange slices are clearly falling - splashing into the juice below (indicated in black), and back up toward the name of the product.

Basic Elements: SCALE

By placing an overlay of the "Golden Rectangle" over this layout, I discovered that this design fit the basic principals of eight Golden Rectangles.

Image credit: behance.net

Design Success & Failure in Relation to Syntactical Guidelines

Balance as Functionality 

According to our lecture notes from Jane Veeder, "we are sensitive to deviations in our expected vertical to horizontal compostions."

When the building of the Pisa Tower began in 1173, it was designed to stand straight.  The foundations were laid in sand - (which does not make a lot of sense when you think about it).  It began to lean when only three of its floors had been built, plans were modified and the building continued until it was completed in 1350.

Photo credit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa

On the other hand, the Veer Towers in Las Vegas, were deliberately designed to lean. During a January, 2010 interview for the Las Vegas Business Press, Architect Helmut Jahn, claims that he "wanted to do real architecture, which tips its hat towards the entrainment culture. Not 'theming' but architecture based on  urban responsibility, functional efficiency, simple and elegant form, technical refinement and environmental responsibility."  

Photo credit - http://www.designyourway.net

As for Success and Failure, The design and architecture of the Pisa Tower, is world renown, but it is fair to say that the original goal of the architect was not to design a crooked bell tower for the city's cathedral.  In essense, his creation was a failure, regardles of the fact that millions of tourists come to view this famous landmark more than 600 years later.

The goal of the designers for the Veer Towers in Las Vegas, was to intentionally captivate it's audience with this unique "out of balance" structure that offers the same allure as the leaning Pisa Bell Tower. In my opinion, Jahn's design is a success, because one can not help but be drawn to the contrast of these leaning buildings compared to their perfectly vertical neighbors.

WEEK 2 Blog Exercise - Interactions Between the 3 Levels

Several years ago, SanDisk came out with this limited edition, USB Flash Drive that embodied the sleek, sexy lines of a Ducati Motorcycle's gas tank.  Today, you can find flash drives in just about any shape and size imaginable, but back in 2007, when the Ducati Drive first hit the market, it was a pretty bold design at a time when most companies were still producing ordinary, rectangular shaped USB drives.

Representational: The Ducati Drive is a fully functioning Flash Drive, that holds up to 4GB of internal storage with a retractable design that eliminates the need for a cap (I don't know about you, but I'm always misplacing the cap off my standard thumb drive). 

Abstract: When viewing the transcendental design of the Ducati Drive, one can't help but imagine how fast it is - much faster than it's competitors.  The motorcycle design denotes power, acceleration
and extreme velocity 

Symbolic: Ducati is inherently known for the speed of its "road rocket" motorcycles and keeping with that characteristic, SanDisk created a lightening fast flash drive for the speed enthusiast.

MEANING 1 Application (blog) Exercise

The viewer will recognize that the image to the left is of a woman and a man.  This particular couple are dressed in, what we in the United States, would consider traditional western attire - the woman in a dress the man in pants (or shorts, in this case), and shirt. 

Again, because of the attire, we in the United States & most western countries would observe that the image to the right is that of a woman and a man (in abstract form).  This very recognizable image, is used most often to distinguish public
toilet facilities.

The Gender Symbol to
the left, is derived from astrological symbols, denoting the classical planets Mars (man)
and Venus (woman), respectively. These symbols have been used since the Renaissance.

My favorite iPad app!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/design-feed/id403009736?mt=8