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