"Now that we can do anything, what will we do?" Journal #4

With the help of my developing multi-taking skills (and indecisiveness) I have chosen three mantras from Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth.

27. Read only left-hand pages.
Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."

40. Avoid fields.
Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.

43. Power to the people.
Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can't be free agents if we’re not free.

Since founding his studio in 1985, Mau has used design and optimism to originate, innovate, and renovate businesses, brands, products, and experiences. Through his work, Mau seeks to prove that the power of design is boundless, and has the capacity to bring positive change on a global scale. Working with his team of designers, clients and collaborators throughout the world, Mau continues to pursue life’s big question, “Now that we can do anything, what will we do?”

Don't Hurt Tom's Nose. Journal Entry #3

Stefan Sagmeister's Ted Talks was engaging and slightly hilarious. One of the statements that stood out to me was a sort of off hand comment he made about one the the pieces of art that interested him was this:
"If you abstract an image you open as much room for the unrepresentable and are therefore able to involve the viewer more."

I also really enjoyed his list at the end of the talk about things he wanted to try when working on his art. I think it's a really great list that could be incorporated all of our work:
Thinking about ideas and content freely - without the deadline far away
Working without interruption on a single project
Using a wide variety of tools and techniques
Traveling to new places
Working on projects that matter to me
Having things come back from the printer done well

Ken Robinson- Schools Kill Creativity
"If your not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with something original"
"Professors live in their heads (and slightly to one side)"- funny comment never to share with my mother (and English professor).
"Creativity comes about though the interaction of different disciplinary ways of seeing things."

What do I love more than Lost?
I'm IN. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. with J.J. Abrams.
Several basic ideas from his talk:
Infinite possibility
Mystery is more important than knowledge
What are stories but mystery boxes?
Importance of investment of characters

Audience Personas

Neeti is a 20-year-old college student that lives in Wichita Kansas. Neeti has lived in Wichita since her freshman year of high school. She previously attended the University of Kansas but is currently enrolled in the business program at Wichita State. Although she is majoring in business, her heart lies with children. Her career goal is to open her own daycare. Neeti lives in an apartment with a good friend from high school. The majority of the residents in her complex are older, middle class citizens. Being a college student, Neeti has a hard time affording the rent. Consequently, she spends most of her free time working at “Kinder Care,” the local daycare chain. Neeti has been working for Kinder Care for six years and has recently been promoted to Assistant Director.

When she is not working or going to class, Neeti is spending time with her friends or visiting her boyfriend, of two years, in Texas. Neeti hopes to graduate in a year and move to Texas to pursue her MBA.

Trisha is a 48-year-old professor at Wichita State University. Trisha is a mother of two and has been happily married for 25 years. She lives in the small town of Andover, on the outskirts of Wichita. As a child she grew up in an even smaller town called Girard, Kansas. When she graduated high school she attended Wichita State, working her way through college by teaching twirling lessons. After receiving her masters in speech pathology she worked for a company called Rainbows. Later, she opened a teaching school called Kaleidoscope in conjunction with Wichita State University, before starting her teaching career full time.

Most of Trisha’s time is spent grading papers, completing research for the university and updating her teaching material. However, she loves spending time with her family and enjoys spending evenings drinking coffee and watching TV. Her favorite show is Brothers and Sisters.

Trisha enjoys the simple things in life and would not be considered high maintenance. Although, she has been known to rack up her Talbots bill from time to time. She prefers the atmosphere of Dillons over Wal-Mart, however, can’t ignore the significant price difference that is indispensable.

Marlene is a 68-year-old woman residing in eastern Kansas. She is a retired hairdresser happily living with her first husband, Eldon. Eldon is the owner of his family carpet company. It is hard for Marlene to find more joy in something other than her grandchildren. Over the years, her acquired name has become “gramzie.” Gramzie hates the winter months because she is no longer able to sit around her pool in her backyard.

Marlene sits across from her husband on the reg. and while he is reading from his Christmas present, the Kindle, she prefers “old fashioned” books.

Journal Entry #2

Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design

1. Good design is innovative
2. Good design makes a product useful
3. Good design is aesthetic
4. Good design makes a product understandable
5. Good design is unobtrusive
6. Good design is honest
7. Good design is long-lasting
8. Good design is thorough, down to the last detail
9. Good design is environmentally-friendly
10. Good design is as little design as possible

Don Norman on 3 ways good design makes you happy
"It's call about fun- pleasant things work better"
When you are happy, you are more apt to do out-of-the-box thinking and you are more creative

Visceral- choice of type fonts, colors, subconscious
Behavioral- all about feeling in control, usability and understanding
Reflective- superego, no control over what you do (no senses)

cognition is about understanding and emotion is interpreting

Sometimes we pit one emotion over the others

Don Norman is only saying positive things from now on.

Rules to Live, and not live, By

Typographer and author, David Jury, has graciously provided us with an article called, "Twenty Rules for Making Good Design." - Rules can be broken but never ignored.

Three rules I took from this article that I think are most important include:
-Have a concept
-Negative space is magical- create it, don't just fill it up
-Be decisive, do it on purpose or not at all

Not only are these the three rules that I consider to be most important, but also the three that I need to be most conscious about and work on the most.

Rules NOT to sweat over:
-Be universal- its not all about You (I am still in school, so technically, it is).
-Create images, don't scavenge (Andrea says we can, so her law overrules Jury's).

Journal Entry #1

A mind map gives visual form to ideas.

-Do not question until completed

-from the middle “whole” word, draw six or seven lines: nouns are a good idea.

-Hierarchy can help to emphasize concepts and make associations.

Concept maps and mind maps are very similar but the main difference is concept mapping allows for a more thorough investigation and analysis of conceptual relationships and meanings.

-Focuses more in systems thinking

-“When concept maps are conscientiously constructed, they are remarkably revealing of students’ cognition organization,” Joseph Novak

-Shows relationships of concepts in a hierarchical order, from general to specific. Each word is joined by a proposition of linking statement (depends on, can be, made of, from).

Freewriting- looping

Brainwriting is the written equivalent of traditional brainstorming.

-More inclusive of an entire group

-Use a template (6-3-5)

A traditional outline defines content through headings and subheadings.

-A plan of, of guide to, ideas you want to address, making it easier to work on sections in any order.

-A storyboard or a series of small schematic sketches can act similarly to an outline

Web-based critique methods: flickr, blogger, VoiceThread