Heskett Chapter 9 and 10

These last two chapters talked about the history and future of design.  It also dealt with the business side of design.  I found it interesting how some car companies like Mercedes make sure their cars are recognizable at any age, but companies like General Motors have an annual model change.  General Motors also has different brands names that take on the design responsibilities.  I think it is necessary to understand the past history of design to be able to build upon that knowledge and make somethings better.  To the issue of bidding for a designers abilities I believe that is where we are right now.  A company is going to choose the designer who they think will do the best work for them at the best price for them.  This will keep competition amongst designers so they keep coming up with the best things possible.

Coleman Project

An Hoang
Danny Pizzo
Elissa Francis
Kevin Bauer
Nick Kursinskis
So this past week we started brainstorming for the Coleman project.  We came up with a list of ideas (portable couch, bed that turns into a desk, and washer/dryer combo).  All of our ideas were based upon the need for space in a dorm room.  Trying to connect Coleman to our idea we came up with making your dorm close to home.  We decided on the washer/dryer combo in the end.  The team as a whole has been working together really well.  There really is not one person who is too power hungry and we are able to share our ideas with each other and give honest feedback.  I have been giving ideas and feedback just like everyone else has been.  I have also brought in websites that I have found that we could possibly use as inspiration.  Right now we have not taken any pictures of our work and we do not have any actual sketches to share.  For right now I feel good about our project and whats going on.

Online Scavenger Hunt

Outdoor Camping and Recreation
Cabela's
Bass Pro Shops
Gander Mountain
Dick's Sporting Goods
Coleman

Indoor Homegoods
Bed Bath and Beyond
The Great Indoors
Whirlpool
Pier1
Crate and Barrel

A indoor home goods are items that are functional and easy to use that helps make your home more comfortable.

McDonough: Chapters 4-6

These chapters really got me thinking about how so many things that we buy are meant to be used and thrown away, when really so many of the products could be designed to go back to the earth or reused.  The example used was shampoo and lotion bottles.  These are things that are not meant to last for the rest of our lives, we use the product and once the bottle is empty we throw it away.  But the argument is brought up about why these packages could not be designed with cradle to cradle in mind.  I think that there are so many products out there that could be designed this way.  Also brought up was how people do not always choose eco-friendly packaging because it does not look as desirable.  Another part that I found interesting was how William Clay Ford Jr. took on the challenge to make the environment that the plant was sitting on clean instead of just fencing up the old building and building a new one close by.  He took on the idea that solutions to a problem can be found when you look at the local environment.  Just because a solution works for one area does not mean that it will work for everyone.  I really enjoyed this book and it made me think about the environment a little bit more and different solutions to problems.

CR07

This past week in class we had three guest speakers come in to talk about their time at OSU and their jobs in design.  I found this time to be informative and gave me a better understanding about what a design student can expect to do in classes.  The marshmallow exercise was interesting, I have never done it or heard of it before this class.  It was interesting to see what each group came up with and how they came about their ideas.  I am glad that we were able to have guest speakers in the class just so we could hear from other people and their place in design.

Letterform Seek and Find

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Copyrights and Patents

After we watched the movie about Girl Talk the class has a discussion about copyrights and patents and what type of time line there should be before someone can use your idea.  When talking about music I do not see why there needs to be copyrights.  Music has a history of building on itself.  A lot of music has been built on the base of jazz, blues, and folk.  My thoughts on music is that eveyone should be able to experiment with songs and make it their own, build upon the past without having to worry about stepping on someone's toes because they are using a piece of their music.  We also started to talk about new technology and how long their patents should last.  When it comes to medical technology I do not think that there should be a lot of time allowed to sit on a patent without trying to do anything with it.  There is a need to build upon the new technology to make better technology.  In order to do this someone should not be able to sit on a patent that they are not trying to advance.  But here is where it gets tricky because I think if they are actually trying to do something with it then maybe there should not be a time limit on it that runs out quickly.  Coming up with a policy that allows people to take credit for their work but also lets other people build upon the work can be a difficult process, but I think eventually we will be able to come up with something that benefits the majority of people.

Cradle to Cradle- chapters 1-3

Overly efficient buildings were brought up in the second chapter.  The Turkish government tried to create inexpensive housing using minimal steel and concrete.  In 1999 there were earthquakes that brought down these cheaply made homes.  This story reminded me of something I heard a while back ago, "I'm too poor to buy cheap".  I think that a lot of people can relate to this, whether buying cheap endangers your life or it is just an inconvience.  When dealing with materials that are being used to build homes, cutting corners does not often work out in your advantage in the long run.  There is a reason why there are products that are cheaply sold, its because they are not made of the best quality possible.  When you buy a product in a store, for example a blender, there are several different ones to choose from.  If you choose the cheap one what is the chance of you having to come back to the store and purchase another one in a few months?  Now if you were to buy the one that was not so cheap the product is more likely to last longer.  And in the long run you will probably be saving money because you will not have to buy a new one frequently.  I think it is best to weigh your options before purchasing a cheap product.

Media Review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAxI6M7-xJA
      This video started out with the basic introduction to the color wheel and the spectrum of warm and cool colors.  She then introduced the colors in the warm spectrum: red, orange, and yellow.  She went through each of these colors and told what room they work best in because of the mood they set.  The same was done for the colors blue, green, and indigo.  Then she went on to explain white, and how black and brown is used in rooms to help ground the other colors in a room.
http://www.ideas-for-home-decorating.com/index.html
     This website covers the color schemes and how to choose the right colors for decorating.  It goes over the color wheel, color theory, warm and cool colors, similarities, and differences and contrasts.  It explains how to use a color chart and the different kinds you are able to use like the blue color chart, green color chart, red color chart, orange violet pink color chart, yellow color chart, and neutral color chart.  Each of these charts go through and outlines the different tones to that specific color.  This website goes a little bit more in depth than just telling about what the color wheel is.
http://besthomegallery.com/interior/interior-design-ideas-with-neutral-colors-in-modern-homes/     This page from a website explains how you can use neutral tones for decorating.  It explains the neutral colors are whites, creams, tans, or beiges and these colors can work well in modern, contemporary, or classic homes.  Adding a dark color can add sophistication to the room, or you can decorate using neutral colored furniture.  This page gives more options than using the color wheel to decide on a color scheme.
http://www.color.interiordezine.com/colorschemes/split-complementary-color-scheme.html
      This page from a website gives examples on how you can use complementary color combinations for a room.  It shows how using patterns and textures can have an effect on the colors being used.  This page gives the viewer several different pictures on bedrooms with different color schemes so that way it is easy to vision what they are talking about.  Some of the examples include floral with polka dots, combining patterns, and a tropical/ Caribbean color scheme.  This website also offers articles on color, color schemes, color theory, and color resources that you can use to find books, websites, and magazines.
http://colorindesign.net/2010/04/13/color-schemes-for-interiors-analogous/
      This is a blog page that helps with the understanding of analogous color schemes.  Within the analogous color schemes there can be warm and cool colors and it gives pictures of how the warm and cool colors can be used in separate schemes.  Then it also shows how you can mix the warm and cool colors together.  It also goes into what kind of accent colors go well with the analogous color schemes and these colors often fall in the complementary color range.

50 Things

I went to the Thompson Library to see if I could find 50 things that I may or may not have noticed before.
1. side rooms have carpeting
2. doorways going from room to room are made of cement
3. there are information centers on ground and 1st floors
4. pillars are made of cement
5. there are restrooms located on each floor
6. there are signs pointing towards the restrooms
7. outlets on sides on the chair/lamp stands
8. there are exit signs near exit doors
9. fire alarm lights in each side room
10. individual rooms have signs with a room number
11. there are signs hanging from the ceiling telling you what you can find there; ex. Microforms
12. outlets built into the floor, and they are covered by tables
13. outlets built into the ceiling
14. stair case has lights hanging off of each step
15. sprinkler system
16. speakers on the ceiling
17. railing goes around the upper floors
18.stair case has glass enclosure with rails
19. elevators for going to higher floors
20. railings for upper floors have heavy wire crossing poles horizontally
21. there is a floor directory on ground and 1st floors
22. part of the ceiling is made up of glass windows
23. part of the wall is made up of glass windows
24. there are desk top computers on some floors
25. the stair case is made up of hard flooring
26. the main walk ways are hard flooring with the side rooms having carpeting
27. some outlets located along the walls
28. outlets located on the pillars
29. art displays on some floors
30. small lockers on the ground level
31. there is a rail on the ground level right under the bottom of the stair case
32. signs saying what wing you are in; ex. East Atrium
33. welcome signs by stairs and elevator
34. on the ground level there are metal plates with different languages etched on them
35. on the ground level there are lights built into the floor located along side the stairs going up to the 1st floor
36. the six levels of book storage can be seen threw glass windows
37. there is one elevator button located between the two elevator doors
38. each step has two stripes of the skid grips
39. there is a theft alarm system located by each ground door
40. there are handicap buttons at the doors
41. bookcases on some levels
42. trash and recycling bins on each level
43. vending machine on ground level
44. covers for the outlets on the floors that are not located under a table
45. some of the walls are wood
46. there is a printer by the computers
47. there is lighting that hangs and lighting that is built into the ceiling
48. large plant on the ground level
49. internet hook up by computers
50. Buck ID withdraw machine on ground level

McDonough: Introduction

I am very interested in reading the rest of Cradle to Cradle.  The introduction was about how being environmental friendly can affect design.  Trying to be enviromental friendly is a good thing, but I know whenever I see a "green" product I wonder if it is really as good as the original.  In the introduction we learn about the view points of Bill and Michael.  I think that there is a time and place for new products to come around in my green ways, but like the book said sometimes the products that are made from recycles materials produce just as much waste and use just as much energy as the product they are trying to replace.  This made me wonder that even though things are made out of recycled material should they really be considered enviromental friendly if they are doing just as much good as they are bad?  Don't get me wrong I believe that we should be researching towards new materials so we lessen out foot print on the world, but I also think these products need to have positives that outweigh the negatives.  Over all I am excited to reading more of this book and seeing what it has to offer to the way I think about green products.

Color

Part of this week we learned about color and how it can make an effect on a design.  I found this interesting partly because of my decorative nature, and understanding how certain colors can make a room look smaller or larger helps me understand why people may pick the colors for a room that they do.  But I also found it interesting because we learned about why certain brands pick the colors they do, Like McDonald's picked their colors because it makes people hungry.  I never really thought too much about how different colors can make you hungry, or not hungry, more relaxed, and so on.  I knew kind of already knew colors had this affect to some extent but I never really thought about it so much.  So now I see that picking the right color for a design can be an essential part of how people react to it.