Design is Statement Revised

Design is open to interpretation. 

Technology Consumption in a Week

Over the couse of a week, I recorded how much I use/rely on technology. I wasn't too surprised at my findings as I know that being a graphic designer that I'm ALWAYS online and I can't stand to be without my cell/ipod/computer. I love technology and Apple maybe a little too much. I knew I didn't read enough, and I miss that as I used to read all the time. Being in college doesn't help as I spend all my free time doing homework and by the end of the night/morning I just crash on my bed. I was aware of how much I use everything on this list, and you might say I'm a bit of a technology addict.

My Findings:

Amount of time reading (books, magazines, newspapers...)

6 hours 15 minutes

*I was lucky this week and took some time to read my book, but this number is usually quite low. This number does NOT take into account reading other things such as billboards, posters, misc words all around us. Of course, I read these all the time, either subconsciously or not. It is another way I get my inspiration.

Amount of time listening to the radio

0 hours

*I don't usually listen to the radio unless in my car, and being in Toronto on campus, I don't need it. I have my ipod, why listen to the radio?

Amount of time listening to music

4.5 hours

*I like to put on background noise while working on homework. I also like to listen to my ipod occasionally while walking to class. I'm not a huge music fan, so this number is a little low.

Amount of time watching TV/movies

24 hours 45 minutes

*Most of the time, I'm not even paying attention to what's on the TV, I just like it on for background noise. I only really watch 2-3 shows during the week to get away from homework. I love movies, so most of this number is from movie watching. 

Number of emails sent

8

*This is from Hotmail/Gmail only, it does NOT include Facebook messages.

Amount of time surfing the web

5 hours 30 minutes

*I don't usually surf around on websites. I mostly stick to my Facebook and Twitter. But I do use Google a lot, which is where most of the time is spent, usually looking up things for school projects. Occasionally if I have time I'll look for new design inspiration or even pictures to put on TCI

Amount of time talking on the phone

1 hour 13 minutes

*Weekly I'll call home and spent half an hour-45 minutes on the phone. The other numbers come from friends calling.

Number of texts SENT

311

Number of texts RECEIVED

339

*This number fluctuates. I'm mostly talking to my boyfriend back home. On the weekends he's away on course the number goes up even higher as he's bored and has a lot of free time.

Amount of time on MSN

168 hours

*I NEVER turn off my MSN, either out of laziness, or afraid that people can't reach me if I'm offline. Again, I'm mostly talking to my boyfriend. I also use it to keep in touch with friends back home, friends on res and friends from class.

Number of times I check Facebook & Twitter

70

*I'm constantly checking to see if anyones messaged me, or commented on something. But I think I like to check it so often is because I like to see what other people are up to. I have a lot of people from my high school and it's nice to see what they're doing in their lives. I also love to read the status updates. (Hence why I also love Twitter) I know it's kind of creepy, but I'm strangely inspired when I read them. Sometimes someone's said something funny or creative and it influences me to write something equally funny/creative.

I realize that some people may find these results sad. That I'm so dependant on my technology. But I can't help it. I love technology. It's why I'm in graphic design. There are so many more things that can be done with a computer and now a days, people can be reached that much easier! I love my apple products and I can't stand to not be around them. I guess they make me feel different from everyone else, because not many people have a mac and that makes me different. I like being different and I don't mind being addicted to my technology. I love it.

Quote of the week:

"If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."  

~Frank Lloyd Wright

My Design Process

New project, 2 weeks to complete. Extremely short time compared to the 3-6 weeks we can sometimes get for projects. But this would test our time management skills as well as how well we can think on such short notice.

I have a week to think up a concept for the Humber Jazz Studio Ensemble CD. So many thoughts flow through my head. I think the first thing I thought about was how much I really wanted to win this one. Excitement and ideas flow through me. But I have to pin point one. In class is not the time, so I turn to the rest of my friends to see what they're thinking. They too are excited and have ideas flowing through them. We continued our talks as we walked back to the residence.

Talking to them helped me understand what parts I may have missed while I was thinking about the design instead of listening to all the details. I also got a feel for what they were thinking of doing. We had already come up with a colour scheme! Ariel decided that he was going to go speak to Denny himself to see what he personally wanted. This helped us greatly as we were told that he wanted simple and elegant and a matt finish. Ideas continued flowing through us, but I still wasn't ready to start designing anything. I needed my computer.

I'll admit that I forgot about the CD until the next weekend, other projects tend to take over my mind. But I suppose sub consciously I was still thinking about it and getting ideas from talking to my friends as they worked on it all week. I finally sat down on my bed, sketch pad and computer handy. I started to think what Prologue meant. Where did the word come from? What could it depict? I googled the word and found out a lot of different things. I wrote key words and phrases on my paper, occasionally stopping to think and doodle on the side. 

Then it hit me. Prologue is a statement. It's at the beginning of a story. And I knew exactly how to depict a story. I started to sketch out my ideas. Simple thumbnails, but I already knew what it was going to look like in my head. I decided the easiest way was to depict it as a story plot line. That way, the lines would tie the whole CD together, front to back. I had a good feeling about this concept and I ran with it. Monday we had to have an idea and a concept in digital form already. I did not have it done in time, so I went and saw Heather a day later. 

Sitting in class, I saw everyone else's, and I was again amazed at how we can all get the same project and come up with different ideas! Sure, some we similar in a few ways, but they were all uniquely different on how we all decided Prologue should look. I also knew (since I didn't have mine done) that I didn't want to go the ordinary route of just justifying the text or keeping it horizontal, I wanted it to have more movement and make it more interesting. The idea for placing my text on a slant and wonky like it was actually points on the plot line came to me then.

I went home with new hope for the project. I took my learning from Dawn and her grid exercises and applied it to my CD. The result was exactly what I wanted. I was proud to show it to Heather the next day. To my surprise, she liked it too, with little to be changed for next week. After showing some of my classmates, they weren't too sure about my design. It wasn't exactly what he wanted. But I decided that the way he told us about the project, that he himself didn't know exactly what he wanted. So I went with my gut, and kept my design. I just had to convince him that it was elegant and simple, in it's own way, I was just pushing the boundaries a little. 

Next week in class Heather again liked the design and I had nothing to change on it. I was ready to print and show the client. We had 2 days to finish, print and make our designs. We had to meet with Denny on Wednesday afternoon. I was surprisingly not nervous like I usually am. I was confident in my design, I loved what I did. I went in, told him my concept, the reason why I did what I did, and that I pushed what he told us to do. He thought for a moment and told me that it was ok, that I pushed the limits, but still maintained everything he wanted. He had never in 6 years seen anyone use the copy like I did. I was pleased that he liked it and walked out feeling great.

End of the day, I just felt great to have another project finished and out of the way. I forgot all about the CD project until Tuesday afternoon when I got a phone call from Denny himself saying that he'd pick my design. MINE! I couldn't believe it and I didn't know what to say. I had to go in that day to meet with him about changed to the copy and little details that had to be added in. I met with his graphic designer, who is very nice, and very helpful. She helped me make sure that everything was print ready. It's now been sent off to the printers, and I just can't wait to see how it prints out :)

It's been a short time for design work, but I liked it. I'm able to think of things easier and I don't have those weeks to second guess myself. Sure it wasn't as much time as we're used to, but it was a great way to test our skills to see if we could come up with things almost on the spot. I know I've proven to myself that I can do it. 

Quote of the week:

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless."