Two designers or design groups that inspire me
Claude Kuhn
is a graphic designer from Switzerland. He was born in Bern 1848 and received his artistic education at institutions in Switzerland and Germany. Kuhn´s dominant subject areas are boxing and natural history, for which he created a number of posters. He works regularly for the natural history museum in Bern.
I´m personally intrigued by the way he combines a suspenseful composition of image elements in which he artistically applies the typography, with the wit of both language and picture.
Kuhn´s posters are limited to the main important issues, they are very clearly structured and the plays with shape and colour in a very graphic, eye-catching way. By this method, the attention is drawn immediately but the observer still has to think about the meaning of the poster a little to get its sense.
http://www.posterpage.ch/exhib/ex58_kun/ex58_kun.htm
http://www.g26.ch/texte_plakate_02.html#kuhn
http://boingboing.net/2010/04/27/claude-kuhn-museum-p.html
http://boingboing.net/2010/04/27/claude-kuhn-museum-p.html
Pearlfisher
is a design company with studios in London and New York with smaller representations in South Afrika and the Middle East.
The work the designers at Pearlfisher create is mainly branding, logo and packaging, but it ranges from a very cool, minimal style like the “nude”-series to frisky illustrated issues like the “Cadbury dairy milk buttons”.
Some products show both qualities at the same time, like “this water” for example. The illustration seems quite playful, nearly childish, but with a very simple background and the rest not flamboyant but sober it is a fresh modern design with a character.
I am personally into the “innocent” logo which achieves a great recognition value by that simple drawing.
I also like the “Jamie Oliver”- series with the cut-cow image-package. It has an old-fashioned tough but is modern tough just due to the way the picture is cut in the extraordinary way.
All in all Pearlfisher makes design that is innovative but not too experimental to be in a normal supermarket.
http://www.pearlfisher.com/profile.php
http://www.pearlfisher.com/
A design process
Group work: "sharing"
RSA-Project: Mid-life moment: analysing the target group
and brainstorming ideas
In my design project A on the basis oft he RSA-brief(„mid-life-moment“)
I intend to create a freetime offer for people between 45 and 55.
Regarding the details, wheather it´s a concrete center with its own building, a campagne or a service or club, I tried to find out in the following steps.
Part oft he brief given by the RSA was to find out the traditional notion of this age and opportunities that it brings. Furthermore, it is important to define the needs of the people and to research the target group before bringing a project to life. To find out about traditional notion, opportunities, and needs,
I did some brainstorming.
Traditional notion of that age (often stereotypes)
Negative:
Negative:
. less attractive
. less ambitious
. have less time
. are often divorced
. feel superfluous because
children just moved out:
task of life is fulfilled
. got rust in
. are less flexible
. are conservative
. begin to act like the own
parents and adapt things they
always refused when
they were young
. are not interested in adventures anymore
. are afraid of „real“ old age
. get their mid-life-crisis and act appropriate:
- living in the past
- acquire unnecessary things by those
they feel allegedly younger
. routine life
. less ambitious
. have less time
. are often divorced
. feel superfluous because
children just moved out:
task of life is fulfilled
. got rust in
. are less flexible
. are conservative
. begin to act like the own
parents and adapt things they
always refused when
they were young
. are not interested in adventures anymore
. are afraid of „real“ old age
. get their mid-life-crisis and act appropriate:
- living in the past
- acquire unnecessary things by those
they feel allegedly younger
. routine life
Positive:
. are more patient
. are more experienced: made experiences that help to ponder what to really worry about and
what to take easy
. are not so easily embarrassed, less shameful
. are more relaxed,
. are not so sensitive and vulnerable anymore, because they went through a lot that made them harder
. do not suffer so much under the pressure of things they have still got to achieve
(get a job and partner, found a family, prove their parents how grown-up they are)
. they don´t align their lives so much to sexuality anymore and aren´t so fixed with their appearance
like in their youth
. are more patient
. are more experienced: made experiences that help to ponder what to really worry about and
what to take easy
. are not so easily embarrassed, less shameful
. are more relaxed,
. are not so sensitive and vulnerable anymore, because they went through a lot that made them harder
. do not suffer so much under the pressure of things they have still got to achieve
(get a job and partner, found a family, prove their parents how grown-up they are)
. they don´t align their lives so much to sexuality anymore and aren´t so fixed with their appearance
like in their youth
Needs
in general: .financial safety for themselves and their partner and family
.the best for their children
.the body changes: staying young and healthy
in general: .financial safety for themselves and their partner and family
.the best for their children
.the body changes: staying young and healthy
As a product, service etc:
.sth. matched to the fitness of that target group
.sth. that is capable of being integrated in their everyday life, or, in case they wish a complete upheaval of life, .sth. that fulfils this wish
.sth. that they “understand”, that addresses their generation, nothing which is made by youths what only they .feel connected to (e.g. a youth movement, youth language, certain music and music stars that won´t last long)
.the feeling of not being old and to be assured that it´s good to be not too young anymore at the same time
.maybe they haven´t experienced something new for long time, so they might have some
inhibitions/restraints: need something that doesn´t make them feel overcharged at the beginning
.sth. matched to the fitness of that target group
.sth. that is capable of being integrated in their everyday life, or, in case they wish a complete upheaval of life, .sth. that fulfils this wish
.sth. that they “understand”, that addresses their generation, nothing which is made by youths what only they .feel connected to (e.g. a youth movement, youth language, certain music and music stars that won´t last long)
.the feeling of not being old and to be assured that it´s good to be not too young anymore at the same time
.maybe they haven´t experienced something new for long time, so they might have some
inhibitions/restraints: need something that doesn´t make them feel overcharged at the beginning
Opportunities
.chance for a new beginning in many areas of life
.being a model for young people
.chare their knowledge and experiences with others
.smaller financial barriers: more possibilities
.less shameful
.change of job (after being in the same job for years, need a new challenge)
.start into a new friendships/new love (with more experience: don´t do the same mistakes again)
.set new goal without the oppressiveness of having to feed oneself with what you learn (new hobbies, learning without pressure)
.starting a new, exciting project with patience and full of concentration
.routine life: can´t wait to brake free and be creative, create something new again
.chance for a new beginning in many areas of life
.being a model for young people
.chare their knowledge and experiences with others
.smaller financial barriers: more possibilities
.less shameful
.change of job (after being in the same job for years, need a new challenge)
.start into a new friendships/new love (with more experience: don´t do the same mistakes again)
.set new goal without the oppressiveness of having to feed oneself with what you learn (new hobbies, learning without pressure)
.starting a new, exciting project with patience and full of concentration
.routine life: can´t wait to brake free and be creative, create something new again
Idea-mindmaping RSA
After that, I brainstormed in form of a mindmap to find out about possible solutions and checked each solution afterwards in terms of necessaty and applicability.
A poster with slogan and picture for the RSA
I´m not yet sure which of the solutions that I analysed and regarded as possible I am going to implement. I just tried out the poster for the "over-40-disco"-solution, but I´m still interested in both the youth friendship-issue and the community club, too that I didn´t present to the group.
Model for a questionnaire about free time of
mid-aged + specific
Disco/Club community club Mid-age-friendship questions
mid-aged + specific
Disco/Club community club Mid-age-friendship questions
About you
How old are you?
Male/female (select)
Where do you live? (city, suburb, small town…)
Free time in general
.How satisfied are you with your leisure activities:
very much........................................................... not at all?
.Do you like your free time rather cosy or active?
.What are your hobbies? What exactly do you do in your free time?
.What is of importance for you about your leisure activities? What should they provide? What do you expect of them? ( for ex.. meeting new people, learning something new, relax....)
.How satisfied are you with the amount of free time you have
very much........................................................... not at all? (select)
.Do you prefer to do activities with your family, friends or alone?
.Do you think you neglect one of the groups named above because of not enough free time?
.How satisfied are you with the leisure possibilities in your area? Do you make use of them?
.Would you like to meet new people within your free time activities or is it more important to you to spend this time with existing friends and family?
. Which of the following activities appeals you? (select)
-sports
-games
°board game
°pc-
°card-
-theatre/opera/ballet
°play
°watch
-restaurant
-going to pub
-museum
°art
°science
°nature
°history
-zoo
-discotheque/club
-concerts
-site-seeing
-travelling
°short trip
°longer trips to more distant areas
°alone
°with family
°with friends
°with strangers(meeting new people there)
-handwork
-arts and crafts
-foreign languages
-garden
-social projects
.How satisfied are you with your leisure activities:
very much........................................................... not at all?
.Do you like your free time rather cosy or active?
.What are your hobbies? What exactly do you do in your free time?
.What is of importance for you about your leisure activities? What should they provide? What do you expect of them? ( for ex.. meeting new people, learning something new, relax....)
.How satisfied are you with the amount of free time you have
very much........................................................... not at all? (select)
.Do you prefer to do activities with your family, friends or alone?
.Do you think you neglect one of the groups named above because of not enough free time?
.How satisfied are you with the leisure possibilities in your area? Do you make use of them?
.Would you like to meet new people within your free time activities or is it more important to you to spend this time with existing friends and family?
. Which of the following activities appeals you? (select)
-sports
-games
°board game
°pc-
°card-
-theatre/opera/ballet
°play
°watch
-restaurant
-going to pub
-museum
°art
°science
°nature
°history
-zoo
-discotheque/club
-concerts
-site-seeing
-travelling
°short trip
°longer trips to more distant areas
°alone
°with family
°with friends
°with strangers(meeting new people there)
-handwork
-arts and crafts
-foreign languages
-garden
-social projects
Age
.Are you satisfied with your age?
.What are the advantages and disadvantages of this stage of life?
.Does your age keep you from doing things you would like to do? If yes, in what extent?
.Would you like a change in your life? If yes, what would that be about and in what area of life would that be?
.Would you prefer experiencing free time activities in your age group or would you like more contact to other age groups?
.If you do, of what do you envy the youth?
.In what extend do your current hobbies differ from those in your youth?
.Is there anything you did in former times in terms of free time activities which you don´t do anymore? Would it make you glad to do it again? What would have to change that you would do it again?
.Are you satisfied with your age?
.What are the advantages and disadvantages of this stage of life?
.Does your age keep you from doing things you would like to do? If yes, in what extent?
.Would you like a change in your life? If yes, what would that be about and in what area of life would that be?
.Would you prefer experiencing free time activities in your age group or would you like more contact to other age groups?
.If you do, of what do you envy the youth?
.In what extend do your current hobbies differ from those in your youth?
.Is there anything you did in former times in terms of free time activities which you don´t do anymore? Would it make you glad to do it again? What would have to change that you would do it again?
Disco/Club
.Do you go clubbing? If not, would you like to?
.Did you go clubbing often in your youth?
.Did you go clubbing often in your youth?
Community club
.Would you like to do more within your age group? If yes, what would that be?
.Would you like to do more within your age group? If yes, what would that be?
Mid-age-friendship
.Do you have teenage children?
.How is your current relationship to them/him/her?
.Is part of their behaviour a mistery to you sometimes? ….or can you understand most of it when you think back to your own youth?
.What do you think about friendships with a huge age gap?
.Do you have teenage children?
.How is your current relationship to them/him/her?
.Is part of their behaviour a mistery to you sometimes? ….or can you understand most of it when you think back to your own youth?
.What do you think about friendships with a huge age gap?
A personal reflection on a moment of the „postmodernism“ exhibition in the V&A Museum
All the more difficult it was for me to understand the exhibition and to bring in line the very different exhibits with the common definitions of postmodernism and postmodern art (rejection of modernism with it clarity and simplicity, steering towards historic means, stylistic mix, tolerance in arts, irony, collage and quoting way of working, dystopian visions of the future and aversion of the urge to innovate and to apply functional aspects in design and architecture etc.).
Still, even after further research I wouldn´t be able to make out every object of the exhibition
as postmodernism, if I didn´t know it was part of it. This confusion hampered me a little in appreciating the exhibit pieces to the fullest. But just this broadness makes postmodernism, the plurality and diversity.
Nevertheless I can tell one object that especially attracted me:
The photographs 'Vegas', 1966, by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates.
By looking on these photographs by the architect couple I felt the apocalyptic atmosphere of postmodern views, the dystopia, surreal character of the lost, desolate landscape that attracts me so much and that emanates loneliness in a way that it reminded me much of de chiricos pictures.
But I was wrong.
These pictures weren´t supposed to give the impression of a lost wasteland, the earth after the human, the “bad future”. When I started researching the story behind the photographs and the artists explanation, I found out that it was actually meant to be the opposite: Instead of presenting a meagre apocalyptic mood, it is virtually demonstrating an advertisement for how architecture should be: not designed uniformly by architects who believe they know what is the best for the people: the clear, simple, structured modern buildings, but like in the example of Las Vegas, a city that “grows” bit by bit. Every building has an own character, it may be ugly and not fitting together, but it developed according to the needs of the users, and that is what is to be considered. This is the postmodern spirit, the collage, the tolerance. No model is considered as “the best”.
So all my attraction was based on a misunderstanding. But I keep being impressed by these pictures.
But I was wrong.
These pictures weren´t supposed to give the impression of a lost wasteland, the earth after the human, the “bad future”. When I started researching the story behind the photographs and the artists explanation, I found out that it was actually meant to be the opposite: Instead of presenting a meagre apocalyptic mood, it is virtually demonstrating an advertisement for how architecture should be: not designed uniformly by architects who believe they know what is the best for the people: the clear, simple, structured modern buildings, but like in the example of Las Vegas, a city that “grows” bit by bit. Every building has an own character, it may be ugly and not fitting together, but it developed according to the needs of the users, and that is what is to be considered. This is the postmodern spirit, the collage, the tolerance. No model is considered as “the best”.
So all my attraction was based on a misunderstanding. But I keep being impressed by these pictures.
New old brief: back to "Shared Assets"
contacting organisations
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a MA student working on a live project that is about creating a social idea and the appropriate design on a certain brief.
My brief is “shared assets”, in short: creating a service, campaign or object that offers you more by sharing it.
The idea I developed is a service that initiates cooking and dining evenings in groups of people from the same town or broader neighbourhood .
People of different age groups and cultural backgrounds are brought together to dine and share cooking skills.
One aim of this service is to bring an area closer together, to reduce loneliness at the dinner table and to strengthen the sense of community. Another aim is to broaden one´s culinary horizon , to emphasise thinking more about what you eat in general and having a wider variety of food because everybody contributes a (different) dish or expertise.
What do you think about the idea?
Could you give me any advice on how to manage such a service?
Could you imagine to contribute to my project in terms of offering assistance and know-how?
(only in the ”London Health Improvement Board”-letter)
Would you be able to provide me with material?
In case of implementation of my project, you could maybe act as a sponsor and would be mentioned in the media developed. (only in the ”John Lewis”-letter)
I would also be grateful if you direct me to any organisation that could help me with this issue.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
I´m looking forward to hearing from you
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Mueller
Blog review
I never had a blog before, but now after making use o fit for a while, I see the advantages of a blog as a medium to communicate with your class easily.
My blog shows the development in my university tasks as well as personal thoughts and inspiration.
It is divided in the two theory subjects of my study course.
The partially practical project to the brief of the “RSA” is conflated with the subject „design research methods“, because part of the content overlaps since in „drm“ there had often been tasks for the “RSA”.
The blog itself has a simple structure and a neutral blue background so that it is not exhausting and distracting to go through it. The headlines are violet for the subject „business for design“ and blue for „design research methods“ to always know in which area you are at the moment.
I always tried to keep the texts short and precise in the context of a description of graphics, whereas essays are more extensive.
It may seem confusing that some texts of different length, alternate with keywords and mapping.
This is due to the different kinds of tasks.
When I started the blog, I had no idea how I would be approaching the tasks that come up to me.
No, with the experience I gained, I can estimate such things much better and consider this point in future posts.
The order of the blog is chronological. This helps tracing a development of a project, for example of the RSA.
20/20 presentation
This is a presentation of 20 pieces from collections that emerged during my life. They all have something in common, no matter how different the items and several sub-collections are from each other, they are all minitures.
This presentation shows a timeline of my life and illustrates how my way of collecting and the motivation behind it has changed over the years; from just gathering items to have more to play with, to a habit that involves scanning my invironment permanently and unconciously for something that fits in well.
I think that evolving this ability was very valuable for me as a designer as it is one of their most important character trades to absorb and filter influences from outside and convert them for their own benefit.
This presentation shows a timeline of my life and illustrates how my way of collecting and the motivation behind it has changed over the years; from just gathering items to have more to play with, to a habit that involves scanning my invironment permanently and unconciously for something that fits in well.
I think that evolving this ability was very valuable for me as a designer as it is one of their most important character trades to absorb and filter influences from outside and convert them for their own benefit.
Critical relfection on my RSA-project
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