"now that we can do anything, what will we do?"

Noted as a world-leading innovator is pretty damn cool. Bruce Mau has studios in Chicago and Toronto (good man). He has written several books and created a studio-based postgrad program. Mau's Incomplete Manifesto is his world view, written in 1998, and surprisingly not outdated.

FOR THE WEEK:

"Stay up late. Strange things happen when you've gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world."

Well Mau, now that you put it that way, all-nighters don't seem so bad... It's true, though. There's something fun about being up until at least 3 every morning while my roommates sit around all day and do nothing and go to bed before 11, and then complain about 'needing the weekend' and 'being so tired'. Suck it up.

"Don't enter awards competitions. Just don't. It's not good for you."

Ok, CYA Dallas.

"Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms. Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the institial spaces - what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference - the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals - but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.

My places this weekend...? Yacht club with my best friends, dairy queen, Noodles & Co., the Cave, and Fatso's.

- J.

stefan the man

The first thing I found interesting about the article is that it is from 2004. That being said, the principles brought up in the article stand true today, 7 years later. I love the quote that reads... "In persuading people to buy things they don't need, with money they don't have, in order to impress others that don't care, it is probably the phoniest field in existence today." Well said Victor Papanek, well said.

Design can unify, help us remember, simplify our lives, make someone feel better, make the world a safer place, can help people rally behind a cause, can inform and teach, can raise money, and can make us more tolerant. And this is why I am interested in design over other fields... it has substance.

The best part of the article, in my opinion, is the quote that says "Comercial Art makes you BUY things, graphic Design GIVES you ideas."

I love ideas. I love coming up with ideas. Maybe I should stick with design... hmm. Life.

cheers to another week closer to spring break!

- J.

to design students everywhere...

I'm all about freedom and no limitations, and that's why I chose an “Open Letter to Design Students Everywhere” by Jessica Helfand. Jessica is a Senior Critic at the Yale School of Art, and though I have a hard time accepting that Yale and Ivy League schools should have more credibility than others, I'll give her props for that.

I think it will be important to call out the quote at the beginning, or at least the part that says, "whatever diminishes constraint diminishes strength." And though the quote is from "The Poetics of Music," it applies to design, or any aspect of life. As a student, constraints are very frustrating. I know constraints are meant to prepare us for jobs we will eventually have, but most of the time creativity is completely eliminated when everything is too strict. Jessica emphasizes the importance of getting your name out by putting your work online, because it's not so much about a physical portfolio anymore. Nearly everyone around the world can have access to your work through their computers, and it's easy, if they know how to find you.

Learn everything you can. Spend hours just being inspired, it will save you time in the long run. The last paragraph is where Jessica ties in the openness of the letter that describes the title; she says that "freedom, le'ts not forget, is what education is all about... Go out and make great things, things that help us, enlighten and change and impact the world in millions of meaningful and glorious ways." She also reiterates what a teacher of mine from last semester said like a broken record, "what you're doing is learning how to learn." It's very true. Having a world view will also help.

- J.

organized chaos.

my thoughts on february 23rd, 2011-

(screen print project and type project due back to back makes for one exhausted individual.

how do we do it?!)

i couldn't think of a better way to describe my life.

tEd carpenter? yep.

note to self: dont f up an artist's name because someone somewhere on the internet

will make fun of me. check.

- J.

valentines day sucks.

- J.

journal entry 2 & audience personas.

Dieter Rams:

GOOD DESIGN IS...

INNOVATIVE - These ideas are not exhausted; technology advancements help to offer new opportunities.

MAKES A PRODUCT USEFUL - It emphasizes the usefulness of a product (a bookcover)

AESTHETIC - It's integral to its usefulness.

MAKES A PRODUCT UNDERSTANDABLE - The design can make the product talk.

HONEST - It doesn't make promises it can't keep for the consumer.

LONG-LASTING - It avoids being "fashionable" or trendy.

THOROUGH, DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL - Care and accuracy in the design are important.

GREEN - Environmentally friendly

AS LITTLE DESIGN AS POSSIBLE - Less, but better.

Don Norman's the man. I had to read his book "The Design of Everyday Things" for Human Factors last semester. Some ideas of his that I remember are visibility, mapping, affordances, and feedback. He comes from a psychological background and the psychological aspect of design is clear in his studies. Norman reminds me of Richard. They'd prob be besties. Actually, I think Richard already thinks they are.

"Pleasant things work better, and that never made any sense to me." - Don Norman

Behavioral design is all about being in control.

Dear Don, how do your principles apply to a user of the internet on a website? As designers, we are used to solving problems (even through life) but what about regular people just trying to find the contact section on the website of a company? Would their actions be subconscious?

The audience of Something Borrowed:

Jenny is a 24 year old from Denver and is studying to be an athletic trainer at the University of Kansas. She works as a bartender and was recently fired from her weekend bartending job. She loves Chicago and hanging out with her girlfriends and also her boyfriend of several years. Jenny would bend over backwards for any of her friends and loves to have a good time. She loves to sleep-in and stay in her bed all day, avoiding her obnoxious roommates by either reading or watching a movie such as The Notebook. Her low-rent college duplex stays filled with sorority girls that are 5th year seniors.

Alice is a 21 year old from a suburb of Philly, currently living in Lawrence, Kansas and a student at KU studying speech pathology. She enjoys spending money and eating and Love and Basketball. She frequents Urban Outfitters and Kieu's and loves her family and best friends more than anything. Alice drives an older model Toyota 4Runner and is a social butterfly. She loves having house parties and serving jello shots because she thinks it helps her make more friends. She is a waitress and loves to have a good time. When asked to describe her life, she would say, "my whole life is a weekend." She drinks Franzia (classy boxed-wine) every weekend from expensive William Sonoma wine glasses. If it weren't for her college student budget, her 4 bedroom house off campus would look as if it were straight from a Home and Garden magazine.

Shannon is a 28 year old with an aggressive attitude. Shannon enjoys bowling and playing with her puppy. She used to be a manager of a local tanning salon, and specialized in marketing the salon. She loves going out more than anything and until recently was single and ready to mingle. Shannon loves to shop and bend the rules to fit her needs, yet is very structured and professional. She now works as a bartender. Her weekends are filled with work, and once she gets home she relaxes and watches tv in her one bedroom poorly decorated duplex and lays with her puppy named Brady (after Tom Brady).

journal 1.

is anyone in design land watching the superbowl?

just wondering.

i love writing down my ideas, or writing anything down really. that's the only way i remember them. my planners and notebooks are filled with words, which made everything i read in writer's toolbox beneficial. i will continue to create mind maps and word lists throughout my career, no matter what it will be because that's how i stay organized. i want to try looping when i get the chance.

there's my overly organized OCD life

inspiration is boundless.

a (drunk) friend told me last night that he just wants to learn everything there is to learn about everything he can. i kept that in mind when searching for inspiration.

i found my new favorite designer.

her name is bri emery (pictured above) and this is her website: http://cargocollective.com/briemery

i have decided that she is the chelsea handler of design.

not only is her blog hilarious, (see image below) but her ads and freelance work is amazing.

here's my mind map for something borrowed...

the mind is a crazy thing.

"The brain is wider than the sky."

Emily Dickinson

- J.