Response to Week 4

• Initially this is another set of readings having to do with keeping our environmental surroundings in mind when designing.
• Dating back to historical periods such as the Industrial revolution is reflecting on how the production line went from slow and doing everything individually.. to more advanced mass production
• Mass production is then looked at from a negative viewpoint. Whether it brought more postitive attributes rather than negative outlooks..
• Mass production and the production line brought a lot of money to the economy when Henry Ford was in charge, the employee wages were increasing as well. Many people had more jobs available to them.
• The equipment being used and the technology being used was not being considered as to how it is affecting the environment and nature negatively.
• Many of the equipment is dangerous, releases harmful chemicals, employees lives can be at risk.
• So economically it was bringing a lot of positive outcome. But ecologically speaking no one was realizing these viewpoints.
• The idea of waste and use of materials going to waste that could benefit the earth
• when you think of a wasteland, you see everyday materials in them. things that are second nature to us like toilet paper, plastic bottles, cans etc etc..lets not forget food. but all that the earth can use as nutrients and recycle.
• the term "from cradle to grave" is used to represent this idea of making new expensive materials only to see them back in the wasteland to go to waste and not be reused in any way.
• the economy is spending all this money on making new expensive materials and products for the public when the things they are making cant be recycled and benefited back to our ecological system its almost like saying you're wasting money.
• This idea of changing mother nature
• As discussed, back in the west mother nature was looked as a potential harm and that it could be dangerous and have its downsides
• This idea is totally erroneous now, nature is highly respected now and valued a lot more.
• Back then, nature's own resources were being used a lot more to create products like ore,timber,grain coal..etc etc
• Another main idea of another reading was to use Nature's way of working to apply to design issues
• Really interesting to become aware of the study of biomicricy- was completely new to me
• I believe studying the way nature finds a way to not use harsh and toxic dangerous is really amazing because in the end they create survival techniques.
• thought the glue idea was so interesting!
• "People think all we need to fix our predicament is a free source of energy, but I think we need to change our behaviors. More energy would just help us deplete the earth's lifeblood faster"
• Talks about new approaches design is taking to use earth's own resources to confront design issues.
• All in all, Materialism is being asked to take in mind to profit mother nature. Design is not so much taking into consideration of our ecology. It is doing the opposite. Using harmful materials, wasting materials that take so much to make. Mother nature has a lot to offer, so why isn't the design world being aware of this!

Response to :Week 3 Readings.

Most of this week's reading focuses on the turn that the design world is having.

• It is basing on how the design world started with men trying to produce fully functioning products and having much deep thought on how to build the product.
• A few of the other readings speak about how design and advertising is reaching some pretty disturbing lows in order to sell their stuff..but at the same time going against ethical rules.
• American apparel for example: is a sweatshop free company and American made. The conflicting idea of their reasoning is how to sell their company. They use sexually apauling images and force their workers to be this sexualized image to the public. So which is better..being a sweatshop free company or a sexualized working enviornment?
• The Responsibilities of the Design Profession: this article is focusing on the turn the design world is having. In very simple words, Herbert Spencer feels the new designers coming into this world no longer have the same skill, or intuition, or training to be successful designers because they are simply trying to do better than one another in the design world. He elaborated on "Artistic Printing" and how time and effort was placed into this process to produce successful printing. Designers were known as craftsmen back in the 19th century and were more dedicated to the functionality and reasoning behind a design. Basically put more thought and logic into every aspect of design. Herbert Spencer feels like none of those ideas are being worked on anymore and how art schools are just trying to train art students to prouduce aesthetically pleasing work and not necessarily "functional piece" for the user.
• Ethical Design Education: The main purpose of this article is to influence and give designers a push to realize how to utilize materials in their designs in an earth friendly type of way. Basically to be aware of the environment and how the materials in many of the products being made are harming the planet. They speak about fashion students being totally upset about animal fur used as a fashion icon. The world is described as an "ugly, polluted, mean placed ruled by greed and ego". The importance of craft is being left behind as well, designers are really relying on a lot of mass produced materials in designing things now rather than using a material to its full potential or the role it actually plays in nature. It speaks about the Bauhaus movement when materials were used to their full potential and products were made fully to that purpose. To idealize the material to its full potential for example; how a beautiful piece of wood could naturally bend to become an amazing piece of furniture.
• The whole First things First essays are based on this main idea. Graphic Design is being put into one main subject known as advertisement. But graphic designers refuse to be held under this one notion. Advertising is an easy way out; you are advertsing; you are pursuading people to buy an object; you are making something so insignificant such as toothpaste seem so appealing that you have to go out and buy it immediately. The designers who signed First things First in 1964 want people to know that designing an ad is not what makes their work succesful. There is a huge difference in making a design that succesfully transmits a message/information rather than a design that sells an idea. Funtion verses pursuasion..thats what it is really coming down to. Making an ad will not allow a designer to fully express his/her creativity. In some ways it may, but when creating an ad you have certain limitations you have to adhere to.

Response to: Branding the Individual

*Labels, Marketing, Brands, and Social relations are all described in this article.
*We are what we wear, what we eat, what we drive--everything we buy, own, have a special taste in is what makes us an individual.
*We associate the brands of consumer goods to the type of person we are : for example, if we buy brand name clothes, the most expensive cars, spend money and time like its nothing-does that make you who you truly are?
*It's almost becoming a part of how we look at ourselves to automatically think the brand names are what makes us a more socially accepted person..but to what social class? I thought all that was over..
*There are different terms of shopping. One type of shopping is for leisure; the other as an obligation; and the other that involve time and decisions.
*Whether we select or reject brands can also be part of the process of defining our lifestyle and presenting an identity.
*The big issue of clothes :
-one popular theme that caused some humor was selecting the type of clothes to wear when you are growing  up. There comes a time when parents don't dress you anymore. Now, you want to wear what the cool kids are wearing. Often this means popular name brand clothes, and a certain style that everyone follows. But this is no longer making you an individual, it is forming your personality around a trend.
*Society revolves around consumer goods being advertised as the best option for a lifestyle thanks to televesion- one commentator feels.
*The way shopping is characterising the female race was actually right on point. A lot of women go for the most expensive brands in cosmetics and other accessories, But then there are the types of women who look for special discounts, always have coupons and are really smart shoppers.
*Many people who may not have found their true style are still surfing upon labels and whats popular in order to define who they are.
*Another comical point was many people search for bargains especially on designer label stuff; they dont feel bad buying it, but they definitely don't want people to know it was fake or bought on discount...if you buy immitation or discounted items..does that make you less of a person? How does that define your personality in a negative way?
*We are not buying things because of their Functions, we are buying them because they hold social meanings.
*A lot of purchases are not made because we need the item, or if the item functions towards a necessity. we buy because we like it, because it's what is "in" or because it would look cute with a pair of shoes you have.  We are "longing" for an item and that is one of the hallmarks of modern consumerism and identity.
*What we posses is what builds our identiy; what you own is what you are.

Response to:Bing!It's Fabien

* A more comical, personal read.
*Talks about the "greatness" as a designer of Fabien Baron.
*Fabien Baron as a designer is considered to be very intuitive.
-when designing, he doesn't use any systemmatical approach, he goes by what he feels in his head is right.
-he has a term that says "letting oxygen in" -referring to white space in a layout. Which he feels strongly about and has incredibly different ways to represent the white space. He doesn't necessarily always leave white space white, he plays out different hues of natural tones, or sometimes strong bold colors.
-Plays a lot with typefaces, isn't afraid to play with the arrangement of the letters.
*Has done layouts for many presitgious magazines such as Bazaar,Vogue and New York Woman. As well as do ads for Calvin Klein,Burberry and Valentino.
*In magazine layouts, the people helping to create the layouts find certain concflicts with the designers of other areas : "as word people, have to restrain the picture people,otherwise art directors will start letting oxygen into writers' texts whenever they feel like it".
*Fabien's idea of his workshop/group of workers is as he describes as "a group of painters who get together and becoming impressionists" -gathering different artists from different practices and creating a movement.
*Fabien is big on Modern, Visual, Strong, Clean and Young. His main principles for his design.
*His work company is formed by different artists with great talent in their area, and all work as a group.
*Has every bit of control in creating his layouts from choosing the photographs, he asks for a color negative and then makes a color copy of the negative,
*When working with colors they are mixed according to what percentages he chooses them to be.
*Humorous description is told about Marky Mark photoshoot, but you can tell Fabien's role as an art director, definitely wants something modern, yet clean and very visually striking. Has great chemistry with everyone on the shoot.
*In the magazine layouts he manipulates space quite well to have elegance and flair.

Response to: No Logo Extract

*Branding projects need to focus more on selling/advertising rather than building factory sites that are responsible forproducing/manufacturing the items belonging to the brand.
*Great percentage of workers getting laid off was because they were shutting down the factories where the products were being produced, in order to focus more on brand identity
* You can only produce so much, but how you advertise and manage your brand is what should be focused on more.
* A new idea is introduced of a superbrand: "A superbrand is an extraordinarily costly project, needing constant managing, tending and replenishing.-Most of all superbrands need lots of space on which to stamp their logos". With this they only have a certain amount of money to which spend on its expenses. Avoiding their retail prices to run high.
*The logic is to not spend so much time and resources on factories on where to manufacture the products, but to spend time and effort on equipment that will keep branding going on for a long time such as sponsorships, packaging, expansion and advertising.
*The closing down of factories are flying away with the idea that a manufacturer is responsible for its own workforce.
*A lot of well known companies such as Nike were striked with the notion of mass producing and building "empires" on contracting workers to work in their factories.
*Companies that are not fashion or modern life related are not getting the importance they should, like Sara Lee, it being a food company. Their company was driven by the real worl products, as opposed to what "brand identity" wants..was not in the "economic fashion"
*Brand identity's focus is less about where to produce than how.