I'm a little late with this but the Good.is website fits nicely with the upcoming journal regarding Sagmeister and his thoughts on First Thing's First. I hope that with the expansion of media (blogs, web video etc) and the waning popularity of printed news, design can find a fresher more interesting face for global issues like the one's found at Good.is. The problem with news on demand is that the viewer has to have a self-sparked interest in whatever message it is they're tuned into. There is example after example on Good.is illustrating the important role that design can have in showcasing nearly any message and perhaps more importantly, holding the viewers attention long enough for them to absorb the message.
I especially like the idea of updated info graphics and I think they fuse well with the video format. One of my favorites from the site is on Urban Aquaculture. The titles and the explanation of a shared water system are perfect.
I also spent a stupidly long time (baby in hand) watching the fictional Roger Numbers deliver factual and entertaining Good News that spanned from plate tectonics to vampires.
2.28.2009
2.27.2009
2.25.2009
2.18.2009
Malcolm X - A Common Enemy
"As I say, if we bring up religion we'll have differences; we'll have arguments; and we'll never be able to get together. But if we keep our religion at home, keep our religion in the closet, keep our religion between ourselves and our God, but when we come out here, we have a fight that's common to all of us against a enemy who is common to all of us."
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Malcolm Little dropped out of high school and began an early life of crime, organizing drug, prostitution and crime rings in the Boston during the 40's and 50's. While serving a 7 year prison sentence, Little finds the teachings of Islam and converts, drops his "slave name" Little and adopts the name Malcolm X, the X standing in for his "lost tribe name". After serving most of his sentence, X was released and joined The Nation of Islam and establishes mosques in Detroit and New York. Malcolm's mentor and the leader of The Nation of Islam, Elijah Mohamed is found to have fathered several children with as many as 6 women and X leaves the Nation of Islam now disillusioned and begins his own organization Muslim Mosque, Inc after a pilgrimage to Mecca that revises his views on segregation and believes that any race can follow the teachings of Islam. In 1965, after several assignation attempts, Malcolm X is murdered by 3 men from the Nation of Islam while speaking in Manhattan at the age of 39.
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Who is speaking?
Malcolm Little (Malcolm X)
Why was/is the speech important to society?
The speech marks, most importantly Malcolm X's separation from the Nation of Islam and his joining in helping the Civil Right's Movement. While X declares himself a Muslim he begins his speech by noting that the Black Movement should not be concerned with religious preference but rather focus on the idea of common equality and common rights.
Why do you feel in is important or interesting?
I think the idea (of personal spirituality or personal religion) is important and fundamentally relevant to contemporary society.
What is the emotion, mood, tone, personality, feeling of the speech?
The speech is a call to action, meant to inspire and motivate.
What is intonation, emphasis, what is loud, stressed, or soft. Where are there pauses...
There is an interesting section where he pleads with the listener to "Keep our religion at home, keep our religion in the closet, keep our religion between ourselves and our God" that has an interesting rhythm about it.
What do you FEEL should be loud or soft, long pause or rushed?
Is there a call to action? When listening to it what are key/emphasized words?
The entire speech is a call to action, yet this section is delivered in a leveled way that underlines it's importance.
How does it make you feel?
This section is spoken very temperately, calmly and in a deliberate manner as if the whole of the idea needs to be absorbed, without specific emphasis.
How do imagine that the audience felt?
The audience seems to agree and yet, there is a moment where maybe the audience wasn't expecting such simple, yet poignant instruction.
Could there be another interpretation of the speech?
Some feel that the speech was meant in part to distance Malcolm X from Martin Luther King Jr, who used Christianity to reach a broader audience during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Malcolm Little dropped out of high school and began an early life of crime, organizing drug, prostitution and crime rings in the Boston during the 40's and 50's. While serving a 7 year prison sentence, Little finds the teachings of Islam and converts, drops his "slave name" Little and adopts the name Malcolm X, the X standing in for his "lost tribe name". After serving most of his sentence, X was released and joined The Nation of Islam and establishes mosques in Detroit and New York. Malcolm's mentor and the leader of The Nation of Islam, Elijah Mohamed is found to have fathered several children with as many as 6 women and X leaves the Nation of Islam now disillusioned and begins his own organization Muslim Mosque, Inc after a pilgrimage to Mecca that revises his views on segregation and believes that any race can follow the teachings of Islam. In 1965, after several assignation attempts, Malcolm X is murdered by 3 men from the Nation of Islam while speaking in Manhattan at the age of 39.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who is speaking?
Malcolm Little (Malcolm X)
Why was/is the speech important to society?
The speech marks, most importantly Malcolm X's separation from the Nation of Islam and his joining in helping the Civil Right's Movement. While X declares himself a Muslim he begins his speech by noting that the Black Movement should not be concerned with religious preference but rather focus on the idea of common equality and common rights.
Why do you feel in is important or interesting?
I think the idea (of personal spirituality or personal religion) is important and fundamentally relevant to contemporary society.
What is the emotion, mood, tone, personality, feeling of the speech?
The speech is a call to action, meant to inspire and motivate.
What is intonation, emphasis, what is loud, stressed, or soft. Where are there pauses...
There is an interesting section where he pleads with the listener to "Keep our religion at home, keep our religion in the closet, keep our religion between ourselves and our God" that has an interesting rhythm about it.
What do you FEEL should be loud or soft, long pause or rushed?
Is there a call to action? When listening to it what are key/emphasized words?
The entire speech is a call to action, yet this section is delivered in a leveled way that underlines it's importance.
How does it make you feel?
This section is spoken very temperately, calmly and in a deliberate manner as if the whole of the idea needs to be absorbed, without specific emphasis.
How do imagine that the audience felt?
The audience seems to agree and yet, there is a moment where maybe the audience wasn't expecting such simple, yet poignant instruction.
Could there be another interpretation of the speech?
Some feel that the speech was meant in part to distance Malcolm X from Martin Luther King Jr, who used Christianity to reach a broader audience during the Civil Rights Movement.
2.15.2009
Creativity = the coupling of Brain and Heart
One thing that i'm slowly learning (but rarely practicing it seems) is that design can't be flowery all the time. It isn't supposed to be, it's really not a fine art (sorry, it's not). Design is about problem solving and answering questions and Jakob Trollback's approach is startlingly simple: Stop making design that looks pretty and start making design that addresses the problem and perhaps even provokes thought.
*side note, you don't have to appologize for your "shaky" video which has been beautifully designed.
*side note, you don't have to appologize for your "shaky" video which has been beautifully designed.
2.08.2009
Bruce Mau is smart, different.
Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto has a lot of good information and each point is worth devoting at least a little personal and professional time to. More importantly, Mau's work speaks to the kind of things design is capable of. Design, for me at least is a pretty selfish thing. At it's surface, design says, "Look at me," and in turn, the designer echoes this statement.
For nearly a decade Bruce Mau has been using his design voice to say, "Look at this, this is important (and the list of work on the Bruce Mau Design website attests to this)." Personally, I think that speaks louder than any of the Manifesto statements but in the spirit of talking about me, here are some of the finer points of the Incomplete Manifesto:
3. Process is more important than outcome.
I'm projecting a bit here but as far as I can tell, the end result isn't what gets you paid. It's the process, as it breeds the end result. I've been thinking a lot about that lately and over break decided to treat my process book like an additional assignment. At the end (of each year or of senior year, I haven't decided) I'd like to compile process up to that point and package it in a refined and presentable way. If nothing else, I have a reminder of where ideas come from.
32. Listen carefully.
I tend to be judgemental. Overly so. I tend to stereotype quickly and jump to conclusions, especially while someone is talking. Stop it. Stop it right now.
13. Slow down.
To which we could add, "Speed up." I like the idea of finding things or discovering outside of routine. We get so locked into routine that it can become detrimental fast. I'm going to start changing up the way I work, staggering my own progress and process in order to push and pull creativity.
And finally, 25. Don't clean your desk.
I'm sorry Mr. Mau but this one I call out. This one is bullshit. But, only because I find little bits of importance I had long since forgotten about when I clean my desk. There's always some inspiration under a month of scribbled notes and receipts. Plus, I like to move things around on my desk, rearrange for a fresher approach, it's not your fault, it's me trying to speed up/slow down, break routine and hopefully grow a bit too.
For nearly a decade Bruce Mau has been using his design voice to say, "Look at this, this is important (and the list of work on the Bruce Mau Design website attests to this)." Personally, I think that speaks louder than any of the Manifesto statements but in the spirit of talking about me, here are some of the finer points of the Incomplete Manifesto:
3. Process is more important than outcome.
I'm projecting a bit here but as far as I can tell, the end result isn't what gets you paid. It's the process, as it breeds the end result. I've been thinking a lot about that lately and over break decided to treat my process book like an additional assignment. At the end (of each year or of senior year, I haven't decided) I'd like to compile process up to that point and package it in a refined and presentable way. If nothing else, I have a reminder of where ideas come from.
32. Listen carefully.
I tend to be judgemental. Overly so. I tend to stereotype quickly and jump to conclusions, especially while someone is talking. Stop it. Stop it right now.
13. Slow down.
To which we could add, "Speed up." I like the idea of finding things or discovering outside of routine. We get so locked into routine that it can become detrimental fast. I'm going to start changing up the way I work, staggering my own progress and process in order to push and pull creativity.
And finally, 25. Don't clean your desk.
I'm sorry Mr. Mau but this one I call out. This one is bullshit. But, only because I find little bits of importance I had long since forgotten about when I clean my desk. There's always some inspiration under a month of scribbled notes and receipts. Plus, I like to move things around on my desk, rearrange for a fresher approach, it's not your fault, it's me trying to speed up/slow down, break routine and hopefully grow a bit too.
2.01.2009
Upton Sinclair Project Concept Statement
The Early 20th century was a turbulent time for America. Industry was everywhere, soot filled the air and a boom in immigration sent overcrowding to new heights. The Great Depression loomed and the world's first War made our future uncertain. "Here is a population, low-class and mostly foreign, hanging always on the verge of starvation and dependent for its opportunities of life upon the whim of men every bit as brutal and unscrupulous as the old-time slave drivers; under such circumstances, immorality is exactly as inevitable, and as prevalent, as it is under the system of chattel slavery."
*Bonus points to me for ending a second consecutive post with a widdow.
*Bonus points to me for ending a second consecutive post with a widdow.
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