Spatial Ex.--> The Graham House

The Graham House, designed by Arthur C. Erickson in 1962. Located in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

"The site for the house was a rock cliff dropping forty feet from the arrival level down a sheer cliff to a rock bench over the sea. The solution to this difficult site was the creation of a multi-storey house descending the slope in levels.
The formal idea of the piling up of hovering beams was the basis of the composition. These enclose the major living areas, which step down the embankment for four storeys from the carport to the bluff over the sea below. Each area opens onto a roof terrace over the living quarters below, so that there is maximum access to sunlight and view. Because of the ruggedness of the site, the outside living areas are confined almost entirely to the roof areas of the house itself.
A texture difference is achieved between the walls and box beams by using flat siding on the beams and a deep board and batten on the walls. The house is treated with a simple oil finish and the only other materials used in conjunction with the wood are used brick and a Welsh quarry tile."

quoted from arthur erickson.com

Degree Proj.--> Experiment Planning

If I were to design an interactive experience for learning about this information, people would be more apt to pay attention due to their exposure to this type of media.

If I make an information graphic, the complexity of nutrition and the comparable costs of food will be clearly stated.

If I make an informational card, people will take it and stick it on the fridge at home.

If I design a grocery bag with this information on it, people will be forced to interact with it every time they go to the grocery store.

If I design a reusable grocery bag, people will be constantly reminded about these issues when they use the bag (rather than being able to throw the paper bag away.)

If I design a "food planner" it will make it easier for people to have a clear idea of what "whole foods" they are going to buy at the grocery store and how much they cost (vs. buying the processed version?).

Degree Proj.--> Dream Job Thoughts, Ideas etc...

I've been thinking a lot about this topic over the course of the last semester up until now, and most likely it will continue to penetrate my thoughts in the coming months. What I have thought about is all of the subjects/activities I am interested in and inspire me, and how to incorporate all of them, or many of them into my dream job. Here are just a few of those interests: design, art history, anthropology, ecology, the outdoors, music, the southwest, and I could go on...but based on those, dream job possibilities:

-work at a museum doing in-house design for exhibitions, etc.

-design ski graphics

-" packaging, etc for an outdoor clothing company such as REI, Columbia, The North Face

- masters degree in art and ecology

That's all for now, but there may be more later.

Degree Proj.--> Project Question

Question I proposed in the Creative Brief:

How can graphic design help college students learn about sustainable food practices and incorporate them into their lifestyle?


Question Nik and I came up with in the brainstorm:

How can multi-media design encourage college students to eat seasonal, local foods through understanding the subsequent financial and health benefits.


::revised::

How can information design and interactivity encourage college students to eat seasonal, local foods through understanding the subsequent financial and health benefits.


::revised again::

How can information design, incorporated into various mediums, encourage college students to eat seasonal, local foods through understanding the subsequent financial and health benefits.

Multi Media Ex.--> Project 2 Final

Set up in a systematic grid, inside each square would be a thumbnail of the work. When clicked on, the work appears in the box and the viewer is able to view multiple images of the work by scrolling from side to side (or clicking on arrows?) As work is added, the grid becomes larger and tighter. I wanted to create a site that would visualize the addition of new work, so that if someone hasn't visited the site in a while, they will be able to tell right away whether there has been new work added. There would be close buttons in the window so that the user mat return to the full grid view. The site is so simple, in part due to my incompetency with flash, but also because I don't think it necessary to be elaborate. Ideally, in the final design, my name would be incorporated into the grid and would function just the way the other thumbnails would. What I am proud of is that I have had a chance to look through my work over the last three years and determine what I want to display to the world.

Multi Media Ex.-->Reading Response 3: The Language of New Media, p 95-103

What defines "the classical screen"?

The "classical screen" is essentially a flat, rectangular surface, it is intended for frontal viewing, rather than panoramic. The screen exists in our space, our body, and acts as a window into another space. The other space, is a space of representation and typically has a scale different from the other.

What was the computer screen specifically developed for?

The computer screen appeared in the middle of the 20th century for military purposes, but it does not get a public presence until much later. Back then it was not used for so called public entertainment, but for surveillance.

What is the 3rd type of screen after classic and dynamic?

This is called the screen of real time. With such a screen, images can change in real time, reflecting changes in the referent. This also allows for the image to be updated in real time. In older photographic technologies, all parts of the image are exposed simultaneously, while with the real time screen, an image is produced through sequential scanning. The different parts of the image correspond to different moments in time.

How does the Peter Greenaway film comment on the screen in the author's view?

He sees the film as a metaphor for a tendency in the Western screen-based apparatus. Here the body must be fixed in space if the viewer is to see the image at all. The imprisonment of the body takes place on a conceptual and literal level. both appear in the screen apparatus.

How is representation vs simulation represented in mosaics and frescoes vs renaissance paintings? In naturalism?

Frescoes and mosaics represent an illusionary space that begins behind the surface of the image. The mosaics and frescoes are immobile and stationary. In contrast the painting is movable, can be separated from the wall and moved anywhere. A painting reprents a virtual space that is distinct from the physical space.

Multi Media Ex.-->Reading Response 2: The Language of New Media, p 78-93

Why do new generations favor cinematic language over print?

The new generation is beginning to grow up an extremely media-rich environment. The cinematic language has become the basic means by which computer users access and interact with cultural data. Today millions of people communicate with one another through the same interface. In contrast to cinema, all users are able to speak the same interface language of the computer. The user is able to acquire new cultural information because the language is based on familiar forms. Cultural interfaces draw on older forms such as cinema and the printed word.


In today's new world of cultural data & experiences of the computer, what are some outdated interface metaphors still employed?

Cultural interfaces still use elements of the HCI such as scrollable windows with text and other types, hierarchical menus, dialogue boxes, and command-line input. Historically the human computer interface in known for reformatting other media whether it be the printed page, film, or television. HCI designers rely heavily on the conventions of the human-made physical environment beginning with the Macintosh's use of the desktop metaphor.