The Power of Color

                  The first box of crayons you ever got probably had the basic eight: black, white, red, yellow, blue, purple, brown and orange. And at that time, this was all you needed-every shade in the world fit into one of these categories. And then you discovered pink and you had to get the new box with sixteen colors. Your palette expanded. Gray, peach, silver...before long, you asked for the big one. The mother of all crayons. The 96 count set with the sharpener on the box. Surely now you had them all; every color was in your grasp.                 

http://67.222.3.121/~handruin/forum/showthread.php?t=5568

                  Color is an important form of nonverbal communication. From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, color influences our choices. Our perception of the world is affected by color. Likewise, the way the world perceives us is also affected by color. In fact, color, many times, is the most significant feature of an item. Designers, therefore, cannot afford to treat color lightly. When mixing and matching, it helps to know a little color theory. Back to kindergarten and that box of eight crayons. One exercise you likely completed was a color wheel. The wheel is made by placing the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) equidistant from each other on a circle. By blending the primaries you get the secondary colors: red and yellow produce orange; yellow and blue produce green; blue and red produce purple. Further blends of adjacent colors produce tertiary colors, and so on.

http://www.malanenewman.com/browser_safe_color_wheel.htm

                  You don't need a Ph.D. in color theory to know that relationships exist between adjacent, complementary, clashing colors. Our perception of color is affected by the surrounding colors as well as the proximity of other colors, and the amount of light. Furthermore, certain colors and combinations evoke emotional responses, which, depending on your background, you probably already intuitively know. It is the designer's business to create a visual experience which is pleasing to the eye. The elements of visual harmony are simple to explain, yet much more difficult to practice. Harmony engages the viewer and creates an inner sense of order, a balance. Combinations fail to harmonize if they are so bland as to bore the viewer. At the other extreme, chaotic, overdone combinations will be rejected as something which the mind cannot organize or understand. Simply put, the designer must strive to achieve the balance between under-stimulation and over-stimulation. This is harmony, a dynamic equilibrium.
                  Adjacent or analogous colors are those next to each other on the color wheel. These are harmonizing hues, since they each contain of a little of each other in themselves. They work well together, although they can appear washed out if they are too close to each other on the wheel. Adding black or white to one or both colors (creating tints or shades) can create higher contrast, solving this problem.
                  Complementary colors are separated by one color on a twelve part color wheel. While this combination of colors creates higher contrast, it also causes undesirable visual vibrations which puts physical strain on the eyes. This effect can be alleviated if complementary colors are separated on the page by at least one other color.
                  Direct opposites on the color wheel are called contrasting colors. (Sometimes direct opposites are also called complements.) When used carefully in designs, these combinations have high contrast and visibility along with a sense of harmony.
                  In addition to these basic formulas, designers must be aware of associations to colors due to cultural references, gender, age, and class differences. It is important to understand how the color has been used in a political and historical context as well as how it has been used in past and current trends. Religious and mythical implications can also effect the use of a color. Even linguistic usage (i.e. phrases like "in the red," and "moody blues") will affect how people view a color.

                  When it comes to politics, what immediately comes to mind is the Green Movement in Iran, which refers to the series of actions taken after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, where protestors demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. Green was initially used as the symbol of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign, but after the election it became the symbol of unity and hope for those asking for annulment of what they regarded as a fraudulent election.

http://scottpantall.com/2009/12/07/irony-in-iran-students-day-2009/

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/does-irans-green-movement-need-us-aid/

Dangerous Design

           Beyond their violent employment, weapons have broad reaching iconography in Western culture.  A symbol of power, of dominance and of masculinity, the weapon has been idolized in entertainment media and even infused in modern design. 

There is a series of works done by the late Philippe Starck, who has taken inspiration from weaponry. This 18k gold-plated pistol, for example. Although it may rest at your bedside, and it may not ward off any intruders,  the Bedside Gun Lamp brings character and high style to any room in your house, bedroom or otherwise.  Initially designed in 2005, Starck said that “design is my only weapon, so I use it to speak about what is important”. 

           Now although the design itself may not be a dangerous one, it is nonetheless inspired by weapons of violence and goes to show how desensitzed society has become. By having weapons of violence on display in a household it may propose the idea to children that weapons are acceptable and should be used. Weapons may seem like a symbol to power to some but ultimately they are a symbol of death and violence. So once again this design in reality is not dangerous but in actuality the seeds it plants are deadly.

Utopian Design

         Of all the different kinds of water storage containers that are available plentifully in the market, a stainless steel water bottle would be the ideal one for the many kinds of advantages that it has to offer. It will leave you with the least of worries when it comes to the matter pertaining to your health. For those ecologically conscious beings too, a stainless steel water bottle would be an ideal choice as the bottle can be reused again and again.

         Since the stainless steel is a tough material, there is no risk of the plastic leaching into the water. This would leave you a little less worried considering that here is enough and more to worry about the chemicals that are already present in the water coming in plastic containers these days. The drink that is stored in the stainless steel container will remain intact and will not lose its flavor at all. This does not happen in the case of plastic bottles and even the aluminum bottles.

http://safewaterbottlereview.com/reviews/earthlust-stainless-steel-water-bottle-review/

         The steel containers are naturally more resistant to the infiltration of bacteria than that of the containers made from any other material. And a reusable steel bottle is advantageous on the economic side too considering that you need not spend extra bucks for plastic bottles which has to be thrown away after use. The steel containers are tough enough that they will remain in great shape for a lot more years. It might only need an occasional change of parts.

         As mentioned earlier, the steel alternative to bottles are a lot more sustainable. It will reduce the trash that is becoming a growing menace with its predominantly plastic composition. And the principle of reuse is certainly better than the principle of recycling or the habit of use-and-throw.

         The steel bottles are designed so that it can suit any sort of users, be it construction laborers, sports enthusiasts or students. They come in countless colors and designs, with a screw on air tight cap, aaand many come with hiking hooks attached to the top which is a convenient feature to have, say if you were hiking and wanted to hook it on to your backpack for quick and easy access. The bottle will ensure that the iced water remains iced for at least five hours.

         So not only are these water bottles beautifully and simply designed, they are designed with the enviornment in mind, and have become somewhat of a mainstream trend. Sustainability and simplicity? Doesn’t get any better.

HTML5 + Music = Awesomeness

        Further pushing the boundaries of the "music video" concept, Indie band Arcade Fire released a vid for the song “We Used to Wait” (directed by Chris Milk) off of their album, The Suburbs, and it’s basically one big ball of HTML5/Google Maps/musical goodness. The project utilizes Google Street View, multiple browser windows and 3D canvas rendering, which really shows off the capabilities offered by HTML5.

        “The Wilderness Downtown” video is a new kind of musical experience, reminiscent of — but much more advanced than — hypertext storytelling of old. Basically, you surf over to “The Wilderness Downtown” page using Google Chrome (don’t use Safari the program will murder your browser), and type in the address of your childhood home when prompted. If Google Maps has enough footage of home sweet home, you’ll be pulled into a multi-browser movie of your own making. The experience of watching this highly personalized video is not easily described, but basically the story of childhood ending as time rapidly slips away becomes your own as trees shoot up out of nowhere on your old street, culminating in an opportunity to write a letter to a younger you. Check it out when you have a moment to really watch the whole thing. Just press play on Arcade Fire’s new web music video, “The Wilderness Downtown”  and you'll know that you're seeing a glimpse of the future of entertainment.

        The project follows up equally innovative online clips for the band's 2007 sophomore album "Neon Bible" - the video for the title track used point-and-click technology, while “Black Mirror” let viewers trigger different instruments during the song. Check out the links to these two as well… SO COOL!

The Ergonomic Keyboard

            Mass production of products does not take into account that humans come in various shapes and sizes. The proportions of a chair that work well to support a six foot tall body frame can add stress and challenges to a smaller sized person. Mass production can make the most commonplace products difficult to use. Considerations like the size and shape of tools and how they fit into the hand that will use them are important to ergonomic design. 

            The need for ergonomic design is thought to have originated during World War II, when it became apparent that military systems could be more effective if they took into account the environmental requirements of the soldiers operating them. After incorporating ergonomic changes in some military systems, efficiency and effectiveness as well as safety were improved. The number of manufacturers and business recognizing the benefits of ergonomic design principals continues to grow…

            With all that said, I give you the Ergonomic Keyboard. For those of you not so familiar with this product, an Ergonomic Keyboard is a computer keyboard designed with ergonomic considerations. Let’s take a look at this rather strange looking invention:

Safety- Sufferers of carpal tunnel goes through injections, wear wrists guards and they will no longer have the ability to type as they once did! The idea behind the Ergonomic Keyboard is that it overcomes the stress and strains people inflict on themselves as a result of frequent extending of the hands, wrists, and fingers which take place on a traditional keyboard over the course of several hours on a daily basis. This is most true with those who work in an office, behind a computer day-in and day-out.

Comfort- Your hands, wrists, shoulders and back are the areas of your body most vulnerable to repetitive strain injury. An Ergonomic Keyboard is going to keep your hands, wrists and shoulders in a better position and the hands do not crowd the keyboard, as in case of traditional keyboards. Ergonomic Keyboards provide a natural position that reduces muscle stress and strain while typing. The split keyboards are designed to specificity fit the position of the wrist and hands while typing. Instead of conforming your hands to the keyboard, the keyboard is conformed to the natural way your hands, fingers and wrist are positioned when typing.

Ease of use- Many people who use ergonomic split keyboards find the positioning of the keys to be natural. Instead of forcefully pressing the keyboard keys, an ergonomic keyboard is designed so that you only have to use a light touch in order to type. Two-and-three-key combinations also come easier when using this special keyboard. Granted most people feel a two to three week transitioning period, generally users don’t experience too much trouble adjusting.

Performance/ Productivity- Although Ergonomic Keyboards have many health benefits, that doesn’t make them any less efficient than a traditional keyboard. In fact, it is quite the opposite. These split keyboards have shown an increase in their users’ type speed, which ultimately result in more efficiency in the work place and again, less stress for the person behind the keyboard.

Aesthetics- In all fairness, for everything an Ergonomic Keyboard has to offer, it doesn’t look toooo bad. But let’s be real, it is not the best looking keyboard on the market. A common ergonomic keyboard design is one where the keyboards seems to be split in half, and each half is positioned on an angle to match the shape of your wrists when typing. Usually ergonomic split keyboards come in two types. The "split" or the divide of the two parts of the keyboard can either be altered in angles or the split angle is fixed. A fixed-split ergonomic keyboard uses a single board just as any other inline keyboard may use, but this one is probably curved slightly outward. The other type of ergonomic split keyboard is the adjustable split keyboard. This keyboard is split into several independent pieces, allowing you to increase or decrease the space between the groups of keys, ultimately making it more personalized to your wrists and hands.

            A thorough understanding of the specific tasks an object is intended for is central to achieving the ergonomic design goal of aiding the human form in executing them. Quality ergonomics is thought to reduce the risk of injury and errors by ensuring that technology and humanity fit and are working together. Greater accuracy and more efficient performance will be achieved by meeting human needs with technology. But best of all, quality of life will also be improved.

          Don’t you find it rather intriguing that even today, after more than 140 years, all conventional keyboards and other ergonomic keyboards are based on 1860s typewriter's staggered key arrangement design?

 

Message in a Bottle

           Bottle of Notes is the first public sculpture in the United Kingdom by the two internationally renowned artists, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.  The piece, which soars thirty feet high, alongside mima in Centre Square, was completed in 1993, and it is a magnificent piece of public art in Middlesbrough, UK, home of voyager and mapmaker James Cook.

            In 1986, a program had been started to help revitalize the economically depressed region of Middlesbrough through commissions of art. The sculpture was to be built in Hebburn, helping to provide employment for workers in the abandoned shipyards along the Tyne River.

http://www.pbase.com/jabtas/canon_28135mm

            A lattice-like steel sculpture in the shape of a bottle set at an angle in a bed of bark chips. The bottle has a steel “cork”. The piece is formed of a hand-written message (Claes Oldenburg) which has inside it another hand-written message arranged in a spiral. The bottle, the inner text and the cork are all painted in polyurethane enamel-white, blue, black respectively. The outer text is taken from the log of Captain Cook’s first voyage to the South Pacific in 1768. It reads, ‘We had every advatage we could desire in observing the whole passage of the planet Venus over the Sun’s disk”. The inner text is from a 1987 poem, ‘Memos of a Gadfly’, by van Bruggen about her childhood in Amsterdam: ‘I like to remember seagulls in full flight gliding over the ring of canals.’ Appropriately, the sculpture is sited beside a small ornamental lake in a new, centrally-located park.

Word and Image- Brian Fries

            When freelance writer Brian Fies’ mother was diagnosed with both lung cancer and a brain tumor, he started to document her struggles and what such an event does to a family as a whole. The result is the amazing little Eisner Award-winning graphic novel Mom’s Cancer. It’s done in comic book style and it’s just phenomenal.

            The storytelling is brutally honest, yet humorous and insightful. Each member of the family is pulled into the struggle against incredible odds. Cancer, like most crises, brings out both the best and the worst in a family.

            Mom’s Cancer isn’t some overly sentimental cancer story. Fies doesn’t glorify his mother, as would be the tendency of some. He keeps her honest. She smoked, she had trouble understanding what she was going through, and she frustrated the hell out of him sometimes.

http://chinotto-is-my-nemesis.blogspot.com/2010/01/9-book-reviews.html

            He also portrays the family in humorous and interesting ways. There’s a Kid Sis and Nurse Sis and each have their strengths and faults. There are very vivid, visual metaphors for things in the book I found especially compelling.

            The artwork is clean and simple, yet detailed and emotive. The storyboard look and feel of the book really helps one to understand the scientific aspects of what is going on with the cancer cells.

With the graphic format, Fies manages to get me to understand medical jargon, which would normally be too boring for me to be interested in. Instead of being bored, I was fascinated, which is saying a lot for me.

If someone you know has cancer, this is a book for them. It’s educational, hopeful and humorous. I highly recommend it.

I (heart) iProducts

          Staring at the screen of this very laptop, thinking of what to make this blog about, it occurred to me… This MacBook is exactly what I want to write about.     

 

            I find it interesting that a lot of attention is paid and discussion time alloted to the styling of laptop computers. Computer design is either good or bad. There are few companies today taking design as serious as Apple. They may not be the market leader fiscally; in terms of design and quality-control they are, though. Whatever your stance towards them is, one has to acknowledge their expertise in making a seemingly mundane object aesthetically outstanding.

            Steve Jobs stated once that the “design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” While this statement has proven to be crucial over thousands of years, one shouldn’t misinterpret it by emphasizing the functionality despite the design. When it comes to product design, the significance of aesthetics of a given device, the way its design looks and feels, determines the choice of the customer once the functionalities of multiple devices are more or less similar.

            Apple has launched iconic products such as the iPod, iPhone and iMac. These are prominent for their one-button-one-scroll interface, multi-touch technology and all-in-one offering, respectively. Take the iMac, for instance, and look at its evolution from a half-orb to a flat-panel all-in-one powerhouse. It's undeniably one of the most beautiful computers on the market today. At Apple everything's shiny, elegant and sleek. Decidedly so, Apple's design is timeless. Jonathan Ive has created an aesthetic identity, which is unique and captivating. A MacBook Pro is a stunning piece of electronics. From an engineering point-of-view it's also very innovative. Using the so-called unibody-construction, MacBooks have become a paradigm of clear computer design. This has also helped perfect the fusion between aesthetics and foolproof usability.

            It's not the products that are timeless, though; it's the principles by which they are created. To make something markedly simple is an easy task. However, to make it so without compromising its sophistication is not as easy. Few products are timeless. Especially in industrial design it's hard to stand out, and stand the test of time. Innovation is the only way to advance a mundane product to something which is indispensable. If a computer's design is organic it will blend in with its environment, making it an intuitive part of our home or workspace.

One Wish to Change the Wrold

            TED describes itself as "a small nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading." Actually, it's anything but small. Five years ago, it started giving a handsome annual prize to "exceptional individuals" devoted to changing the world. The TED genie grants those prize recipients One Wish to Change the World— as well as $100,000. This year, the prize goes to an anonymous street artist, who goes by the diminutive name JR.

            The Paris-based artist, who calls himself a "photograffeur," combines photography and graffiti in a distinct form of public art. Although his work lives in the streets, it has already been recognized by museums like London's Tate Modern— and he's only in his mid-20s. JR's projects vary but have one underlying cause: Provoke change by fostering community. “Portrait of a Generation” showed giant photos of suburban "thugs" outside Paris. “Face 2 Face”, which "some consider the biggest illegal photo exhibition ever," explored Israeli-Palestinian tensions. "Women Are Heroes” was an effort to empower women by showing their faces.

            JR exhibits his photographs --printed on waterproof vinyl, which double as new roofs for ramshackle houses-- in the biggest art gallery on the planet. His work is presented freely in the streets of the world, catching the attention of people who are not museum visitors. The artist makes these enormous installations in towns and cities that have virtually nothing. People come out of the woodwork to help. They start talking. Suddenly there's a sense of community and a cause. At least that's the idea. JR’s work is about social justice and creating connections between different people. His work mixes Art and Action; it talks about commitment, freedom, identity and limit. He creates persuasive art that spreads uninvited on buildings of Parisian slums, on walls in the Middle East, on broken bridges in Africa or in favelas in Brazil. People in the exhibit communities, those who often live with the bare minimum, discover something absolutely unnecessary but utterly wonderful. And they don’t just see it, they make it. Elderly women become models for a day; kids turn into artists for a week. In this art scene, there is no stage to separate the actors from the spectators.

         JR has a thing for eyes and noses and mouths. “Normally,” says JR, “you have to be very famous to have your picture blown up so big. But these are just ordinary people, with everyday stories.”

Objectified

            From telephones to toothpicks, nearly everything that fills our world is designed. Objects look and work the way they do because someone made them that way. Director Gary Hustwit examines industrial design’s sweeping cultural impact in his documentary, Objectified. Many of the movie's subjects are well known in the design world -- they include Dieter Rams, formerly one of the chief designers for Braun, and Jonathan Ive, of Apple. Those people may not exactly be household names among us mere mortals, but as "Objectified" makes clear, they've made their presence, if not their names, known in our households. Hearing them talk about what they do puts everyday objects into fresh perspective and one can’t help but wonder, in an age where forms cannot possibly resemble the myriad of functions they now perform, what will our world look like? How does design’s drive for “new and improved” reconcile with environmental sustainability? And how do individuals express themselves through mass-produced “stuff”? Objectified is a fascinating look at our relationship with objects and the people who design them. 

 

            Thinking too hard about the power, mystery and beauty of everyday things can give you a headache. That headache can blossom into a migraine if you consider that everything around you was, at some point, designed by someone, badly or well or possibly just indifferently. Have you ever wondered why the handle of your potato peeler is shaped the way it is? Well after watching Gary Hustwit’s documentary Objectified you won’t be able to stop thinking about it. You’ll also start looking at all the everyday things that surround us in our lives, questioning whether or not they are useful, and asking how we got so attached to them in the first place.

            "Objectified" helps takes design out of the conceptual realm and into the practical world. One of its best moments is an interview with Parisian designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, who speak with great eloquence and sophistication (in French, no less) about design and then start fluttering around a certain chair, pointing out its attributes. They look at it this way and that, pointing out the curve of its arm and the shape of its back. Then they come around to what may be its finest attribute, its sturdiness: "So Australians who have drunk a lot of beer can plunk themselves down in it." The language of design, at its best, is just that plainspoken.

            Objectified is a movie that will open your mind to the hidden world of design that influences virtually every aspect of our lives. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the designers who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. Gary Hustwit has taken a mundane concept and made something both compelling and artistic out of it. If you’re at all interested in design, this is a must-see film.

Life Is Art

      Nonprofit arts groups tend to spend much of their time scrounging for grants and praying for corporate largesse. But one art foundation taking shape on 120 acres in the high oak chaparral of Sonoma County has different kinds of worries these days: spider mites, bud rot and the occasional low-flying surveillance visit from the local Sheriff’s Office.

      This is because the foundation, based out of Santa Rosa, CA, called Life Is Art, recently began to reap a new kind of financing, in the form of tall, happy-looking marijuana plants. Late this month, with some help from the sale of its first small crop, grown under California’s liberal medical marijuana laws, the group plans to present an inaugural exhibition on its land, of sculpture and installation work by more than 20 visiting artists — some of whom will have helped bring in the harvest. The foundation’s hope is that income from succeeding crops will fully support such projects, in perpetuity, creating a kind of Marfa-meets-ganja art retreat north of San Francisco and a new economic engine for art philanthropy.

“Comparison and Contrast”

            Every year Interbrand releases its annual list, rating the most successful organizations and valuable brands from all over the world. Over the past several years, the brand at the top of the list has been Coca-Cola. Given the amount of money and effort they have put in creating the brand, it’s not surprising.

Surprising is the fact that Pepsi also spend just about as much money on branding as the Coke and sell almost same amount of products but still Coca-Cola is more valuable brand then Pepsi.

            Over the years Pepsi has displayed signs of chronic logo redesign vs Coca Cola, who has stuck to preserving its brands’ integrity. Now, I am not against updating corporate logos every once in a while, as long as the change brings value to the equation – maybe the old logo was too flat or austere, maybe it needed to have some life or positive energy injected into it – but all too often, companies fall prey to some creative agencies’ claims that in order to refresh their brand, they need to refresh their logos as well. 

 

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs5/i/2004/333/6/4/Pepsi_vs_Coca_cola_by_Attarzi.jpg

 

            I am not saying that Pepsi’s choice to change its logo on a regular basis is a bad thing. I am simply using Pepsi’s M.O. as a conversation catalyst. In a way, there’s something kind of cool about a company that changes its logo every decade or so: Each new logo is like a cultural milestone – a snapshot if you will, of that decade’s graphic flavor, and how tastes change over time. But I guess once you get past the cool time capsule thing, you kind of have to wonder: Has each change in logo actually resulted in some kind of benefit for the Pepsi Cola company? Has the Pepsi brand been strengthened by every new logo design? Has each new logo helped boost sales of Pepsi Cola over time? Has the company’s chronic change of emblem and packaging art had a measurable impact on the company’s bottom-line? Perhaps it has. I don’t know. It’s an open question, and one which probably cannot be answered without also looking at

  Consumers like familiariity. So one can’t help but wonder, is Coca Cola more successful maybe because they keep their logo and packaging more consistant?? Something to think about.

“Design as Conversation”

     Design is everywhere. And now, more than ever, it is taking on new forms all around us. For example, we saw a great rise in campaigns using design to speak to the public- design as conversation. 

     It all began with the LIVESTRONG bracelet. A yellow silicone gel bracelet launched in May 2004 as a fund-raising item for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The bracelet is part of the "Wear Yellow Live Strong" educational program. The program is intended to raise money for cancer research, raise cancer awareness, and encourage people to live life to the fullest. The band became a popular fashion item in the United States by the end of the summer of 2004, and soon after gained popularity worldwide. Other charities were inspired by the success of the LIVESTRONG band, and many developed their own bracelets for raising money and awareness.

     Then there was (PRODUCT)RED, which was founded in 2006 by U2 frontman and activist, Bono. It is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express, Apple, Starbucks, Converse, GAP, etc. to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Each partner company creates a product with the Product Red logo. In return for the opportunity to increase its own revenue through the Product Red products that it sells, a percentage of the profit is given to the Global Fund.

     Fast forwarding through numerous other wonderful foundations and  campaigns, we come to the NOH8 Campaign.

     On November 4, 2008 Proposition 8 passed in California, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The defeat provoked a groundswell of initiative within the GLBT community at a grassroots level, with many new political and protest organizations being formed in response. The NOH8 Campaign is a silent protest photo project against California Proposition 8. The campaign features photographs portraying people in front of a white backdrop wearing white t-shirts, their mouths duct taped shut and "NOH8" painted on their cheek. The campaign was created on February 1, 2009 by photographer Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley. Nearly two years since its inception, the NOH8 Campaign has grown to over 5,500 faces and continues to grow at an exponential rate. The campaign began with portraits of everyday Californians from all walks of life and soon rose to include politicians, military personnel, newlyweds, law enforcement, artists, celebrities, and many more. The photo are also available for purchase, with proceeds going towards the organization for awareness.

The Petronas Twin Towers

Recently my Uncle announced his engagement to his soon to be Malaysian wife. The wedding is in April, in Kuala Lampur, and the entire family will be attending. The entire family, besides me that is. Unfortunately, due to my academic demands, school will not allow for a week long absence. But this got me thinking about the my first visit to Kuala Lampur and my first associating thought with it: The Petronas Twin Towers. In my opinion, true architectural wonders.

Petronas Twin Towers, pair of skyscraper office buildings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among the world’s tallest buildings. The Towers, built to house the headquarters of Petronas, the national petroleum company of Malaysia, were designed by the Argentine-born American architect Cesar Pelli. The 88 story structures, linked by a bridge at the 41st floor, are identical and were completed in 1998. 

To express the 'culture and heritage of Malaysia', classic Islamic motifs such as,  arabesques and repetitive geometries, characteristic of Muslim architecture, have been evoked in the overall construction of The Towers. An 8-point star- reflecting unity within unity, rationality, stability and harmony- formed by intersecting squares is an obvious reference to Islamic design; curved and pointed bays create a scalloped facade that suggests temple towers. Radiating structures, rhythmic patterns, and organized columns have also been a significant feature in the towers. Influences arrived from old Hindu and Buddhist temples have also been incorporated in the construction.

In both engineering and design, the Petronas Towers succeed at acknowledging Malaysia's past and future, embracing the country's culture while proclaiming its modernization.

These Towers are an indescribable site definitely worth seeing!

Stone Soup

In last Tuesday's Design 001class, our groups took part in a "Stone Soup" activity. We were all instructed before hand to bring about four items to contribute to the project. These items could be anything from recyclable trash to actual tools to help us put the "Stone Soup" together. Our group had a great range of items- boxes, tape, cutting tools, colorful tissue paper, a big stack of paper plates, acrylic paints, and much much more. 

For those readers who may not have ever heard of Stone Soup, it is an old children's book written by Marci Brown in 1947. In this tale, villagers are tricked out of their greed and fear into sharing and enjoying life with their neighbors. With every villager donating one item to the soup, they soon have a delicious soup that every can all enjoy together.

Our version of Stone Soup started with all of us throwing our items in the center of our circle and brainstorming on different ideas of what we could create. Everyone shared an idea and as a group we agreed that the box would be the base of our creation. Then we got to work. Some started painting plates, some started creating tissue paper flowers, and others did little random things, which did give the piece a unique personal touch. 

I think it is safe to say that every group member enjoyed themselves during the course of this project. It gave everyone a chance to express their idea and add it to the piece, while still working on a collaborative art project. It taught everyone to listen to one another and work with each other and how to build on each others' ideas without one person over powering or over shadowing others or the project itself.

Creativity From Without

           A good meal can be considered to be a work of art unto itself. Food is a vital necessity for all consumers to live, but human beings have a way to harness their thinking abilities and skills of agility to heighten culinary experiences. Taste buds have a practical use as being a way to determine if a certain food is spoiled or rotten before we actually ingest or swallow the bad food which would make us sick. However, they can provide a very uplifting experience on their own by being provoked in just the right way according to our own personal tastes. Chefs around the world have worked for centuries to please the mouths of those who paid for their services. Countless cookbooks and online recipes in addition to specialty food magazines are all in place to help regular people to achieve the perfect euphoria that is associated with a food combination or complete meal which makes their taste buds sing in delight and yearn for more even when their stomach is totally stuffed and cannot hold another bite. The interesting aspect comes along when our visual senses get involved. Every good chef will tell you that presentation is truly half of any good food. Recently though the food world has taken presentations a step further to create “food art.” Chefs and artists come together and cross sides to make awesome pieces of edible art that look too amazing to eat. 

            The collaborative team of Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann are some of the most infamous artistic chefs as they have worked together to write over a dozen books that show you easy ways to create amazingly cute animals and several human like kid favorite characters out of everyday fruits and vegetables. This duo want to make eating healthy foods fun for kid consumers by turning them into toys that children can play with while they get a nutritional boost. Their creations are meant for all ages and can be used for daily snacks and sides for meals or as special munchies for a sleepover or party with a healthier twist than soda and potato chips!

           When i came across the work of Elffers and Freymann i couldn't help but smile and found their work just absolutely priceless. I think their vision is truly unique, for when you see their fruit and veggie carvings, you ask yourself how didn't I ever see that? To take your everyday food and turn into adorable edible art... If only someone had put healthy food like this on my plate when I was little! :)

http://verybadfrog.com/6451/art/food-sculptures-by-saxton-freymann

http://verybadfrog.com/6451/art/food-sculptures-by-saxton-freymann

 

 

 

 

http://stomachsonlegs.blogspot.com/2008/05/saxton-freymann-inflicts-world-of.html

http://stomachsonlegs.blogspot.com/2008/05/saxton-freymann-inflicts-world-of.html