Losurdo_Dating_Final

This project was an interesting concept, but a challenge. I just recently ended a five year relationship and haven't really thought of dating again. My ex and I are still on good terms and I bounced the idea of doing a Risk spin off. He laughed and said "If that's the case then dating you was like a land war in Asia." I found the comment quite funny and touching.

Risk is the strategic game of world conquest. Using troops you attack your fellow players. A roll of the die determines who wins the attack and if your are successful in defeating all of your opponents troops you get their territory.  When you hold entire Continents you get bonus troops. The harder the continent is to hold the more troops you get. This is setup to reflect what the online version looks like. The troops are represented by numbers and the territories you hold are highlighted in your color.

In this game Pink has the upperhand with 55 troops on the board and a bonus of 16 troops (7 troops for holding  Asia, 2 troops for holding Australia and 7 troops for territories) For a total of 71 troops. Blue isn't to far behind with 48 troops on the board and a bonus of 9 troops (2 troops for holding South America and 7 troops for territories.) For a total of 57.

Blue is posed to attack from any one of the neighboring territories. But Pink has strong defenses on vulnerable territories. And while things are looking to be in Pinks favor its to close to call who would win. With a simple roll of the dice one player can lose half their territories.

I set this game up like I tend to play I'm ready to defend my area, and can withstand a good beating, but there are some vulnerable areas that he could attack and do some damage. 

Buckleitner Dating Final

Francis - Artist Response

Since I was unable to go to any of the lectures, I went to the DePaul Art Museum to look for a work of art that included both image and text and found the above piece for my artist response. This piece is called Summer of Dreams and Magic and was created by David Leggett, who creates works of art that focuses on cultural and personal relationships, history, pop culture, and identity. While creating his works, he makes sure his position is not clear so that the viewer can decide for him- or herself. In addition, he adds humor to his pieces to “bring the viewer in for closer examination.”

When staring at this piece at the museum, I did not really know what I was looking at and still do not to this day. To me, it is just a bunch of random images with a few words of text. However, I started thinking more into the piece and the phrase “folk art.” When I think about folk art, I think of crazy colors, different types of confusing images, flowers, and something not aesthetically pleasing. In a way, I kind of relate it to if you were in a trance. After realizing that, I started to understand the piece better because everything I used to describe folk art was incorporated into the piece. Next, after reading the blurb about the work of art I found out that it was meant to be a free-associative work, which made a lot more sense. Even though I used free association to the phrase “folk art” without realizing, I then started to do it with the other images. For the old guy with the bulging brain, I thought of Dr. Frankenstein along with Einstein. For the alien, I thought of universe and uncertainty. For the naked girl, I thought of openness and a lack of privacy. It was really interesting to view the piece in that light because it opened the piece up to many possibilities and different ways of being viewed. As a result, I do not think there is a specific meaning to the piece of art, which I feel makes it even more successful.

Elizabeth Jefferson – Artist Lecture Assignment

Francis - Dating Final

For this project, I did not know what I wanted to do at first because I kind of close myself off when it comes to relationships. Every time I visit my family or a friend that I have not seen in a long time, they ask me about my love life, and I always respond ‘nonexistent.” Once they get that answer from, which they do not quite understand or want to believe, they then ask me who I have a crush on or what I am looking for in a person (both in terms of personality and features). After they get another undesirable response from me in which I tell them that I do not have a crush on anyone or a specific type, they ask what is wrong with me, and I answer them with “nothing. I just like being single and independent. I am not looking for a relationship, especially right now, because I want to live my college years to its fullest and not be tied down to anyone.” They finally shake their head up and down in agreement to what I just said. However, I can still tell that they are unsatisfied that they know nothing about my love life, even though I had told them everything about my love life. Since I am different when it comes to the topic of dating and relationship, I really wanted to focus on that for my project.

As a result, I played off the idea of “sidenote: people who want to date me, beware of my independence complex” for my design. Initially, I wanted to make it like a page in a textbook where they have all of those sidenotes, but then I thought about different ways to portray it without doing the obvious. Then all of a sudden, I decided to make “independence complex” into a tattoo on my left arm. The reason behind that was because a tattoo becomes a part of the person. In addition, usually when you first meet someone you shake hands with the person, so I wanted to make this as a warning sign for people to see when shaking hands (“oh he has an independence complex, I better stay away from him”). The reason why I put the tattoo on the left arm, as opposed the right, is because the veins in the left arm are the main veins that go right to the heart. In order to make the text have tattoo feel on the picture of my arm, I played with the blending mode along with brightness/contrast, curves, levels, and the burn/dodge tools.

Next, I wanted to add a list of reasons why I like being single, so I put the text behind my arm with an opacity of 56 percent to make it deconstructive. In addition, I overlapped “sidenote: people who want to date me, beware of my” (which I made red so that it could stand out more) over the list to make it more deconstructive. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed making this piece and taking a different approach to the project.

Sanchez Dating Final

So..at first I struggled to come up with an idea for this project.  I was initially going to create a flow chart that started with, "So you met a guy..." and flow from there.  Then, as I was generating questions and potential boxes for this flowchart, I realized that I couldn't stop thinking about Denzel Washington. This is not a usual or by any means constant topic on my mind, but I had just seen the movie Flight the night before.  I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all: Wait for the DVD or On-Demand...Pretttttty slow plot in Flight.. We get it, you're a self-loathing alcoholic and shit's not easy.  I left feeling like I could've spent that whopping $12 on something more worth it.  But I digress...There is just something about that look in Denzel's eye....that tone of his voice...that sexy fucking smile....and that damn Confidence that JUST. GETS TO ME.  Like, dang D...take what's yours my man.  Anywho, so I was lounging about on the couch much like the figure in the first image, when I decided to make a little comic about my process.  And here we are.

Emily Ryan - Artist Lecture

For this portion of class I chose to go to see the artist David Dunlap. Unfortunately, he was running extremely late for the lecture, about an hour, and I had to leave before he arrived. What I had learned about him before I, and most of the people there left, was that he is an artist that enjoys the documentation of his life and his art. The phrases that stuck out to me when one of his colleagues was speaking of him were that his work features honest typography, and has no clear beginning or end but still works chronologically. He is concerned with small details with an Andy Warhol like obsessiveness.  He scrutinizes and documents the world with small drawings and scribbling.  He is a walnut farmer. He keeps journals and notebooks and continuously documents. He seemed like a very interesting person and artist, it was a shame I wasn’t able to hear and meet him.  He reminds me that I also need to make sure I make note of significant (or not significant) things in my daily life, that can in the future inspire me or make me smile in remembrance.

Reading Response 3

This last section is similar to the first two as it is an assortment of different ways of thinking, but it is different with the more hands on, "get down to it" approach. One of the first ideas given, sprinting, is all about getting a bunch of little different ideas down on paper as fast as possible and then going back and picking any good ones out to incorporate into the project. this method is basically how I work most of the time and usually works for me.

The branding section of this was also very interesting to me as I am a huge fan of all things branding. I love the way a brand flows from medium to medium. If I product has been branded well, I can't help myself. With my love of branding however, it is one thing that I am dreadful at. For some reason consistency in design has always been a struggle for me, when creating a set of pieces or even the times I have dabbled in packaging design. But this section is definitely one I will be bookmarking and coming back to in the future.

As a whole the book was really well done with exactly what I needed from it without being overly preachy or one directional. I would absolutely recommend this book to any fellow designers especially those having trouble with ideas.

Reading Response 2

I really enjoyed this section of the book and I imagine I will be returning to it at some point. The title of this section is How to Get Ideas, but reads to me as, "What to do if You're Stuck". The section is just a list of different ways to go about solving your design problem and examples to go along with them. Most of the examples are really cool and interesting, helping to really drive the point home and  show how the different methods actually work. Some of my favorites are the Everything from Everywhere and the Visual Diary. I think as a designer it is dangerous to go about a problem in only one way and in only one angle. It also helps when working on an idea to take a step back and take a break from the idea to come back later with a fresh state of mind. working on multiple ideas can help to be that break. It also allows for other ideas, possibly better ideas, to incorporate themselves from both pieces, helping to better both. The fact that the book has so many different ideas and methods to work with, the amount of examples really help to nail down multiple different ideas for a piece.

This section was absolutely beneficial if for nothing else to give examples of beautiful design works by professionals in the industry. But of course the section was much more helpful and could be a useful tool in the future.

Reading Response 1

This has absolutely been one of the better graphic design books i've been introduced to. Most books that I've been in contact with have told me how to go about designing and ways of designing, but to me this  never made a whole lot of sense as designing is all about having different and new ideas and expressing those ideas in the way you see fit, not how some books tells you to. So instead of telling you how to design, the book goes though different methods of brainstorming and thinking about the problem, leaving it up to you to decide how to tackle the problem.

The only problem with this book I can see so far is me. Ive never been much for brainstorming and I love to start a design work head on immediately roughing out a design in illustrator or on paper.  I'm not saying i'll never try these brainstorming techniques, I definitely will, especially when I am stuck or know immediate ideas come to mind. I am also aware that your first idea is usually not your best idea, and I often do multiple roughs for a single project, which in a way is my own sort of brainstorming.

Elizabeth Jefferson- Dating Strategy-Final

For this final project I struggled to figure out how to organize and represent my feelings about dating. In the beginning I did not initially know what direction that I wanted to go in and I had to do a lot of brainstorming. I started by looking at other students work to get inspiration but I still felt a little lost in creating ideas for this project. I started by sitting down and writing down some of the important dating rules that I like to follow in my personal dating life. I was having an argument over text message with my boyfriend during the time period that I was creating my poster, and I think that my mood and anger at the time influenced my poster. I was in a bad mood and it helped me make my poster turn out to be a little cynical and negative. My poster turned out to be about “how to not get you heart broken” because I was in a sassy mood. Overall I am happy about how my poster came out however I am not normally that cynical about love and relationships.  

Watson Final

Alexandra A+D Gallery Visit

Art Directors Club Annual Awards Exhibition

For this assignment I went to the Art Directors Club Exhibition at the A+D Gallery located on 619 S. Wabash Ave within Columbia College campus. It was my first time attend this showcase and I was very impressed with the work featured there. All of the design work were generally ads or commerical design work that took on a different dimension in communicating the brand or message of the product. The design work that stood out to me the most was executed for MT Masking Tape company in Japan. Instead of creating ads or even a digitial campaign, the agency decided to create an experience for their target audience by creating a graphic landscape using the product itself. In the first picture there are several shots that reveal how the tape was used to engage the audience. The decorative tape was used to transform spaces such as trains, a pier and even the exterior of a car. This communicates strongly to prospective consumers that MT Masking Tape could bring any object or location to life with its' vivid patterns and textures. Through viewing this work, it definitely broaden my perspective on the types of mediums I could use for future design work.

Emily Ryan - Dating Strategy - Final

For this final dating strategy project, I wasn't initially sure which direction I wanted to go. I thought about how my own personal dating style I feel is pretty indefinable, and that I haven't had any experiences that were truly traumatizing yet, knock on wood. So I did some research online about dating nightmares and came across some pretty hilarious stories. It got me thinking about the insane things people do when they are dating, and somehow I got on the idea of Disney Princesses. Honestly I think that came completely out of left field, but I went with it. I thought... "What did those princes really do to make those princesses fall in love with them??" And I chose some semi realistic ideas, and some outlandish ones for some humor and balance. This poster follows a few guidelines I set for it. First, the 'dating strategy' for each individual princess is listed in chronological order from when they were made. Second, each color and font also corresponds with the individual princess. It is geometric, because I did want to be able to convey the message clearly, but while also being expressive with typography. I was going for something humorous with this project, because in my own opinion, you should have fun and you can't take dating too, too seriously!

Michael Mikho_ Food is Love

Weiss_Zelda_Performance

Grant Weiss

GD300

11/4/12

Zelda The Symphony of Goddesses:

An inside eye

Front and slightly to the left of the stage we sat for what was soon to be the show of my life. As the curtain raised the 138-chair orchestra and full choir was revealed in perfect luminance with regard to contrast and balance. The lights above the stage conformed together creating entire light spectrums. All of this just to ensure the balance of the overall Hogue of the stage itself. As I was sitting there only gazing at the stage, before the performance even had started, I only found myself thinking of my brother and our childhood’s growing up together, playing this game. And now it was in front of me. It was real, an actual document of performance! Soon after my eyes would not stop watering, and I noticed that I was crying. So this was more than just a performance; artistically it was beyond incredible.

            Behind the performers was a video screen the size of the massive Chicago Theater stage. On this screen Zelda was played from the 16-bit start to finish.

Scored completely in time with the live performance happening inches in front of the screen. Therefore the quality of art was amazing. When taking criteria we learned from class such as integration, geometric, and deconstructive into consideration watching this performance, I could correlate all of it to the visual game performance.

            The visualizer carried on with the performance-depicting Link (Zelda) fighting through the worlds of pixels. It is a very geometric world, only using basic graphics to define most environments. And of course characters. Link himself is composed of rough rectangles and squares which are easily notable to the eye as he moves and tweens across the screen. This adds a sense of sincerity, and delight to the performance. A quality that is tough to find these days. We can also apply integration when thinking of the actual performers and their juxtaposition with the visuals of Zelda in the background. The performers and conductor are perfectly in time with all of the elements of the performance, lights, sound, and visual. Thus creating balance within the score. And not only balance but an actual tangible real life expression and representation, of what is playing on the screen. Which is a perfect juxtaposition of emotional and visual stimulation for the viewers. When taking deconstructive qualities into consideration we see lots of overlap, screen shaking, and disorientation. Textures in the game are clearly rendered well but it is 16-bit. So textures in the game are overlapped to create shading and depth to the wireframe of the game. But that is passed over by the viewer as the screen shakes when Link is in trembling terror evoking more emotion, putting the viewer in Links disoriented shoes!

Absolutely conceptually amazing! All of this plus a one time performance with one of the world’s most renowned orchestras, (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), was second to none and an unforgettable experience. It was refreshing to see material I was learning in class that could be conceptually applied to something like a performance, as I am a musician myself. With out a doubt the single most impressive, thought provoking, emotional experience I have ever had.

Emily Ryan - Dating Project - 2nd Version

Leung - Dating Final

Clark Final

Chels Henshaw: Final Dating Identity

For the Dating Identity Project, I created three pieces that are meant to be viewed as a triptych. Each of the pieces contain a set of two opposite characteristics. The positioning of the text illustrates the characteristic that I prefer in a relationship. Each piece reads as follows: “Brains over Braun,” “Ambition over Apathy,” and “Crazy over Calm.” These medium for these pieces is digital projection. The specific subject of each piece is the text. The secondary subjects are the lines that are positioned in the center of pieces and fade from black to gray. The simplicity of these images strengthen the message that I was trying to convey with these pieces. In addition, the repetition of each piece and geometric design structure help to reinforce my intention to create a piece that reflects the honest and concise nature that I possess in relationships.

This work is quite straightforward. I felt that this style was only fitting for this project because I tend to be quite candid when in a relationship. I do not filter my thoughts and this makes for an uncomplicated relationship. I feel that the most efficient method to display my thoughts on relationships would be to strip the meaning behind my project to the most basic elements. Therefore, instead of illustrating the characteristics, I choose to solely use type and modify the position and color of the word to create emphasis on the characteristic that I prefer. Further, in order to convey the hierarchy of these characteristics, I simply used a series of bars that faded in color to divide the page. 

The inspiration that I drew for this project was from a past experience where my blunt nature caused more harm than good. Although this experience bummed me out for a minute, I can look back now without regret because I was completely upfront with all my thoughts. I feel that this is why I opted to remain true to my honest roots and create a piece with an uncomplicated design approach that mimics my approach to relationships. 

The subtext that emerges from this piece came in the form of levels. Visually, as each piece is lined up next to each other, a set of steps emerges from blended lines on each image. As cliché as it sounds, I feel that all of the posters together signify all the steps that one would need to climb to hypothetically “get to my heart.” The subtext that is derived from the combination of these poster intrigues me, and I feel that although originally unintentional, the levels that are created added a bit more complexity to my simple pieces. 

I feel that this project is successful because it completely encompasses my personality and further, my demeanor when I am in a relationship. One of the strengths of this project was the typeface that I chose. I have been wanting to use this beautiful typeface for quite some time, and finally the right project came around! One of the weaknesses of this project would have to be rooted in the challenge to position the text correctly. Many of the projects that I have created for this class have been heavily based in illustrations. I really enjoyed creating a piece that was simpler. I feel that this piece is just as effective as my previous pieces, and it was fun to explore a different approach to design.

Fane Final