In2 Another Journey

My Green Apple

I didn't know that green apples can last a long time

Good morning ☀ 

On Thursday I felt lost, scared, and confused.  Why am I in the design program?  The question exploded within me during our final project.  What is it that I like about the program that I want to promote it in my video?  One of my classmate's asked me to say the reason on his video... why, how come, what is it?  When Prof. Jimmy asked us what was the difference between design and art... most of us were unsure, and I realized that I was in BIG trouble.  That evening, instead of writing on my blog, I did some research.  I went to google and typed each word of our program: What is Graphic?  What is Design? What is Visual?  What is Communication?  Then I paired them, What is Graphic Design? What is Visual Communication?  It may seem like a no brainer, but to me this research saved me.  I no longer feel lost, scared, and confused.  I noticed that the more I learn and experience about this major it feeds me with confidence.  I even posted a couple of links of the AIGA that I found really helpful on my class facebook group.  My professor mentioned, "Design creates what isn't. Imagine, re-imagine, create new."          

I'm now looking forward to the next quarter... or should I say, into another journey ^_Ő/  

Golden Adjectives

1.) Green: Secondary color created when the two primary colors of yellow and blue are mixed.  Color also represents nature and energy. 

2.) Thrifty: To wisely use money and other values.

3.) Superfluous: Unnecessary. 

P.S.

I took the pic. this morning... this is the same apple that my prof. gave me on the first day of class ^_~

Balance b/w Work & Hobby

Prof. Jimmy drew this... What if

♧ Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

What stood out to me most on Tuesday was when Prof. Jimmy said that computers are hypnotizing.  He even said that the computer is not the design, they're for making... and that hours disappear when we're in front of the screen.  This is sooo true ***^0^*** I remember the first time I had to write on my blog, hours did go by because I was thinking too much what to put since anyone will have access to read it.  I deleted words, sentences, even paragraphs ~_^  I realized that I don't write freely, and that I should stop... I'm like a flying bug that gets attracted to the light >_<  Nevertheless, I'm impressed with how much I have grown with this class.  I have gained some self-confidence in this new major after being so intimidated.  I have been involved with the GAUGE club and I did make new friends \^_~/\^_^/\Ö_~\  

Prof. Jimmy showed us the famous Modern Dog website, which are the ones who designed the poster of the penguin wearing a gangster $ necklace with a fairytale-like background.  I learned that they ❤ making posters, but in order to continue to make them, they need $$$  Therefore, they must do other *work* in order to get the money to have *fun* by creating their worldwide known posters.  I know I'm going to be in a very similar situation.  I'll probably won't get paid for my graphic novels, so I'm most likely to be a freelancer, but that's not going to feed me.  

Golden Adjectives

1.) Shrewd: Smart, astute, clever, fair at judging

2.) Jaded: Lack of enthusiasm, bored, tired, mainly when not interested when dealing with something 

3.) Providential: Opportunity, lucky/fortunate "perfect timing"

Imagine_What if...

Good evening ^_~/ ✯

Yesterday we played a game in which we all had to ask a, "What if?"  Prof. Jimmy's question was, "What if time wasn't linear?" The purpose of the game was for our creative minds not to be locked.  It was to help us become brave by freeing our ideas, whether they are good or not.  Some of my classmates asked:
What if there was no gravity? What if we had eyes at the back of our heads? What if we were inside out? What if everyone saw the same colors differently? What if there was a female U.S. president? What if our destiny's are already written? (We either worry or not worry about our futures) What if oil stops running tomorrow? What if space was God's heart? What if we didn't have thumbs? What if there were no country boarders? What if we lived in Pangea? What if education was free? What if there was no sexual identity? What if 9/11 never happened? What if...

Is a list of unlimited questions, just like with numbers... they just keep going on and on, what if they were to stop?  My what if was, what if there were no religions? (Would people believe only in science?) At the start of the game I felt intimidated because I didn't want to ask a silly question.  However, I don't think there can be any silly what if's, because any of its questions can lead us to imagine otherwise.  In other words, we approach them in different perspectives.      




Golden adjectives:

1.) Imaginative: Dreamy, creative, inventing

2.) Silly: Lack of common sense, foolish

3.) Permissive: Provide permission, tolerant

German Shepherds Team_V.C.

Today we learned about the importance of visual communication.  I must've looked into the future on a crystal ball... because last evening I was watching a few YouTube videos based on the topic ^o^ Ahahah!!! We learned through another fun activity how to solve a a problem as a team.  The class was divided into two equally groups, half of the ladies and half of the gentlemen had to be on a team.  There were fourteen ladies and ten gentlemen present in class.  Prof. Jimmy then introduced us to a set of numbers in the following order: 
                             1
                             10
                             11
                             100

The problem was to figure out what number was next.  One of my classmate's multiplied the given 10 by itself to get 100, and suggested 121 to be the next number after multiplying the given 11 by itself.  His solution was very logical, but I mentioned that the "2" breaks the pattern of the 1s and the 0s.  My team and I then concentrated on the following number to continue with the pattern.  I noticed that the first column is a continuos 1, and the second column has a pattern of a 0, 1, 0... so it made sense for the next digit to be a 1.  Then I noticed that the third column starts with a 0, and added the 1 to continue with the pattern from the second column: 0,1.  Therefore, 111 came to be our solution ☚⎯ ^_Ő/✌  

However, the third column could've continued with 0s, by following the pattern of the first column, but the numbers wouldn't continue to increase.  If it were to be a 0, then the solution would've been 110, but the number after that would go back to 100.  I believe that the set of numbers is designed in this form to state that the first column must be a 1, as it has four rows providing the same digit.  In contrast, the third column is vaguely limited to a single digit, but by understanding its pattern it can grow.  One of my friends had to represent the entire team by explaining our solution on the board.  We were called the German Shepherds because our prof. asked her for her favorite animal, and she replied by saying that she likes dogs... & her favorite breed is the name of our team Ö_~


The importance of visual communication is to get to the point in a simple and clear manner.  According to "The Power of Images and Symbols," one of the YouTube videos that I saw yesterday, the power of images and symbols: can tell a story, stimulate our minds, engage us to read, guide us to interpret... and so on.  Prof. Jimmy demonstrated that a word is not read as a set of letters, but as a shape, a symbol.  The word is interpreted by its shape of the outline.  He said that's what we're going to be learning in Letterform, which I'll be taking next quarter ^_~/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aThOZNFrCEM


Most of us had so much fun.  I had more fun than on Game Day, mainly because I was interacting with more classmates'.  Some of us were taking pictures and/or recording to use some of these moments for our final project.  My group was incredibly energetic, and I'm usually quiet... but, I suggested for my group to sing "Happy B-day" to my friend Angelica (the girl wearing the Batman sweatshirt)  \^O^/ LOL!!!  Due to her request, I didn't record my group singing... but I saw one of my classmate's from the Foxes group recording ¬_¬ ✧


Also, today's sign in sheet was special, as we had to include a word besides signing in. No wonder the sheet took a long time to get to my side of the room ~_Ò'  I was told to put a word for how I felt, and I was feeling happy, so I even drew a similar emoticon ^_^ The instructions were incorrect, because we were supposed to write an adjective and not repeat it... but many of us wrote how we felt, and a few of us wrote "happy."  Now I know why someone wrote "punctual" '^,~\  


Goodnight Ladies & Gentlemen ^.^ zzZ
     

      



Golden Adjectives:

1.) Happy: Feeling cheerful.

2.) Punctual: Meeting deadlines, to be on time.

3.) Logical: To think reasonably, clearly, rationally.

Y 19 Min's?

Good evening ✬  

On Thursday we learned why talks last 19 minutes.  Prof. Jimmy showed us two videos on John Maeda from the TED Talk show, which stands for Technology Entertainment Design. My friend Joe researched for its definition & told the class.  Prof. Jimmy confirmed that it's been proved that the audience will be attentive to a talk for up to 19 minutes, and after that time limit the audience will lose interest.  A classmate, who sits to my left, asked why movies last over an hour then.  He highlighted a good point, and I mentioned that cartoon episodes last 20 min's (approximation).  However, I didn't answer his question.  I mentioned cartoon ep's because it made sense for its duration purpose (not including commercials).  That explains why episodes in most t.v. shows last around 19-20 min's, they obviously want the audience to finish watching the episode that's being aired Ö_~    


We also learned a little history about the show.  Prof. Jimmy told us that a woman around his age, Maria (he couldn't recall her last name), but he mentioned that she was an innovative designer, and that the man who took a chance on her is none other than the one who created the TED Talk, his name is Richard Saul Wurman or "Ricky."  Nonetheless, Wurman must have seen potential in Maria as a designer, or else he wouldn't have given her the opportunity of her life.  Indeed, she didn't let him down as she was able to grow the Hot Studio in San Francisco, which has become very successful thanks to her outstanding work ^_Ő/  We then moved on to Maeda's talks.   


The first talk was about, John Maeda on the Simple Life.  He mentioned and showed visuals to prove that simplicity is important; for instance; the importance for having simple road signs.   However, that as human beings we l♥ve complexity; we would rather see a dynamic sky ☁☀ compared to a plain one.  It was interesting when he noticed a similarity set of letters in the words: SIMPLICITY and COMPLEXITY, the paint that he invented, and the Al Gore-like-graph that he demonstrated.  I don't want to spoil it; therefore, I recommend for all you to watch the videos.  They're less than 19 min's ^0^ LOL!!!  He also wrote a book by including ten laws and three keys based on simplicity.  I was curious on his book, so I checked on Amazon, and found out that it's around ten dollars... which is a great deal because that's about the price for a meal at a fast food restaurant ^_~  According to Maeda, "Simplicity is about living life with more enjoyment and less pain."  That's how I want to live my life, because life is so unpredictable that I may be gone in a blink of an eye  ~_^  I wouldn't want to depart from this lifetime by not having enjoyed it.  Life is a miracle and time is a gift ✌\^_^/✌


The second talk was about, John Maeda on His Journey in Design. I'm actually relieved that we got to see it, because when Prof. Jimmy asked us if we wanted to see another of Maeda's videos or work on our final project... I wanted to work on my final project '^,~\ However, almost the entire class wanted to see another video, which was better because I wasn't approaching a "specific" audience for my project.  I was watching Maeda's talk while scribbling ideas for my project video.  His second talk gave me hope in the design field.  I was surprised when he said that he was bad in design, and that he figured it out when he read Paul Rand's book, Thoughts on Design.  I'm planning on reading it during my spring break, if I can check it out from a library, since this book leaks out from my budget, and it must be another version because it wasn't red like the one that Maeda showed us.  I admired when he mentioned that although he's a technologist, he doesn't really like technology, and wants the world to be less technological and more humane.  I share the same intentions, because I don't want this world to be lost to a robotic system ***^o^***      


These are the links of the two videos:  
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/john_maeda_on_the_simple_life.html (16 min's)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/john_maeda_on_design.html (17 min's) 




GOLDEN Adjectives

1.) Fortuitous: Event caused by coincidence or destiny.

2.) Contrite: To regret serious past mistakes.

3.) Intricate: Complicated, tangled.

Course Summary

Good evening ladies & gentlemen ^_~/ ✪

On Tuesday we recollected the topics that we have covered during the quarter.  The topics were: perception, brainstorming, sensation, game v. test, teamwork, critical reflection, mapping, methodology, storytelling, communication, presentation skills, critical evaluation, judging, storyboarding, visual interpretation, visual literacy, project briefing, emotional motivation, descriptive language, creative process, be fearless, punctuality-professionalism, networking, critique and its purpose.  Prof. Jimmy mentioned that these were only about half of what we've covered, but we were good with what we had.  I had mentioned socialism/socialize, but I learned that both share the same meaning '^,~\  I thought that networking was more related to the internet (such as facebook), while socialism is live/face:face/personal (without the use of technology). Now I know •^_Ò•

However, that was only half of the class, and the rest was to work on our final projects. Almost all of us talked among each other to get feedback about our ideas.  I believe there were three large groups, and I joined the group that was in the front of the classroom.  I had so much fuuun in my group... as if it were another game day ^O^ LOL!!!  We were motivated to spill out our ideas, energetic when providing feedback, and relieved to understand how to approach our final project.  All of us were intimidated to start it because we were insecure to be going in the right direction, so we were engaged to listen to everyone's ideas.  In other words, the class covered some of the topics that we had just went over.  We used teamwork and communication in our groups.  My group covered brainstorming, storytelling, judging, emotional motivation, and networking.  My topic for the video is to be brave/fearless to pursue our creative program.  One of my classmate's encouraged me to appear in my own video, since I want to approach my target audience to relate to my own experience.  I'm thinking of doing a short action, and do a voice over Ö_~  Some of us even volunteered to appear in the video of our group members... we became that friendly /^_Ő/\Ö_~/\^_Ô/\^_^\ 

Golden Adjectives:

1.) Innovative: Bringing forward fresh ideas.  Unique and creative thinker.

2.) Servile: Helping others without expecting anything in return, as in helping a friend.

3.) Spritely: Feeling and behaving lively/animated, causing others to feel the same positive effect(s).   

      

           

Philosophical Pieces

Good afternoon ☀

On Thursday we talked about the philosophy of our class.  Google defines philosophy in two ways: 1.) The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, esp. when considered as an academic discipline.  2.) A set of views and theories of a particular philosopher concerning such study or an aspect of it.  The reason why our class revolves around philosophy, is because there is no right or wrong answer in Concept Development.  Some of my classmates mentioned that they've never had a class like this one before, where they're uncertain if they're doing well in the class or not as they do the assignments but not get a grade in return.  I can relate, but I believe that as long as we complete them, we're earning the points to pass the class.  Also, I see each assignment/project as puzzle pieces.  Our mission is to understand the concept for every piece as best as possible.  In addition, the more pieces we collect they'll help to develop our creative minds as we complete our puzzles.  Furthermore, everyone's pieces is different.  Hmmm... how could I explain it.  I picture every puzzle as our own perspective to solving the problem that it's been given, and we all have different perspectives; therefore, even if we all complete our puzzles, they will all differ... but, based on the same concept.  In conclusion, Prof. Jimmy gave us our final piece to complete our puzzles.  It would be a one minute video, uploaded on YouTube, which culminates our demonstration of what we can do based on the BIG idea/concept during our journey.  In other words, we have to show it off to our audience.  We also have to create a postcard that includes the URL to promote the video and its content.  I'm fascinated to create my own postcard and video, even though I'm not sure yet what my contents will be '^,~\              


       


Golden Adjectives:

1.) Philosophical: Rational, knowledgeable, open minded.

2.) Exhuberant: Over filled with positive energy and excitement.

3.) Assertive: Confident, direct, decisive, and strong-willed behavior.