Sustainable Design

On November 18th, 2009, Nathan Shedroff came to speak about 'sustainable design'. He led with Design being the problem in sustainable design, because naturally, as designers we create for the future. We create that desire to have something new, with new features and styling. Thus this creates a huge waste problem, and we are unable as a nation, and society to responsibly get rid of this 'out-dated' equipment.

As an emerging artist/designer, this is a major concern to me, and from what I hear a lot of other designers. Our job as the next generation of designers is to take into account the fickle society we live in. When things become useless we discard fervently, just as when something we perceive as new and 'in' we feverishly try to buy it.

In our industrialized nation there are no more connections between objects and owners. I think this will be a step towards a more sustainable society--bringing the connection with an object and its owner back.

Head over to: Nathan's World for more information!

Designing on a budget

As a college student, I think one part of being a student is being broke--or close to it. This is, however, a good thing at times and a bad thing at other times. When I finally transfered to the University, I was confronted with the dilemma of living with a roommate and having half the living space. I knew I would need a desk, a bed, closet space and just room to move around. The entire room was around 14.5' x 11', my roommate had already moved in and took most of the space with his desk and bed. Long story shot, I got the shaft.

So to recap, we both had full-size bed (approx 6' x 4.5' times 2) and one desk. Thats already 54 sq ft. taken of 159.5 sq ft. that leaves 105.5 sq ft. for two desks and room to navigate around. In a moment of clarity, I began drawing plans up for a full-size loft. Generally, lofts made by major manufactures run upwards of $400.00USD to $500.00USD, without the ability to personalize it. All in all when the project was completed it cost me around $150.00 to $200.00USD. Not to mention that the loft was build by me, for me, but I was able to add things to accommodate my situation.

I should have an instructable up with in the week, but the process is rather simple and straight forward. This was a fun project and learning experience. Not to mention that I am benefiting from building for my own needs, I used most of the scraps for miscellaneous parts, like the ladder. I'll update this when the instructable is up. For now enjoy a few photos, and if you want, try it out for yourself by heading to instructables to get an idea of how to start designing basic furniture on the cheap!

The EyeWriter

While, browsing a website I frequent, I came upon the "eyeWriter". This device enables paraplegic people to 'draw' or 'design' with just they eye. The amazing device can be made under $50.00USD and paired with open-source software (free, but contributions welcomed). This tool was brought to reality by a group of people, mostly graffiti artists:

TemptOne
Graffiti Research Lab
openFrameworks
The Ebeling Group
FAT Lab
Zach Lieberman
James Powderly
Evan Roth
Chris Sugrue
Theo Watson
Keith Pasko
LM4K
Eleanor Dunk
Jamie Wilkinson
Greg Leuch

The program isn't a pixel based drawing software, like Photoshop or The Gimp, but rather a vector based--or something like that--software, like Illustrator or Inkscape.

The EyeWriter is allowing artists who have thought they lost the ability to create with normal means, by utilizing an ir (infra-red) led and a PS3 EyeToy and a few miscellaneous items. It would seem as though the difficulty in constructing a pair isn't hard either, basic soldering skills are needed at most.

Check out: The EyeWriter

and this video of it in action:

Vibrating boundaries

Josef Albers discusses the Interaction of Color and how it is perceived by humans. His book utilizes paper diagrams to help emphasize theory. The basic theory of 'Vibrating Boundaries' is when complementary colors are placed on top of each other they tend to 'vibrate'. This is because the colors help emphasize each other.

As you can see by the example to the right, the cyan text and the objects seem as though they are popping out of the red field.

This theory can be used in a quick design where attention is needed to be drawn. The harshness of complementary colors applied on top of each other naturally draws the eye to it. However, as a designer we must be aware of this and avoid it as it is not necessarily the best tool to gain attention.

Escher

M.C. Escher

We have all seen the works of M.C. Escher. Whether it be in a classroom or a book, you have to appreciate the ability for Escher to play with the figure/ground to create shapes and images. The seemingly unstable image should been seen as a bistable image, that can reflect both a set of black birds and a set of white birds.

Escher has an ability for creating illusions of space. Are the birds black or are they white? A seemingly novel trick, this ability is useful for many graphic artist and designers today. Understanding the properties of Gestalt, is like learning to use your hands to draw.

Even if you did not understand the properties of Gestalt, you probably know them without even knowing it. We use them everyday as designers and artists.


Image courtesy of http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/2000_tsur03.shtml

Simple Designs

1" Grid Design.

As a designer, there are basic projects we all must do. This 1"grid design was one of those I had to do. Initially the design was in black and white, but for another project I added the color. Here there is a great deal of rhythm, pattern, shape and line. The smaller shapes unify to create bigger shapes. There seems to be an unstable relationship with the colors and shapes. The purple seems to come forward in the mush of red and yellow, but at the same time the red and yellow are fighting to come to the foreground. There is even a sense of good continuation with some of the sphere shapes.


Even with the simplest of projects, the outcome can be very complex.

Annie's Blue Jeans

Annie's Blue Jeans

79" x 82"

Made from Annie Ruth Collin's old blue jeans tapestry fabric, cotton fabric, cotton velvet, hand dyed wide-wale cotton corduroy, cotton batting and muslin.

Hand quilted by Mensie Pettway of Gee Bend Alabama.

Looking at 'Annie's Blue Jeans' quilt, the usage of line, shape, value, and some rhythm are apparent. Initially, the inner square holds a sense of balance and scale. Each square within this inner square is a solid color which makes it stand out from the shades of blue. The inner square becomes a sort of focal point for the viewer.

Pettway makes good use of line and repetition. There is some rhythm to the entire peace, as each 'ring' of the quilt flows from one to the other, there are no abrupt stops. Shades of blue leading to the climax, the inner square.

The texture reflects the materials used--Blue Jeans.

Pettway takes an age old tradition of quilt making, and brings it back to its roots in a time where quilts are typically made from bought fabrics, not old unused clothing, fabric and other things.

If you would like to see the full gallery of quilt collections, and you are in the Davis, CA area, head over to the Nelson Art Gallery located in UC Davis.