Blog #6

• In an interconnected world, what are the limitations of design when cultural, political, economic biological and environmental systems are increasingly open?

As all of these systems become increasingly open and recognized by people, one of the limitations we have as designers is reaching a larger audience. In this information age, where its so much easier for anyone to learn about so many different cultures and become informed, it becomes harder to narrow down audiences in design. 50 or so years ago, if you were to try to target an audience of 18-24 year old men in America, you would be able to generalize what would appeal to them much more than you would today. As all of these systems become more open, we become more limited in who we can target and still create succinct design.

• Does new media present the “new” direction for design? Describe how new media does or does not present “new “ directions in design and provide an examples (links or screen grabs) to support your assertion.

I think this depends on how new “new direction for design” is. Right now, as was said in the reading, people demand information to be quick and easy because we face information overload these days. For a person to read a book now is much less common than before with the advent of YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, text messaging, and the like. These new forms of media communication have absolutely presented new directions in design. Not too long ago, NPR was talking about how a new Panic! at the Disco music video was made to cater more towards small screens such as the iPhone and low resolution video such as YouTube. In the video, there are many more close-up shots and high contrast imagery that will be clear on these small, low-res screens. They went on to describe how much of a change this was compared to something like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, which featured very dark, low contrast imagery and wider shots overall. When you look at this video on an iPhone or on YouTube, you can barely tell what’s going on. This trend of designing for these new mediums will no doubt continue as the iPhone and other similar mediums become standard.

• Is it time for designers to reintegrate disparate fields in order to consider new directions in design? Give examples (with links or screen grabs) of some new ways that design might be considered. These do not have to be existing ways, just ways that might yield some new and interesting results.

The idea of bringing ideas and styles from different fields together can be seen in many ways already. For instance, many web sites try to make videos that are very similar in style to television (such as this site) to give users information in a way that has been long established and that they’re used to seeing. Another example of this is podcasting; it’s essentially bringing talk radio to the web. I think an interesting application of this idea would be to turn the tables on what’s been done already and bring interactivity to a medium such as television. Bringing a non-interactive medium such as television or radio to the web to allow for interaction seems like a natural progression, but I think doing the reverse would be even more revolutionary.

• What is the next “big thing in design”? Why do you think so and based on what criteria? Provide examples to support your assertion.

I think the next big thing in design is going to be completely eliminating physical, tangible medium. The iPhone is a perfect example of the success and ease in dissemination of new media. Now anyone can make and post an app on the iTunes App Store and can become an instant success because of how fast their app can spread. The video game industry is taking a similar path and is taking steps towards eliminating games being released on discs in stores and distributing them online only. I think this could happen for almost every physical medium out there now. Not too long ago, a school district in Florida went completely paperless, so now all of their text is distributed digitally. I think that the next big thing is designing for non-physical mediums exclusively.