My Inspiration…

Carlene Frances' Color Field-6 is the first image that comes to mind. I like her use of expressive and complementary colors. Her style reminds me of Rothko’s mystical paintings. As we discussed earlier in class: a work of art has a “good” design if it leaves you speechless.
http://www.carlenefrances.com/Carlene_Frances_|_Artist/Field_of_Color_Series.html

The Pollock Expo in MoMa tv spot is another source of inspiration. It is an animation that emphasizes the dynamism of action painting. The first time I watched this video I felt like exploring a new world--it keeps you engaged from beginning to end. In the future, I’d love to experiment with ink effects and liquid animation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ6bu0_txoU

I am also interested in Web Design and Interactive Media. I admire the work of John Maeda and his interest in the combination of art/design and technology.
http://www.maedastudio.com/index.php

Inspiration, ahoy

When I look around me, the entire world seems to be bright and full of things that are worthy of notice. I think that creating art is a way of adding more interest to our lives, and design even more so. The way things are designed can effect the way that people see the world around them. The way we adorn ourselves, the way we decorate our rooms, the purchases we make, the books we read, the movies we watch...All of these things are impacted by design, whether or not we consciously realise it. 

That being said, I know that the point here is to highlight specifics that inspire us. To that end, my first choice is the introduction to the television show "Carnivale" seen here. The entire piece works together perfectly, from the colour to the graphics to the music and typography. The way the scene seamlessly fades from illustration to photograph and back again, and how space is used to make 2D images seem as though they have depth is simply amazing. 

A designer whom I admire is named Antonio Cerriteno, and part of why I admire him is his versatility of style while still having the same 'feel' to the pieces. The contrast between dark and light, the use of bold colours and designs, and the overall crisp feeling that he engenders makes me want to push my skills to where I can do things like that, and more.

Finally, a more traditional artist. I have followed her work and her life for many years now (thanks to the wonders of blogging), and she is walking inspiration. Not only do I enjoy her artwork, which is off beat and usually amusing, but as a person she is witty and focused and truly loves to create. She takes her ideas and applies them to life, whether it be the soap labels designed, the "Lol Wut" pear that now roams the internet, or the surprising outcome of becoming a childrens' author. Each piece of art has a story, a meaning, and often times there are amusing anecdotes for them all. Her vivacity just makes me want to create - whether it's design, painting, animation. An example of her work.

Mike Baker's "What gets me goin'" Post

I would say the focus of what I want to design is interactive design. This is probably because I've been playing video games for my whole life and I'm pretty interested and passionate about them. Sometimes in the more normal sense of, "Man, this game totally rocks, you get to kill zombies!" However, more recently I've been much more interested in games that are trying to do something more than that. Last year, this game came out called Braid for Xbox Live Arcade. On the surface, it doesn't look like anything particularly special; sure, it has a nice art style and it plays like a classic platforming game with some puzzle solving thrown into the mix. It's the ending that I think did something really special in interactive design, particularly in video games that I've rarely seen done in a video game. Without ruining the whole thing, I'll just say that the narrative being told in the ending is actually told through the player's actions. In most games, narrative and story is not something that is truly interactive, and in fact is usually not interactive at all. You sit back and watch the story unfold. This is what really struck me about Braid, and it's why I'd recommend it to anyone in class that has an Xbox 360.

Another game on Xbox Live Arcade that I wanna mention is Castle Crashers. This game didn't really elicit the same reaction that Braid did for me, but it is a really fun game overall. Why I want to mention it is because it was made by two guys that made the game became known through Newgrounds, a website for all things Flash. This game kind of gave me hope that anyone can "make it" in this industry if they make a quality product, even if all they did was use Flash to make it. They didn't have to have any fancy computer programming that a lot of games have, and they made one of the most popular games on Xbox Live Arcade.

The last game I'll talk about is a game called Passage. It was made by one guy and is a game about the passage of life. I don't think it was really successful in it's attempt at interactive storytelling because the story was told even if the player never touched the keyboard. However, if it was played as it was intended to be played, I think it's a pretty unique game. You can download it for free here. It only takes a couple minutes to play, so give it a try.

Is this thing on?

If I had to narrow down my list of influences and inspiration to three, I guess I'd have to start with Everything2.com. It's basically wikipedia with a sense of humor and a certain literary bent. This is a particularly entertaining page RE: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.



Next, I'd have to speak of my affinity for technology, computers, shiny things, etc. I play video games, read blogs and check out youtube and whatnot. I recently came across this mac vs pc video. It's worth watching. And this is a good one discovered by Gerald last semester.

Lastly, I am quite a fan of Tool and their sort-of official artist Alex Grey. They both rule.

My Artistic Drive?

This was an interesting question to ask myself. I wasn't artistic as a kid, at least not in the sense of needing to visual express myself. I didn't even take an art class until my senior year of high school. I always thought that art was reserved for the super talented who possessed skills I just wasn't born with. It wasn't until I took my first digital media class, that I started to gain an appreciation for art, at least the stuff that existed within my computer screen. I was blown away by the complexity and freshness that graphic design seemed to possess. Later, I was introduced to motion graphics; I thought that was some of the coolest I had ever seen. It just adds more excitement and life to already cool looking designs. I love how crisp and original digital designs can be. Traditional Art can be sloppy and textured and chaotic but somehow, designs made on the computer look neat and professional, but can still give that same expression and feeling as a traditional piece. Good designs actually look like someone took the time to create them, not all art is that apparent. I love looking at old paintings and sculptures anywhere from the Greek Era, all the way up to the late 19th Century. Art seemed to work its way into everything back then. Anyways, this is the type of stuff I'm into. I love looking at crisp, funky, and exciting visuals that make me stop and wonder how the artist created it.  Applying art to realistic, useful objects is what design is all about for me. 

Poster DesignThis is a good example of the type of motion graphics which inspire me, GoMedia. 

Also, this is a site I've been visiting for years, it has a bunch of tutorials for different programs, and it stays up to date with new designs, Pixel2LIfe.

What drives me?

Well what drives me to design? Well first whenever I look or think about design I'm usually taken back to what brought me on this to this major in the first place which is a basis of graphic art, and comics. One of my favorites is the graphic artist Ian McConville of www.machall.com and www.3panelsoul.com. What draws me is the artistic talent in his style and design of each of the comics through the visual timing and the care that each panel is placed in (although not as prevalent in 3 panel soul as it is set up more in a consistant 3 panel style whereas MacHall he would change up the style).








Basically though I am really attracted to any sort of unusual illustrations/animations. One of which that I have recently found and seen as an inspiration is that of stop motion animation. I think I find this so inspiring is how much preliminary work goes into it in order to go smoothly. I found this video to be incredibly well designed although simple in a rather simple medium of stop motion with a white board.



The last of which is musc and much of the ways that it influences work and can change the mood of certain ads designs ect. I especially love seeing how songs are turned into different music videos and what the concepts behind them.

Insperation in design for me

A lot of things inspire me/move me. Not just one type of art or one kind of designer. Its hard for me to group the things that inspire me together cause there are so many different things that really do not go with each other at all. But individually they give me a type of motivation or feeling that nothing else does. These are a few images that when I look at just really make my mind work. But for others they might just be images. But hey this is about what moves me right? The images of the old school skateboard designs is what actually got me interested in art cause when I was I kid I always wanted to create similar images. this being my first desire to create stuff. And well the Vegas strip just puts me in awl no matter how many times I see it. the photo of the sunset is from a local New jersey Photographer. this image is what re sparked my interest in photography I also added a interview with graphic designer Chip Kidd. I researched him last semester and I just love his style.

Inspirations

I feel that my sources of inspiration for continuing my work originate from stories, specifically from three types of media that I feel have really been long lasting influences in my life.

The first being video games, simply put they not only are an amazing way to interact with the stories you are being told but in many cases create unique designs of their own. For example in this screen from the game Mirror's edge I identify the totalitarian feel of the colors used to sterilize the city and tell a story of oppression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgPMDe7D2Pg&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khfhN0rKMkU

Films are another media in which stories continue to inspire my work. I've always felt that stories portrayed through film can inspire not only my love of amazingly told stories but that said story could also be put into motion. The second video from Dark Knight particularly struck me recently because of the Jokers monologue on chaos and order. This is pertinent because as a designer sometimes it feels as if I need to introduce chaos as apposed to an established ideal.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/archive.html

The Brothers Grimm: Fairy Tales has been one of my favorite collection of stories. These stories to me feel timeless, whether it be one story with moral codes or just a form of old storytelling for entertainment. Because of this I've always wanted to modernize the stories and hope to do so in a future project that ties the moral codes/storytelling into a design or motion piece dealing with relevant topics/issues.

Top Three Influences Ever!!!!!

What influences artist/designer in my opinion comes down to their culture/upbringing; or atleast that what seems to be the constants that influence me

Family is my first and most substantial influence of what I design. I create characters based of my family, I create art first and foremost that i think they would enjoy, and I create and design to artistacally tell my families story, whether literal or abstract.


My second influence would be popular culture spcefically 1980's cartoons like Transformers, Thundercats, and GI Joe. Coming up I watched a lot of cartoons and these animations have influenced my work fundamental, even my life sadly enough has been skewed by simple cartoon "hero values" like GI Joes "Learning is half the battle."

Technology would be the final factor in what influences me. The want and desire for me to stay current and informed about the newest applications, techniques, and hardware feeds my thirst for knowledge. I love to learn new things.

I consider most of my taste to be stranger in nature. I like more indirect art or design or just things. I term of art and design the stranger it the more I tend to like it.The narrative of the piece also tends to draw me to it. Stories are what the world is all about.

One thing has caught me attention is the couple years are the Zune commercials. The fun and interesting. they almost loose the subject of the commercial in them, but I think thats what makes them unique. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J8_LxCqQBg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLpLpO2WeO0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewNLOFMPOfw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY3Fvh3STSo

Anther is this group I found a while back, I think last semester.  They do painting stop animation on public walls. It is simple but complex task. I find they’re videos to be completely off the wall. They are strange and the a great. Even there website interesting. The site is so simple and so complex.

 

http://www.blublu.org/sito/video/muto.htm

 

I like this.  I find fun  and interesting as blue man group usually is.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&q=blue+man&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&q=blue+man&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#q=blue%20man%20tv&hl=en&emb=0&start=20

Erin Lee

Why do I design? Because it is in me. I feel the people of Earth will need my creative ability to be innovative and direct. Being a designer is more than a day job. To me it encompasses all that I am and all that will be. Even if I do not have a successful career in design I will always be creating. The visions inside my head and the ideas I have to share with the world just won't go away! It is very difficult to specify just four of my favorite artists. I love the art of Olivia because it is so sensual and tantilizing. A true tease to the viewer. I really like Frank Frazetta not only because he is the Master of Imagination but because in the vast international arena of fantastic illustration and contemporary art there are thousands of wonferfully gifted creators, but there is only one Frank Frazetta. Bob Peak is another of my favorites. He is responsible for some of the best movie poster art ever created. I can not leave out Hieronymus Bosch. I love the mystery behind him, very little is known of his life or religious beliefs. All that remains are his fantastic works of art. We talked about that today, that artists don't exsist only their art does.

dont write it design it

Design to me is everything around us that makes our life better. A well designed bed makes you sleep better a more comfortable more well designed car makes your life easier because you dont have to spend the next week in pain or in the shop. we as designers have the oportunity to affect each moment of a persons life, if we do it well they will live fuller richer lives. Dont you want to be able to say at the end of the day that your work helped people live a better life!

Good design attracts people for some innate reason and that is our job to make an item that needs no explanation it just is fantastic.

I love modern architecture and design and have a passion for history so my end goal is to be able to assist historians with the changing technical world. its not all about the money for me, of course i would like to live comfortably but at the end of the day i want my body of work to help the most people in a positive direction. If the work of sesiners can produce work that inspires people then we have done a good job.

Creative Juice

The first thing that gets my creative juices flowing is concept art of any kind (a good site for finding concept art is www.conceptart.org). The reason i like concept art is because it allows me to think of more creative ways to approach problems. It's not necessarily the fact that they are all orignal and unique ideas, but more the fact that they involve sketching and experimenting in order to come up with a viable design. I feel that this concept of sketching is important when appreoaching a design problem so that you can have multiple starting points that allow you to come up with a more complete design.

The second source of inspiration that i have is automotive design, which seems to reflect other design trends that are concurrent with it. The reason that i get inspired by automotive design is because it performs the second most important task next to communication: transportation. The design of automobiles is uaually very function oriented and excludes unneccisary add ons. I like this approach because in my opinion, the less you need to include in your design to convey the proper message the more succeessful the design. One example of this simplicity and functionality in design is the new Nissan GTR, it is sleek and fast and designed to portray that with every curve and subtle angle in the body as well as the internal components that provide elegant power for the driver. ">

My third source of inspiration comes from http://bestwebgallery.com/. This site features many different web sites that were designed with html and also with flash. It features many creative ways to design and layout a site. I like to visit this site to get ideas for how to accomplish certain design goals in my work. Also it is a good place to see what new things people are able to create with flash and how they are able to manipulate html with CSS in new ways.

What drives me...

There are loads of useless crap out there in the world, yet there is also a great amount of really amazing things. I always find myself looking at design firms to see what they are up to and am always amazed at their work. My favorite one by far would be Superfad. If you remember back to the Olympics they did the Olympic commercials about the individual athletes. These ads were narrated by Morgan Freeman, you probably remember them, but anyway this is a video that I found to be creative and humorous. 

I have always been in love with the outdoors. From camping to landscape painting to hiking to landscape photography, anything that capture nature. I love the raw power of nature. I love thunder storms. I have a passion for nature photography and often find myself either taking it or looking at it. Some of my favorite images come from HDR photographs of scenes. These photographs offer amazing imagery that wouldn't be captured with normal photography. One of my favorite images (below) is that of the Golden Gate Bridge. I love of depth and the ferocity of the landscape, the coming storm. I find it amazing.

Thanks to my typography class I am plagued with having to look at every poster, sign, newsletter, etc... and attempt to not cringe at most. Most everyone whom has taken a typography class can attest to this feeling. Since then I really notice good typography. I saw this title sequence and found its typography a great example of a good way to use it. The video is featured on this link.

What Design is to Me

1. When I was reading the first Potter reading I found myself skimming line after line of what personally draws me to design. Immediately, I was pleased with the simple definition of the word, “design”. It refers to design as “a conceived plan of something to be done”. To this, I say design is my life. Or more specifically, the life I have chosen for myself. I’m going through this “conceived” plan I like to call, “college”. This plan is intended to feed the desire to continually churn my creative sparks into something I’m not only proud of but aesthetically drawn to. Another piece of the reading I related to was the idea that design is merely influence by design; yet exists in its own world entirely. During my first semester at UCD, I struggled to decide what I was doing. I had it in my mind that I needed to have mastered a fine art in order to qualify to be a “digital designer”. Recently, I came to the conclusion that I was not an artist. I was a designer. This distinction between fine art and design boosts my confidence. Reading this from (what I consider) a much more reliable source than myself, seems to confirm that I have a chance of survival in the lifestyle I so badly want to find myself living. Finally, the portion of the reading that says design is, “ten percent inspiration and ninety percent fairly hard work” explains a personal kick I get from design. I try to work hard. When I do something I try to do it and do it right. Sometimes, I try to hard. But I like that I know design is about work because I know how to work.
2. Link: http://www.collider.com.au/

“Collider was approached to brand a new Sydney based marketing strategy company called 3rdspace. The company works with corporate brands to create a 'plan of attack' for dynamic and unexpected marketing for their clients or products. A metaphorical image of a battlefield was conceived and used to alter the viewer’s field of vision between each piece of collateral making the identity as dynamic and changing as possible.”

I’m always intrigued by a design that can be simple enough to easily be arranged to create a subtle and equally effective composition. Although design allows for a large degree of simplicity, there is always a necessity for explanation. When I design, I want to create something similar to the 3rdspace example, something that captivates the eye and causes the mind to evaluate, and search, for the idea of the designer. However, I want that design to be compact and dynamic. What personally grabbed me about this particular design was that I did not necessarily pick-up on the battlefield concept but after reading the above explanation I could almost personally walk through the thought process the designers went through.

3. Link: http://www.sans-concept.com/

This is an example of Eric Carl’s work, a graphic designer in LA. Album art is the ultimate form of design that got me into the field. I have an extensive iTunes Library and passion for music but I have never had any musical talent. I view music and design/art as companions in the search for the explanation of life; therefore I want to use my ability to design to enter into the unknown world of music. 

Fueling My Design Mojo

There are so many things going on in the world today that are immensely interactive and provide the necessary inspiration in my own design. For me, Design is the freedom to express myself to the world and interact with them directly.
As to what inspires me daily, I like any design that integrates or even hints at the human element and how that human side relates to it audience. This can be found in virtually all media that we see throughout history. The human form has always been so important in art and design. A designer that can relate to a viewing audience through the human experience, putting the viewer in the designers shoes, can pursuade any idea.
Picasso has always been one of my favorites. Picasso would have for sure been known as a "playa" today by all social measures. Picasso understood human relationships though and that always showed in his work. I love any visual media that is inspired by the Cubist movement and moves the viewer through time as well.

Photography has always been something that I enjoy. Pursuing a BFA has enabled me to express myself through the viewfinder of a camera. My favorite subjects to photograph are humans. The right image of the right moment in time can say so much about someone and that moment in time.

When it comes to successful design, the grid is so important. I think the best thing I did in my Typography class was the grid assignment final. I feel it was successful because the foundations were built on PHI and the "golden ration." The grid enables the designer to divide up space methodically and seamlessly, providing the structure for any piece to flow.















For years and years, I have enjoyed technology and the latest and greatest tech toys and all that. I am very interested in design that employs itself in rhythmic harmony with the world that surrounds us. The answers to the problems we are confronted with in design are all around us. We are the ones that must adapt, re-think and challenge what happens in design.

Now let's all enjoy some inspirational music and visuals...

See you in class!!

Design interests

Hey all, I am Andy and here’s some stuff that I think is cool about art and design. The first thing that I would have to mention is that I have always been a fan of art and have considered myself an artist. Art is a tool that I use to communicate my emotions and to better understand myself, but sometimes art has a lesser meaning to me. Sometime art is just better than no art. Sometimes I would just like to look at something interesting rather than something boring. In any case it’s an interest of mine. Design to me is a job, a job that involves my interests, and a job that will allow me to create and enjoy art every day. That being said here are some things that I consider interesting art/design works. Enjoy.

I’m often attracted to things that are surreal and sometimes a little dark. When something is beautiful and scary at the same time I feel entranced. I visit this site from time to time (http://depthcore.com ) because they always have some really cool work typical of this style. This was done by an artist named Craig Shields. http://depthcore.com/fetch.php?id=3963

I also play video games. To me video games are like art that you get to play with. Design in video games is something to pay close attention to for people who want to design for the web because they teach us so much about how people interact with media. I’m likely going to be involved with interactive design once I’ve graduated so it also helps me justify hours of gaming :) This recent release implemented a nice design that flows well with the game play. This short video with Will Write, creator of Spore, explains what this game is about and why it's unique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXXuosvkkOc

Finally, I like new technology and I like to imagine the possibility of things yet to come. I like to think that someday I could be designing for some crazy new VR technology where I create environments that you can explore like the hollideck in Star Trek. New types of technology are always emerging and they inspire me to think differently about what is possible. Here is an article talking about the different types of Virtual 3D imaging that I found interesting. It’s a technology that I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid, so I like to keep up on where things are at with this business

http://www.popsci.com.au/gear-amp-gadgets/article/2008-11/3d-technology

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

Andy

Avery Blog Post #1

I'm addicted to all things retro. Anything that is remotely fragrant of the 60's or 70's immediately draws me in, even if it's considered "modern". I find that there are numerous stylistic similarities between things "modern" and "retro," making my taste fairly easy to pinpoint. For example, simplistic lines, bright colors, interesting shapes, and innovative materials could all describe my "taste." I am also in love with hardwood flooring.


Now, things that inspire me go past things that are modern/retro. If I ever wish to feel inspired, I simply have to visit swissmiss.typepad.com, notcot.org, or veer.com to fulfill my insatiable desire for innovative design.

However, I owe worth1000.com for most every shred of my desire to use Photoshop; the contests there are unbelievably creative, and the users are phenomenal - they are who I aspire to match in terms of skill.

Here's an example of a "RoboRen" contest from Worth1000 (the task was to recreate a Renaissance painting as if it featured a robot):




And for those of you who don't know, Aviary is an amazing tool for when you're on the go. BE IN LOVE WITH IT.
Aviary