Word & Image: Worldwide Foundation Print Ad

Whenever word and image are cleverly married, the use of a metaphor is often employed.  Above is a minimalist print ad from the Worldwide Foundation.  Can you guess fairly quickly what their main message is? Most likely.  Advertisers and marketers often strive to create ads that are clever, yet not too clever to stump potential viewers.  In order to do this, they find images that are universally recognized and apply it to whatever product or message they are attempting to send.  The use of metaphor acts as a puzzle for viewers and the text serves as another clue to the association between the image and the company or organization the ad is for.

Tic tac toe is a game of choice, strategy, and thinking ahead.  It is a game people usually play in their past time, not competitively.  The WWF takes advantage of this casualness and puts a more serious spin on the passively played game.  X's and O's are substituted with sharks and bowls of shark fin's soup.  After staring at the image for a few seconds, one understands that this particular game is not necessarily fun, but extremely important.  As our eyes naturally move downwards we see the text "It's your turn."  This lets us decide what's more important, a delicacy soup, or the well-being of a beautiful fish.   

Why is this ad effective?  Let's put it this way.  If the print ad stated "10 million blue sharks are killed annually for shark's fin soup", it would take longer to comprehend.  Though it would present a horrifying statistic, it is hard for people to put this in perspective, especially if the viewer believes there are an abundance of sharks still in existence.  The image summarizes so much conversation and facts that it saves viewers from statistics or facts that would clutter the ad.  

The image tells us that we need to be careful what we choose.  Just as in tic tac toe, it is easy to pick boxes without much thought because losing a small game is not a huge deal.  We pick boxes and don't always think ahead.  This ad tells us that our choice matters more.  It tells us that we can easily help the cause and boycott shark's fin soup just as easily as we can ask a waiter to fetch it at a restaurant.  The image puts our choice into perspective and the ramifications of choosing the soup.  The text "it's your turn" places more responsibility on us and lets us know that we do have a choice and can help.  Finally we see the WWF logo and fully understand the cause and link it to the WWF.  This association will occur in our brain in a matter of seconds, much faster than if we had to read more text.

As seen here, word and image can be so effective when they exhibit a symbiotic relationship where they feed off of and clarify one another.  

        

image from http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/11/30/14-brilliant-minimalist-ads/

Heightened: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) - form & content

(Hello readers! Beware that spoilers for the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari reside in this entry!)

Based off the form of first few minutes of the 1920 silent film classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, audiences get a good sense of the film's upcoming content.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a story narrated by a man named Francis who describes a strange flashback of a Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist Cesare who prophecies Francis' imminent death.  Throughout the film, we are led to believe that Caligari is insane and training Cesare to commit several town murders. But, in a twist ending, we find that Francis' flashback is really a fantasy as he is an asylum patient with his doctor named Caligari.  In my opinion, the best word to describe the film's aesthetic is 'heightened' in the sense of physically making something higher and in intensifying something.  The set design, title cards, and character make-up embody and compose the heightened quality of the film.

The title card font is jagged and uneven where strokes progress from thick to skinny or vise versa.  The text is also not centered, but placed closer to the top, higher than where text is usually placed.  This font and placement connotes certain audio characteristics and indicates to the audience that the dialogue sounds a certain way: creepy, suspicious, uncertain, shaky, etc.          

The set design is also jagged and warped creating a severely slanted perspective.  This perspective plays on the psychologically troubled characters and their strange, fantastical views of the world.  For example, in the picture below, the markings on the wall shape the set unevenly and strongly pull the viewer into the back of the room.  In addition, the window is not a perfect square.

Character make-up is another way form interacts with content. Jane's make up, shown below, lengthens her eyebrows and shortens her lips, which emphasizes the tallest area of the lips.  Similarly, for Cesare's make up also shown below, the lengthening of his eyes through the use of black eye liner again creates a long, dripping quality.  All of the elements described above create shapes that mirror the warped and strange content of the film.  This successful interaction of form and content helps to create one of the most classic and revolutionary horror films in cinematic history.

Photos from

#1: np.edu.sg

#2: www.afilmcanon.com

#3 & 4: www.homecinema.thedigitalfix.co.uk

OBJECTIFIED by Gary Huswit - Form & Content

Part of what makes Gary Huswit's documentary Objectified so interesting and successful in communicating its message is the way film's form interacts with its content.  Objectified shines a light on the creative processes of several industrial designers and the relationship between humans and the manufactured objects these designers create.  Within the first few minutes, the film clearly shows the audience that this is what it will be about.

The film opens with a couple of people going through their morning routine.  However, viewers only see the people's hands.  The camera mainly focuses on the everyday objects being used that humans often take for granted such as toothbrushes, faucet heads, plates, pans, utensils, and much more.  In doing this, Huswit places emphasis on the objects' usefulness, our dependence on them, and the success of each object's design.  People's morning routines are so habitual that we almost become automatized robots when we perform them.  The objects created for these routines are so well designed that they are easily used.  It takes no thought for us to grab a toothbrush or a pan and properly use it.  This is part of the goal of these designers.  As one designer states, his goal is to re-invent and improve objects without the users even noticing by creating objects that flow into one's daily experience flawlessly.

Also stated in the film is that we place a lot of meaning into inanimate objects.  Objects take on sentimental meaning by being the plastic fork one used on their first date or the magnet that your family loves.  By taking on meaning, objects develop a personality.  This message is the film's content.  The form or the way the title of the film is first shown gives each object personality as the "f" is a faucet head, the "j" is a toothbrush, and the "e" is a tape dispenser.

As discussed in the two examples above, the film's form, or the way Objectified was designed, emphasized and illustrated the film's content well. By not overtly illustrating the interaction of form and content, Huswit intelligently and clearly communicates his messages and ideas. 

photo from: www.objectifiedfilm.com

Design as Conversation: Disneyland

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Disneyland_plaque.jpg

Disneyland is magical. Disneyland is happy. Why? Because the design of it is magical and happy.  What the Disney plaque above says is true.  Once entering through this archway, visitors are suddenly somewhere else where one can escape into a place they never deemed imaginable.  A place where "acting like a kid" is permitted for people of various ages.  This past weekend I visited Disneyland for the first time and I overheard an abundance of conversation concerning the design of the entire park.  

Amidst all the rides, Peter Pan's Flight will be my main focus where conversation is used in the ride's design.  Riders load into miniature galleons that "lift" off to fly over rooftops, over London, through the stars, towards Neverland, and through movie scenes bought to life by audio-animatronics.

The first room riders fly into!

All Peter Pan's Flight Photos Taken by Me!

This ride greatly uses perception and perspective.  The galleon is suspended from the ceiling as riders swoop over a lighted miniaturized London with the largest focal point being Big Ben.  The position of the galleon and city make riders feel as if they really are high up in the sky.  From there riders are bought into a galaxy surrounded by stars.  I must say that I never fathomed traveling to "space" without paying Richard Bronson $250,000.  After the ride was over, I overheard fellow riders converse about how amazing the ride was and inquire how certain things were accomplished by the creators.

I discussed with my own group how they made the stars appear so close to us yet we couldn't seem to touch them.  How is it timed it so that each rider sees Peter battling Hook?  How mini or how large is the miniaturized London?  Similar questions were asked about all of the rides where holograms, projections, and audio-animatronics were skillfully and creatively used and timed.

Not only did the ride's design cause conversation, but used it.  The repetition of lines from the movie, Hook and Peter arguing, Peter saying "Come on everybody, here we go!" at the start of the ride all contributes to its fantastical qualities.  Using conversation in design pulls viewers in, involves them not only through sight but with their ears.  Involving viewers makes design more exciting, inviting, and successful.

Great design creates conversation and uses it.  Similarly, great design holds secrets and keeps an air of mystique so that the conversation is full of creative hypotheses and open-mindedness.  

Let's Compare and Contrast Hand Dryers

Products like the Dyson Airblade and motion sensor towel dispensers have been popping up in several public restrooms, changing the way hands are dried around the world.  Nifty machines like these are reducing the sights of garbage cans overflowing with barely used paper towels.  Most effective are the electric hand dryers.  Hand dryers have been around for some time, but older machines, like the one seen below are not successfully designed.

Most people opt to use paper towels over these older machines because these machines take forever and seem to never turn off.  Drying a shirt after cleaning off a food stain seems like the only plausible usage.  However, the innovation of the newer machines along with the elimination of paper towel usage is exciting.  

With the old machines, water would drip onto the floor creating a slippery puddle which created the need for more paper towels or cleaning products to dry up.  The Dyson product reduces this problem with motion sensor "sheets of air travelling at 400mph to scrape water from hands like a windshield wiper" (www.dysonairblade.com).  The usage of one paper towel equals drying off 22 pairs of hands with the Dyson Airblade.  The product also uses up to 80% less energy than warm air dryers and removes 99.9% of bacteria unlike the old dryers which would leave hands damp and more susceptible to bacteria.  

Not only does the Dyson Airblade and other similar products reduce carbon footprints, but it also looks sleek, modern, and interesting.  Like the Airblade, good design combines aesthetics with practicality, innovation, and, especially in the modern day, with environmental friendliness.

The only thing that may vamp up this design even more is some creative imagery:

Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson, Thailand

Art Director: Noppadon Shinkhem

Photographer: Chubcheevit

But perhaps a more pleasant design geared toward going green, and one that does not add to the advertising clutter of today!

For more information, visit www.dysonairblade.com

For more information on the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, visit http://www.mitsubishijettowel.com

(all images from websites listed above)

And Getting to the Getty...

Photos of the Getty, taken by me!

This past weekend, I embarked on a strange journey. And though the reasons for said journey were atypical, it was, simply, an enjoyable trip down to Los Angeles. During my down time, I visited the Getty Center, a beautifully designed museum which houses several antiquities of the past. What is immensely interesting about the Getty is the juxtaposition of the contemporary architecture with the antiquity that the architecture helps to exhibit.

Visitors must take a short trip in a tram up to the museum. This isolation of the center makes visitors feel as if they are traveling to a different world or to a different time, capsuled by the large buildings that sit before them upon exiting the tram.

The Getty has a truly unique appearance. The unusual curvature and sharp edges of the buildings can be seen in the photos above. Shallow pools of water edge the stairways and can be found in several nooks and crannies. Pathways are not done in a completely systematic matter which keeps the visit exciting. Visitors simply follow the pathways to run into another section to enjoy. Gardens are not restricted to the ground level but are also on the upper floors. As extensions of the buildings, the gardens become a part of the Los Angeles shrubbery and skyline.

So, visitors, while being air trammed into modernity, are simultaneously being taken to the past.

This juxtaposition beautifully showcases the beauty of the art more so than if the art was standing on its own. The antiquities' modern housing is almost overwhelming due to the buildings' massive scale. This overwhelming feeling can cause visitors to yearn for something from a simpler time and this desire can be easily fulfilled by entering one of many exhibits. For instance, viewing Monet's calming Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning (1891) inside a thoroughly modern building strongly emphasizes the beauty in the old and the new.  This large scale contrast can elevate a visitor's appreciation for the housed art.

The Getty Center shows that juxtaposition, when utilized well, can make a design extremely successful and, in this case, can enhance a visitor's experience.

Creativity from Without: Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo and Jeanne-Claude
The Umbrellas, Japan - USA, 1984-91
Photo: Wolfgang Volz ©1991 Christo

Not creativity from within, but creativity from without.  Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude find inspiration outside of themselves while working in rural and urban environments.  Specifically with the project The Umbrellas, urban development of two inland valleys, one in Japan and one in the U.S. served as inspiration.  As stated by the artists themselves, "This Japan-USA temporary work of art reflected the similarities and differences in the ways of life and the use of the land in two inland valleys...creating an invitational inner space, as houses without walls, or temporary settlements and related to the ephemeral character of the work of art"(http://www.christojeanneclaude.net).

Christo and Jeanne-Claude use their projects to emphasize certain characteristics of the surrounding environment as elements of the valleys affected the artistic choices of The Umbrellas.  Because the Japanese rice fields are cultivated with water year round, the umbrellas were blue.  Because the Californian uncultivated grazing land was covered by dry blond grass, the umbrellas were yellow.  The umbrellas, large and open reflect the availability of the land and the land's usages through color and placement.  Umbrellas were placed alongside roads and highways, adjacent to barns, temples, churches, gas stations, schools, habitations and cattle.

All of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's works are temporary installments.  They do this because they have love and tenderness for things that do not last, like life and childhood.  Finding inspiration in temporal qualities encourages them to endow their work with this love and tenderness as an additional aesthetic quality.  The land that they work with is also temporal as nature is always changing and going through its own cycles.  Here is one of my favorite Jeanne-Claude quotes:

      "The fact that the work does not remain creates an urgency to see it.  For instance, if someone were to tell you, “Oh, look on the right, there is a rainbow.”  You will never answer, “I will look at it tomorrow.”

This urgency also draws attention to the land and methods used by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  The artists often restore and care for the land they use.  In addition, after removing installations, pieces are recycled and reused.  These activities influence people to care for the environment, to appreciate the beauty in it and the magnified beauty of it through the artists' work.

While finding inspiration outside of themselves, Christo and Jeanne-Claude serve as an external inspiration for myself.   

Another work entitled: Wrapped Trees,  Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park; Riehen, Switzerland, 1997-98

Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Wrapped Trees, Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park,
Riehen, Switzerland 1997-98
Photo: Wolfgang Volz, ©Christo 1998

For more Christo and Jeanne-Claude, visit: http://www.christojeanneclaude.net

A Stone Soup Tree

 A Stone Soup production

Photo by Samantha Schneider

For those who know the folk story Stone Soup, the sprouting tree sculpture above was a temporary creation for a project which encouraged the behavioral philosophies of cooperation and collaboration emphasized in the short story.  Cooperation and collaboration.  These are two fantastic nouns that helped our group's project manifest into a success of recycled goods in one very time efficient hour.  The most inspiring thing that I pulled from this was that our level of communication was almost telepathic in nature.

Upon viewing the materials each person bought, we all agreed with the second suggestion: to make a tree.  We discussed colors, the roots, and basic construction.

Vicky started spray painting the box gold while Tobias and Jose collected fallen leaves to stick onto the paint.  Jose had also tied hemp pieces together by knotting them at the top while Eric and I wrapped the soda bottle in brown paper.  Alice, Linda, and Christine began making paper flowers and  branches.  I then wrapped each string of Jose's knotted hemp to create the roots.  After the roots were connected, everyone began creating small additions.  For instance, Vicky made bird nests and Tobias made leaves.  Our finishing touches were adding the branches, smaller creations, and garnishes to the tree.

What was fantastic was that people did not ask for permission to do something.  It was truly collaborative without authority.  It was a common understanding to let people work and have it all come together in the end.  This is what I mean by telepathic.  A personal example is when I made the roots.  I saw Jose tying the hemp together but didn't know what he was doing it for because it was before Tobias suggested making roots.  When I saw that roots needed to be done, I used Jose's string and began rolling brown paper around each string.  While I held the string, Samantha had come over and checked with me that the strings were going to be the roots.  It's as if we were all communicating without verbally communicating.

My Awesome Group

Photo by Samantha Schneider

It was a great experience to work with my group to create a tree which is representative of many concepts such as growth, development, and connectivity.  In making our little creatures, flowers, leaves, etc. we created a community contained within our tree which embodies what we are doing each class period in our groups.    

Open-Mindedness: "Why Be Scared of a Hat?"

Design is a word whose meaning cannot be precisely pinpointed, though this is precisely part of the beauty of the word.  I inquire if the illustrations above are design.  These are drawings by the fantastic author Antoine Saint-Exupery, who attributes them to a character in his novella: Le Petit Prince.  Now comes a truckload of questions.  Is a simple drawing a design or is it art?  Or is it neither? Is there a proper or improper way to use the term 'design' if the definition is not clearly defined?  These questions can never be definitively answered as language is arbitrary and as people's perceptions greatly differ.  I am not quite decided myself if this drawing is a design.  However I can think of additional factors that would cause this drawing to be commonly agreed upon as one.  For instance, if it was a concept for a future creation or to go on a t-shirt, it would be called a "t-shirt design" or a "design concept".  But on a piece of paper, with no additional factors, it is commonly considered to be just a drawing, not a design with the variable being the element of planning.  It could well be considered art, but the differences/similarities of art and design is another conversation. 

However, the illustrator had to plan and construct this image in his head, for design, functioning as both a noun and a verb is a process and the end result of that process.  Design, according to Kostas Terzidis, is about conceptualization, imagination, and interpretation.  A message addressing what can be missed due to a lack of imagination or open-mindedness can be derived from these images.  Interpretation can go several ways.  On the top it is a snake.  The adult characters in the Le Petite Prince see it as a hat when the illustrator intends for it to be a snake who has eaten an elephant.  The viewer needs a bit of an imagination to think of this.  Does possessing these three qualities qualify this as design?  

I can not answer my own questions. But they are food for thought.  What I can definitively say is that design requires open-mindedness just as needed for the top illustration above.  Open-mindedness in design and in the analysis of design and its meanings, for the debate of its definition will go on infinitely.