11. Graffiti Art

Graffiti art has become widely popular and more appreciated in more recent decades. I specifically enjoy graffiti art because it is original and are seen randomly around cities. Some are done on trains or walls or abandoned buildings. It is beautiful how the colors are chosen and the details that can be seen in the artwork. I also find it fascinating because normally graffiti is associated with negativity like gangs, but graffiti artists are making it more acceptable and into something that can be appreciated.

10. Blog List

Two blogs that are centered around design are: Smashing Darling and Gizmodo. Both of the blogs cover extremely different topics but discuss the design and reason for the it. Smashing Darling covers new fashion and discusses the idea behind every design. It also contains interviews with some of the designers to that we may have a better understanding of what influences them. Gizmodo follows the latest technology and how these products were designed to make our life simpler. The website also makes recommendations about which products are best and how they could improve your lifestyle.

9. Flashmobs

Flashmobs have recently become a major part of pop culture around the world. Flashmobs are an organized and designed assembly of people who suddenly in a public place perform anunusual act for a brief time, then quickly disperse. I find it pretty fascinating how people can coordinate when, how and where to perform flashmobs. The popularity of the flashmobs has expanded so that companies are using it for their advertisements, like the example below from cell phone provider, T-Mobile. The T-Mobile commercial is amazing to watch because of the amount of time that must have been invested in designing the performance and devoting time in practicing the dance choreography.

7. Typefaces

A popular and highly publicized typeface is used by the clothing company, American Apparel. American Apparel is an international clothing company that carries basic t-shirts, skirts, sweatshirts and also promotes bold fashion statements such as sheer shirts or lace dresses. The typeface reflects the company as a whole by being simplistic, but yet appears chic and futuristic. All of American Apparel's marketing items: shopping bags, billboards, signs, website fonts; are used in the same typeface. By using the typeface, American Apparel's inventory and the company as whole, obtained the reputation of being chic and modern.

6. War Propaganda

The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was created to get women involved in the 1940s during World War II. The women were given noncombat jobs that were formerly held by men such as, driving military vehicles, serving as translators, cooks, and weather forecasters. The main object of the poster was to get women involved in the war with the statement, "This is my war too!". I found the poster interesting because the woman is dressed very masculine but she maintained her femininity by wearing curling her hair and wearing make-up. It could have been a strategy used to draw in more women by ensuring them that although they are participating in the war efforts, they can maintain their feminine looks and habits.

5. Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

Bruce Mau's "Incomplete Manifesto for Growth" is a series of statements that are used by designers for strategies on how to begin the design process. A point that I think would be helpful in the future is statement #17 ____________. Statement #17 is, "Intentionally left blank. Allow spaces for the ideas you haven't had yet, and for the ideas of others". I find this statement a good reminder of being open to new ideas and concepts that will come to you during the design process. It is sometimes easy to be closed minded during the design process when you have a set idea as to how you want to approach a project, but it's important to be open to new ideas from your own constant brainstorming or from peers. Some of the best ideas could come from the unplanned and spontaneous.

Reseach Paper: Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy can be known as “the man who designed America” due to his contribution to industrial design during the 20^th century. He designed logos, locomotives and appliances, which in turn influenced present – day designs.

Loewy was born on November 5, 1893 in Paris, France to Maximillian Loewy and Marie Labalme. He originally wanted to study engineering, but when World War I began, he served in the French Army with distinction as an officer of engineers. In 1919, after his parents died because of the influenza outbreak, Loewy boarded a ship to America to join his two brothers. Upon his arrival, he worked as a window designer in New York for large department stores like Macy’s, Wanamaker’s and Saks. He was also a fashion illustrator for the high couture magazines, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar. Loewy also designed a trademark for Neiman – Marcus and an advertisement for Bonwit Teller and earned the reputation of having a “flamboyant lifestyle” (Moore).

Like several stylists during the 20^th century, Loewy began with “repackaging or ‘face-lifting’ products, but as they gained experience and understanding of manufacturing processes they became effective designers by contributing valuable innovations that improved products” (Bush 311). This situation is true of Loewy’s start as an industrial designer and his redesign of the Gestetner duplicator. In 1929, Loewy ventured into his career as an industrial designer when the opportunity to redesign the appearance of a mimeograph machine was presented by Sigmund Gestetner. Loewy accepted the offer and designed, in three days, the shell that would encase Gestetner duplicators for the next forty years. The Gestetner duplicator was the first of many items that was transformed by streamlining, a technique that Loewy is credited with originating.

Streamlining is the design of an object that has the least amount of resistance to natural elements (wind, water, etc). Loewy called the concept “beauty through function and simplification”, and streamlined everything he designed. Another early project of Loewy’s that had a tremendous impact on American design and jump started his career, was the tall – case clock radio for Westinghouse in 1930 (Kulik 567). The cabinet design was reported as increasing the sale of radios at the time by 700% (Bush 311).

Loewy expanded his repertoire and began working with locomotives when he designed for the International Harvester Company in the 1930s. Tractor builders became interested in making their products more attractive by adding streamlined sheet metal (Moore). Loewy designed a new line of Farmall tractors that were being developed by the company at the time. He perfected the design in a couple of years and the new Farmall H and M models were revealed August 9, 1939 at the Farmall Day celebration in Rock Island, Illinois (Moore). Loewy’s design helped make the International Harvester Company the leader in row crop tractor sales until the 1950s (Moore).

In 1937, Loewy won awards for his designs of the Coldspot refrigerator and the streamlined GG-1 electric locomotives, which have been used by the Pennsylvania Railroad for many years. He is also responsible for the 1934 Hupmobile that had streamlined headlights and made part of the fenders. After finishing the Hupmobile, Loewy continued his work with automobiles through the 1939 Studebaker Champion, the 1947 Studebaker Starlight Coupe, and the 1961 Studebaker Avanti. His designs introduced slanted windshields, built – in headlights and wheel covers and tried to promote more fuel – efficiency.

Another automobile design of Loewy’s is still in use today. The BMW 507 coupe has remained one of the most popular models sold over the decades. It also influenced and played a major role in the Studebaker Avanti development, which Loewy also designed. The comparison between the two models goes beyond the overall silhouette, but also includes the front fenders with turn signals, the grille below the front bumper, the asymmetric hood ornament, and the crease in the lower part of the doors and the bubble style of the rear window (Heitz 26).

Raymond Loewy contributed immensely to industrial design during the 20^th century and didn’t limit himself to strictly electronics or locomotives. Loewy is accredited with designing the International Harvester Company logo and packaging for Lucky Strike cigarette. The International Harvester Company logo was a simplistic but innovative design. A block letter of the lower case “i” was superimposed on an upper case “H”. The letters resembled the front view of a man driving a Farmall tricycle tractor, a tractor with square tires. The logo was used in 1946 and became the international symbol for the company and is still used today.

The Lucky Strike cigarette package design began as a wager between the president of the American Tobacco Company, George Washington Hill, and Loewy. Hill wagered $50,000 that Loewy could not improve the signature red and green packaging. Loewy accepted and changed the green background to white, which in turn reduced printing costs. He placed the Lucky Strike target on either side of the package to increase product sales. The design was used for 40 years.

Raymond Loewy has contributed immensely to design in the 20^th century from influencing cars to logos for companies we are familiar with. He has been granted the title as “the man who designed for America” and was honored in 1975 with the Smithsonian Institution opening the exhibit, “The Designs of Raymond Loewy”. The four – month exhibit displayed his works and was dedicated to “the man who changed the face of industrial design”. Loewy’s designs were innovative and at times radical for his time period, but are continuously used today because of their effective and sleek designs.

Works Cited:

Bush, Donald J. "Streamlining & American Industrial Design". Leonardo. Autumn 1974: 309-317.

Heitz, Felix. "Avanti - Garde". Motor Trend March 2010: 26.

Kulik, Gary. "Raymond Loewy: Designs for a Consumer Culture". Technology & Culture. July 2003: 566-573.

Moore, Sam. "By design: American industrial designer leaves lasting influence on tractor lines." Farm Collector. July 2008: 12-14.

4. Visual Metaphor

An example of a visual metaphor is the advertisements for Apple Macintosh. Apple promotes itself as ready to use right out of the box with a simplistic design. The Mac is portrayed as laid back and informal while the PC is represented as formal. The PC looks similar to a professor and implies that a PC would probably require some instruction in order to be able to use. Mac’s come ready to use and programmed or have easy instructions which is universal for anyone to use. Also, by using a younger gentleman, as it’s spokesperson, the Mac represents new technology and what is contemporary.

3. Mind Mapping

Mind maps are “diagrams used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea”. Mind maps can be made using different representations to describe their ideas such as words, pictures, colors or photographs. Tony Buzan is a psychologist and an expert in areas of the brain concerning memory and learning. He works with corporations, Olympic athletes, children, governments and high profile individuals to utilize the mind map in their own life created the above mind map. He believes that using mind maps helps maximize the most of their brainpower. The mind map is used as an organizational tool and helps learn and store new information.

Mind Mapping has also been reintroduced in today’s technology with a new app for the iPhone. On February 18, 2010 Tony Buzan revelaed the iMindMap for iPhone which is free as part of his mission to spread the influence of mind mapping world - wide. The application is interactive to the touch screen of the iPhone and can be customized to the individual’s preferences with different colors available and different positions of branches available.

2. Artist Video - Paula Scher

I watched the video about artist, Paula Scher who has designed signs for different buildings, companies and also creates promotional ads. She describes her inspiration based heavily on her instincts and also on what she is designing for. Scher’s most publicized and well – know design is the Citi Bank design, which she created a few minutes after a brainstorm meeting with the Citi representatives. The most interesting part about Paula Scher’s artwork is her ability to steer away from using computers and other means of technology to create her art. She always either draws or paints her own art because using a computer makes her feel as if “her hands are cut off”. It is admirable that she feels such passion about her work that she doesn’t use technology to simplify the process, but likes to feel connected to the art she is creating.

1. Design, Culture and Language

Design signifies an extension and product of thinking, making it both a noun and a verb. A main influence in designing an object is considering what the purpose of creating the piece of art would be. Culture is defined as the “quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in the arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.”. Culture and Design are interconnected because the culture is considered during the design of an object. The culture’s reaction will have a great impact on how the design is executed. Language is the means of communication that is used by the society or community. In connection to culture and design, language is how the culture will either support or disapprove of the particular design. Language can also impact design because of the criticism that artist’s will receive from the community.

An example of all three: design, culture and language, intersecting is the LOVE sculpture created in 1975. The sculpture is universally known and has been replicated around the world. The sculpture was created by Robert Indiana and was meant to remind people of peace during the Vietnam War. The display made an impact in pop culture because of it’s simple but impacting design, and also because of The Beatle’s song, “All You Need Is Love”. The song partially inspired John Lennon to compose the song to promote love and peace during the time of war.