Good Design or Design For Good?

We have discussed the many aspects of graphic design; it is artistic, business, collaboration, etc. Graphic design is also communication of ideas and experiences. You can communicate a new brand of detergent, or maybe communicate when a new DVD comes out. You could also communicate global statistics to help people better understand the human condition in other countries. Below is a link to a TED talk given by Hans Rosling. He discusses human mortality rates in other countries, and uses UN statistics to enlighten people on our misconceptions of third world and developing countries. Now where does a graphic designers come in? Well scientist collect data and analyze it, but not always does it become widespread because it is difficult to read, confusing, and/or ridiculously gaudy. Designers are trained solve these problems, to organize bits of information and make them attractive to a general public. If scientists and designers could get work together we would have a wealth of information that was easily accessible and better to comprehend. Here's Gapminder, (Hans Rosling's website) that have engaging graphs that paint a better picture of important global trends. http://www.gapminder.org/

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

Utilizing Escalators

Juice Salon found a clever way to advertise. The have selected hairstyles and placed a different one on each step of an escalator. The hair styles were designed to line up with an image of a face at the bottom so that 'his hairstyle' would change as the stairs rotate through. While using space often ignored for advertising, this designer has come up with a creative piece that amuses the viewer. It also allows the salon to show off their wide variety of styles in one place.

Changing Logos

Newsweek had an interesting article that I believe everyone might enjoy. It showed the progression of a few popular logos. They include Kodak, Pepsi, John Deere (surprisingly I hear that's where Parkland's colors come from), Shell gasoline, and 3M. The main one of interest for me was Betty Crocker because they use a photograph or illustration of an ideal spokeswoman. In the article, they mention that the latest face of Betty Crocker is actually a 'computer-generated composite of 75 women.' Also, notice how how her outfit even changed all while keeping the same color palette.

Webpage

Above is a screen-shot from a website designed by Michael Franken. It shows a different way to flip through a collection of photographs, it has a very clean Swiss-like style. The commercial images are arranged in a simple fashion. The personal collection is a little bit fancier using images in the shape of film negatives. The personal ones also film around on their axis where the commercial stay perfectly gridded. The personal ones also have bold yellow as their background while the commercial images on on black and white. I really liked the look of the whole site. Although it had a different layout, I found it relatively easy to navigate through.
Check out the website here http://www.bernhardwolff.com/

Killer Intro

The intro to Showtime's TV show Dexter is one of my absolute favorites. It was created by the folks at Digital Kitchen, and they won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Title Sequence for it. The sequence has a contemporary feel to it because of it's simplicity and conceptual imagery. The font red sans serif, with in implied blood splatter here or there because blood is very important to the whole plot of the show.The whole premise is that Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police department, and also a serial killer. Don't worry, he only kills bad guys. In the intro it shows him going through his morning routine as any regular Joe would but the photography gives it a sinister look. The camera uses close ups to isolate areas to focus your attention while both sped up/slowed down motion add dramatic effect. Even though every action is mundane, the entire photography gives it a violent appearance. It even makes breakfast look incredibly brutal. It ends with a view of him outside of his home (like his perceived outer appearance) giving a cheesy wholesome smile contrasting what the viewer has seen as his dark interior (true self). This is how other characters see him, only the viewer has inside knowledge of Dexter's real motivations.

Sorry the images are so rough. Here is the entire intro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5WpxxJpL-g. It's less than two minutes, and I highly suggest checking it out.

Currency

I was inspired by our last section to check out what some different currencies look like. Above is from the Cook Islands. I really liked the tropical feel of these dollars, partially because I would rather be on an island right now. They use animals, floral, settings and people native to their region. The front shows two people in front of a traditional-feeling patterned background. This cuts the front in thirds. Other images are layered on to help break up the space, especially the beads rolling from side to side. I love the bar of sea shells right against the bar of flowers on the back. What seems to be people in front of a church both shows what native life looks like and what their priorities are. The rest of the Cook Island currency looks similar, but they each have a different color scheme. Each of these color schemes is vibrant and cheery, you don't really see earth tones.
If your curious about other currency, you can check out this collectors site http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/notedir/mappage.html. There are so many creative and inspiring ideas out there.

Good Luck

I love honesty in advertising. So I love the simple design of Oregon's state lottery. It's just a solid hand crossing it's fingers. It's more honest than Illinois' pot of gold that a very very few every get to see. It makes more sense to me than Washington's four leaf clover that just reminds me staring at the ground looking for genetic mutant plants. Crossing your fingers probably isn't a universal symbol for hoping for the the best but it sure works in the US.

A Matter of Maps

While I was in Seattle, I was at the mercy of their public transit system. Trying to find your way around a new city can be extra challenging when you're visiting a city that is on foothills that are just littered with water ways. The transit map designers had a problem of deciding whether to go with the more accurate terrain but messy-looking map, or go with a nice clean map that barely bore any resemblance to the actual city. It reminded me of Vignelli's map problem. So what did they do? Well, instead of possibly making the wrong choice, they just didn't. They used both. Actually they had three all together. I think it worked, I never really got lost. Although part of me hates when things don't match.

Data Visualization

Above is a data visualization created by Sha Hwang to illustrate the increased use of the NYC subway station from 1905 to 2006. While trying to convey information, these graphs are also aesthetically pleasing. Clarity of information is given priority to appearance. Consideration was giving to the color choices, each line has its own distinct color within the same saturation level as the others. The cool gray background acts as a simple backdrop just to give the viewer an environment and recedes so it doesn't complicate the image. It's important to think about how we present this kind of information. It doesn't have to be boring or static, instead I can have more interest in the design than the information I get out of it. I would not be at all as interested about a bar graph created with Excel. Also, these visuals can help the viewer better understand the information they receive.
This one can be found at http://www.diametunim.com/portfolio/ . There are many great examples of data visualization out there. Some are even interactive like http://www.wefeelfine.org/. Others can hold more more specific data like http://www.munterbund.de/visualisierung_textaehnlichkeiten/sketches.php#Examplesoffinalresults or http://well-formed.eigenfactor.org/index.html.