kdoarts346

[kdoarts346]

Week 7 - Finding The Balance (pg. 180-184)

I believe the notion that we must know history to not repeat it applies here in terms of Marko Ilić’s defense of his own work. But I do see Typo/Graphic’s concern towards the Nazi symbol’s use. If posters hosted on their site are purely aesthetic, what exactly are the constraints? Everyone’s definition of aesthetic is different. I was curious to see what the poster looked like so I looked it up.

I think even without the words, the poster speaks for itself as showing a girl physically surrounded by the Nazi symbol. It is encroaching on her. If she were to leave the hiding space, there is danger. That is well represented. However, having the reference to Auschwitz be small and stuck onto the side may not be the best approach. From very far away it does look like a smudge and Frank gets lost and the Nazi symbol is the largest part. Typo/Graphic argues that without the text this still represents the Nazi symbol and it is not in their best interest to upset any of their investors or contributors. I could see both sides.

I also wonder what the marks are. Almost like someone took a sharp object to it. Perhaps they too only saw a Nazi symbol.

This week we had an in-class design sprint where we had to finish an assignment by end of class. The idea was to sell a rotten apple. I’ve been finding lately that the hardest part for me in any project is starting. This forced me to formulate my idea quickly and go headfirst into what seemed the strongest. I realized once I got started, it was easy to continue. I could definitely apply this to other projects and even aspects of my life. Starting with the smallest step leads to bigger results. Similar to the Pareto Principle, 20% work for 80% of your results. In this case I opened Procreate and just started drawing. I didn’t predict being able to get so much done in an hour. It kind of reinvigorated my process. Just start.

I know that in the workplace this could happen often where a client wants last minute changes, or an entire project crops up last minute and there’s no time to mull over it, only start.

[kdoarts346]

Helen Armstrong - Teaming Up With Technology

Overall, I can see the potential for AI as a tool for designers in the process. It could automate the mundane and tedious parts, like sorting through data. It could be overwhelming and even impossible for a single person, or even a team, to really tackle that much information all at once. Brain overload. Automating that task would allow for more time to do more actual design. Armstrong said designers have the unique ability to envision the future. I had never thought of it that way. Especially with programs like Figma, we could create apps that don’t exist/are not coded yet but the prototype makes them feel real. They could be interacted with, which could lead to more development down the line. I found it interesting the answer to the method for avoiding bias in AI is the possible use of another AI tool to check. I am definitely not someone who is informed enough to answer to this but how would we be sure that the AI technology that is used to check other AI tools for accuracy won’t also have its own biases and egregious errors? Armstrong mentioned how one possible error is that the AI could not pick up on a joke or misread a pronoun. Well, that is something humans might do too. For now I can mostly tell when something is AI generated, but I know the technology will only get better. It will soon be indistinguishable.

It already is indistinguishable to me, as someone who floats between designer and artist. I use Pinterest a lot for creating moodboards and finding photo references. Generative AI has poisoned that well. I look up clothing and it shows me pieces that are not real, but they look so much like they come from life, until they’re put under a microscope. My issue with that is that AI draws from the work of human artists who have went through the whole creative process to make work that is tangible. Clothes are meant to be worn. They are meant to move. The AI generated clothes are not showing me what an actual fold in fabric would look like. It’s not taking into account how materials would interact or what would be practical. I could ask AI to show me pictures of medieval clothing but I don’t think it could ever be as accurate or helpful as going to a museum or looking at a catalog.

Context matters. Human input matters. I think that is what Armstrong was trying to instill in us. We shouldn’t be scared of this technology. To use it is to understand it.

In this week’s reading, Swanson states, “…I don’t understand the desire to falsify an affirmation of self” (156) and “…plagiarized work robs…of one more precious chance to reach out with the very thing we design for— to connect directly with other human beings” (156).

If the heart of design is to design for other people, to envision a better future, there needs to be better regulation for it. This was brought up in class. Too many bad actors see it now as a way to devalue human designers, and generative AI in my opinion is dangerous to integrity. If this machine could do it faster and without complaint, why pay a real person to do it? I often see the argument that human critical thinking will trump all, but I think we know the real driver is profit. I think AI is completely unavoidable. It is being pushed too much and too much investment has been put into it for it to stop any time soon. I can only work with it and try to see it as a tool and nothing more than a tool. No different from pen and paper. No different from doing a Google search or perusing the library.

I would hate for the future to be AI avatars talking to other AI avatars. In an increasingly disconnected society, that honestly seems like a dystopian future. Humans are pack animals at our core. We need and seek connection. I would hate to only talk to a machine. A lot of communication is the visual— the body language, eye contact, mannerisms. Recently, I have dealt with some shipping issues. If I had talked to customer service and it was entirely automated, I’d feel like the company doesn’t care about me as a person. Every website has a chatbot now. I always try to find the quickest way to a person. Humans understand emotion. Robots can pretend to understand emotion, but it feels like a mockery.

After Armstrong’s talk, I went home and pulled up ChatGPT. I had a conversation with it about my nerves surrounding an interview next week. While it did ease some tension, I was still very aware I was talking to a machine, and that it mostly told me what I wanted to hear. I think I will look into Adobe’s new generative tools too. Overall, I am not impressed. For now.

[kdoarts346]

Week 6 - What’s Wrong With Plagiarism (pg. 147-158)

“Designers seem to think of themselves as part of a privileged elite. We think that we should be able to borrow freely from the work of non-designers, yet should be able to defend our own work from such use by others” (150).

I have honestly never thought of my sources of inspiration in this way, or thought that I was entitled to it. I might be too conscious of it. I find I fall more into the group of people mentioned in the beginning of this reading that think plagiarism is morally wrong/difficult to even mention.

I read a book ages ago, called “Steal Like An Artist” by Austin Kleon. It described exactly how to do as the title says to do and insists there is no truly original work. As a designer, I’m always citing the people I draw inspiration from. I do collage work that requires curating existing photographs, cutting them out, and pasting them. Would that be a form of plagiarism? It depends on the person you ask. But most agree it is not, as this reading points out— people are aware that everything is borrowed. The source is evident. It reminds me of a discussion we had in class once about tracing over printed photographs. The class went silent when asked if that would be stealing. The source is not evident. The answer is that it’s not. It’s transformative, but then the word transformative varies by person too.

Marcel Duchamp put a urinal on exhibit and it is called a “readymade sculpture”. It was not transformed in any way, just signed with his signature. Is that not stealing? From the manufacturer? The reading goes into this also. Is it more morally correct to steal from a commercial entity? It could feel that way, since it registers as a big company instead of an individual.

But I think also as designers we do have to steal in a way, even if it is reimagined in a context unique from the source. I’ve definitely looked into other creatives’ works to direct my own, and not just fine artists but designers too. Every person develops a unique way of working and sometimes imitating their process could spark better developments in my own. I’ve referenced Eric Carle’s method of painting sheets upon sheets of paper to use as swatches in several projects, for example.

“…plagiarism is the falsification of self” (156).

Generative AI has made stealing very easy. A prompt and a press of a button creates an image in the exact style of an existing designer or artist. But it takes the learning out of the work. It completely discards the satisfaction of working towards a solution, and that stunts growth and development. I think the process is just as important as the final result. I’ll speak more about this in my post on Helen Armstrong’s talk.

Here is a photo of what I’m working on currently. Some little items from Papa, and the to-be memory box that will contain them. Currently, I am waiting on a blank metal tin to come in the mail. It will be the same dimensions of the Altoids tin but have a flatter lid, better surface for adhesive.

[kdoarts346]

Week 5 - Reacting (pg. 149 - 165)

I’ve seen design be used as protest, to bring awareness and put a spotlight on society’s ills but I haven’t thought about it as generating catharsis too. I think that would apply to both the designer and the audience. To the designer, I can see the process of creating and documenting their feelings relieving some anxiety, that something tangible is being done. For the audience, perhaps it is putting a visual to feelings they’ve internalized but haven’t found a way to express. While it is a very simple message, I think the roll of stickers saying “Advertisers think you’re stupid” stands out the most to me. A whole industry is built on influencing people to consume more and more. That means sometimes they create problems to sell a product, like a new insecurity people hadn’t thought of before. In my opinion, this is most prevalent in the beauty industry. The sticker format makes it easy to spread this message by placing it on advertisements. Simple but effective.

For my packaging design, I’ve grown attached to the concept of a memory box, but I wanted it to be more portable. After looking into several different types of boxes I stumbled across the altoids wallet trend. It’s adorable. People put hairclips, lip balms, coins, etc. into their tins but I was thinking perhaps I could make one sort of like a portable memorial, dedicated to Papa with some of the last gifts he left me (pendant, birth year coins, leaf from succulent). I could decoupage it with NatGeo magazines we thrifted together and add quotes. The outside could be decorated like a clock.

[kdoarts346]

Week 4 - Responsible to Whom (pg. 196-198)

This week’s reading reminds me of a previous one about being a more community focused designer. I fear I am very much someone who does what they are told and I keep to myself. That would classify me as “responsible” in Ken Garland’s eyes. In this, he describes how often responsibility was “…consorting with captains of the industry in order to take appropriate action while conning the shareholders to let it through…” (198). There are many constraints when you work with a client, a given agreement of how to conduct ourselves in a business agreement. The conning to let things through part brought to mind how Professor Nace described a student that worked for a right-wing publication when he had left-leaning views to subtly shift views in terms of color and imagery. This was a way to express he didn’t like “the way things are” without being blatant.

I think we could all be more true to ourselves. It’s good to be self-aware.

Back when I was in community college, one of the assignments was to create a podcast. I conducted an interview with my grandma over the phone and recorded it. I recently listened to it again and something clicked into place. Everyone doesn’t call their loved ones enough. The story of my grandparents, specifically how she met my grandpa, is something that has always stuck with me and it’s a story she has repeatedly told me. I want to recreate the recording and talk a little about immigration and being Vietnamese American.

My biological grandpa was struck by an ox cart and passed away while my grandma was pregnant with my dad. This means my dad has never met him and neither have I, but we both have his face. We’re carbon copies of our fathers. I would like to explore this with the artist books.

The grandpa I know, he always wanted us to refer to him as Papa, was an incredibly generous and patient man. He was in the airforce. He met my grandma at the airport and brought her to America.

One of my biggest regrets is not appreciating Papa enough when he was still around. I could create a memorial of him with the packaging and talk about the fusion of Vietnamese and American culture.

Changing my story last minute is not ideal (wish I had realized it much earlier) but I think this new direction is much more personal to me, which will make the process much more meaningful. I have other stories I could tell but I can’t speak of them without crying, and they’re still too raw. I think that is why I struggled so much with starting off, but taking on this new angle will allow me to connect to my roots and spend more time with my grandma.

I’m going to create a new plan and I’m going to stick to it.

[kdoarts346]

Week 3 - Weaving Design Community (pg. 95-99)

This essay brings me back to the talk we had in class about how we define ourselves as designers. Personally, I would work for a cigarette company, but I can see why someone wouldn’t. I do agree that a step back from commercialism is a good thing. In my personal life, this year I’ve been trying to cut back on consumerism. Every message is buy, buy, buy! But the fact of the matter is that stuff isn’t important, relationships are. This essay inspired me in a good way as someone who feels like phytoplankton floating right now. Maybe it is time to contact some organizations that matter to me and see if I could work on something for them.

To be honest, I might go back to the drawing board and completely revise the current project. I’ve been avoiding getting too personal, too vulnerable, as I’ve had experiences that are very difficult to talk about that I’m trying to envision with this. I don’t think I’ve fully processed them myself, or rather, I wasn’t allowed to.

Professor Nace said that the on-screen portion does not have to have a physical screen. It could be a device and the screen is the audio. That feeling of being left out and the words of others becoming internalized hit home with me. In The Ugly Duckling, there is a point where the duckling is so beaten down by constant rejection he starts assuming the swans will end him on principal of not being worthy. He sticks out his neck and waits for them to hurt him, given no evidence that they would. I realize I could dig much deeper with this project and that it doesn’t have to be quite so literal of a translation. How could I make the person viewing my project feel the same dread and anxiety I do?

[kdoarts346]

Week 2 - Citizen Scholar (pg. 20-31)

This was an irregular week. I can’t believe we actually got snow. The zoom meeting with Sarah Matthews reminded me of last week’s reading and the importance of designing for a cause.

I was really interested in this week’s reading because of the visual examples of packaging. The reimagined cigarette branding stood out to me as the message is immediate and eye-catching. It would make a consumer think twice when faced with these images that trigger fear and disgust. My favorite is the one that has the cigarettes between the teeth, showing how smoking could make them yellow. It is clever because the interaction with the product is opening it, thus opening the mouth like the actual movement of a jaw. It is something to think about when I work on the packaging segment, how people would intuitively use something and the implications I could create.

The focus on emotion is definitely something to consider for my story. The progression of The Ugly Duckling is that the situation gets worse before it gets better. To create a more personal experience, I’ve decided I’ll be putting the viewer in the duckling’s shoes. Still drawing inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen’s original story, the duckling waddles out into the world and encounters several creatures that react to him negatively. That feeling of rejection builds and builds at this part of the story. I want to capture that intensity.

For my on screen adaptation, the viewer will be able to look into the duckling’s inner thoughts as he faces a hostile world. I will start with bright, warm ‘cosy’ colors to signify hope then slowly transition to dark, complementary color contrasts to create tension and unease. Every new encounter will look huge and intimidating. While the original story isn’t a horror, I think incorporating some elements would heighten that feeling of uneasiness.

I’ve created a moodboard of illustration styles I’d like to emulate in the experience.

Two ideas I am toying with:

Figma prototype of an app that will function like a visual novel. You are the duckling. It seems like you have choices but the catch is that there is only one ‘right’ way. You can only move forward. You cannot go back. Any attempt at going back to safety (a previous point in the story) will be met with urgent pop-ups on screen. You have to keep going forward and your mental state worsens and worsens…until…the last part of the story (which will be the artist books).

QR Codes on printouts of drawings of the encounters that look friendly but when scanned will have an augmented reality element (likely an animated gif overlay) that makes them more scary and intimidating, the way the duckling views them.

[kdoarts346]

Week 1 - Good Citizenship (pg. 2-8)

The issue of individualism is in the United States has long been discussed but not something I truly thought about until I traveled and saw just how consumerism has affected the community. In the summer of 2023, I visited my father in Vietnam. He lives in a village in the mountains and everyone knew everyone. If you needed anything at all, you would go down the street and walk into someone’s house to get it, as the storefronts were usually their front doors. Something that sticks with me is that I was there during monsoon season, so the streets were flooded one day as I traveled with my friend. Almost immediately someone was coming out to help us when our motorcycle broke down in the water, and as I witnessed their conversation flow so casually, I thought about how I don’t talk to my neighbors at home at all. I know people who have immigrated from Vietnam to start their new lives in America, and they too are consumed by the constant push for materialism.

We have lost ourselves.

To bring it back to design, this chapter speaks on how this pervasive concept of consumerism over community has affected visual communications, where “…political or social concerns are extraneous…or inappropriate” (3). Professionalism is defined by works that are sterile and advertising-friendly, but this chapter also details how this in itself is not void of political bias, as it prioritizes economics over every other concern.

“Universalism has brought us the homogenized proper corporate style…ignoring the power and potential of regional, idiosyncratic, personal, or culturally specific stylistic vocabularies” (5).

In my design practice, I try to draw from sources that are not only based in the western world, but that is something I want to prioritize moving forward. I also find myself in the cycle of creating works that are safe and corporate, often avoiding making anything too personal.

But maybe that personal connection is needed— and necessary.

For our semester-long project, we are designing around stories we feel connected to. I chose Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling, and I spoke of the general theme of self-acceptance but did not delve deeper in my paper. The reality is that I am a minority in the state of South Carolina and I’ve always felt a sense of being othered up. In a way, I relate to the duckling. Until I went to high school, and later college, where I was able to interact with a more diverse student population, I faced harassment. In elementary school, I was forced into the ESOL (English As A Second Language) program just on the basis of being Vietnamese. To be clear, I was born and raised right here in Columbia, South Carolina. I read above my grade level. They would take me out of my class for the lessons and every year there was an assessment to evaluate my English. I understood English just fine. It was never an issue. I had kids at the age of 8 asking me if I ate dogs and pulling at their eyes with their fingers to mock me. These are things I did not realize were wrong until I’ve grown up. This is the sort of hatred that is taught to children. It baffles me how young it started.

I hope to capture this feeling of alienation in my project, but also the sense of community I found later on. I feel that it is important to speak on.