New Designers In Practice

We’re almost there. It’s been a great semester. Let’s finish it off with a bang!

Let’s see those motion graphics and revised presentations today. You’ll have class to work and ask any questions before the final presentation, next week!

Also, some last links for inspiration: For you info geeks, from the superhuman that brings you Cargo Collective AND But Does It Float: Space Collective! Also, GOOD Magazine and Feltron’s Portfolio Site.

Here’s the link to those FLASH FILES!

Lernert & Sander

We’ll look at your visual designs for the home and internal pages today and some examples of motion graphics for inspiration!

Lernert & Sander
Psyop
NYTimes Interactive
RVLT

Also, here’s the link for Booklyn! Also, Printed Matter.

Homework:

• Work on the motion graphic for next week. This can be an animation, an animated slideshow of images, an interactive element, or a video.
• Make revisions to the presentation and visual design based on feedback from class.

Daytum

Hey Folks! It’s turkey week. Let’s have a fun work day and present those visual designs before the holiday. We’ll also look at some beautiful information design here:

Daytum
Information is Beautiful
Information Architects
The work of Edward Tufte
An Atlas of Radical Cartography

Homework:

• Finish visual design for homepage and one internal page to present next week.
• Revise presentations based on feedback.
• Read these two articles from Information Architects on
  Simplicity
  Why Designers Have an Attitude

Rapid Prototyping with Aza Raskin from Dan Braghis on Vimeo.

We’ll take a look at your logos today and some examples of websites that use basic design principles in very effective ways. Make sure your 3 sizes of logos and business cards are printed, trimmed, and ready to present to class.

Image Mechanics
Lincoln Pixel
Ben Sekulowicz-Barclay
D8 Design Blog
Jake Przespo
Effektive Studio
Where They At
Made By Shape

I’ll also do a workshop on paper prototyping and wireframing, just to make sure it’s solid in everyone’s minds.

Homework:

• Revise Logos, Business Cards, and presentations.
• Download: package for media and content for the Isles Microsite.Use the content in the word document to establish the navigation and provide example content.
• Create a Paper Prototype, scan, and add to presentation (NO DARK PHOTOS!). Include Logo, Navigation, Feature Box for Motion Graphic, Main article, Call-out Box, and Footer for Legal/Contact Information.
• Create a digital Wireframe and add to presentation. It should also contain all of the elements above.
• Create the visual design for your homepage. The area of content should measure 960 pixels wide x 800 px high (this measurement does not include a background, which can extend beyond these measurements.)

Eye Bee M poster designed by Rand in 1981 for IBM.

We’ll take a look at your presentations of research on Isles.org today. Remember that it should include screenshots of the existing site, 3 similar organizations, and 3 sources for inspiration.

I’ve talked to the good folks at Isles, and this is their project that they will need a microsite for:

• Isles E4 (Energy, Environment, Equity and Employment) is designed to be a sustainable, non-profit subsidiary of Isles, serving the emerging statewide home energy efficiency market while generating high-paying jobs for local residents.

Now that we have this new information, we will want to do more research for this microsite specifically. So, for next week, provide 3 more examples of organizations that are more related to energy efficiency, sustainability, and green jobs (if you haven’t done so already) and generally gear the presentation towards E4, rather than Isles.org. Work on your mood board, logo, and business card.

We’ll look at the work of Paul Rand and think about ways to communicating an idea through an image. We’ll watch this Video of him too.
We’ll also look at some more examples of using Type as Image and Penguin Book Covers to understand how convey ideas through shapes, color, and type.

Finally, my former student Jessica Jaffe will be visiting today and speaking to you about life after school!

Homework:

• Add 3 more examples of related organizations (specific to E4) and generally gear presentation towards E4.
• Work on your mood board and add to your presentation (this should include 2 primary and 1 supporting color, 2 typefaces-one for display and one for body text, and inspirational images).
• Include a page that gives us an idea of the audience.
• Bring a rough draft of your logo (printed at 3 sizes and included in presentation). It should include the text “E4″ or the mission should be symbolized by a graphic. Think about type as image, using simple graphics/colors to symbolize the mission. Use only 1 hue.
• Bring a rough draft of business card (printed and trim to size and included in presentation). It should include the text “Isles E4,” Name (Peter Rose), Address, Phone, Website and Email (take these from website) as well as the logo you designed. Use no more than 2 hues.

Gridded composition courtesy of Joel Califa, 2010.

CREATIVE RESPONSE Critique:

We’ll do a critique today of your Creative Responses project. If you made any changes to the first portion of it, make sure to bring that in as well!

Here is the assignment sheet for the FINAL PROJECT. We’ll take a look at possible organizations for us to focus on:

• Isles Inc.
• HFNY
• Machon Chana

In thinking about logos, we’ll look at examples of Image as Text in this presentation and play with cropping to emphasize negative space and figure/ground relationships.

As per Jobana’s request, we’ll also practice basic visual compositions by working with grids. Here is a great site that shows nice designs based on the grid system.

Homework:

• Begin your research (Phase 1 for your final project)
  

• Watch this video on laying out text based on the grid.
• Download this page and cut out the black rectangles (very exactly).
• In your sketchbook, draw out 9 small squares (3”x3”) which are also divided into a 3×3 grid with pencil. You will use this to record your compositions. Leave room under each square to write.
• Now, create 3 compositions in which the widest rectangle is one top (or left), 3 where it is somewhere in the middle, and 3 where it is on the bottom (or right). All rectangles should stay along the horizontal and you will use the circle as your focal point. Record them after you have made each one on your Bristol Board with pen.
• After finishing each composition, take a moment to look at each one. What feeling does it give you? Write that down under each square.
• Read the excerpt from Grid Systems by Kimberly Elam.
• Try to find your composition in the examples that she gives. What critique does she offer (if any)? Write it down under the drawing.

Etienne Jules Marey

We’ll take a look at your research today on your chosen artist/designer(s). Make sure to bring your 2-page paper, and DVD/poster.

A look at moving image throughout history:

1. Eadweard Muybridge
2. Etienne Jules Marey, 1876-1904
3. Phenakistoscope
4. Zoetrope
5. An early film by the Lumiere Brothers
6. Edison’s Kinetoscope
7. First Sound Film, Edison Kinetophone
8. Man with a Moving Camera, Dziga Vertov
9. Un Chien Andalou

Contemporary examples of moving image/animation:

1. Dakota by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries
2. History of the Main Complaint by William Kentridge
3. Part of La Jeteé by Chris Marker
4. A few from StopMotionStudies by David Crawford
5. Copenhagen Cycles
6. Please Say Something
7. Pups & Order
8. The Sandpit

Homework:

• Work on your creative response.
• Look at the links above and think about how technology changes the way that art is presented. How does is change the meaning of the art? Write 3 paragraphs about the history of the moving image and how it affects the meaning linked from your index page.

Women in Flux at the MoMA Silverman Library

Remember that we are meeting at the MoMA today at 3:30PM. Don’t be late! I am entering the gallery at 3:30 and will count you absent if you are not there with me.

We’re going to practice our research skills today. Bring your sketchbook so you can take notes. You should already be well into your research project by now. We will also talk about type and what you learned from the Initiation in Typrography book, so make sure you have ready both readings and be prepared to discuss them.

Homework:

Finish the research and video/poster portion of this project for next week. Print out your 2-page research paper and poster (if you are making one). If you have a video, burn it to a DVD.

You’ll be presenting your website redesigns this week and beginning your research projects!

I’ll show some past student work, and some work that inspires me.

Here is the list of artists:

MoMA:
Henri Matisse
London transport posters
Rising Currents
Dinh Q. Lê
Kitchen Design
Action! Design over Time
Maya Deren

Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Doug & Mike Starn
Between Here & There

Other Museums and Galleries:
Julie Mehretu – Guggenheim
Brion Gysin – New Museum
Droog Design – Shop on Greene St
An-My Lê – Murray Guy Gallery
Polly Apfelbaum – D’Amelio Terras
David Scher – Pierogi
William Kentridge – Marian Goodman, MoMA, Online

READING for this week (Make sure to respond on your index page):
Craft of Research
Initiation in Typography
***We’re meeting at the MoMA (11 W. 53rd St) next week. Be there on time, at 3:30!***

It’s time to step up. You are getting ready for future internships and jobs, and you need to be prepared on many different levels. Here is a recent job description ad for the company Hyperakt, which works with a lot of amazing organizations. Read it and think about what you need to work on.

Interactive Designer

Description:
Hyperakt is growing and we’re looking for fresh talent!

Hyperakt is an independent New York City design firm with a passion for creating work that effects change in the world around us: meaningful design for the common good. We create brand identities, websites, and printed communications for clients like NAACP, ACLU, UNICEF, United Nations, GOOD Magazine, Adobe, North Star Fund, Syracuse International Film Festival, Focus Features, Nikon, NHL, Saucony, Monster and Penguin Books, among others.

We are working on exciting stuff for great clients and are looking to add a smart, creative interactive designer to our team. Hyperaktivists are full of personality and have a boundless thirst for knowledge. We’re looking for a young interactive designer who will work directly with a lead interactive designer and a creative director and on all projects. You’ll be working in a tight-knit environment where you’ll be getting tons of experience and will be exposed to everything happening in the studio. The position is full-time freelance to start with the possibility of turning into full-time staff shortly after.

If you want to grow in an environment that fosters learning, sharing and innovating with people who are passionate about their work and have fun doing it, give us a shout.

Responsibilities:
• Participate in collaborative interactive concept development
• Create site-maps, wireframes and functional prototypes
• Work closely with creative director and interactive lead on front-end design
• Work closely with interactive lead on front end coding and implementation
• Product testing and optimizing
• Potential for client interaction

Required:
• Awesome portfolio
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Self-motivated, highly organized independent thinker
• Optimistic and creative problem solver
• Tendency to be a do-gooder, “help old ladies cross the street” kind of person
• 1+ years interaction design work experience
• Killer visual sensibility and passion for good design
• An in-depth understanding of the web environment including latest trends and technologies
• A love for code – strong HTML, CSS and Javascript
• A mastery of Photoshop and Illustrator
• Experience with Wordpress
• Experience with Squarespace, Drupal, PHP and Flash are a plus
• Ability to handle multiple projects of diverse scope and effectively meet deadlines
• Ability to adapt quickly to changes in specs and timelines and to high pressure situations
• Ability to work in a team oriented environment

Compensation:
Negotiable, based on experience

Apply:
Please send a link to your site, cover letter and resume.
Hyperakt will only contact strong candidates and ask them to come to the studio for an interview.