Call to the Creative Thinker Blog: a new addition to the Creative Thinking Campaign

Here is the link to this blog I just created recently please feel free to join and contribute as much or as little as you want.

call to the creative thinker blog

Buy Nothing Day.

I heard about buy nothing day a long time ago in an email that a friend sent me, but it wasn't until i was crusing the adbusters website that I remembered it. Think about it, one day where nobody purchased anything. didn't go to the store and buy a new pair of shoes, or the grocerie store, or buy gas, or even trade stocks? you might ask yourself how much could this effect things its just one day?

the whole thing speaks to consuming less, as our culture is one of consumption. buy buy buy, we have to have it all. it reminds me of a t-shirt i used to have "he who dies with the most toys, still dies".

pretty interesting stuff to speculate about, check out the campaigns here

A go to site for finding our where social design is happening...

I have come across www.socialdesignsite.com It is a site that has a "archive" of projects, movements and people that all have something in common, social design. Their motto is "we cannot not change the world" and they have worked together to gather these items to raise awareness about social design like this class is. Check it out. Design Ignites Change is listed, Buy Nothing Day from Adbusters is listed, Critical Mass is listed. I'm sure many of you are familiar with some of the projects listed.

It Makes Me Want to Weep

This was a initiative created by Thomas Starr that memorialized children and young adults killed in urban violence within Boston from 1980 - 2005. I love this bus so much because it focuses on individual people not statics.  They become real because there is a story behind each person. And the way that the individuals are represented give us something that we can relate to and tells us all how the world would be better with them in it. I gives me hope in all we can be and do my fellow classmates. Hooray for graphic design, for our future, and us!

recycling, PHILLY style

mayor nutter of philadelphia recently unveiled an initiative plan to make philadelphia the greenest city in the US, after being at the bottom of the list of cities in terms of the amount of trash picked up as recycling.

in this initiative, nutter and the mayor’s office of sustainability have set goals in five areas: energy, environment, equity, economy, and engagement.

--- some of the things they wish to achieve being:
. increase the amount of recycling by residents to 25% by 2015
. divert 70 percent of solid waste from landfills
. install public space recycling containers in center city
. etc


greenworks philadelphia outlines nutter’s ideas and initiative plans.


one of their tactics, as mentioned above is to increase the amount of recycling through public engagement. the evidence of this idea is the utilized by the “mural arts program recycling truck project.”








in this project, graphic designers are basically decorating these recycling trucks with graphic wraps featuring environmental textile designs.


while i think this is a neat idea, im not so sure that i would “get it” if i merely saw a pretty truck driving by with no explanation.

i almost feel like this is an only half-way finished project. it seems to me that some supporting text somewheres would help in this endeavor. even as simple as a putting “RECYCLE” on the side of the truck in addition to the design.

in addition, what is it about an embellished truck that is going to make me want to recycle? i can think this concept is cool all day long, but if i have a plastic bottle and the closest thing to me is a trash can, what about this truck is going to make me thing-- “hey, i should find a recycling bin.”



i don’t know. what do you think?

Crossing

So came across and found it to be pretty interesting. After watching the clip i wonder how many pedestrians got hit because they were distracted. (sorry that might be in bad taste)

7 ads for social change

So I came across this page that had 7 ads on promoting social change and environmental awareness. It grabbed my attention because these pieces aren't just posters they are actual objects or installations placed in their environments around the for the public to see.

After looking at these for awhile I started wondering what kind of impact would these have on the public. Would it just be the shock factor and getting the message out for whoever was paying attention or do this actually make a impact on that certain issue. Would a on looker who saw the ads of children placed in a revolving door actually go and try to stop child labour or just think thats so sad? Do these pieces of work actually make a difference?

Just wondering about your thoughts on it.

Alright... I know it may seem a little silly, but since I find myself watching more children's television than I had ever expected to in my life, I saw this on, and thought it was a great example of typography entering into a 3 dimensional space and being incorporated into the motion piece. The song is silly but hey, whatever.

Dove: Evolution

I posted this in response to Kelly's "Sex, Lies and Photoshop" and "Don't Forget" posts. It is part of doves real beauty campaign. 

It seems like they are advocating against image manipulation. I think in reality the people at Dove have actually exploited a void in the marketplace. Instead of being real advocates against image manipulation they are trying to distinguished themselves from their competitors using a clever transfer technique. What do you think real advocates or just trying to sell more beauty products?

How Green Is Your Takeaway Container?

Since the school cafeteria is not always the best choice for dining, I often find myself ordering take-out. The thing with that is, the food always comes in a container. Often, those containers "takes massive amounts of energy to create, and much of it doesn’t properly decompose." From styrofoam to edible ice-cream cones, this great article examines how "green" your takeaway container is.

A Glimpse Ahead...

According to Microsoft, technology will drive the future of sustainability. There is no doubt that the innovative interface designs and concepts in this video are amazing. I truly admire the clear and simple presentation of information in all of the interfaces. I do wonder how practical these applications will be in terms of sustainability? What are your thoughts?

p.s. The book "Cradle to Cradle" makes an appearance...see if you can spot it.

Ideas that Matter

Although this video, in my opinion, took the importance level over the top with the dramatic music in the background it made very simple real points about what matters.

"What matters is that the idea is tangible and will create action" is the one I was most interested in. It seems like a reflectional question for design work with a greater purpose. Will my campaign, poster, billboard, web-site, packaging, "whatever design artifact" create action? Is this subject tangible?

Ideas that Matter Promotional Video

After watching this video, I looked into some of the Ideas that Mattered last year. This is a program for grant proposals to get ideas that matter the funding they need to become reality. It is those who have helping those who haven't to create good change. Upon looking at who had received grants in the past I came upon The Design Department of KU who was working with the Non-profit organization of The Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Here is an article about the project.

Another project that we have discussed that has received this grant is the University of Illinois at Chicago for AIGA Design Democracy in 2003.

What idea, in the future, could the Kansas City Art Institute Graphic Design Department, propose that matters? Anything come to mind? Would this have interested anyone? Of course this would have been quite the load of work and dedication, but I think like "Design Ignites Change" program the learning outcome is much more rewarding and plentiful than "normal" assignments.

How do you feel about what Sappi is doing with supplying these grants?

obama's posters: message in the image

alright,

here is a historical/contemporary parallel for you. -- or maybe it falls under the category of propaganda alert. . . . or perhaps it is a rhetorical trope. . . . i have my opinions, but i more interested in yours.

from an article i read on the american thinker, there is a brief column about the posters used in the obama campaign. not to give you all too much information, as i would like you to read it yourselves, some key things were addressed in the aesthetic of the obama posters and their relationship to past politically tied posters.

one of the most interesting points being that the obama images appropriate the graphic styles of totalitarian soviet propaganda.

now, the reason i mention the above stated, is because if anyone really pays attention to politics--- and when i say really pays attention, that does not mean just believing in something because everyone other artist around does, but really takes an understanding to past political movements (in both our country and others) -- then perhaps there is a meaning behind this visual approach.




... still an advocate?

Re-Branding

With the events that transpired as a result of Tropicana's re-brading, it's become quite clear that people do care about what packaging looks like. When I first heard that Tropicana is going back to their old packaging because they had so many complaints about their new packaging, I was kind of disappointed that the public didn't appreciate the new simple design. Instead, most people thought that it looked too "generic". According to the New York Times, one customer complained, “Do any of these package-design people actually shop for orange juice? Because I do, and the new cartons stink.” This particular instance shows the importance of designing for your audience and not for designs' sake.

Though Tropicana's attempt to improve their brand didn't go too well with the public, I appreciate the risk they took to advance their brand in a new direction. UnderConsideration's Brand New is a great site that blogs about redesigned brands. For example, Chipotle recently updated their look.

Before

after

What are your thoughts on re-branding?

The New Math

Craig Damrauer has created a new form of math by replacing numbers with words. Most of the equations are humorous, though some of them can be thought provoking. It's quite interesting to see simple phrases and words be broken down into more complex ideas and emotions.

Craig updates his site quite often with a new equation each Monday. Check out New Math

Peapod

A few days ago, I was listening to an episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre ( a radio program broadcast in the 1970's). This particular episode happened to be about a couple from the future named Sid and Toody who traveled back to 1975 to warn people about the damage to the earth that pollution and gas emissions will cause. They proposed a solution to prevent the problem. Their solution was to create cars that are solar powered or electric so it won't need gas to run. Though the story itself was fictitious, the damage that cars have inflicted on the earth today is a reality.



When I discovered this new car, called the Peapod, it reminded me of that Radio Mystery Theatre episode. This car is the future. The Peapod is all electric, doesn't use gas, and therefore doesn't give out emissions.

"The Peapod all-electric is a low-speed vehicle that’s eco-friendly and people friendly. And it's made of over 95% recycled and recyclable materials. The Peapod all-electric vehicle is charged like an appliance. Like your cell phone, iPod® and laptop, your vehicle is as simple as all your other pocket-friendly devices."

Check out the Peapod

Design DOES Ignite Change

So, we have one more session left before "Design Ignites Change" comes to an end. Thus far, it's been a really fulfilling experience. I'm quite surprised at how well everything is coming together (I was worried because of our limited time). Going through this process has really shown me the value of guidance and the importance of embracing the mentee's ideas and building upon it. It's really exciting to see that my mentee is excited about the project and has worked on it in between our class sessions. Next Wednesday is gonna be great!

What about you mentors? What have you learned from this experience?

Children's Safe Drinking Water

GREAT SITE! GREAT CAUSE!

This site does a great job of combining interactivity to engage the viewer as well as to educate them about this PurWater product.
CLICK to experience it!