Gally 470

Final Thesis Deliverables

Reading #8 - Intro, Fwd, Chapter 1

This book starts out on a very interesting note talking about the evolution of design. It’s interesting to think about how far design has come in the last few decades. From the sheer increase in designers alone, it’s obvious to see that has design has not only established itself as a legitimate profession, but one that also has integrity and is taken seriously in society. In essence, most of our society has become very designed…although not all of it is well designed. That definitely is a product of both an abundance of designers and a society adept to design. People have to begun to expect things to become visual but like it is mentioned in the book, with that has come an unfortunate tendency to be “safe” when choosing visual looks for company campaigns.

My favorite part of this reading though was definitely in chapter 1 when he discussed the importance of being able to effectively communicate the idea’s behind one’s work. He used the example of a radiator in a block of ice and while I was reading it, I was able to visualize the campaign in my own head. That there made me understand how effective communication can be when trying to relay the visual direction of your piece to your client in a verbal manner. It is great to see how truly necessary it is to be just as proficient in a communicative manner as a design manner in order to be successful. I think as a designer sometimes I get lost in the visual directions of my own pieces forgetting that sometimes the ideas behind my work wont translate perfectly unless I can effectively pitch them in a verbal format. In essence, verbal and visual communication need to become one within the designer.

Reading #5 - Cultural Probes

I found the methods discussed in this article to be very engaging and inspiring. These designers were tasked with the job of not only reaching people in different cultures, but ones of a specific age group. That task required that their designs be very specific to the audience that they are geared towards. The “probes” that the group designed almost acted like a design piece within a design. The probes were carefully constructed and thought out in order to assist the designers in gathering quality information while being careful to not alienate their audience. The probes proved to be engaging and fun and created a dialogue between the designers and audience which provided invaluable information towards their final designs. This just shows the importance of gathering information from one’s core audience. It can make or break a design campaign. Properly reaching the audience is what can decide both the value of a design campaign and of course the success of it.

Reading #4 - Audience as Co-Designer

I found this to be a very interesting article. It showed how truly important the audience can be when it comes to the design process. In most situations, the audience is simply polled with questions to get their input on the campaign designs. In this instance though, the audience was actually given the opportunity to participate in the design process. It was great to see how truly effective their input could be. It’s evident, especially in situations where the culture plays a big part of how the designs will be accepted, that the audience really needs to be a huge part of the process. In this case, having the audience help design the posters was successful because they were better able to connect to the core audience with the imagery and symbolism used in the posters. This article definitely gives a lot of great insight into how designers need to really evaluate their audience and what the most effective way of reaching them will be.

Senior Thesis Deliverables

Here is the final list of deliverables for my thesis project which is to develop a limited edition box set for a complete catalog of music for a band.

1. Custom box to house all the music and extra deliverables

2. Custom designed cd’s for each release

3. Custom designed vinyl for each release

3. Hardback limited edition book

4. Buttons

5. Poster/Print

6. Custom usb drive with albums included digitally

7. Stickers

8. Store displays

9. Media Advertising

Thesis Project Ideas

Idea#1 - Music Box Set Packaging

I would like to take a complete catalog of music from a band and design a special edition commemorative box set for the cd’s. Since the advent of itunes and online music downloading, the sale of actual hard copies of albums has severely dropped. I want to create a reason for the consumer to want to buy physical music again. With special packaging, it can create incentive for instore purchases. Some of the deliverables would be the redesigned discs, a hardback book, poster, buttons, stickers, a custom usb drive, and a special box to house everything in.

Idea#2 - NBA 65th Anniversary

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the National Basketball Association. Due to that, I would like to create a campaign to promote the NBA and its rich history. I want the campaign to not only address current basketball fans but to aid in garnering interest from new fans. Deliverables would be hardback limited edition book, posters, trading cards, website design, smartphone app design.

The Punk Movement

When people think of the punk movement, many of them immediately resort to ideas based around an aggressive form of music. As a movement, punk rock was much more than music, it was about social defiance and change. The music was merely a channel in which the idealism of punk could grow.

As a form of music punk rock established itself in the mid 70’s in Europe and America with bands like the New York Dolls, The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash. The music was rock and roll based but maintained a much quicker tempo thus giving it a much more aggressive profile. The music was stripped down to fit what was primarily the bigger picture of the punk movement which was the anti-establishment cause.

Being rooted in the d.i.y. ethic, purveyors of the punk ethos were defined by their “anti” attitude. People in the punk movement showed it in multiple ways. They dressed in a manner dissimilar from popular culture. Politically, many punks held an anarchist belief system and were non-conformists in regards to both local and national government.

The essential baseline of the social punk movement was to exist in a manner entirely counter to common society. That ideal crossed over into all aspects of their lives. The music became an essential cornerstone of the punk movement and helped to define it in the eyes of society. It was a way to group a large number of people who existed with a similar belief system rooted in anti-establishment. The music however was not what defined punk, it was the social ideals of the people who listened to it. That is why today, punk rock really doesn’t exist any longer in the same vein. The music may still sound the same but the passion for drastic change is gone.