Journal 11

Who is Debbie Millman?

Debbie Millman is the president of the design division at Sterling Brands, which is an international design consultancy. Millman has worked on the redesign of global brands for Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Campbell’s, Colgate, Hershey and Hasbro. Debbie is President of the AIGA, the professional association for design. She is a contributing editor at Print Magazine and the chair of the new Masters in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts. In 2005, she began hosting “Design Matters with Debbie Millman,” the first weekly radio talk show about design on the Internet. Millman is the author of books, How To Think Like A Great Graphic Designer and The Essential Principles of Graphic Design (Rotovision, 2008). Her new book, Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design, will be published by How Books in Fall 2009. (Cited from Design Observer)

Debbie Millman: Stefan Sagmeister: Sabbaticals

Millman starts with a little story about the year she turned 30 years old, in which she went through a divorce and also started frequent visits to a therapist. To top it off, her house was infected with fleas and she had decided to move out. As the moving men carried her belongings out of her house, she became aware of how absurd it was to carry all of these belongings from place to place. Millman ends up giving her number to one of the moving men,and ended up in Israel over the summer with her new "boyfriend." Throughout the summer, she remembers how stressed she was, worrying that she would be unemployable. Returning home, she landed a job only to find that it wouldn't make her happy either. Now, Millman enjoys the host of Debbie Millman's Design Matters, her design talk show.

Summary:

Sagmeister took a sabbatical to take a break to step back and realize what he does and who he does it for. Finding success in his life, Sagmeister realized that it is human nature to not be permanently happy, and that the initial excitement of something new fades over time. Sagmeister was worried about telling his clients he was going on a sabbatical, but to his surprise, they were all very supportive and envious of what he was doing. Sagmeister considers Google's 20% of free/personnel time is a form of a sabbatical. He says what matters, is that the time is planned and that it is kept holy, meaning it is not interrupted. During his sabbatical, Sagmeister designed furniture in Bali, that would eventually go in his renovated NY apartment. Sagmeister also talks about the Happiness project, which is a documentary that is "graphic designy" by nature..it is something he is currently working on.

After listening to the interview, I found it interesting, and also inspiring that someone as successful as Sagmeister takes time for himself by going on sabbaticals. I think that the story Millman starts the interview off with is also something worth reflecting on. Like she says, although she spent her summer in Israel, instead of being inspired and taking something great away from the experience, she instead stressed about finding a job, which she realized when she returned home,that the job she had idolized didn't end up making her happy. Sagmeister also mentions Google's 20% personnel time benefit, and refers to it as a form of a sabbatical, which is something I never would've considered. Sagmeister says that a sabbatical can happen in any form, and essentially on any scale. I think that the importance of taking a break and allowing yourself time and time to accomplish a particular goal, is very important, even if it only is once every seven years as Sagmeister does. After listening to this interview, I decided to look up the definition of a sabbatical, and this is what I found:

1.)Sabbatical or a sabbatical (from Latin sabbaticus, from Greek sabbatikos, from Hebrew shabbat, i.e., Sabbath, literally a "ceasing") is a rest from work, or a hiatus, often lasting from two months to a year. The concept of sabbatical has a source in shmita, described several places in the Bible (Leviticus 25, for example, where there is a commandment to desist from working the fields in the seventh year). In the strict sense, therefore, sabbatical lasts a year. (wikipedia)

2.)In recent times, "sabbatical" has come to mean any extended absence in the career of an individual in order to achieve something. In the modern sense, one takes sabbatical typically to fulfill some goal, e.g., writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, and/or academics offer the opportunity to qualify for paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called sabbatical leave. Some companies offer unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks; this is a growing trend in the United Kingdom, with 20% of companies having a career break policy, and a further 10% considering introducing one.^[1]

Journal 10: GOOD is

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, I HAVE VISITED GOOD IS ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION. THE FIRST TIME I WAS INTRODUCED TO THIS SITE WAS DURING OUR INFOGRAPHIC PROJECT FIRST SEMESTER. Looking for ways to display information to an audience, and also how to put our specific info into an appropriate context, were a few of the reasons we visited this site. Some of the infographics I particularly enjoyed from my first visit to Good are the following:

The second time I visited this site was for our Timelines that we recently completed. Again, Good provided several great examples of different ways to organize and display information. Some of the info graphics that I find are most successful, are the ones that provide a visual image along with the text. A good infographic should allow you to glance at the information and get a good idea of what it is about, and then once you take a closer look, all the important info is organized in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate. One way to achieve this is to use images that identify the topic of the info, and that also place the info into a context, for example the latte info graphic above.

Information is something we are always trying to communicate to an audience, and using an info graphic is a fast way to show that info to someone in an interesting way verses just laying all the facts and figures out in a spreadsheet or chart. Last week in Graphics, we took our "research" from following a peer for a day, and created an info graphic that diagrammed our day, and where the problem area occurred. Information is something we are continually dealing with, and as designers, the more efficient we can become at organizing this info, the better our design and message becomes. As I viewed some of the videos, I found that understanding the info is made even easier when it is put into motion verses a graphic. The audio that went along with the videos was also very helpful and the combo of hearing it and seeing it really allows you to absorb the information. I also realized from viewing these, that the sound that goes along with the animations can really enhance the video if done correctly. Of the videos I watched, The State of the Planet was probably the least entertaining to me, I did however like the Hidden Cost of War. I think that because the Hidden Cost of War had upbeat music, and more sound effects, it seemed to really bring the info to life. The State of the Planet was a little bit static, and there wasn't a lot of consistency throughout the animation. I found that the limited color palette and style of graphics/ typography used in Hidden Cost of War made more it cohesive.

The State of the Planet:

Hidden Cost of War:

Kinetic Typography

KINETIC TYPOGRAPHY: WAR OF THE WORLDS

I found this example of type in motion, of all the videos I have viewed, this is BY FAR the best. Unlike most of the you tube videos, the creator of this animation really uses specific effects and transitions that best represent the tone,mood, and message of the audio clip. I found this to be very inspiring and very  impressive!

New Basics reading

SUMMARY OF NEW BASICS READING:

WHILE READING THE ASSIGNED PAGES FROM OUR NEW BASICS DESIGN BOOK, I took some notes on the important points that I feel would be helpful throughout our animated speech process.

SCALE: Developing a sensitivity to scale is an ongoing process for every designer. Designers are often unpleasantly surprised when they first print out a piece they have been designing on screen; elements that look vibrant on screen may appear dull on paper.

*This is something I always find out when I first print something I have invested a lot of time on while on the computer. I feel that although we will go through a lot of process during a project, occasionally being required to print it out is always beneficial. Until you actually see it on paper and how the white space, actual scale, etc. looks in print, there is no sure way to guarantee what your design will look like if you only critique it in digital form.

SCALE IS RELATIVE:

-When elements are the same size the design feels flat

-Contrast in size can create a sense of tension as well as a feeling of depth and movement

-Small shapes recede, large ones move forward

-Cropping implies scale

MOTION:

-Diagonal compositions evoke emotion

-Rectilinear arrangements appear static

-Cropping a shape can suggest motion and an object moving off of the page, so does sinuous line or a pointed triangular shape

-Showing images in a row is accepted way to represent time

-Using cropping,sequence,placement to suggest time and movement

STORYBOARDS:

-summarize the content or key movements,personality,emotions, and gestures of characters and objects

-display sequentially to visualize animated action of the piece

-storyboarding and developing style frames are creative processes that allow designer to plan/brainstorm before animation is realized.

ANIMATING TYPE:

-designers have to pay attention to legibility

-words can fade out,flicker on/off screen letter by letter

-sudden/constant motion in title sequence can set tone for action to come

-you can create sequence by using changes in position, scale,color and transparency

-objects can fade slowly onto screen (changing transparency), while getting bigger(scale)

-looping implies a continuous motion

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SEQUENCE ACTIVITY:

I feel like our cut/paste sequence activity was a good intro to our type in motion project. Using primarily type, pacing,scale, sequence, color, etc. are all going to be the key tools we use when creating a successful printed and animated version of our speeches. By starting with cut out text and images, I think we were able to explore a lot more freely than if we were to move right to the computer, (which is sometimes intimidating because you feel it has to be more refined and that you are creating more of a "final composition," verses just exploring options. Getting familiar with using pacing and scale first in print and then in animation is a smart way to work, and I think once we master organizing our text in spreads, animating it will seem less daunting and more approachable.

BLOG 09

TYPE IN MOTION:

AFTER VIEWING SEVERAL YOU TUBE VIDEOS OF TYPE IN MOTION, I HAVE POSTED A FEW THAT I RESPONDED TO. I STARTED BY WATCHING THE VIDEOS WITHOUT SOUND, AND IN ALMOST ALL OF THE VIDEOS, THE SOUND HELPED EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE TEXT, AND ALSO HELPED SET THE TONE AND EMOTION THE VIEWER WAS INTENDED TO FEEL. THE FIRST POSTED, MULTIMEDIOS 40 ANIVERSARIO 40 WAS ACTUALLY IN SPANISH, ALTHOUGH I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND IT COMPLETELY, THE MUSIC ADDED A SENSE OF IMMEDIACY TO THE CLIP AND HELPED SET THE TONE, WITHOUT THE SOUND, SLIGHT SCALE SHIFTS AND BASIC IMAGERY WAS THE ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE THE MOOD AND WHAT THE IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE TEXT WERE. ANOTHER TYPE ANIMATION CALLED "NICK THE GREEK" , USES A LOT OF NICE EFFECTS THAT PLAY OFF OF THE WORDS, FOR EXAMPLE WHEN THE SENTENCE "BENDING THE TRUTH" CAME ACROSS THE PAGE, THE TEXT WAS MANIPULATED TO BEND. SCALE AND PACING REALLY ARE ALSO USED WELL AND WORK NICELY WITH THE AUDIO OF THE TEXT. THIS VIDEO CALLED STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO, IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT I THOUGHT WAS SUCCESSFUL, I LIKED THE USE OF SIMPLE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS THAT WERE USED TO INTERACT WITH THE TEXT, AND ALSO HOW THE TEXT WAS USED TO CREATE OBJECTS AND EXPRESS IDEAS (LIKE WHEN THE TEXT IS ARRANGED IN THE SHAPE OF A CLOCK). I VIEWED SOME OF THE TUTORIALS POSTED ON THE PROJECT BRIEF PAGE AS WELL, SEEING HOW TO GO ABOUT PACING AND HOW TO USE CERTAIN EFFECTS SUCH AS TYPING OUT WORDS, IS SOMETHING I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO WANT TO RE-VISIT AS WE MOVE INTO THE ANIMATION PART OF THIS PROJECT. AN "ALTERNATIVE" EXAMPLE I POSTED IS JUST SOMETHING I FOUND THAT I THOUGHT WAS A REALLY NEAT CONCEPT...AND ALTHOUGH THE TYPE ISN'T EXACTLY "ANIMATED," IT DOES USE MUSIC/SONG AND TYPE TO TELL A PARTICULAR “STORY.” THE ARTIST, PAVEL FUKSA, WHO MADE THIS MUSIC VIDEO CREATED 178 VINTAGE INSPIRED MATCHBOX DESIGNS FOR A RECENT MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE NAVIGATORS. I LOVE THE DESIGNS, THE VIDEO IS PRETTY AWESOME AS WELL–TAKE A LOOK HERE.

BESIDES THE MATCHBOX EXAMPLE, MOST OF THE YOU TUBE ANIMATIONS WERE SIMILAR IN THAT THEY WERE CLIPS FROM WELL KNOWN MOVIES, AND USED THE SAME EFFECTS AND BASIC STRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE ANIMATION OF THE TEXT. I TRIED TO FIND ALTERNATIVE EXAMPLES, OR ONES THAT WERE A LITTLE MORE CREATIVE IN THE WAY THEY APPROACHED ANIMATING THE TEXT.

TITLE SEQUENCES:

SOME TITLE SEQUENCES I ENJOYED:

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: THIS EXAMPLE IS DEFINITELY NOT TYPE HEAVY, BUT IT REMINDED ME OF SOME OF THE SAUL BASS MOTION PIECES I WATCHED, I LIKED HOW THE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS INTERACTED WITH THE TYPOGRAPHY, AND THOUGHT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT WAYS THE TWO MERGED TOGETHER COULD WORK FOR OUR ANIMATED SPEECHES AS WELL.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM: This is a well known example of a title sequence done by Saul Bass, but I am really drawn to and impressed with the simplicity and the pacing of his work. The music, repetition of shapes and forms, how things enter, exit, and change are all mastered well. I really like the idea of having a simple element, such as the white rectangular form in this, and using it to bring text on and off of the screen, and also using it to create repetition and rhythm.

PSYCHO: This example really uses the music as the structure for the title sequence. The pacing is really what unifies the text and music, the manner in which the text is brought in and off of the screen is determined by the music.