Bit of Boasting

Hello!

Its been a while. Today I thought I would boast a bit about Ash West. We both have been trying to get our feet shoved firmly in the hypothetical designer door. On more than ten occasions Ive decided to give up design and jump into clown college or marry rich. But that is a whole other commitment issue Im happy to avoid.

Anyway. She is focused on embracing "user experience design, visual communication, design strategy and content strategy. This is with a focus on creating human-centred design solutions." With a fair bit of travelling under her belt, and a conceptual brain to boot, her works are always layered with insight and expressions of her own design style.

Head over to her site: hello-ashleigh and have a squiz at her portfolio. 

Street Art

Street Art Utopia is always a source of outdoor artistic inspiration. This image created by Dasic in NY is a particularly colourful combination, displayed under a bridge. 

By Dasic in Newburgh, New York, USA.

Found Street Art Utopia

Linking Madness!

Who is the idiot who decided to re-organise portfolio links? Me. 79 images renamed in new folders. See all the red question marks? Moral of the story: keep a standard naming system from the get-go!

On the upside I found an illustrator file of a typeface I created! Which means I can tailor it to my portfolio! 

Resume!

Finally finished my design resume. In order to finish my degree I need to complete an amazing amount of hours in a professional experience. Hopefully this will help me attain one! If you want a pdf please let me know!

Update!

Along with the paintings, I'm making a pamphlet & business card. And possibly website (for the future considerations category in the marking guide...I think there is one). These are some spreads and cover ideas for the pamphlet. The cover will have black disappearing paint on the cover with orange stitching up the spine. Once people touch the pamphlet it will disappear showing a print under it. As of this moment, it will be the orange finger prints to reflect ergonomics and how people actually hold it. 

These pics show how I hold the pamphlet and position the prints.

After questioning many many people about it, the handprint option is a winner.

Countdown!

Last month until 30min presentations are due. 

I just bought the pigments to make thermo-paint. Itll take about 3weeks. From the states. To Sydney. Crap. After some research, relying mostly on the accounts from these two lovely sites: softcircuit2 & artisticjunkie, I've purchased the "dust" from solarcolordust and need to go buy a Liquitex Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder Additive from my local-has-everything-ever-imagined-artshop North Shore Art. For the presentation i'll also need to get a heating pad to put behind the displays in-order for the designs to change. 

Inspiration:

Face 37 - September Poster 
"September is typically regarded as a month of transition in the Northern Hemisphere as the dying embers of Summer are replaced by the cooler and greyer chills of Autumn and the onset of early darkness. It is often associated with melancholic self-reflection as if heat and sunlight are a temporary physical and mental panacea. inspired by the physical reality of changing seasons and simple emblematic change of colour of falling leaves, I used thermochromic ink that alters colour dependent on room temperature."

You can purchase it here: face37

Another Example: Im not sure of the name, or who created the design but it can be found here: miafranceskennedy.

This is just damn great. Again, no idea who created it. Has nothing to do with thermoes but its could be applied.

Experimenting

Experimenting with the idea of photochromic paints:

- how imagery appears with 'black' lights

- where to place it 

When researching photochromic/thermochromic paints, I immediately thought of this:

Glow worm caves in New Zealand or indoor star gazing.

So now I have to figure out how to use the paints:

- what colours to use

- how to eg handmade painting or printed

- figure out how "blacks" can appear whilst in normal light can be invisible

- when presenting: use a large page or "peel off" 

- when presenting: large black light or torches for interactive

- interested in thermochromic paint - added interactive elements however it changes the way "energy usage" develops or reveals the imagery.

Alicia Ingruber designed these posters about the Stitchbird in New Zealand. Its the kind of graphics works I like to do and appreciate the style. 

Now I have to figure out the actual design and decide how parts of it will glow.

Virtual Water

Angela Morelli created this great motion graphic display on the web! It looks at how much water one uses in a day. Simple, effective and engaging the graphics are people friendly and just plain great.

Click here to see it: angelamorelli

The Future of Solar

Visual.ly specialises in info-design. They knock up great displays on their site: visual.ly

This image was developed by GE and JESS3 to reflect solar power. Data visualisation or infographics help "detail the complex story of solar power and provides additional concext for GE's lastest product in solar technology..."
Its a nifty little pic that demonstrates where the company sees its future by reflecting on its past.




The Future of Solar Energy infographic by JESS3.

Facts are Sacred

Found this in my newsfeed this morning. 


A book by Guardian news and Datablog editor Simon Rogers comes to the defence of data-journalism in media : Facts Are Sacred

The book states that design "only works when managed by people who understand - and are responsible about - the stories they are reporting. Distilling vast amounts of data in a beautiful and easily understandable chart is pointless and potentially mendacious if that information is either worthless or false."

While not directly related to the project, it does review how designing information can be visually inspiring and easier to understand. It provides an interest and gains more attention than just dot-point form. 

So how do I start designing information? 

Information is Beautiful is a company that bumps out some interesting designs. Their site is here: informationisbeautiful

They teamed up with GE to create this interactive display about carbon emissions.

This is a review on "recent climate change talks in Doha" which discussed facts, figures and future projections. They "condensed all the key numbers into a single diagram. It lays out the perils and potential effects of our global fossil fuel habit - and the urgency to balance our "carbon budget."" This link will take you to the pdf: infobeautiful