Utopian Design in Mass Transit

Anyone who had ever had to depend on mass transit as their main form of transportation knows that the difference between a good day and a lousy day can often depend on the how smoothly the A to B and back to A commute runs.  The design behind high speed rail  incorporates all kinds of Utopian design ethics to improve the way society moves around.  All kinds of design related problems need to be solved, from the color and comfort of the interior to the aerodynamics of the exterior and the energy source that pulls at speeds of close to 300mph.  Still careful planning must take place to coordinate track lines, routes, and schedules. Seating size, dining car menus, foot rests, and toilets all have to have very important decisions made in order to allow for the functionality of the train as a whole.   Then there is the train station which serves as an access point for all passengers. Within the station design of waiting rooms, ticket counters, and loading areas are just as important in maximizing the efficiency of the system as a whole.   When any of these factors is not pulling at full speed the whole system slows down and so does society as a whole. This works in a way very similar to the major systems in the human body that depend on each other to facilitate life as a whole.  As technology changes so society fallows and much depends on the designers of our transit system to keep up with the needs for transport. This may pose a huge task for designers who live in the age of teleportation.

Color in Design

At the beginning of every season we are told what is color is "hot" and can be worn in any number of contexts. It is up to us, the designers to let the world know what is cool. As designers we need to take into careful consideration our color choices. Color is one of the most distinguishing characteristics that an item can have. Many times the decision of what to buy can come down to the choice of color. People would generally pay more for the same item to have it in their favorite color.  The way people perceive and identify with color is a major factor when choosing colors to use for a design. Toothbrushes for example, are always found in bright "fresh" colors like blue and green. Never do we see a brown or mustard colored toothbrush. This is most likely because the designers want people to associate their product with clean, fresh mouths. Just looking at the bright white and blue toothbrush can make you feel like it's really going to work.  Lawnmowers all tend to be red for some reason.The color choice in this case is not as obvious. Looking at a red lawnmower doesn't give you the feeling that it can really cut grass well however, any other colored mower looks odd. This color selection might have more to do with a tradition that has now become the status quo. This is another factor a designer must take into account. While it might seem like a fun and fresh idea to design a funky yellow lawnmower, it might not be accepted by the market. 

Sexy? Yes. Ergonomic? Not so much...

 
Today I bought a pair of white, alligator, stilettos by Michael Antonio. These are the kind of shoes that Charlie's Angels could do karate in. The Angels must have had feet the shape of an acute triangle because the last thing these shoes are is ergonomically designed. There are five areas of research one must take into consideration for ergonomic design, safety, comfort, ease of use, performance, and aesthetics. The area of safety is probably one of the weakest for this particular pair of shoes. With 4 inch heels that are just over a quarter of an inch in diameter, balance is a constant challenge with the threat of a twisted ankle or fall. In the comfort department, the shoes score even lower. I measured a 30 degree angle at the tip, and with the 4 inch lift on the heel part, your toes are constantly being pressed by gravity to conform to that narrow shape while all your weight is bared on the balls of your feet.  With regards to ease of use, that depends on frequency of use. While the shoes slip on and of  with relative ease, while standing or walking in them you can't help but have a tight rope-like walk where your mind is always partially concentrating on the constant balancing act. While at the same time trying to look graceful and unforced. Performance is an area that also implies productivity. For shoes to enhance productivity they must protect the feet from the ground and enable the wearer to move around with little effort. The stilettos do protect my feet from the ground, however at the same time they impose other risks that not only limit mobility, they also cause discomfort when engaged. I would go as far as to saying that these shoes are actually counterproductive to what the performance goals are for ergonomic design. Aesthetics, being the last and the least of the areas of research is kind if like the top of the Maslow triangle. This section is considered the transcendental level where after the basic human needs of survival and success are met, one can do some self-actualization and think about happiness, and other abstract concepts. For this area my shoes passed with flying colors.  They look great both on and off the feet. The Cream colored upper has great scale-like texture from the alligator skin. The back of the heel and along the tip are capped with a brown leather strip that accentuates all 30 degrees of the tip of the shoe while bringing unity between the front and back of the shoe. The 4 inch heel is a brown wood so thin and subtle, it almost goes unnoticed as if I really am 6 feet tall, and my legs really do go on for weeks.  It is obvious that the shoes were designed for the sole purpose of aesthetics. They break every rule of ergonomic design. However, they meet the needs of those of us who are walking tall and proud, concerned only of the cosmos and the meaning of life. In reality, the only thing on my mind when walking in these shoes is "left, right, left, right, left".

Raider Nation

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get seats on the Oakland Raider's sideline and despite the rainy weather, there wasn't an empty seat in all of "The Black Hole".  The fans were as rowdy as ever and the victory in OT was sweet. While on the outside I was screaming and high 5ing left and right, I could not help but think a little about the emblem that represents the Raider Nation. After a bit of research I found that when the team was first established in 1960 there was a "name the team" contest.  The winner was the Oakland Senors. After being the brunt of a million jokes, the team changed it's name to the Oakland Raiders and adopted the now popular emblem.  Little has changed about it since, and yet it has become a symbol of fans who pledge allegiance to the Raider Nation. These are footballs most notorious fans. Shirts, ponchos, hats, and tattoos have been made in the likeness of this design and yet no one knows or cares much about the person who designed it.  I could not even find, with the help of Google, any designer given credit for the emblem. And yet, it is iconic, a symbol that could make a grown man cry. Whoever this mystery designer is, I want to salute him on behalf of the entire Raider Nation, as well as designers worldwide for giving us something that we can all appreciate. Great design.

Book Covers. The interaction of word and image

Last Tuesday graphic artist and published author Brian Fies lectured our class about the process of creating his graphic novel "Mom's Cancer". The part of the lecture I found particularly interesting was the process that he along with his designer and editor went through to create the book cover. As the popular saying goes, "you can't judge a book by the cover". This is true when metaphorically referring to the shallow judgment of a persons character based on their looks. However, literally speaking, that is exactly what we do when choosing a book on the shelf at a bookstore or library. This puts a whole different spin on the purpose of design for the book cover. Marketing suddenly takes center stage when decisions need to be made about how the use of words and image can best represent the book. Psychology can play a part in the choice of what colors to use or even the typeface. Fies showed us about 20 different mock-ups for the book cover and that was only a small portion of the actual number they took into careful consideration. In the end they chose the original idea which was an image of Fies's mom from the book with the title in the upper left hand corner. The simplicity of this cover allows the powerful image to speak for the book. The title fills in any blanks that might be there, but somehow I don't think there would be many.

Word and Image. Typographically Speaking

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type. As seen in the image above by a designer named Gcore, Letters can be seen for their form and arranged to create an image. I love this piece because the letters coming out of the gun are arranged to read as a word as well as represent sound. This is a great example of how words and image work together in design. The word/image relationship can be tight or loose depending on the setting and purpose. 

Words have filled thousands of image-less books with colorful stories that need no visual aid to describe to the reader every detail of characters, setting, and plot.  It is easy to see how, with a rich vocabulary, one can use words alone to tell a story. 

A good example where image delivered a message without the aid of word was in 1984 when Larry Hama of Marvel Comics stunned the comic world with the "silent issue" from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21.  The dialogue and exposition-less comic book, entitled "Silent Interlude", is considered by a generation of fans as a definitive classic. Marvel went on in 2001 to announce that all issues released in the month of December would be without dialogue or captions. The images in these comics were strong enough to tell the story, however many of the details of these stories were filled in by the minds of the readers giving the comics much more subjectivity. 

While words and images have proven that they can stand alone, they are definitely stronger when respect is given to the strengths and weaknesses of each. In Scott McCloud's book understanding Comics he describes how there is a balance to the juxtaposition of the word image interplay. Too much of either can alter the flow of the story as a whole.

Dia de los Muertos

Celebrating holidays like Halloween and Day of the Dead this weekend got me to thinking about the afterlife and its relation to the durability of things we produce. What if we had to design for multiple lifetimes? Design would become so much more function driven.  All of a sudden we would be less worried about the way our stuff looked and much more concerned with the physical integrity of the item. Clothing for example would have to become almost completely utilitarian. Most likely made from polyester or some other indestructible material. Our homes would have to be totally sustainable. Agriculture would become soiled with hearty grains that could stand the test of time. I think that so much of our design depends on the finite nature of what ever the subject were designing happens to be.  Along with the deterioration, comes disposal. We throw away stuff that might still be useful but we don't need because of the rule of upgrade. upgrade. upgrade.
Then there is the sudden obsolescence of the things we thought were top of the line when really they were lower middle to bottom of that same line. As designers we should always look at the ways to make durability and sustainability a goal. However I think we owe a debt of gratitude to the ephemeral nature of "things" and "thing design". After all it might be that planned obsolescence is a big reason why we still have jobs.