The three of 30 Conversations on Design I watched definitely presented 3 drastically different views, opinions, and 3 different production qualities. I watched the videos featuring Ami Kealoha, Jessica Hische, and Pete Doctor.
Pete Doctor, in “Storytime,” was my favorite designer. Working for Pixar, Doctor obviously has a great understanding of story, plot, and design. He argues that stories are design because both are the “purposeful arrangement of elements to produce an intended reaction in the viewer.” With Pixar films, the design (of the characters and setting) draw the audience in. If Wall-E the robot had not been designed perfectly to be able to illustrate emotion, the film would not have been successful. Doctor says that design is what makes us care about characters.
Jessica Hische in “Group Bonding,” was relatable in interesting. As a recent graduate (2006), Hische said that her biggest influence is a fear of being outdone by college students. I thought this was a little strange… but whatever works to motivate you I guess. She explained that she has developed so much since graduating, but worries about the enormous potential and competition she will see from other recent graduates. She uses this fear to push herself to excellence- never thinking her work is good enough. While I can see where Hische’s fear comes from (imedia students sneakin up!), I thought it was sad that she was not internally motivated in her career. Her better points were about designers facing the death of print. She believes that design will continue to be important, and should not be undervalued through its medium. Basically, Hische believes that interactive designers should be paid well for their work (preach it, sista!). I would have to agree. Though the internet allows many people to be designers, it doesn’t mean that everyone is a good designer.
My least favorite video was with Ami Kealoha. “Bound Together” was low quality and the audio was an absolute mess. I tried to get over it, but isn’t what all these videos are about? Design makes us care about something, and the low quality, poorly designed video made me disregard about 60% of what Kealoha said. I’m pretty sure it was about rubberbands? I joke. It was. Anyways, Kealoha’s best point was that design can fix everyday problems, not just feed into consumerism. Design isn’t just visual, but it is functional. Well designed products can help save the world!