Whenever I discuss the program with friends or family, I always talk about this class. I bring up the projects we’re working on, the blog assignments, something I discovered through this class. It’s because we have regular assignments and the blog, which exposes us to so many things. Even something like the title sequences – I shared those websites with a PA friend of mine, who I was surprised had never heard of the site (indeed, never given much thought to title sequences either). He exclaimed how much he loved the sequence from “Archer,” the fact that of course there would be a site like this, and that he was hooked.
I’m really looking forward to showing the work I’ve done for this class, even if it is unfinished or wasn’t the best, because it’s different and cool and showcases the strength of the program. In fact, when trying to describe what I’d be learning in the program over the summer to an uncle, I mentioned ESPN and sport graphic sequences, effectively describing the title sequences and graphics for television shows. I had no idea at the time that you used After Effects to do that, nor how difficult it actually is, but it seemed like something I would learn how to do.
So many of the resources given to us through this class I have saved and vowed to look at in more detail. Typography. Information design. LATCH. Thirty Conversations on Design. This class has really sparked my interest in design – a latent interest, to be sure, but one I am eager to learn. I still feel I have a good eye, hopefully one made stronger by this class. I want to incorporate more design in my own work and background, and I know that’s going to take a lot of time and discipline to really learn the tools.
In the last few days, I’ve also gotten some hints as to what career direction I want to pursue. Although there is no doubt that I’m not going to be a designer in a traditional sense, I hope to take my growing interest in design and incorporate it in my field, even if it’s just to make sure things look pretty and user friendly.
Design is everywhere. In many of the websites I frequent (magazines and those of that type) there is a whole section devoted to design. Design is incorporated in our everyday world, and we saw that in the movie “Helvetica,” in the conversations with designers, in, well, all of our assignments. It’s in cities and towns, bicycles and pill bottles, furniture and can openers. My father worked for many years at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. I remember going to the museum once as a kid and scowling. What a boring museum. At the time they had an exhibit on the design of chairs. Chairs! Ugh! Who cares?!?! Yet now, throughout the course of the class, I have regretted not being more interested, that I had actually visited the museum when I could have had behind-the-scenes access. The design of objects is suddenly looking a lot more relevant and cool.
Speaking of objects, as much trouble as I am having in designing my smartphone application, it’s made me look at my current phone in a whole new way. For example, the alarm function is hidden; it takes me several steps before I can even find the button (it’s not really a button, but used here for lack of any other term). It’s buried, and that’s silly, because it’s one of the most useful applications on my phone. I remember loving this phone when I got it in July 2010, and inevitably, this program has given me a few pangs of envy, wishing I had a better phone. In looking at the iPod touch, I’ve also seen how beautifully simple and easy everything is laid out, and I liked that many of the functionalities we had to design for our project were separate. I’m not a smartphone user yet (meaning I most likely will be), and I’m curious to see how will I interact with these interfaces.
Overall, this class has given me a newfound love of all things design, and I seriously hope to gain design skills so I can be super awesome and spectacular!