Rube Goldberg machine

Creativity comes from unexpected places and people sometimes. Even people that aren't designers such as engineers and physicist can come up with a creative music video.

This video was done for the rock band, OK Go. It uses the the Rube Goldberg machine style to create a mechanical system that is both mind blowing and interesting to watch. The complexity of the machine leaves me in awe, and combination of mundane and everything objects is totally brilliant. The shooting must also have been hard since it requires one extremely long shot whereby no cuts are taken.

Rube Goldberg machine is "a device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction." It is named after American cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg.

The illustration above is an example of rube goldberg's cartoon. "The "Self-Operating Napkin" is activated when the soup spoon (A) is raised to mouth, pulling string (B) and thereby jerking ladle (C) which throws cracker (D) past parrot (E). Parrot jumps after cracker and perch (F) tilts, upsetting seeds (G) into pail (H). Extra weight in pail pulls cord (I), which opens and lights automatic cigar lighter (J), setting off skyrocket (K) which causes sickle (L) to cut string (M) and allow pendulum with attached napkin to swing back and forth, thereby wiping chin."


 
After looking at this video, I am intrigued by the mechanics of it and this style of work would make a great ad given the right medium and subject.

Logos tips

Making a memorable and creative logo is difficult.
Based on http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/logo-design-ideas/ , they have a list of ideas that is very useful in designing logo.

1.Know Your Business- the logo must reflect what product or service is offered.
2.Target Audience
3. Brainstorm
4.Alluring Tagline
5.Standing out against competition
6. Appropriate metaphorical use
7. Play with fonts
 8.Robust logo design- flexible design make the logo usable across culture and withstand time.

What elements make a great logo ?  http://www.code-interactive.com/thinker/a112.html
 This site gives examples of how good logo like Fedex, Nike, Adidas etc works. 

Mac Vs Pc

I'm considering getting a mac.
That's because my pc is giving  me problems again. The graphics card keeps crashing and after hours of googling and troubleshooting, the problem may lie in Win 7. Win 7 is not compatible with my graphics card.

If you have seen the 'Get A Mac' campaign by Apple, you too will consider buying a mac. The ads are humorous and mostly true about the advantages of mac against pc. This ad series uses the vignette style, which is " a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object ". The ads are very simple  in setting and character , yet people are able to relate to them. The mac guys is wearing casual clothes and portrays a designer while the pc guy is wearing a suit and portrays a business man.

The ads were so successful that they spawned a huge fan base as well as increased mac sales. Many versions of the ads were created such as the Japanese and UK versions which were played by local actors.

The ads were also done in flash for the web.The banner ads were so unique because each ad relates to the page content.

After going through the prices of mac in Malaysia, maybe its cheaper to fix my graphics card instead. Oh well.

Ah, Sushi!

Cute sushi art

As the world watched in anticipation and fear of another nuclear meltdown, I was thinking of sushi. Yes, sushi. The japanese food of cooked vinegared rice which is topped with ingredients, such as fish or other seafood. I was worried... what if, those delectable sushi too, is gone with the tsunami. The Tsukiji fish market in Japan, the largest wholesale fish market in the world was affected by the twin disasters. Sales of fish plummeted as people were worried of radioactive contaminants in the seafood. "Fears of radioactive contamination hurt sales at the Tsukiji market, a vast maze of aisles where merchants at hundreds of stalls sell tuna, octopus and other fish fresh off the boat. The market was unusually quiet over the weekend, a time when it is normally packed with shoppers and tourists."~ associated press
http://howtofixblogs.com/discovery-of-radiation-in-spinach-milk-fan-fears-about-safety-of-japan%E2%80%99s-food-supply/

Another issue is the low fuel supply making transportation a problem and buyers and sellers unable to reach the fish market. One if  BBC reporter went to fish market to have a look at situation. Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12790078

While we pray and hope Japan would recover from this twin disaster, lets take a break and look at some delicious sushi art. Link: http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2008/05/30/incredible-sushi-art/

 

Van Gogh's sunflower with sushi.

Navigational design

Signage.
Some are hard to avoid and some even harder to ignore. Some are plain obvious while some need super human eyesight to look at. Nonetheless, Signages are everywhere.

One hot afternoon, I made a trip back to my old school. On the way there, I saw a signage indicating the way to the KL Bird Park. Thinking the park was just around the corner, I followed the curving road. Along the way there were more Signages with arrows pointing towards the park. After following the arrows a while, the entrance is still no where in sight. Then I convinced myself that may be the park is really far,so I continued on driving along the winding road. And then, I reached a junction. Now, where is the sign board when you need it(scrathes head)? And look! it hidden behind some untrimmed bushes.

Alas, I reached my destination and really the park is not far. Turns out, I've been driving around it all along, the park is so huge that one could easily miss the entrance.

Navigation board outside the park entrance.

One of the issue I found about going to the park is, the arrows are pointing in the right direction but they do not indicate how many meters it is from the entrance. I ended up going a few rounds around the park before I found the entrance.

The second issue can be solved easily, simply by maintenance. The growing scrubs around the signage should be trimmed periodically as not to obscure it.

The third issue is the design of the signage. Some signage were bright and colourful making them easily spotted while some were not so readable. For example this signage on the left, was found just outside the entrance. The white vertically arranged fonts are hard to read unless one tilts the head sideways. The white silhouette of the hornbill is not really attractive and doesn't stand out from the whiteness of the board.

I prefer this Hornbill logo.

I would prefer the use of the cartonnish hornbill.

Another problem is coherence.All the signages are using different colors and even the logo are different.

Bird Park logo is different from the one on the right.

Restroom symbols should be added.

Finding the restroom was not an issue unless your unable to read in English or Malay. The restroom was located inside a restaurant and the signage is poorly placed and lack graphics.This sign was place near the carpark and may be missed by passerby or desperate people with *severe* bowel movements. There should be a toilet sign with symbols placed near the entrance.

Bird Park Map.

Luckily, there were no issues with the inside of the park. Navigation was easy as there are signs and maps on in most places.

Welcome!

Im back! Another posting for another semester.

This time its' all about our surroundings. The design of it, the aesthetics of it and how to make it work. Taking Tim Gunn's advice with gusto, hopefully my designs will work well with the environment and the people.

So here goes....