CS 476a Homework #1
An Introduction to Design Principals
I was particularly excited about the explanation of the logo in Chapter 1, page 47. Since it was mentioned in class that it was the Chinese character for people, I was looking forward to unpacking why the character was used. I appreciated how the form of the character had a direct relationship to the principal elements of design (pragmatics and aesthetics). I have not ever had formal design instruction, so it was really refreshing and almost validating to learn about principals in an educational setting that I *thought* I knew of or might have unknowingly used.
As a side note — I am curious as to the evolution of the character for “people” since I am actually more familiar with the design below that I was taught stems from the actual form of the human body (and even this has its own variations, two of which are displayed below). I love the multiplicity of how Chinese characters can be written, and it was very exciting and welcoming to see part of my heritage being incorporated into the tech and art space that I usually have trouble finding myself truly belonging in. While the design below might not be the best fit for the “Artful Design” cover, it just highlights to me that the design of something as simple as a word can have multiple approaches to form while maintaining the same function, and they are all interpretations that are equally important and valid!
Now, I’m excited to approach design problems with more intentionality. In a lot of my artistic practice in general, I have lacked the vocabulary to describe my work and decision making process. For example, I anticipate that the distinction between form and function (as described on page 36) will help me make sure that when I’m designing something, the aesthetics of my product actually support and enhance the “function,” not hinder or obscure it. Being able to go into creating armed with tools of precision and intention will hopefully improve my artistic process. The pencil bag was a very helpful and concrete example that allowed me to see how you can break down a product into its function versus form, and what elements of the form make the product have “personality,” as mentioned on page 27. I am already starting to look at products through this critical lens; it has been fun to brainstorm how to improve aspects of the daily products I use already (refer to my design etude posted at the end of this article)!
On the same note though, understanding these formal “rules” allows designers and artists to then break these rules. This is something that I think makes the idea of the “sublime” possible — while the principles of aesthetics and design and problem-solving exist to give structure, when they’re artfully and skillfully broken or stretched, I can only image that leads to some of the most interesting and awe-inspiring products. The idea that a project can inspire both awe and fear is tied to the common idea of “thinking outside the box.” It only seems reasonable to me that in order to create something that can inspire this conflicting collection of emotions, you would have to be willing to break some rules, otherwise the product might not encapsulate the “transcendence of a medium” that demonstrates the “truth and beauty beyond our full comprehension” (31).
Design Etude
Nova’s hanging clothes rack:
- A standing clothing rack can be a hard item to integrate into a room, but my friend’s wooden rack was one of the more appealing and pleasing models I’ve seen. The light wood compliments the natural filtered light and white walls of the room such that it does not stick out as just a “functional” piece of furniture — it fits the room’s aesthetic and color palette as well. Additionally, I love the functional design of the multiple shelving at the bottom. It utilizes the height of the rack since a shelf is added at the position where there is just enough space for shoes or shorter objects to be rested under the hanging length of shirts. Then, there is the taller shelf at the bottom to hold larger items — my friend chose to put storage boxes there, but I could imagine the two shelves being used for different shoe heights (boots versus sneakers) or even adding some fun vases or decorative elements. The generous amounts of storage paired with the natural wood make the clothes, in general, more seamlessly integrated into the frame — the soft textures and weaves of my friend’s clothes compliment the wood.
My water bottle — the dual water bottle and thermos!
- When I got this water bottle as a gift, I had a pretty-close-to-WOW moment when I realized that it was both a cold water bottle AND hot thermos in one! The top third of the water bottle can screw off to reveal just a metal insulated thermos, and a secondary lid with the classic coffee flip-top is included to complete the transition. In respect to form, I don’t love the contrast between the clear plastic, brushed stainless steel, and matte black bottom since it segments the water bottle. But, it could serve more of a functional purpose to outline the different components of the bottle. Mainly, I find the functionality to be impressive and work very well for my purposes, and I’m happy to know that if I need to bring coffee on the go in the morning, I have a bottle than can do that and then turn into a regular water bottle for the rest of my day!
My window with the sill
- Something small that has proven to be a really handy feature of my room is the deep window sill. It’s a small detail, but I’ve come to really appreciate the little bit of extra storage space that a window sill provides, and honestly think all windows should have ledges! It is the perfect place to rest my plants, keep a water bottle by my bed, and put my phone on to charge at night. Especially in smaller rooms like our dorms, space is quite the commodity, and having a built in ledge that already flows into the rest of the room’s architecture is extremely helpful! The depth of my window sill is particularly useful since it’s not too shallow that I fear knocking things off, but not too deep that opening the window becomes a hassle.
Guerrilla Design: Living Room
It’s still a work in progress (at least for decorations), but I wanted to put some thought into curating a space that can be for studying AND hanging out, so I played around with a couple different configurations before settling on the final one below. Some other designs I tried had the arm chairs connected to the couch with their backs against the balcony door, but I felt that cut off the outdoor space. It also would have ended up making people stare into the bright window light to talk to anybody sitting in the arm chairs, which is a tiring and uncomfortable conversation experience in my opinion.
A small detail that we haven’t been able to implement yet is that the pink star lamp in the photos below will be hung directly from the center of the living room to tie the hang out space together, creating a warm lighted atmosphere for when people want to sit and hang out on the couches.
Making Random Minor Chords in Chuck
As a quick test, I made a script that will randomly generate minor chords that play in regular succession.