The Design Industry

The Design Industry - Industry vs Designers

Can't Wait

Can't Wait - Come March... stay tuned...

Challenge

Challenge - Proof this wrong.

School's Starting (Year 3 Semester 1)

11/08/10 - Can't believe its been 7 months since he last posted about school starting. Lots of things happened along the way. Got out of Year 2 and now he is officially a Year 3 Industrial Design Student. Senior, maybe but still he has got lots to learn about the Capital D. Had an eventful break after Year 2, Hong Kong trip, internship with FARM and competitions with all the buzz and excitement. Managed to design a winning chair and appear on the newspaper. Internship was very insightful and got exposed to the local design scene, pretty and ugly, seen it all. Year 3 semester 1 is up and Industrial Design is still the main dish and it consists of modules: GEK1542, ID3122, ID3103 and SSA2218. Exciting semester with the introduction of a vertical studio system ahead with his impending trip to Milan next year. Lots of ideas in his head and lots of things he wants to fulfil before his eventual graduation and final thesis. Break or fall? Stay tuned...

(*PS: the upside down lifestyle of being nocturnal is subjective, just remember to rest more if you have the chance and eat your greens)

Poster with a Central Image

Poster with a Central Image -

"The old idea in advertising was that a poster should hit you in the eye, and even today many people would agree. It is a way of getting information across to the average passer-by, who might well be thinking about the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly: a violent transformation, and everyone knows that violence has to be opposed with equal violence.

But joking apart, what did these old-fashioned advertising men mean by hitting you in the eye? They probably meant that a poster must stand out a mile from the other posters displayed around it in the street. It must jump out at you, surprise you, capture your attention by an act of banditry. The same thing goes for all the other posters nearby.

A poster for soap, for example, or for some detergent, must be quite different from any other poster for soap. We already know that a certain detergent washes white, that another washes whiter, that a third washes whiter still, that a fourth washes whiter than the first and second put together, that a fifth washes easily twice as white, and that a sixth (which is in fact the same powder as the one which started the whole idea) washes so white that it makes things look black.

It usually happens that when someone cannot keep his end up in an argument he begins to shout. In this way he does not add anything new to his argument, but at least he makes himself heard. Many posters want to make themselves heard at all costs, and so they shout with their colours, yell at you with strident shapes. And the worst thing of all is that there are thousands of them all bellowing at you in satanic discord. Not having studied the exact techniques of visual communication, advertisers fall back on commonplace images which they multiply ad nauseam and without thinking whether the forms and colours they are using could not equally well be applied to tyres, soap or aperitifs. But the designer's experiments have taught us that it would be enough to employ an usual colour, a different form, and to give the passer-by exact and immediate information instead of assaulting him time and time again until he is battered senseless.

On the other hand one sometimes sees posters so jaded they seem to have been deliberately camouflaged, and it is incredible that they could have been accepted and printed. It probably happens like this. The painter (not a graphic designer) makes a rough sketch of the poster and takes it along to the advertising manager's office. This sketch is full size, say three feet by five, and done on canvas or stiff paper. It is propped up opposite the advertising manager's desk for his approval. Now his office is furnished with exquisite taste, as befits the head of a department, but must be seen to be such. The colours are muted, the furniture of a classical restraint. There is nothing in the least gaudy about it. In these surroundings the poster, even if it is ugly, has an explosive force. The picture hanging on the wall beside it looks like a washed out photograph. The poster is accepted and printed, and only then is it realised that surrounded by a mass of other posters it is barely noticeable. But what's done is done, and all we can hope is to do better next time.

There is one basic kind of poster that graphic designers often use, because it is so visually compelling. This is the Japanese flag, a red disc on a white background, Why is such a simple design so effective? Because the white background isolates the disc from everything around it, from the other posters, and because the disc itself is a form that the eye finds it hard to escape from. The eye is in fact accustomed to making its escape at the points or corners of things, at the head of an arrow for example. A triangle offers three escape routes, a square offers four. A circle has no corners, and the eye is forced to go round and round in it until it tears itself away with an effort.

How is this basic pattern used in a poster? The disc may represent or become a tomato, a plate of soup, a clock, a football, a shell, a steering-wheel, a cooking pot, a round cheese, a button, a champagne cork, a gramophone record, a flower, a roadsign, a wheel, a tyre, a target, a ball-bearing, a Gothic rose-window, an open umbrella, a cogwheel ... and last but least the globe. A photo of a globe, the globe painted with bold strokes of the brush, a globe made of strips of paper or torn paper scraps, in black and white, in colour ....

Even today you will find this basic design used for countless posters."

Design as Art by Bruno Munari and Naoto Fukasaw's Twelve in red

The Future?

The Future? - A bleak outlook on the future of designers be it graphic or product. Designing the right cup for coffee all the while or the holder but in the end you might be the one serving it instead of realising your concept all in the name of money. Bleak but real.

School's Starting (Year 2 Semester 2)

11/01/10 - 2nd half of year 2 coming right up. Lots of cading and rendering to be expected. Industrial Design is still the main dish and Year 2 Semester 2 consists of modules: ID2104, ID2121, ID2322 and TR3001. Last semester wasn't that bad so this semester has got to be even better. Gonna work hard to achieve my long term goals. ARE YOU READY?! Stay tuned...

(*PS: sleep more during the weekends because weekdays are meant for work only)

Air Pollution

Air Pollution - This is ridiculous at 1130pm. There are definitely better and greener ways to remember the dead or to appease the gods.

School's Starting (Year 2 Semester 1)

11/08/09 - No more freshie, noobie or year 1 tag. Into his second year and 18htn got juniors to terrorise haha. Industrial Design will still the main dish (no other course fits the picture) and this time Year 2 Semester 1 consists of modules: GEM2005, ID2103, ID2111, ID2122 & ID2321. Last semester was a blast and 18htn intends to keep it that way. Found his design philosophy during the break and is going to keep exploring it. New goals to fulfil and 18htn is going to be harder, better and faster this time. A design a day keeps the doctor away. Stay tuned...

(*PS: get a cup of coffee or something to freshen up with before critique because you want to look like a winner before the war starts)

Cede

Cede - Had dinner with my folks just now and this was the main dish. Claypot fishead with assorted stuff inside. Something about older generation Teochews especially those in my family is that they seem to have an affinity with yam. Additional request for more yam is always a must either to add more flavour or just for the yam. Guess yam is something like potatoes or a form of staple food like rice for them. As this was a shared dish, there was a time when you could only find a few pieces of vegetables, meat or yam left. Subsequently I took the last few remaining yam and place them in my father's bowl without any hesitation. That act evoked some sort of emotions or memory in me. It felt like the tables were turned as when I was young, my folks would constantly fill up my bowl for me to eat conveniently but now guess with more maturity, comes the natural act of giving the best for them instead. It also prompted the question of when was the last time one would do such a thing during a meal for your folks? Is this what you call 孔融让梨? Might seem trivial but it was rather thought provoking for me. Not sure whether is that considered as filial piety but I guess its a subtle way of expressing it in a dining experience. Dinner was later concluded by a couple of catching up chats over beer.

COPE

COPE - With the recent outbreak of the H1N1, its time to cope. Just glad that my exams are over and don't have to be caught in the temperature taking quenes. But hey don't let the flu slow you down, do what you got to do, this is just one of the many little things we have to learn to cope in life. Lots of things coming up and do remember to wash your hands and watch your personal hygiene. Clever artwork from Pedro.

You know its exam time when...

Exam - You know its exam time when RATM is being blasted 24/7 like no one's business at my crib. De la Rocha is the best lecturer in the world!

Intermezzo

Intermezzo - It is the advent of the mid term break. An interlude of a packed semester. Lots of things on my mind for my upcoming assignments. Not really a breather you might say but I guess this is something which one should get used to if you are in a design course. The break came at the right time after all the stayovers in studio and its a graceful period for those who have been lagging behind. Enjoyed how my critique has turned out so far and kind of disappointed with some people's presentation. The potential is there but the lack of research and vocabulary really downplayed their game. Never see how last minute work can produce miracles unless there had been sufficient research and planning at the beginning to back up the dreading deadline. I guess there are still people around who do not know why they are in a design course, be it Industrial Design or Architecture. Its not just a certified paper or degree, its a career fuelled by passion. I don't believe that design is an innate thing because it can be developed as you move on but you have to make it happen and not wait for it to struck you. Well for those who are still unsure, I think its time to wake up and make the right choice before you sink even deeper till you start to regret. Design or drop, make your choice.

School's Starting (Year 1 Semester 2)

12/01/09 - Marks the start of Semester 2 for 18htn. Year 1 Round 2 in another words. Industrial Design will still be the main course and this time Semester 2 consists of modules: ID 1104, ID1112, ID1121, ID1223 & MKT1003. Semester 1 was alrite but there are definitely room for improvements. Learned some stuff at DIC and got to know design in the real world a little better. New goals to fulfil and more focused this time. Time to rock Sem 2! Stay tuned...

(*PS: always give your all in every assignment because crying over split milk is a pain in the ass)

School's Starting

11/08/08 - Marks the end of the long break after collecting my pink identification card and also signals the start of life as an undergraduate. Industrial Design will the be main course and first up will be my 1st semester for first year which consists of modules: ID1103, ID1321, ID1111, AR1221 & ME2103 (9am is the earliest I have to reach school). Got my concession pass ready, waiting impatiently for my tablet to arrive and just had a ball of a time at Rag 2008. How would 18htn fare? Is NUS ready for 18htn? Stay tuned...

(*PS: never get caught in the shower in the morning because peak hour traffic is a pain in the ass)

No Culture

No Culture - This post started with the post dinner chat @ my cousin YT's house the other day. We were talking about Singapore culture when my cousin-in-law debated that Singapore has no culture at all. The word "Auntie" and "Uncle" were used too much that they sounded extremely irritating and provoking. Proper usage terms for greeting people your senior is much needed. "Mister", "Miss" and "Madam" would sound much nicer especially if you working in the service sector and they might even save your rice bowl. Also, in coffee shops where the way temp waiters ask you for drinks sometimes would really irk you. It seems like they do not mind losing a customer like you. It seems that we're pretty used to such terms already that its part our so called culture. That's pretty worrying for Singapore especially as its bracing itself for bigger things in the global stage like F1 and other global events. Imagine what would people from other countries think of our culture if they knew. Probably Singapore wasn't as ideal as what they had seen on websites or their own Discovery Channel. So at first when I heard my cousin-in-law's words, I wasn't really convinced but upon some deep reflections, I felt that what she said made sense. It really sounds much better and polite if you called someone "Mister" or "Miss" or "先生" or "小姐" instead of "Auntie" or "Uncle". What's worse is that even in some families, members call each other in such a manner that its pure gross. Imagine your nephew calling you "Auntie" or "Uncle", wow I would just slap the crap out of him man. Haha. Proper usage should be taught not just in schools but also in families. In countries like Taiwan or Japan, its courtesy that sells and that's what make people keep going to those places. So its ironic whenever I see people promoting Singapore, saying that the peeps here are polite and all. Bullshit I must say and we are really in need of some cultural revolution if you ask me. Its alrite to party hard but its also important not to forget about culture. Correct me if I'm wrong.

@ Cousin YT's Crib

After work activity - Today got an invitation to dine at my cousin YT's place after work. His crib is located just next to Tiong Bahru Plaza so its really convenient. My cousin-in-law Lydia was doing the cooking even though she's already 6 months pregnant. I was pretty impressed with her cooking and her house. The furniture they bought were pretty chic and something that I would put in my future crib. The aboves are mainly their living room, wardrobe, guinea pig called GP (didn't get the reason behind it) and the marvellous view out of their balcony. The two lights they use for their living rooms were really special, love the designs. Really glad that people do appreciate good design furniture haha. Good prospect for me maybe and I was really proud of my cousin for making this far in his life. Living a good life with a great job, great wife (haha), great house and great car. Kudos to his attitude and brain. One more good thing about his place is its very near ZOUK hahahaha. Oh my... a place for me to settle in if I'm @ ZOUK next time haha.

Busy Lately

Busy - sorry for the late updates recently, have been busy @ work (if you didn't know i'm with Singtel Mobile now doing customer service) and playing football manager 2008 after work (addictive). I will still update on intervals and rest assured they will be of the highest quality. Later...

Lower Pierce Reservoir

Lower Pierce Reservoir - Had no idea what that place was until XJ told me about it the other day after her field trip. Was pretty stoked about going there to check out nature itself, haven't been getting in touch with nature for a long time... Was impressed with what I saw there and how I felt when I looked across the reservoir with the wind blowing and sun shining. Makes you think and makes you feel better and fresher, like a newborn. If only I can have that same feeling everytime I step out of my house, guess its a remedy to spending too much time on Football Manager and blogging haha. You guys should try it out sometime.

ORD Loh!

ORD - After 1 year 10 months of wearing green, doing adhoc stuff, keeping my hair short and black, its finally time that something has been pasted on the back of my 11B. Yup my service status is now NSman and I ain't complaining. No more taking Bus number 169 or 856 to Sembawang, no more carrying oil drums (if you think I'm fit maybe this is the reason), no more checking of toolboxes (its not as easy as how I type it out), no more calling up contractors (dumb ass job), no more stocktaking, no more going to Jurong for some meaningless seminars, no more waiting for the stupid bus to come after work, no more free medical service, no more acting like a fool in front of superiors... I'm done for the freaking army, its time for some civilian lifestyle that I've been craving for since I entered my Unit. Happy? Haha I guess that word has no impact on how I really feel. Felt more like a prisoned fella finally released after serving his long sentence. Now I'm looking forward to catching up with my time wasted in the army, getting a job and University. Army... a past, been there done that. Unforgettable but unnecessary. Pink I.C. it has been a while...