Sunday, September 28, 2003
Well, as ridiculous as this is, I still don't have a book. I've called Amazon twice and both times they've given me the run around. Definitely the last time I try to find an unusual book from them. Well, it's not that the book is unusual, but it's just that it's in an unusual state. Meaning: It goes to a new edition soon. Whatever, i'm rambling.
Anyway, I was working on some new designs today, trying to incorporate basic text...more or less I was trying to get the text to interact with the jpg. I think it worked out alright.
Hey, anyone who's read this far: Just curious...did anyone go to the Dave Matthews Band concert in Central Park? If so, please email me so I can ask you some questions about it. Who knows, maybe I ran into you at one point.
For those of you who didn't go, you missed an incredible evening. Besides the fact that the band was amazing, if you turned around and looked back, not only did you see 100,000 fans, but you saw the beautiful New York skyline on a gorgeous evening. The orange glow behind the buildings made for an amazing setting as the show continued. What a great evening.
Well, I'll make sure to add more once my book actually comes in.
Anyway, I was working on some new designs today, trying to incorporate basic text...more or less I was trying to get the text to interact with the jpg. I think it worked out alright.
Hey, anyone who's read this far: Just curious...did anyone go to the Dave Matthews Band concert in Central Park? If so, please email me so I can ask you some questions about it. Who knows, maybe I ran into you at one point.
For those of you who didn't go, you missed an incredible evening. Besides the fact that the band was amazing, if you turned around and looked back, not only did you see 100,000 fans, but you saw the beautiful New York skyline on a gorgeous evening. The orange glow behind the buildings made for an amazing setting as the show continued. What a great evening.
Well, I'll make sure to add more once my book actually comes in.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Did I mention I still haven't gotten my book? Oh well.
Just a quick post this morning...having trouble with opening my email, which is usually the first thing I check in the morning. Ever read one of those service messages that Quinnipiac sends you? They say that bewteen the hours of blank and blank the email will be shut down. Well, it's like they sent the message at one in the morning and then immediately turned the system off. Some warning, huh? Anyway, time to get ready for some serious Quinnipiac-ing.
Just a quick post this morning...having trouble with opening my email, which is usually the first thing I check in the morning. Ever read one of those service messages that Quinnipiac sends you? They say that bewteen the hours of blank and blank the email will be shut down. Well, it's like they sent the message at one in the morning and then immediately turned the system off. Some warning, huh? Anyway, time to get ready for some serious Quinnipiac-ing.
Sunday, September 14, 2003
No book yet...so instead...
Well, I'm still waiting for my Interactivity by Design book to come in, and so I'm left to write about something totally different. Just a random experience.
So yesterday I went bowling. And yes, this is a normal thing for me, as I bowl in tournaments every Saturday, and have bowled in Olympic Qualifiers 3 years in a row now. Most people who don't know too much about bowling usually ask me if I put "that crazy spin" on the bowling ball...the answer is yes, i put crazy spin on the ball, and it 'curves.' In the bowling world, we say we put rotation on the ball and it hooks. But it's all good. Anyway, yesterday during league i shot 258, 224, 217 for a nice 699 series. Everyone in the league thought I was a god for shooting 3 consecutive games over 210...kind of funny, actually. So then I went to a tournament in Norwalk, and shot 119 my first game. Well, of course some of the kids from league were there, and watched me bowl this rotten game. Immediately I "sucked." And I guess that bothered me a lot...I went on to shoot 246, 210, 200, and 211, only to miss the cut by 5 pins. The point is that people think they know a little bit about everything, and they think they can judge people by one meeting. Everyone has their up's and their down's, and for those kids to say that I "sucked" was way out of line. No, I'm not venting or anything, but I think this brings up an interesting topic in a very blurry area. Aren't we all guilty of judging people by how we first see them? It doesn't necessarily take a bowling example to show this, but since this is the way it happened to me, this is how I'm displaying it to the world. Ok, enough rambling...I'm just saying that it takes time to get to know someone...and these kids seemed to think that because I had one bad game that I was simply lucky during league. Yeah, it sounds like something out of High School...but I see it constantly in college, too.
So yesterday I went bowling. And yes, this is a normal thing for me, as I bowl in tournaments every Saturday, and have bowled in Olympic Qualifiers 3 years in a row now. Most people who don't know too much about bowling usually ask me if I put "that crazy spin" on the bowling ball...the answer is yes, i put crazy spin on the ball, and it 'curves.' In the bowling world, we say we put rotation on the ball and it hooks. But it's all good. Anyway, yesterday during league i shot 258, 224, 217 for a nice 699 series. Everyone in the league thought I was a god for shooting 3 consecutive games over 210...kind of funny, actually. So then I went to a tournament in Norwalk, and shot 119 my first game. Well, of course some of the kids from league were there, and watched me bowl this rotten game. Immediately I "sucked." And I guess that bothered me a lot...I went on to shoot 246, 210, 200, and 211, only to miss the cut by 5 pins. The point is that people think they know a little bit about everything, and they think they can judge people by one meeting. Everyone has their up's and their down's, and for those kids to say that I "sucked" was way out of line. No, I'm not venting or anything, but I think this brings up an interesting topic in a very blurry area. Aren't we all guilty of judging people by how we first see them? It doesn't necessarily take a bowling example to show this, but since this is the way it happened to me, this is how I'm displaying it to the world. Ok, enough rambling...I'm just saying that it takes time to get to know someone...and these kids seemed to think that because I had one bad game that I was simply lucky during league. Yeah, it sounds like something out of High School...but I see it constantly in college, too.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Dupe of a dupe...what the hell?
So I went to work today and had to drive to Hartford to get the Verizon Wireless Test Man image for my boss. You know? The test man...the guy who says "can you hear me now? good!"
It turns out that this particular chrome was a dupliate of a duplicate, first put on kodak film, then onto Fuji film. All you had to do was look at the transparency without the aid of light table or mag. lens to see the noise! It would be really easy to fix if it was digital noise, but it's not...it's because the image has been burned so many times, the pieces of plastic (or whatever material it is) have copied themselves noticably onto the newest copy. And wow, at 5000 resolution, can you imagine what it would look like? It's actually kind of funny...but most certainly a pain!
So today I learned never to duplicate an image that many times...shame on the people who sent us that image!
It turns out that this particular chrome was a dupliate of a duplicate, first put on kodak film, then onto Fuji film. All you had to do was look at the transparency without the aid of light table or mag. lens to see the noise! It would be really easy to fix if it was digital noise, but it's not...it's because the image has been burned so many times, the pieces of plastic (or whatever material it is) have copied themselves noticably onto the newest copy. And wow, at 5000 resolution, can you imagine what it would look like? It's actually kind of funny...but most certainly a pain!
So today I learned never to duplicate an image that many times...shame on the people who sent us that image!
Monday, September 08, 2003
Can anyone explain why it's so freakin' cold in the Mac Lab?
Sunday, September 07, 2003
First of all, online services have become an increasing industry. While the example given in Experience Design is Match.com, we can see that online services continue to grow from every existing root in every possible field. Things such as shopping, online tours, troubleshooting, cooking, etc., have now become an offering to consumers on the web. Not only does this expand business, making certain industries more accessible to the public, but it also is a much easier way to increase profit and the image of any company. Of course, it’s very easy to comprehend that the more consumers you reach, potentially the more business you will have.
And these companies try their hardest to make a long lasting image on you, the consumer by using designs that you will always remember. These are known as takeaways; things that we will always remember...I look at this slightly different than on your death-bed. For instance, while it does not have personal meaning to me, I find myself taken away by a group of commercials by Verizon Wireless. Their newest spokesperson, as you may or may not know, is this guy who says five to six words in every commercial: “Can you hear me now? Good!” As annoying as these commercials are, I find that I am able to go up to anyone quoting the above line, and they can tell me exactly where it came from…This is clearly good advertising. Other takeaways are more personal, and these are generally things that are either so creative, so funny, or so moving that it is hard to detach yourself from the experience. But in order for these things to have meaning to us, we must remember that this ties into the values in our lives (This ties into our last reading). Our values and beliefs tend to press a heavy weight on what we take away from things; and especially on what we remember.
Speaking of remembrances, how much information did you find yourself able to remember from last night’s news? How much of it did you actually understand? If your answer to the second question is something like “not much,” then conceivably we can assume that information design is not an easy form of design to master. As odd as I found this, information design is based on understanding…and levels of understanding depend on context and meaning, thus making any understanding sophisticated and personal, as well as personal. Within information design, the structure in which it is presented has meaning…so we can conclude that everything we read/see has meaning.
Hey, did you know that if you keep information the same but move it around, people’s perceptions on the topic change? Apparently a certain level of movement in a design changes one’s understanding. While I’m sure I am guilty of having a different perception on the same information seen twice, I find it very hard to believe that as a general statement the public cannot pick up on these changes. And to think that perceptions are changed because of a simple order change is mind-boggling.
So as I continued to read, I found out something that I have known for a long time, having been a journalism student for junior and senior year in high school. “Data is not information!” Data is only a building block of relevance, and should never be presented to its audiences in its rare form. This rare form can be found everywhere, as data is produced anywhere and everywhere. Take, for example, the Quinnipiac Polling Institute. They collect data and submit it to many different places in newspapers and magazines. Continuing on pages 36 and 37 in Experience Design, the very cool discussion on data and its insignificance continues, explaining that the “fallacy we live under is that this is an ‘Age of Information.’” Yet with all that data that is produced, “our lives are not enhanced by any of it,” (Shedroff 37). For a few years now I have been telling my friends how worthless ‘factoids’ are, and up until this point, I have never seen it written in any book or published writing…I wonder why?!? Well, they divert our attention, and while sometimes I wonder what it is that we are being diverted from, I guess that’s not the point.
I remember watching an episode of the Simpsons where MLB is supposedly watching Springfield via satellite. When Bart finally brings the satellite crashing to the Earth, Mark Maguire shows up, admitting that MLB is watching them. The townsfolk, flabbergasted, listen as Maguire gives them two choices: “Would you guys like to know the truth or would you like to see me slug a few home runs?” Everyone votes for Maguire to knock a few homeruns, thus showing us a very cool message and somewhat hidden theme that people are only looking to be entertained. I think it is very interesting, because after looking at the news long enough, you understand that factoids are worthless, but they entertain the general public. Allow me to point out that USA Today is notorious for their use of factoids and graphs, and all of which are written on a 6th grade English level.
Perhaps there’s a bit of irony here, but we are all producers and consumers of information…but just because we produce information does not mean that it is any more useful than what we consume. In each of our own productions, we need to add value so to make it somewhat different; again this shows that information is produced everywhere. Our ability to create (encode) and understand (decode) information is imperative to our design efforts, as graphic design is expressed through information.
As an example, Traffic Signs warn us of dangers everyday. We tend to take this type of information for granted, but nevertheless, they provide us with a very effective system of shared agreement.
So now, let us not confuse information with knowledge, as knowledge is not just descriptive of details. Knowledge relies on personal contexts, content, and previous understandings.
Involving in activity requires knowledge—the book uses the example of cooking. Cooking most definitely requires knowledge, as you must know a recipe, perhaps something that can be found online (showing us the use of information online).
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff that I covered here…and I think that’s about everything. I certainly learned a lot during this reading.
And these companies try their hardest to make a long lasting image on you, the consumer by using designs that you will always remember. These are known as takeaways; things that we will always remember...I look at this slightly different than on your death-bed. For instance, while it does not have personal meaning to me, I find myself taken away by a group of commercials by Verizon Wireless. Their newest spokesperson, as you may or may not know, is this guy who says five to six words in every commercial: “Can you hear me now? Good!” As annoying as these commercials are, I find that I am able to go up to anyone quoting the above line, and they can tell me exactly where it came from…This is clearly good advertising. Other takeaways are more personal, and these are generally things that are either so creative, so funny, or so moving that it is hard to detach yourself from the experience. But in order for these things to have meaning to us, we must remember that this ties into the values in our lives (This ties into our last reading). Our values and beliefs tend to press a heavy weight on what we take away from things; and especially on what we remember.
Speaking of remembrances, how much information did you find yourself able to remember from last night’s news? How much of it did you actually understand? If your answer to the second question is something like “not much,” then conceivably we can assume that information design is not an easy form of design to master. As odd as I found this, information design is based on understanding…and levels of understanding depend on context and meaning, thus making any understanding sophisticated and personal, as well as personal. Within information design, the structure in which it is presented has meaning…so we can conclude that everything we read/see has meaning.
Hey, did you know that if you keep information the same but move it around, people’s perceptions on the topic change? Apparently a certain level of movement in a design changes one’s understanding. While I’m sure I am guilty of having a different perception on the same information seen twice, I find it very hard to believe that as a general statement the public cannot pick up on these changes. And to think that perceptions are changed because of a simple order change is mind-boggling.
So as I continued to read, I found out something that I have known for a long time, having been a journalism student for junior and senior year in high school. “Data is not information!” Data is only a building block of relevance, and should never be presented to its audiences in its rare form. This rare form can be found everywhere, as data is produced anywhere and everywhere. Take, for example, the Quinnipiac Polling Institute. They collect data and submit it to many different places in newspapers and magazines. Continuing on pages 36 and 37 in Experience Design, the very cool discussion on data and its insignificance continues, explaining that the “fallacy we live under is that this is an ‘Age of Information.’” Yet with all that data that is produced, “our lives are not enhanced by any of it,” (Shedroff 37). For a few years now I have been telling my friends how worthless ‘factoids’ are, and up until this point, I have never seen it written in any book or published writing…I wonder why?!? Well, they divert our attention, and while sometimes I wonder what it is that we are being diverted from, I guess that’s not the point.
I remember watching an episode of the Simpsons where MLB is supposedly watching Springfield via satellite. When Bart finally brings the satellite crashing to the Earth, Mark Maguire shows up, admitting that MLB is watching them. The townsfolk, flabbergasted, listen as Maguire gives them two choices: “Would you guys like to know the truth or would you like to see me slug a few home runs?” Everyone votes for Maguire to knock a few homeruns, thus showing us a very cool message and somewhat hidden theme that people are only looking to be entertained. I think it is very interesting, because after looking at the news long enough, you understand that factoids are worthless, but they entertain the general public. Allow me to point out that USA Today is notorious for their use of factoids and graphs, and all of which are written on a 6th grade English level.
Perhaps there’s a bit of irony here, but we are all producers and consumers of information…but just because we produce information does not mean that it is any more useful than what we consume. In each of our own productions, we need to add value so to make it somewhat different; again this shows that information is produced everywhere. Our ability to create (encode) and understand (decode) information is imperative to our design efforts, as graphic design is expressed through information.
As an example, Traffic Signs warn us of dangers everyday. We tend to take this type of information for granted, but nevertheless, they provide us with a very effective system of shared agreement.
So now, let us not confuse information with knowledge, as knowledge is not just descriptive of details. Knowledge relies on personal contexts, content, and previous understandings.
Involving in activity requires knowledge—the book uses the example of cooking. Cooking most definitely requires knowledge, as you must know a recipe, perhaps something that can be found online (showing us the use of information online).
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff that I covered here…and I think that’s about everything. I certainly learned a lot during this reading.
