Heskett: Chapters 1-3

((RR02))
Design is a unique topic.  Design is unique to humans.  The subject is so broad that it could quite possibly be applied to everything.  The desk I am sitting at was designed.  The computer keyboard layout I am using to type on was designed.  Even the way the trees are trimmed at my parents house back home was a form of design.  Humans have a natural ability to make things look and function better.

The hands are the root of all design.  They are very powerful tools but would be worthless without a brain controlling them.  The mind paired with the hands is why design is in the human nature.  All through history design has evolved with us.  New technologies are constantly being brought into the light, and industrialization is a present force.

Due to that fact that design is human nature, it is different in different parts of the world.  Design follows culture, and thus culture defines human behavior.  The significance of an object can be seen as greater in one part of the world than another.  This would mean that the design of said object would have a greater market in certain areas with certain cultures.



((CR02))

So far in Design 200 I have enjoyed the discussions about the different aspects of the design world.  I like that we have been going into greater detail over each aspect individually to get a better understanding of each.  Though I like the graphic design personally more, I did like the class where we looked at different chairs that designers have created.  I think that it would be pretty cool to design a chair someday.  I had never noticed that chairs could be 'design'.  Before this class a chair was a chair in my mind.  I did notice if one chair looked cooler or more comfortable, but I never thought about the actual thought that goes into each. 

  

RR01

For my RR01, I turned to http://www.wired.com.  Wired is a magazine they I read frequently so I knew there would be something pertaining to design somewhere within.  In this case I came across an article entitled; "The 3 Coolest and 3 Lamest iAccessories at CES."  As a little background to the title, CES is the Consumer Electronics Show held in January in Las Vegas.

First Wired commented on a see-through iPad 2 case.  The case itself looked cheap but the more intriguing thing was the iPad 2 aspect.  The iPad 2 has not been released yet so the fact there there was a case for sale raised questions.  Apparently Apple cannot keep its secrets very well in the accessory business because this case turned out to be legit.
Next they took a look into the Mophie iPhone gaming accessory, the Mophie Pulse.  This case has speakers and vibrates during high action parts of games.  From the looks of it, it seemed to be designed pretty well, not making the phone much bigger.
Personally being a car junkie I thought the next accessory was very cool.  The device is called the CarTrip and it plugs right into your cars on-board diagnostics port.  This device (pared with the right app) then sends anything wrong with your engine straight to your phone via bluetooth.
Moving into Wired rateded "lame" products, we have an iPad case that looks like the ass-end of a pair of jeans.  Clearly not exactly the most attractive case.  Next was the MiLi was a cheaply made product that very badly projects video from your iPhone onto the wall.  And if the video quality wasn't bad enough, the speaker were 1-watt, not good at all.  Lastly Wired found that a very tacky pink iPhone case made by Barbie made a classy iPhone look cheap.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/01/coolest-lamest-accessories/?utm_source&pid=1152&viewall=true

This article particularly stuck out to me because of the CES tags.  A few of my friends and I plan to "piggy-back" of my friends' father to get into the convention next January.  I also own an iPod Touch and hope to eventually acquire an iPad, so accessories for such products interest me.  Also, accessories are designed based.  The point of an accessory is to make a product function and look better.

Me

((J01))
My name is Brandon.  I was born in raised in North-East Ohio, and I grew up with one younger sister.  My parents are divorced but they, along with the rest of my immediate family all live in the same county.
Just before walking across the stage for high school graduation, I joined the Ohio Air National Guard.  Being in the Air Force is my greatest accomplishment that continues to please me.  I am a Senior Airman, and am very happy to say that I am right on track to make the promotion to Staff Sergeant this upcoming summer.
As for free-time, I like to play tennis and golf (Ohio's sporadic weather permitting).  I also enjoy spending time on my computer, constantly finding new music and messing around with Adobe Photoshop.

I could ramble on, but in a nutshell this is who I am.

((CR01))
As for why I am taking Design 200, I am hoping to eventually become some sort of graphic designer.  I am a Communication Technologies major, but would like to focus on the media/design aspect.  The course was found and suggested to me by my advisor.  After this class is over I hope to be able to have a better understanding of what exactly design is, and possibly broaden my horizons as a Comm major.