Interactive Architecture Brainstorming

A. I believe the area of the school that could likely benefit the most by coming alive is a place we all must go every day, and it is a place few of us enjoy going; the classroom.  It is rather bland and not exactly stimulating.  I feel as though the classroom could benefit the student more if it interacts with the student's mood or emotions. 

B. The space could come alive by creating lighting that fits the student's moods.  This could potentially be measured when the students sit down.  The chairs could have body heat and heart rate sensors that could possibly determine the mood or overall feelings of the student.  Judging by these readings, the student would don a pair of interactive headphones that could play music that would vary, pertaining to their emotions.  Either those sensors, or perhaps a touch screen on the desk.  This touch screen could give them options about the type of background music that they would recieve through their headphones.

C. The message of this space would vary depending on the readings or the options the student chose.  It could be calming, or it could be promotional to the ork environement. This could legitimately make conversation with the user.  As the future generation of our planet, teenagers are important to the well being of society.  As our use of technology becomes more relevant to everyday life, our older generation becomes bogged down in the technological swamp.  As the rising generation of business owners and technology developers, we should be taught to use technology for it's proper purposes beginning in the classroom.  The Catholic portion of the technology will not particualrly aid the students, but the classroom would become more productive in the long run.

D. The viewer would be able to interact with it directly, specifically by pushing buttons on the touch screen.  The student would choose one of the options presented, and based off that choice, the student would be given an environment ooptimal for learning. 

Interactive Architecture

A. My favourite part of the interactive house is the mirror that delays your movements.  I think it is just interesting to be able to watch the way you mave like that.

B. The piece of architecture could be considered interactive because it draws the viewer in, making them feel as though they are that much closer to the unreachable cosmos.

C. The Coean of Light could be considered a piece of art because it really did appeal to my eyes visually, and it interested me.  Beyond making the viewer feel as though they are underwater, it is just beatiful. 

Corporation Deforestation

Corporate entities around the world have been forever pillaging the environment around them until their is nothing left to take, and then they would move.  Logging companies have been cutting entitre forests in recent years, and though the fresh growth it provides to wildlife is healthy, the companies are notorious for not even attempting to replace the old growth they removed, and allowing the scrub brush they leave behind to choke out young trees.  The forests of Canada have, in the past, been our greatest source of natural resources, and are still a major export from Canada today. But the trees are brought back eventually, in the form of tissues and other paper products.  I think I am going to do a mockery of a Puffs Plus advertisement, with a change in some of the words.  I will also add some trees to the background , with some cut down.

This is the ad I will be making some changes to:

Puffs Plus AdBuster

Matthew Zeinstra, Ad Buster, Photoshop, October 25, 2012.

Technical- The first step I used in altering the image was to use the spot healing brush to erase some of the words in the photo, and replace them with words different to the originals.  The biggest issue in this step was trying to find a font that would work in the picture.  I found one after a few minutes of searching, and I had to only edit a small amount of the curves on the letters.

                - The second step was to add the trees into the image.  I found the trees in google images and used photoshop to make them appear as though they belong.  After all the trees were in place, I found the ones that looked like the best to be made into a tissue, and cut them down.  By that, I mean I erased the tops and gave them a jagged trunk. 

                 - In the original image, there was also hearts coming off of the box of tissues.  Instead of hearts, I made the tissue box spill money and leaves of the dead trees that went into not only making the tissues, but the box itself as well.

Concept- The ideas I had originally were rather scattered and unorganised, but as soon as the original ad came to me, I had one of my more brilliant ideas.  I would make this happy child stand in front of a forest that was cut down for his "Forest in a box!"
              - The idea I had has changed many times in the process, until I saw the last advertisement. I had the idea in my head before it even formed in the way of words.  The words I used in the buster changed slightly, from words of less impact to ones with more weight and a deeper meaning. 

Influences- No artists influenced my opinion on this subject, however I did get some form of influence from the Ad Buster website. They gave me some ideas about issues in the world.

Composition- It is composed symmetrically because there is a person on one side, and a oval shape on the other side that gives the image balance that one can not achieve through asymmetrical composition.
                   - The eye moves on this picture from left to right mostly, with only some vertical movement.  This is mostly due to the long , low profile of the image.  However, the left to right movement is emphasized with the blue streaks across the sky.

Motivation- My only real involvement with the underlying issue is the fact that when I am sick, I enjoy having a tissue.  Beyong that though, I really only anted to edit a cartoon image.  I thought it was a challenge, and that is one of the things I my self enjoy greatly. 

Critical Assessment- I feel as though the message that is conveyed is probably the best part of the picture, however, visually, I like the trees that are both cut down, and the ones that are still standing. 

                             - The only part of this project that really surprised me was amount of ime it takes to get the logo for anything just right.  The Cutts logo I came up with took and entire 70 minutes to put in. 

                             - With additional time, I would probably take a few minutes to find a better font to add the word "Trees."  The font I am currently using is not excellent, how ever it is better than the word Vicks being there.

Homework assignment 6

AdBusters Questions

1. What company does the advertisement represent/subvert?
2. What kind of product(s) is being advertised?
3. What imagery is used in the advertisement to subvert?
4. What message (text, copy) is used in the advertisement?
5. How are the elements and principles of design used to convey a message?
6. Who is the target audience of the advertisement?
7. Does the ad jam convey a clear and successful message?
8. How could the ad jam be improved?


Escape

1. This is directed towards no company in particular.  It condemns shopping as an activity modern society seems addicted to.
2. Shopping is being advertised.
3. The barcode is portrayed as the bars of a prison cell, and people are breaking free from the corporate mentalilty.
4.The barcode on the bottom of the ad is clever in it's use.  It says escape.
5. I can not see the elements of design at work in this picture.
6. The target audience is the middle class people who feel like they need more stuff to satisfy themselves.
7. Yes, it clearly indicates that we as a society must escape the mentality that shopping is a means of showing off.
8. If the numbers on the right side of the barcode spelled something clear, it would make the ad have more of an impact. 



Absolut

1. Absolut Vodka
2. Absolut is being condemned.
3. An IV in the shape of a vodka bottle is used to subvert the fun of alchohol.
4. The name brand is used in the ad, with coma beside it.
5.  Colour balance was used quite effectively.
6. The target audence is obviously teens who like getting right wasted, so much that they even drink to the point of unintelligence.
7. Yes, it does convey a clear message.  Do not drink yourself to this point.
8. It could have been put into context in a better way.



1. This ad is clearly aimed at McDonalds
2. Fast food in general is being subverted, though McDonalds in particular is being hassled.
3. Other than an overweight man, no real imagery is used except for half of a McDonalds logo.
4.McDonalds' slogan, I'm lovin' it, is used to show sarcasm; I am quite sure this man s not happy about the size he is.
5. The colour of this really catches the eye, and also goes with the theme of McDonalds with the yellow shirt.
6. The target audience is everyone who lives in corporate countries around the world.  They all have fast food.
7. The ad jam does convey a clear message: Do not eat at McDonalds, or you might end up looking like that guy.
8. The ad could be improved by giving an entire McDonald's logo on the shirt instead of only using half.



This ad is aimed towards Nike.
2. It is meant to subvert both the shoe industry and the way it uses child labour.
3. The imagery on Tiger's mouth, and in the background, show that Nike is the target.
4. There is no text in the image.
5. The principles of design are used in the athlete's face.
6. The target audience arepeople from ages 13 to almost 40.  Everyone wears running shoes.
7. The ad jam does convey a successful message because of the incredible distortion on his face.  It does not look natural.
8. This could probably be improved by words somewhere in the picture, even just a witty comment.

High and Low Key Photography

Sorry about the low key Mrs. George-Easton, I did not have time to model on accout of my holding up a dark backdrop.  So I found a corner of a picture that happened to include myself, and- Voila!- I almost made a beautiful picture.  I guess I used up all my photogenic-ness on the high key.

Apocalypse Meow

REFLECTION

Tech.

This piece began as a vision of the end of the world that was the most politically plauisble way it would happen.  I found the pictures I knew I would need, and began putting them together.  I made the cliff into a brush and layered several of them to get it to blend well yet remain 3-dimensional.  Then I did the same with the water, and added some grass on the top of the cliff.  Then I used poster edges on nearly everything in the image, and this added some black outlines, making it really pop.  Finally, I adjusted the colour of the explosion to make it appear like it actually was exploding. 

Idea.

The initial inspiration for this picture came from the volatile political situation in the middle east.  The threat from Iran to bomb the Western powers is by no means empty, the only thing they require to complete their plan is a nuclear warhead.  The inspiration for the water meaning safety in this picture came from the American attack on Hiroshima.  Many of the people who survived the bomb survived by seeking shelter in the river that ran through the city.  The radiation could not immediately penetrate the surface, requiring time before it could be absorbed into the water system.  The ideas I put to work did not change a particularly large amount.  I was planning on putting the explosion on the other side of the image but I could not think of a way to make it look good while doing so.

Influences.

No legitimate artists gave me any inspiration for this piece, and I do not think I ever will be inspired by any artists because I do not know any...sorry.

Comp.

I tried to balance this image symetrically, which as I know does not work particularly well.  The left side of the image is rather bland, which I did not have any ideas to fix it with.  The boat in the water is meant to slightly stand out and add some darkness to an otherwise bland background.

The eye is drawn to the house in this image, which is good because I was trying to put emphasis on the destruction of civilization as we know it.

Homework Part 5

 This portfolio has a creative feel to it because of the amount of images immediately available to the viewer.  The pictures are not under their own tab on the site, and there is no real description of what the artists specializes or enjoys doing.  However, there are some professional elements to it as well, the name and menu bar are in a dominant location on the page.

 I thought this page was creative because of the images that are immediately viewable, and the font used in the menu bar.  The font is somewhat like a graffiti font, but it seems childish at the same time.  Again though, the menu and artist's names are in a fairly prominent position.

 This portfolio is creative in almost all regards.  The artist's name is only at the top of the page, not displayed at the bottom, and it is very bright.  The design in and of itself is abstract, and the rest of the page continues downward with ever flowing designs.

 This portfolio is clearly not professional, and creative could also potentially be an understatement.  The page is very bright, with rather sporadic designs that really have little or nothing to do with the actually purpose of the page. 

This portfolio is on the edge of being creative, bordering on the professional side of the field.  The name is always displayed in the same place, and the menu bar at the top is well organized and fairly straightforward.  The only real indication that this is a more creative portfolio is that there are several bright colours to catch the eye on the page.