logo sketches

Bullseye Bodega

An article that I found interesting today on Core77 was one that outlined a design project for Target. Starting September 12^th, Target will be opening four “Bullseye Bodegas”. The simple bullseye logo that we all recognize as being the logo for Target, will be repeated over and over in red and yellow. It will be a short exhibition (one weekend) in Manhattan.
I found this interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, it shows just how important design is in our everyday lives. Secondly, it reminded me of an exhibition that I read about earlier this summer. In May, specific train cars in Japan were decked out in Ikea furniture.

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/9-9-bullseye-bodega/01
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/04/ikea-decks-out-kobe-train/

fitbit

I recently read an article on Core77 about a new piece of technology called the “fitbit”. It is a device smaller than an ipod nano that can track a person’s daily activity. It can count the number of steps a person takes, track their sleep cycles, the distance they go in a day, etc. It is takes all of the information that it collects and wirelessly uploads everything to the web so a person can constantly keep track of their overall movement.
I found this article to be very interesting. During the summers, I waitress at a fast paced restaurant where I am constantly on my feet. I often wonder how many miles I have actually walked during the course of the day. This would not only tell me… but it is another example of “cloud computing” taking over. This does not force you to keep a log of your steps, but instead wirelessly keeps records of your movement for you.

http://www.fitbit.com/
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/21361/?a=f 

Bottle caps

In the article "Design objects from recycled bottle caps" on Core77.com, the blogger reviewed a new design from Anthanassios Babalis. He created a tote bag and a stool out of bottle caps.

While this design will not be the next fad of the future, I find it pretty inventive. It allows for color patterns and interesting shapes. Bottle caps are one of those things that most people have in their house but probably would not think to use in such a way. This design also works well because it was for the “Green Design Festival 2008” and obviously fits the requirments- recycling old materials to make a new product that can be used.
http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/design_objects_from_recycled_bottle_caps__11034.asp#more

ROKU!

In order to come up with a name for the "station", we had to combine aspects of the language from each country.

I looked up the word "peace" in many different languages. 

In Ecuador, people speak mostly spanish or quichua. Their words for peace are paz and qasikay. In Zimbabwe, many different languages are widely used, some being Dombe, Ndebele, and Shona. Their words for peace were ukuthula and runyararo. 

In Malaysia, people primarily speak Malay. The word in Malay for peace is keamanan.

I tried many combinations using these words, knowing that the end result had to be short (only two or three syllables). I came up with: kayro, keaz, siku, kaparo, etc...

End Result: ROKU

Malaysia

Zimbabwe

Ecuador

Countries

For this class, we had to choose three countries. They have to be geographically, culturally, historically different from one another. From each of these countries, we will gather inspiration in order to create a motion graphic for a nationally broadcast television station.

The countries that I chose:

Ecuador

Zimbabwe

Malaysia

Garbage at a material

Garbage is growing. I recently read an article on pantopicon.be/blog about the trash problem that arose in Naples, Italy. The article outlined some of the ways in which trash can be turned around. For example, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. While interesting, it’s still wild that a modern day city could end up in such a way. I have been to third world countries where there was no trash pickup or waste disposal system at all… but there WAS one in Naples and this was still a possible fall out.
The reusable idea of this article reminds me of a device that I have heard of before. In many third world countries, non-biodegradable trashes such as plastic bags are left to clutter up the streets. The device takes the plastic bags and compresses them for use as bricks… in order to build small furniture such as a bench.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1579429/Items-scavenged-from-rubbish-sold-in-Naples.html
http://www.terradaily.com/news/africa-05o.html

There was recent post on Core77.com about the ways in which the technology on an ipod can be used to communicate. The article refers mainly to the HBO television show called “Generation Kill”. In the show, the soldiers are left lacking many things that would generally be useful in a time of war (example: night goggles). However, not every soldier is out of touch with the world. Core77 stated that “Last year the Army spent $800,000 on 260 iPods for their 10^th Mountain Division”. These iPods were not the general music device though. They had software in them that allowed for communication and solar charging. The solar charging aspect immediately made me think of all the new led light displays that are now using solar energy.
The communication aspect of the technology also sparked a connection in my mind. The Nintendo DS, a portal gameboy type system, has a communication device in it. It allows people with a DS to send messages to someone else with a DS. I have read articles in the past that mountain climbers in extreme places, such as Everest, use this device to send messages because it can withstand the altitude changes.
It’s fascinating to think of the unspoken uses for our everyday technology.

http://core77.com/blog/default.asp?p=2