Definition of Obtain

obtain: to gain or attain usually by planned action or effort

Parts of the Letter Reflection

       When I first looked at fonts I did not really realize that there were so many individual parts to them, let alone names for all of these parts.  Typography is evolved from handwriting and has been evolving for around 500 years.  Letters are all made up of strokes or stems, just like the strokes a pen makes when letters are written.  Some of the various parts of letters that were discussed in this document are serif, bracket, and stroke width.  These parts all have to do with the body of what makes up the letter.  Serifs are the short strokes that finishes off the major strokes.  Brackets are the curving joint between serifs and strokes.  Stroke width is the varying thickness of the stems and strokes that make up the letter.  There are several terms that relate the overall height of letter such as baseline, cap height, and x-height.  Baseline is the invisible line that all letters sit on, cap height is the height of capital letters from baseline to the top, and x-height is the height of all lowercase letters which is determined by the height of the lowercase x in a particular font.  Any letter such as a b or d that has a stroke that rises above the x-height is called an ascender.  Other words that describe specific points on letters are the apex, crossbar, vertex, final, and terminal.  The apex is the uppermost point on a capital A and the crossbar is the bar that crosses the middle of the A.  The vertex is the lowermost point in letters such as V and W.  An example of a final is the stroke that hangs over the rounded part of a lowercase a and the terminal is the tail that comes off of a lowercase a.  A bowl is a rounded part, whether open, like in c, or closed like in o, that describes the negative space, or counter, within.  An eye is like the little closed portion of the lowercase e, barbs are the hook like strokes on the end of capital C's, spurs are the small strokes on the bottoms of G's, and tails are the strokes that hang off of Q's.  Lowercase g's have several special features such as ears, the little nub that comes off the bowl and links that connect the bowl to the loop below.  K's also have special parts such as the upper diagonal stroke called an arm and the lower called a leg.  These two meet in an area called the crotch.

Propel Definition

Propel: to drive forward or onward by or as if by means of a force that imparts motion.

Potato Peeler with Brush

Visual Writing Reflection

             The writer’s toolbox was interesting because it broke up the idea of brainstorming into multiple groups when I usually just think of brainstorming as one thing.  The different kinds of brainstorming techniques that were mentioned were mind mapping, concept map, free writing, brain writing, and word lists.  The two techniques that we used in class for this project were mind mapping and word lists.  I think that word lists are more effective when you are working as an individual but I think mind mapping is an extremely effective way to brainstorm when working in a group.  I have done free writing in school before and it is a very good way to get ideas out of your head and onto paper very quickly.   This technique, however, is very disorganized and would work best if you used it and then organized the ideas in a concept map of some sort.  I think the concept map sounds like a really good way to brainstorm because it is the most organized and its like you are reflecting on your ideas as you produce them and connect them to other ideas on your map.   

IDEO Deep Dive

The IDEO Deep Dive video that we watched today in class showed how a real company uses brainstorming to come up with ideas for products.  One of the things that helps them come up with so many useful and innovative ideas is how eclectic their group of employees is.  There are people from all kinds of different backgrounds who all come up with very different kinds of ideas because they think in different ways.  Another element that helps this company brainstorm so well is that there is no corporate hierarchy.  Everybody is essentially on the same level and all of their input is of equal importance.  This also means that although there is technically a boss, it is not a bad thing to disagree or come up with different ideas than him or her.  During the Deep Dive (total emersion in problem) criticism of ideas is not allowed because sometimes its the craziest ideas that provide a place to build from and can spawn new ideas.  As the ideas materialize, they are posted on the walls so that the other team members can look at them and vote for the ideas that they think are the best.

Brainstorming Activity

Why a Binder Clip is Good Design

            A binder clip is good design because of its intrinsic simplicity.  It is so simple that it is enduring and does not break easily.  It is also unobtrusive due to its simplicity and small size.  It is versatile and can be used for many different purposes, even for things other than what is intended.  It is also good design because it is not over-designed.  Its design reflects its purpose and it does not have any embellishments or superficial additions.  It is self-explanatory and fulfills its purpose precisely and straightforwardly.

Response to Reading #1

            The first section of the reading was thought provoking because it emphasized how design is a much more prevalent thing in society than most people realize it is and how it is also considerably more important that the majority of people realize it is.   It was interesting how the first author correlated the story of the segregated theatre to the process of design, concluding that design is just a way of making things right and changing things into what we need.   I thought the part where the second author stated, “design is to design a design to produce a design” to show how the concept of design can be confusing to some people because even the word itself can be used in so many ways and mean many different things.  The part where the third author explained the experiment with the math students and design was very intriguing to me.  It made a lot of sense that the math students and the design students went about solving the problem in completely different ways because I have always thought that I think about things differently than people who are really good at math or numbers.

Response to Objectified

            I thought Objectified was a very interesting and engaging film.  Where some documentaries about the same subject might have been extremely boring and dull, Objectified managed to keep my interest throughout the entire film.  Part of the reason for this is that the film in itself seemed to use design to make it visually appealing and engaging to the audience.  I liked how the film highlighted certain designers who all practiced very different kinds of design.  It was interesting to see what each of these designers did and how the did it.  It was also interesting to hear about how the different designers thought about design and design related problems and how they came up with solutions.  Many of the designers stressed the importance of continuing to draw throughout their career because this is the basis of design and is very important in communicating and laying out ideas.  I especially liked the part that highlighted the head designer for Mac.  It was funny to see how obsessive he was about his job and the aspects of design that related to all the Mac products.