"Demystifying Design" and the Novice

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/demystifying-design/

In his article "Demystifying Design," Jeff Gothelf examines the mystification of the web designer realm of expertise. He advocates for design's "demystification" in order to promote collaboration and understanding between designers and "non-designers." He also argues that this will potentially increase the valuation of designers and their work, rather than diminishing such reverence as some designers might fear.

Gothelf outlines several specific strategies for beginning this process of "demystification," and these steps sound familiar to a web design novice, as I would imagine many of us are. His first approach - sketch. Such drafting, as we have utilized in class, "is something everyone can do" that levels the playing field. He then recommends sharing these raw ideas and capitalizing on such opportunities for weighing in on the direction of an organic project. Gothelf then goes on to recommend addressing and justifying alterations and changes made to a particular design; this act promotes conversation, collaboration, and constructive criticism, which ultimately elevates the design process as a whole.

Interestingly, Gothelf then highlights the value of transparency, allowing others to see the current work, their motivations for those actions, and eventually the outcomes. This valuable strategy further highlights the value of blogging within this course. These blogs have the potential to allow us, as novice designers, to be transparent in our educational journey and acquire credibility in our own right.

These strategies, Gothelf urges, will only serve to increase the value of the design field, not hinder or diminish it. His suggestions also reveal the foundational truths and practices at the base of this field, further cementing the core values we have already discussed and implemented in class.

Just a-bloggin' and collagin'

Well, today is the day. Today is the day that I begin actually assembling pieces of an until-now-theoretical collage. Staring at a big, white, blank 20x30 board is one of the most daunting feelings. Time to get started!

Some of my various "materials":

Things become so much trickier when it becomes concrete and tangible. I'm currently trying to calculate measurements for each element of the board, so I can map it out and have an idea of the location for each piece, but I wonder just how accurate each of my projections will prove to be...

(And for those who are curious, smashing that clay pot you see into pieces was indeed quite fun, although a little scary, too.)

(Elapsed time 15-ish minutes...)

Here is one of my first photo edits, using a picture I found online:

45 minutes later...

There are others, too. They just aren't quite ready yet...

Later that day... The board! Kinda...

I was very pleased with the textured spray paint I chose. Just my own personal opinion, but I believe it added depth to the board itself in addition to my original intentions for it -- to show the duality and juxtaposition of the elements that have yet to be added. (That might make a bit more sense once you see the rest of the board.)

Late that night... (And just for the record, I have not been working on the project this entire time. I'm doing pieces at a time, with breaks for other stuff in between. I just wanted to attempt to blog throughout the entire process as things come together.)

With that I would like to add that so far I am very excited about how my different elements are coming together!

A few updates:

At this point these pieces of the project will remain mostly as they are until critiques on the draft in class on Tuesday, so I'll end my blog journey here. I can't wait to share my collage!

Unity, Unity, Unity!

In class discussions and my own personal reflections on the project, I can't seem to get past my own need for the piece to be unified. Collages and other such graphic designs can so easily become ineffective and virtually illegible. 


Previously I have written about my desire for organization within the actual structure of the entire board. Today's discussion of color in class added a new dimension to my thoughts on how to avoid chaos. I have yet to decide if I am going to utilize the effects of black and white images with color spotting, but I am certainly planning on altering the contrasts of the included images so as to unify the aggregation of images but also to focus each individual image. 


I used to love black and white photos with one color retained. One year in college I even applied this effect to my favorite photos, which all hung on the wall in my room. However, whether through personal preferences or otherwise (I have no idea), I came to this point of finding the starkness of black and white and one single color too absolute, and almost cliche. I still see the beauty in it, but for a crisis as complex as that carrying on in East Africa, there are no absolutes. There are no set expectations, and there is no certainty. 


In addition to these thoughts on black and white, I might ought to admit that I often dislike blending color images with black and white. Perhaps if one single image were in black and white and the rest were in color, or the reverse, I would easily understand that a specific argument is being suggested, but I am slightly adverse to using both approaches to images often. 

The Enemies of Compassion

According to Joan Halifax, pity and moral outrage are the enemies of compassion.

This idea is particularly challenging in beginning to create my collage. How do I filter out the pity and stereotypes and retain the true compassion? 

I suppose in struggling with this question it would be beneficial if I had a solid understanding of what pity truly is, but I wonder if I do. So, I did the best thing I could think of; I looked up the definition of "pity."

First, I got the following dictionary in the basic search on my computer:

"the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others."

Then, my search on dictionary.com drew the following results:

"sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering,distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy."

"a cause or reason for pity, sorrow, or regret."

From these definitions I'm not entirely sure that I understand why pity is so negative. I know that often those who are the recipients of pity would prefer not to receive it, but isn't this often only to the point that pity does not lead to some sort of initiative? Or, in other words, isn't pity acceptable if the sentiments it stirs are converted into action?

As Halifax quotes, "It takes a strong back and a soft front." Surely pity is merely a mechanism of the "soft front" that activates the "strong back."

(I would love to hear your ideas on this matter; I really would.)

Nevertheless, I will strive to avoid stereotypes in creating my board. I want to utilize the full power of pathos and ethos, but I do not desire to manipulate the suffering of the East African people to that end. There must be a delicate balance between the two; finding that line will be challenging, though.

It's All Greek to Me

I can still fondly recall the high school classroom in which I first learned about the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos. (They sound like the Three Musketeers to me.) And though I understand the concept, and have finally managed to remember the definitions for each, I find it difficult to evaluate thoughts and accurately categorize them by their correct persuasion. I always manage to start reasoning in circles until I eventually give up the pursuit.

Now, I'm trying to figure out how to best include all three persuasions into my board design. To be frank, with the particular purpose of our project, I feel like pathos is a given. Even an attempt at objectivity will bring with it images that ought to unsettle any person's mind. (If you don't believe me, Google "East African Famine" under the "Images" function.)

And at the same time, it seems to me that ethos ought to be inherent as well. Seeing what we see, whether distorted or not, ought to appeal to our innate sense of morality. How can we have what we have and yet cling to it so selfishly and apathetically?

I'm still trying to work out the logos. Logically, we have so much, and giving out of our surplus is so simple that it seems illogical not to follow through on our capabilities.

I'm still mulling over these ideas. I would really love to hear what you have to say about any or all of these three concepts and/or how they function in relation to our project.

...In the eye of the beholder.

Beauty is not the only thing in the eye of the beholder.

In fact, persuasion itself is in the eye of the beholder, and this reality gives much power to those who create and produce what we behold. Inevitably, these creators' perspectives dictate our own perceptions. As Ocepek states in the "Images" chapter,

"All pictorial representations, even those that appear to be 'realistic,' reflect the artist's point of view" (63).

I tried to find some different images with intriguing points of view. What do you think about them? What perceptions or ideas do you think each respective photographer is trying to communicate to each viewer?  

The resonance and persuasion of point of view in images is potent. In discussing this concept in class, I realized how vital it is to place the impetus on our audience, those we hope to persuade to donate to our food collection. A powerful method of accomplishing this is pathos, which point of view can easily add to an image or collection of images. I hope to use one greater image, one that will supersede all others that are a part of my collage, that's primary weapon is a point of view that draws my audience in, that makes that viewer feel like he or she is actually present to witness the suffering of the East African people. My desire is to convince him or her to act, and I hope to do this by locating or creating an image that possesses a subjective perspective that will compel its audience.

Below are two different commercials from the 2008 elections. Barack Obama endorses one against John McCain, and John McCain endorses the other against Barack Obama. How do you think these videos make use of point of view and perspective, both in the literal images they show and in the sub-text of their script and address? Do you think there is a difference in the tools used by the two ads, or do they function much in the same way?

True Collage

My immediate concept of a "collage" is my middle school notebook. It was covered in words and quotations and celebrities and cartoons, all arranged meticulously so that no empty space showed through, and clear tape went over the top to keep it all down. (A small part of me is hoping that some of the girls in the class remember what I'm talking about; at least at my school, it was the popular mode of decoration.)

Because of the image I have now associated with the idea of "collage," I have a difficult time realizing that in fact collage is much more than the gaudy magazine pages I spliced together. And again, because of the semi-negative perception I have of collages, though I am working to break down those misconceptions, I have decided that my collage for this project must have a tangible, obvious sense of structure.

Confession #2: I was really trying to avoid talking in depth about my collage on here. I know that's silly, but blame it on paranoia or competitiveness or whatever, but I don't want anyone to steal my idea. Of course, typing that statement I realize just how silly it is. All of you have just as much integrity as I do, if not more, and you all have just as much creativity as I do, probably more, so you have no reason to want my ideas anyways.

I plan on making several different collages, one in each of the giant letters "D-O-N-A-T-E." I have already figured out that in one letter I would like to make a collage of food packaging waste -- bottle caps, can tabs, wrappers, etc. This particular element of my board I am hoping will convey the reality of how much food we have and consume on a regular basis, nearly moment-to-moment, and through this, I hope to motivate people to donate out of their surplus.

In class on Thursday I also had another idea. Anyone familiar with The Hunger Games? (It's coming out in theaters!) Anyways, I am considering working that theme into the design, too, both on a symbolic and literal level. The literal level should be at least partly obvious - the people suffering in East Africa are hungry, starving. Symbolically, they, too, like the characters in the book, are being denied aid and relief by their own government. It might seem like a little bit of a stretch, but I'm still working it out in my head.

And for those of you interested in the movie, the trailer is below! :)