Always Consider the Light - Blog Assignment 004

Last Friday we met with Scott Richardson and one main point he made was making it easier on older eyes, eyes with visual impairments, and even young eyes with great vision by decreasing glare. He suggested we do this by decreasing the difference in inside light and outside light while entering the space by creating a transition that allows the eyes to adjust to different light. We discussed the harsh, hospital-like florescent lighting that is currently in the space and he advised us to look at different kinds of florescent lighting that isn't so harsh. When Scott saw our hexagonal graphic, we discussed back lighting with him as a way to highlight the shapes as well as creating interesting shadows to continue patterns on the floor, walls, and ceiling. After talking about this idea i started to think about how we could use the pattern as lighting to draw attention to certain areas and to help guide people around the building. Our exterior triangular overhang could be a good opportunity to diffuse light using a translucent material to better transition from natural lighting to artificial lighting. 

Lighting

I find this light shade amazing because its made of thousands of homemade fortune tellers formed around a plastic lamp shade. This lamp is made by Zipper8Lighting and they have any of products just like this. This lamp shade inspires me to be more innovative when it comes to design since something as simple as folded paper can make such a statement in a space. 

Things with paper

When i was little i remember sitting for hours at a time and making things out of paper still to this day i enjoy it. So you can imagine my excitement when i found this paper design. Needless to say im in the process of making it  to put on a wall in our living room at my house.  

From indiefixx.com

The Elements and Principles of Design & The IOB - 4

Principles: Rhythm. Balance. Emphasis. Unity. Proportion. Elements: Line. Color. Shape. Texture. Form. Space.


In the design of the IOB it is very important to consider the elements and principles of design and how that affects the space. The IOB is very unique since we need to consider the visually impaired in the design so LINE, COLOR, SHAPE, TEXTURE, FORM, and SPACE become a main focus in our design. At this point we are more focused on the TEXTURE of things in the space drawing from our inspiration of brial and the abstraction of that to form a system using hexagonal patterns in the space. This hexagonal form translates into the RHYTHM of the space and the UNITY in the design in the building and making the design of the spaces have BALANCE of design elements like TEXTURE and COLOR in the factory and entrances.  When considering COLOR we decided to use a warm color pallet to make the spaces feel more comfortable and less cold and sterile as it is now. 

[Re]design [Re]model [Re]cycle

Im a big fan of  reusing things instead in just throwing them away and replacing them with new things. I think that everything is worth taking a deeper look at and figuring out ways to integrate them into a new design in the same space. 

http://dornob.com/redesign-remodel-recycle-rustic-modern-home-interior/

Moldings & Layers

http://dornob.com/coco-mpls-grain-exchange-converted-to-coworking-space/

assignment 003 -- DC Speech Presentation

When approaching this assignment i looked at it as a way to express my options and thoughts about the DC trip and what i noticed while there. When the writing center visited us in class and talked about the proper approach to a presentation i felt is helped with basic things that i normally overlook when presenting. The basic things i took from the lesson were when presenting to set it up similar to a essay with a beginning with a hook statement and clear points and parts and to recap at the end so your point is clear and memorable. However when i was planning my speech out I tried to include these helpful points but when it came to presenting all my preparation flew out the window because of basic nerves of it being the first formal presentation for the class. Honestly i couldn't tell you what came out of my mouth but hopefully i did good and got my ideas and conclusions from the trip across. When it comes to the next presentation i will not be nervous since i have already got the first out of the way and i will make better note cards that are more organized and easy to read and present to the class.

Random Things I Currently Like

Recently i have been loving the idea of placing a bed or needed object in a oddly shaped or cramped area because to me it makes it feel cozy and inviting. The windows in this image allow light in as well as making the space seem larger. One day when i have a house i am making sure that i have a upstairs room with these windows/skylights and awkward nook space.

On a completely random note the fact that someone took the time to actually cover this whole piano with a knitted cover is just cool :)

Floating Sea City

So i was looking at caity's blog and noticed this design site that she blogged about and i instantly became obsessed. I found this project where designers were working on making the ocean a comfortable place for people to live. The idea behind the floating city it making more space for us to live instead of expanding upward. These sea cities have all the enmities as normal cities with the added bonus of being in the middle of a body of water.

"In a world where almost every square inch of (non-freezing) land seems occupied, it is no wonder that our imaginations take us to the high seas when we think of adventure, freedom and new frontiers. The floating ‘Lilypad‘ concept above envisions a series of entire mobile, self-sufficient and off-the-grid ocean cities"

http://dornob.com/floating-city-futurist-ocean-frontiers-high-seas-homes/

Playing in PHOTOSHOP

We were ask to play around in photoshop and to do that using pictures we took in Washington dc. For my image i decided to layer the sky in the photo of the capital building and the american flag that i work with to make it not so vibrent and a picture of the 

In this image i used the laso tool to remove the sky so i could layer things under it.

Blog Assignment 001

I had never actually noticed the IOB building before but when i was walking toward it i realized why. The street side of the building is plain white and looks like all the other building on lee street which are fairly boring and lifeless. The actual entrance to the building is placed on the side to view from the parking lot. The entrance side was brick and had plants and a flag pole which are pretty normal for an exterior of a building. However to enter you must walk around the plants and down a ramp to a hidden entrance which leads you to the vestibule. The plain white walls of the reception area and the standard reception desk makes the entrance boring and contradicting with what the IOB is all about. As you walked toward the steps there is a small meditation area with a fountain that shows the factory is not like all the others. When you walk upstairs you approach the office area where there is a conference room and the managements personal offices where there is a open door policy that shows because of all the chatter and conversations going on in the office. Past the offices are the factory spaces that are specialized to make the work process easier for the seeing impaired workers. The stairs are marked with white dots and marked walk ways. In the factory space itself there are clean work areas that allow for complete path ways and mirrors around corners that make it easier to tell whats on the other side of the wall.  Overall the entrance spaces are closed off and uninviting and the IOB deserves a space that tells their story and spreads the wood to the community of the great things they are accomplishing. In the Industries of the blind the main issue of the space was making the space have a story of its own to tell rather than leading one to the story. The Industry of the Blind is a place where their story deserves to be told and the community needs to be made aware of the amazing things they are doing and their struggles and triumphs they experienced to get to that place. The workers overcome all odds and choose to work jobs that the far exceed expectations and produce high quality objects that save lives. With the new business management policy of Mr. Lopresti everyone has there own exceptions and are expected to meet them. This plan proves that people will work harder when they are expected to instead of being forced and punished in order to meet quotes.  With this new work plan productivity has shot through the roof and now the IOB is a force in the production world. The IOB and people who work there inspire me not only to work harder but to overcome any odds that pop up along the way. Also the people an management team has taught me that people will work harder if they are expected to rather than being forced to succeed they will push themselves to success.  

Knock Knock KNOCK

Front doors are the first detail of a house that you notice when visiting a new space and in this doors design there is a lot of importance. Wither it be color size or detail doors show a little about who lives in the house and tells the world about you. These doors are not just regular doors they are playful and impressively designed with the pattern, texture, and color as well as the scale and how the door is incorporated with the overall design its not just a whole in a wall with a plain door shoved in, its a piece of are that overflows onto the surrounding areas of the building.

photos were taken from pintrest.com

Are those stairs???

"Never look backwards or you'll fall down the stairs." Rudyard Kipling 

Recently stairs have been catching my attention since we discussed the stair case at the Greensboro Historic Museum. Designers have started to come up with new and exciting ways to get you up the stairs and make the space a little more interesting. These examples are using something other than the ceiling as a supports system and in doing so create a new way of looking at purposeful objects.  

 pictures came from pintrest.com and did not have any further links attached