Visual Cloud

Big Ideas and Artmaking

I found it fascinating to differentiate between big idea, theme, and subject matter. An artist can maintain a big idea as a thread through all their various projects, while delineating different themes, and using altogether different subject matter depending on the project. I suppose that as we are all individuals, a big idea may be something that is critical to who we are and how we see the world. Not unlike Paul Pfeiffer's work continually revisiting the themes of unmasking and reality. No matter what his subject matter: whether athletes or nature, he emphasizes the peripheral in order to highlight the frivolity of many things upon which humans fixate and adore.

"Rules and systems represent human attempts to impose order and meaning." This concept from the creative yet systematic work of Jennifer Bartlett seems more akin to a designer's approach than it does an artist. Those two disciplines overlap, yet I think many feel that creativity is stifled, if not absent altogether, if something is too regimented. The process we are undergoing with doing word associations, rough drafts of our works, and photo hunts--all add to a process that in fact aids the creative process, however regimented it may feel.

I understand how a designer can focus on research toward a specific end, and I am experiencing now how an artist might do the same. For someone who doesn't consider himself an artist, this is very encouraging for I may actually end up with a thought-out and effective final project.

rough draft.

I chose identity for my big idea. Identity is something which pervades so much of what it is to be human, even stretching to inanimate objects. What constitutes a person, and what highlights them differently so than another? Do objects have specific characteristics and if they do, especially human characteristics, how do those come to be? Are they innate or ascribed? Is the identity of individual people innate or fabricated solely per their social circumstances? The concept of identity is so core to the human experience that an artist can't help but address it either directly or inadvertently. Works that disregard the importance of identity fail to tap into the considerations of the viewer, and may fall short of their potential impact.

In my brainstorming i simply worked from the terms "identity" and "self." Each individual term can be a subset of the other. Were "identity" to be couched within "self," the result would consider what marks that one self against another. Were the opposite true, it would be to consider the way in which a self is established within the massive concept which is identity.

Cbus Native Designs His Own Boutique

via columbusalive.com

from the look of the site to what products he carries, and everything in between, Greg sees and creates like a designer.

check out the article, and his online clothing boutique.
fringeoutfitters.com
@fringeoutfitter .twitter

Type at work in the real world.

via fontsinuse.com

i have an Ideo...

you may have noticed that part of my bio states: 

i like a lot of [various] things things and i used to think that was a problem. 

      i may have a future in logistics, in solving the needs you have. 

 

the video we watched this past week covered Ideo--a design company which employs a creative team of people in their design process.  they tackle projects in what they call a “Deep Dive”: an exploration of the task at hand from many different angles.  in designing a model for a new shopping cart, the team analyzed psychological, social/anthropological, economic, and of course design viewpoints in drafting designs and brainstorming through to the final product.  a phrase emerged in their explanation of how they operate; that, they are “not experts at any given area, but experts at the process.” that idea resonates with the snippet from my blog and how i feel about my education and life experience. 

 

 

“Enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone genius.”

 

 

that concept is fundamental to Ideo’s approach strategy.  by empowering each member with the freedom to create, even create poorly, they open more possibilities for success.  one bad idea might be a stepping stone to many others.  

 

overall, the process reminds me of free association in the beginning of a writing process.  by “brain dumping” loads of ideas onto paper, the probability that a good idea will emerge is increased greatly.  on the surface it doesn’t seem that failing with many products seems like a good use of time, but in the case of Ideo their success precedes them.  i don’t enjoy the journey of things overall, but rather the results.  i want to get it right the first time, but as we covered in the design process, it seems most designers are not banking on that.

 

i find that ruminating over a topic produces good results in most cases.  it is true that time equals money, but also true that haste yields waste.  in the endeavor to create appealing products/spaces/communications, there is measurable wisdom in refining one’s craft to a point far beyond “satisfactory.”  i suspect that merely satisfactory designs don’t yield the type of returning, customer-begetting customers that truly successful designers enjoy.

 

big idea blast.

origin.

where do we come from and where are we going. is there some purpose or meaning or significance to life or is it simply random causality. can we truly know in either case? are there privileged mystics/saints/shamans who know such things. is this the matrix? is all this just a means to another end, and therefore meaningless or inconsequential?


compassion.

why are some people considerate and some people are evil/self-serving? is compassion an inherent trait or can it be taught or developed? does compassion serve some greater end; is it an anomaly within an otherwise messed up world? is love that important or merely a nice feeling? is compassion a weakness? Jesus/faith/servanthood/mission. women seem more compassionate than men, generally. does compassion break down at some point into futility--is it futile to have compassion on those who squander it or return it in no way?


war.

"war, what is it good for?!" we should go to war always with tears. war seems necessary and inevitable at times. war also seems horrible and terrifying. no one wants war but everyone wants vengeance/retribution/justice. is there a way that diplomacy can override war altogether or is war always necessary in a world where evil rulers threaten others?