Design Is Dangerous, You Might Be Drinking It

Warning: Alcoholic Energy Drinks

                                                                                   (google images)

          The current controversy around Alcoholic energy drinks has been the cause of heart attacks, hospitalizations, and drunk teens to accidently kill themselves have all occurred because of these energy drinks’ faulty informational design. 
          At Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., the administration has banned the drink after the hospitalization of six students who drank multiple cans, according to the Associated Press. It seems for students that the opposites within the drink, caffeine and alcohol, attract and cause some serious consequences.

Brands like Joose, Four Loko, Tilt, Sparks, Max...

          What the drink is designed to do to the consumer is guided at your own risk, just like any responsibility when drinking other alcohol. However, when these alcoholic cans closely resemble any other energy drinks on the shelf, 

                                                          (google images)

at what point do you draw the line? With its bright and colorful image, these drinks are intentionally designed and marketed to inexperienced under aged drinkers.  It is then, that Design can be dangerous. It is dangerous because many people aren’t aware that these drinks are alcoholic. What makes it dangerous is not the 12% alcohol within each can. The human body’s natural reaction to alcohol is to get drowsy, which serves as protection from alcohol poisoning. The danger of these drinks is the caffeine, which allows the imbiber to stake awake and consume more alcohol than they would normally be able to. Its this lethal combination of ingredients that gets you intoxicated, but you feel like you’re okay, …unaware of the potential danger. While it is up to the drinker to be responsible and in good judgment, it is the drinks’ companies that should have a social responsibility to warn of the dangers if consumed. While they intentionally market their product in such a way that’s visually appealing, isn’t it ethical to include the facts within the visual design on the can? If companies don’t start changing their dangerous designs to inform, society will stay unaware and clueless if such dangerous designs go unnoticed. 

Think. Design. Inform.

Design in Society: Bike Life Of Davis California

                                                                                                      (UC Davis campus)

          The invention of the bicycle was one of the greatest deigns known to man, especially in the heart of Davis, California. The bicycle gives the opportunity for travel, ease of transportation, and affordable wheels to get from one place to another, whether it is to school, or to the supermarket. The bicycle saves precious time, and gets the rider anywhere quicker than walking. Because of the creation of the bicycle, living in Northern California, it has made transportation easier in such urban city living. I personally, had gotten into a bad car accident over the summer and originally intended to drive my car to school since I live farther away. Now that my car is smashed to the ground, my bike has made my everyday life a lot easier in terms of getting places. My bike is my utopia. It improves my life and I know for more than half of the world without cars, the bicycle is a form of utopian for them as well.

          The design of the bicycle also helps to improve traveling. A supportive seat can improve transportation comfort, and the medium from which the body was created can give stability and safety. For my beach cruiser bike, it was designed with a basket in the front.

                                              (google images)

          The addition of creating the bike with an attached basket has immensely improved my life. If I didn’t have the innovative designed basket, when I go to the supermarket I wouldn’t have a place to put my bags because I don’t have enough hands to carry all my groceries home. It is because of the design and form of the bicycle that directly improves my daily life for the better along with the rest of Davis students in our bicycle society.

          The bike is so innovational, and yet Davis isn’t the only bike city. There is even a city without cars, a bicycle utopia in the USA. There actually is a place in the USA where motor vehicles are not allowed. Mackinac Island, Michigan. People actually live there. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island. Transportation is horse, bike, and foot. 

                                            (Planetware.com)

          While cars may be seen as the “future,” it is no doubt that Davis and Michigan understand the benefits of the bicycle to simplifying everyday life and improving society for the better.

Color Transforms Your Outfit

                                                        (Platinumblondelife.com)

          
          The use of color in fashion design, creates the ability to transform any piece of clothing into a statement about someone, whether it’s their mood, character, or stereotype etc. In the magic of fashion, the key tool of color can transform any outfit from day to night. By changing colors, it can change for any occasion, season, or style. But what ever the purpose or event at hand, it is the connotative perception of clothes that the choice of color creates. For example, bright hues of pink, yellow, and white, are associated with summer and that of a day outfit where as dark hues of maroon, blacks, and browns are associated with nighttime clothing or the winter season.  By the use of picking dark versus light colors and hues, one can transform any outfit to suit the wearer’s needs.

          Since colors have a significant impact on people’s emotional state, the same can be transferred to that through clothing. For someone who is wearing bright colors one day, like yellow and pink, one might view them happy and cheerful, as well as the one wearing the colors will most likely feel a bit happier wearing them because of the mental associations with color. And since color in clothes have a connotative appeal, society has thus established such stereotypes of color and clothes within groups of people, like “Black is the favorite color of Goths” viewing the color black to create a feeling of Goth and intensity (brandingstrategyinsider.com).

          Or how about the sight of reds? Such a powerful color, seen as a “warning” sign on traffic lights and city streets, but when worn as a red dress, this psychological effect is hard to stray away from.

According to Noubikko, who has a list of popular colors and how our emotions respond, it is important to note how color has been established in society to not only be seen, but felt. For example, in response to the color black : Severe, mysterious, sophisticated, glum, depressing, deadly.

                                                                               (google images)

          For the color pink: Soft, innocent, delicate, feminine, delicious.

                                                    (google images)

           
          And for the color yellow: Sunny, bright, hopeful, optimistic, joyful, clear, positive, alive.

                     (google images)

          While all colors have such emotional ties, it is then in the fashion cycle of seasons which these can be articulated. Color is crucial in fashion seasons of winter, spring summer, and fall.

Summer Think clear, contrast and bold colors.

Fall Think soft, cool, slightly grayed colors.

Spring Think bright, fresh and lively colors.

Winter Think deep, dark and muted colors.

          So it is in the shades and hues and seasons that color transforms our clothes into statements, emotions, and concepts of fashion.

Fashion Forward Sponges

(Steel scrubbing sponges turned into a metallic cloud chandelier-Daisuke Hiraiwa)

         Green Design will save our world. So why not join in the fashion forward fun of turning everyday objects into extraordinary pieces for your home? Daisuke Hiraiwa does just this, and uses such creativity and conceptual art of the everyday item theme and transforms them into "green" masterpieces. Hiraiwa uses Sponges as his media to create chandeliers. With his great ethics, as a designer he is a great example of sustainable design can still look fantastic and chic. This example of design, reveals an item that once cleaned the dirty kitchen sink is now transformed into a beautiful chandelier, hi-lighting a sponges form and texture and emphasized by the way the light creates a brilliant sparkle and glow coming from the inside of the fixture.

          Daisuke Hiraiwa keeps a consistent theme and has created numerous chandeliers made of diverse media. Another one of his brilliant pieces is made of recycled plastic spoons. Below, the beautiful continuation of the cascading spoons are accentuated by the light which shines through.

           Looking closely, you can see the added aesthetics of crystal rhinestones on the spoons, meant to resemble that of a chandelier. Also, each spoon has been punctured by tiny holes to allow light to filter through them in breathtaking ways.  He seems to work in negative spaces, and his spoons are strung together into a series that sway and flow, refracting and dispersing the light source. Hiraiwa creatively bridges conceptual art into the realm of green design and creates a gorgeous conversation between the two. So not only does a sponge clean the kitchen, a plastic spoon for a disposable backpack lunch outing, but these everyday objects can be triggered into the design world of artistic appreciation. Soak up every imaginative idea possible like Hiraiwa does and bring the ordinary into the extraordinary. 

Ergonomics of Auto Design

          With respect to ergonomics, automotive design is very successful.  Car companies build a car based on emphasizing such ergonomics. Car engineers design cars based on safety, comfort, its ease of use, performance, and aesthetics. While car design is created through ergonomics, it is how well car companies perform this task (in design specifics), which makes them the best.

            Design is a goal-directed problem solving activity specifically for the automotive design. It is an interplay between what the company wants to achieve and how they want to satisfy potential drivers.  So they convert customer needs’ and requirements of us, the customers, and gear the way they design our automotives to fit our life, and hierarchy of needs.

  futurehi.net

            For safety, cars are designed with proper seat belts on every seat, and airbags for emergencies. Even the body of the car is geared towards safety, and the heavier the car’s interior, the ultimately safer if an accident were to occur.

            They also make the interior of a car for comfort. From leather seats, and cushioned headboards, to comfy elbow rests, cars are very comfort-minded when designed for success.

(top 50 luxury car interiors)

         
          Many companies focus on ease of use.  How easy is it to steer the car, add gas in the tank, merge lanes, steer, see in your rearview mirror, drive smoothly, put keys into the ignition etc. All of these regard to how easy the car is to use, and if all answered yes, the car scores high in this element of ergonomic design.            

            Performance wise, is the car a reliable transportation you can count on to not die in the middle of the freeway? Engineers focus heavily on making sure their auto design will perform properly and accurately.

            In the aspects of designing a car, there are many steps involved. There entails occupant packaging (where the car’s body in standardized position is measured).  Then engineers will use computer-aided design of a car to simulate driver behavior and measure vital design components such as reach, visibility, comfort, posture, biomechanics, and strength. This test enables the designers to make driver oriented decisions about cockpit design within the car. Then comes visual aspects in vehicle design, automotive seat design for sitting comfort, physical aspects of the car design, design of symbols for automotive control and displays, and informational aspects of vehicle design.

  Image from coolgadgetconcept.com         

         
          And what would a car be without its fancy, top of the line, visual aspect to drivers. The aesthetics have become a driving force in our society as the “look” of a car is emphasized in today’s car obsessed world. And the designers know that so they focus on the visual aspects to make you like it. These include not just the colors and shiny windows, but also the air bag warning signs, comfort, usability, seat belts, the collision avoidance system, traction, brakes, navigation systems, GPS, the vehicle interior, pedals, controls, etc. Although many would see these aesthetics as unnoticed parts of automotive design, these are actually part of a car’s aesthetic design despite if you knew it or not.

            Another perception of the design process is the variety and type. The elements of safety, comfort, ease, performance, and aesthetics are also connected to the context they are driven in. What type of environment is the car being used? So designers have altered the elements for different terrains, including Sport Cars, family and personal business sedans, and the minivan and off-road vehicles.

            All in all, what the “car” used to be was transportation, a vehicle for humans to get from one place to another not really focusing on the ergonomic design elements. And now, elements like GPS have improved auto design from what used to be interfering with taking one’s eyes off the road, to what now is a voice saving you time and telling you how to get somewhere. With the rise in technology and the competitive industry of the automobile having grasped the importance of ergonomic design, it is this core principal of designing that makes some of the best companies today, the easiest to use, most reliable, safest etc. Thank you ergonomic automotive designers of today, you have created the car to be a more comfortable, easier to use, better performer, better looking, and safer object!

Cake Your Way to the Top

         

(images from Erica O'Brien Cake Design Blog, showing her design process from invitation design, to the sketch, to the cake.)

This woman's bouquet inspired Erica to create this masterpiece..

          A Cake designer is truly the poster child for synaesthetic design. Design is multisensory, and Cake does just that, it indulges both the eye and the palate. We see no point in a cake that is visually appealing but tastes, well, dry and gross. Erica O'Brien Cake Design creates client-driven, one-of-a-kind designs that taste as decadent as they look. Erica O'Brien combines her lifelong love for baking with her design innovativeness in every cake she bakes. The art of cake designing combines a visual experience of art, design, and taste. Touch the ingredients, taste the frosting, see the beautiful decor, and hear the oven baking delicious design.

            While Lauer, McCloud, and Aspelund have their own creative process’, add Erica O’Brien to that list, for even Cake designers have their own design process. “Design doesn't just happen. Designs are conceptualized, created, and perfected. Whether you have a clear vision or just a vague idea for your wedding cake, we work collaboratively with you to discover the designer you have within. We'll help you determine the look and feel of your cake. The inspiration for your wedding cake can come from anywhere: a family heirloom, your invitations, a china pattern, a postcard. After your consultation, we will have a clear idea of your design concept, and will get to work on a sketch of your cake. Then we tweak the sketch until it is the exact cake you want. We want you to love your wedding cake!” While any design interacts with its audience and many times it is the designer communicating with the client. Yet, here, you can see that maybe design should be interactive; the customer should be part of that design as does Erica with her clients.

Could it be that cake designers are changing the boundaries of design in the business setting? Moral of the story: Don’t underestimate your dessert! There’s design baked in it.

The Fashion Word and Image

Oprah's "O" Magazine

           

            Oprah Winfrey is known across the globe for her renowned wisdom in health, spirit, style, relationships, home and garden, food, entertainment, and money. So it is no surprise that she created, “O, the Oprah Magazine,” which includes the power through word and image interaction.

            In this specific advertisement in her magazine, we see as readers, various Lauer, McCloud, and Albers concepts. In a general sense, it portrays a “season of color” which connotes the vivid styles of spring or summer. Every single item is represented in a bright and playful color, with cheap, attention-grabbing prices. However, if we look closely, the page is filled with continuous lines, in very organized frames, balancing both fashion items and descriptions.

            Looking at the color emphasis, scale, and proportions, they all highlight that all the items are “Great buys under $100.” By noting in small text underneath, that it is a “season of color” it is a powerful way of influencing the reader and saying that if you don’t wear bright colors this season, then you will not be “in” style or fashionable. Also, the way they have written the price and descriptions of the products, create unity. They are all put in a bright red box which is a classic color used for power. It is interesting to note what is not included in the frame. The ad seems to be directed at a certain social class because of the cheap prices listed, when Oprah herself can afford much higher fashion designer brands. This must have something to do with the purpose or idea of the ad itself in relation to the intended audience. Oprah instills her culture by appropriated the common colors and styles of African Americans. The bangle bracelets, brightly floral patterned tunic, beaded necklace, colorful pants, and eye-popping shirts all depict the style, colors, and taste of her race and ethnicity. However, there is some discourse when each piece is inspired from other cultures then her own. She is advertising African, Indian, Hindu, and Indonesian fashion, as well as whimsical, vintage, and the fitted-conservative styles. While the ad as a whole looks well blended, as separates, they are all contradicting styles. By combining multicultural styles together, Oprah is using her status and prestige to give a voice for everyone across the map. All in all, Oprah’s fame largely influences the reader’s perception of what is “in” this season, what to buy, where to buy it, and how much it is. Yet it is the cleverness of the way word and image are depicted in her magazine that ultimately make the reader either want to buy these items, or reject her advice.

Niger Power through Word & Image

                                                                                         (image from www.reunir.asso.fr)

          
          You encounter collaborations of word & image everyday, but most of the time you don’t stop and notice their powerful interaction, their dialogue, and mutual collaboration. Between verbal and visual languages, the relationship between word & image provides an alternative language. Whether its an advertisement, campaign, album cover, catalog, etc. the way word and image interplay can create greater meaning used together then by themselves. And because we live in such a visual generation, the power of image will always enhance meaning of words.

            Words can get people to take action, change their belief, hold a viewpoint, inspire, motivate, believe... An image holds “a thousands words” and can make someone laugh, cry, remember, think, contemplate, feel… So is the difference between them, emotion vs. intellect? Maybe together, they complement and form one emotional intelligent thought. Take the power of successful advertising. In the field of advertisements, one of their biggest strengths is how they utilize the power of word and image. If someone told you to help support the children of Niger, what would motivate you to give money, volunteer, or help out? For most, this isn’t that powerful. But what if someone said instead, “Would you care more if it happened on your own doorstep? Help children of Niger.” These words have a bit  more power. How about an extremely emotional image, one that portrays a skeleton-like, starved child, along with that quote. With each by itself, it is somewhat effective, but when put together, produces a powerful communication. Looking at the advertisement itself, the words are tiny compared to the image, revealing that the intense image is meant to show greater significance for the visual literacy that the words cannot portray. The image pulls the viewer in, but the words keep them pondering the matter. Because we can interact the two, advertisements for any industry can make a change, and bring people to take action, all because of the power of abstraction.

4 Loko Informational Design

                                                                  (Google Images)

           Halloween is here. How appropriate. Could the world be any scarier? Ghosts, Goblins, and Four Lokos roam the streets...

            With all the crazy parties in the life of a college kid, what has really got the media's attention is the Four Loko beverage. The alcoholic energy drink, Four Loko, is sweeping college campus's. Yes, it is cheap and definitely gets you drunk, but we are now seeing that it can cause heart failures and parties gone wrong. Twenty-four students were hospitalized in New Jersey. (CBS News) Nine freshmen girls in central Washington got sent to the ER. Attackers in a brutal anti-gay gang crime in the Bronx reportedly forced a victim to down 10 cans of the stuff. A student accidentally shoots himself after drinking three cans. An 18-year-old girl, dies after drinking Four Loko with diet pills (The New York Times). And a naked intruder, who passed out on a woman’s couch in Florida, said the last thing he remembered was drinking one.
           This alcoholic energy drink is intentionally designed to boost up your energy and get you that head rush. However, the intentional, but very subtle and indirect informational design of these beverages are taking it to problematic effects. "College is the fountain of knowledge and the students come here to drink."  So while people have been talking about the negative aspects of the drink, they have failed to notice how cool it looks, which is why it is sending teens straight to the liquor stores to purchase these fun looking, "black out in a can" drinks.

            Looking at the visual representation of Four Loko, it stands out, it’s bright and colorful. So why wouldn't it be good? The can design alone makes it difficult to identify it as an alcoholic beverage. The marketing team succeeds in reaching to its target market of teens and college kids worldwide with their advertisements and more significantly, they actual logo and informative design. Four Loko's visual literacy of the contents proves how the informational design is so vital to a product. For Four Loko specifically, standard drink labeling would greatly help the issue.  Each Four Loko contains about 5 standard drinks, for example. So a person drinking two is drinking 10 drinks. Even a simple "5 Standard" kind of label would do a lot more for a consumer's understanding of how much they are drinking than the current Alcoholic Beverage Volume. With the current ABV, a person has to do a lot of math to get to the bottom line on how many drinks are in this can? And by the time they figure it out, they’ve probably already reached their “blackout phase” in the can.

                                                   tasonline.cz.cc

          All thanks to the can’s ultimate design, this drink neglects to inform the consumer of the impact this drink can have on the drinker considering how strong it is. 


          It clearly states on the can in very bold contrasting colors “We ID”, “12% Alcohol”, and “Contains Alcohol”. Sure, as consumers we clearly understand that this product contains alcohol, but we are not aware of how powerful and intense this product really is. Almost every major alcohol company has their fun fruity drinks like the hard lemonades, coconut pineapple, fruity ice coolers, etc. Drinks like this have been around and where nightlife cocktails of vodka + energy drink is so popular.  

          
          This company definitely jumped on the band wagon and put out a trendy product, which is totally reasonable. But what Four Loko has failed to do is explain the vast amount of alcohol this beverage contains. I understand that they have 12% alcohol stamped on it, but to an uneducated drinker this means nothing. “The average beer has around 4.5% alcohol and comes in 12 ounces. The Four Loko is 12% alcohol and comes in a 24 ounce can. Drinking one Four Loko is equivalent to drinking a six pack of beer.” With such faulty informational design, its no wonder Four Loko has got drinkers going Loko, and waking up, wondering what happened last night?

Utensified

A knife: Not just a Utensil....

         A knife is one of the most basic tools of mankind craftsmanship. And more importantly, a knife is a perfect example of an object that’s form is truly for its function no unnessary parts. A knife marks man’s raw craft into the long stick form, edges for cutting and made of media that suits all our dishwashers. Yet, something that was once handcrafted, is now so mass-produced that the individuality and differentiation is gone. Knifes today are so stipped of ther aesthetic appeal that these utensils often go unnoticed. However, I am luck my brother has preserved one of the few still artistic pieces of the past.        

        Here, this knife has kept its story and truth behind its beautiful aesthetic décor. The engraved and sculpted floral design adds texture and the continuation of the metal grooves fit perfectly in the hand-which I’m sure the maker did intentionally because even the aeshetics relate to the form and function on the knife. Yet it also has a story.  Every object has a story to tell and can bring meaning into reality. For my brother, this knife was his girlfriends, and every time he uses it, he is reminded of the memory, when she “jabbed” his heart.

         On a much light note, this knife makes me feel inspired and reminded that even the tiniest inconspicuous objects of basic design can still be beautiful and innovative, that everything I touch on a daily basis, has been carefully crafted and designed. As a utensil for function, this simplistic object can be molded and transformed into such unity into a kitchen set. Or balanced between the place mats on a dining room table. The functionalities are endless for this utensil, weapon, tool...

     

Objectified: Form and Content

        Our society cannot live without the objects that make up our everyday lives. If we didn’t have any non-living items in the world, what would we all do with ourselves? We would go absolutely crazy, so as a society, culture, we tend to give meaning to such inanimate objects. We give value to the invaluable. In the documentary, Objectified, Gary Hustwit illustrates this idea, regarding the way manufactured design and the objects we use every day without even thinking about them affect our lives and become a part of our stories.

            This really begins to make sense once you realize that from the moment we wake up almost everything that fills our world has been designed in some way. From the gardening sheer, to the post-it note, the things we use every day come from someone who created them for a specific purpose in a very intentional way.  Although we barely think about the objects we use other then the fact that, “hey I bought this, lemme use it,” these objects tremendously improve, affect our efficiency and practicalities of our lives and they also make a statement about who we are.

                                                                                                         (google images)

         One of the most important and influential objects in our lives is the “car.” What was once a handcrafted product has now become a mass-produced design. The form of a car was intentionally introduced to society for improving transportation in a growing industrialized nation. However, it quickly become mass-produced and the handcrafted, individualistic design diminished, just like that of the Briar Pipe, now stripped of uniqueness for mass-production. Yet, nowadays, your identity is often linked to the car you drive. Again, we have put value and meaning to objects like metal and paint, to a car. How ridiculous, or is it?

            Yet it is the elements of design, the medium that directly interacts with our own ideas and assumptions about value and functionality. And these values are culture driven, so it makes sense that our car-obsessed culture puts great valuable meaning on these objects we’ve brought into our lives. Even the look and feel of the “car”, its smooth sleek sides and massive protective body reflects how the feel=form and the form=purpose.  And it is then in the context of usage for the object that reflects the content of its form. Where will you use it? Why? For Whom? It is vital to note how the content within the culture effects how the objects designed give such external agency through the design of its form and how it is used. In Social Scientist, George Simmel’s words, "culture refers to the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history." Simmel presented his analyses within a context of 'form' and ‘content’ which shows how form and content have such a transient relationship.  “Simmel discussed social and cultural phenomena in terms of "forms" and "contents" with a transient relationship; form becoming content, and vice versa, dependent on the context.” In a way, you could say the interactions of form and content, are also of that between art and life.