Movie 3 & 4

The two movies that I watched for this blog post were about diamond jewelry and a Buffalo Bill Wild West Revolver. These two artifacts are very different from each other however you could look at them both as accessories. The diamond jewelry could be an accessory for a girl while a gun or revolver is an "accessory" to a police officer which is part of their uniform. Another similarity between the two movies is their explanations of how both of these products influence consumers today whether it is a positive or negative outlook.

The diamond video explained how diamonds were cut and shaped to make the articles that we wear on our neck, ears, and wrists. It also discussed how media practices like billboards and TV commercials influence consumers that this type of jewelry is rare means something sentimental when wearing it. Consumers also feel that a diamond ring for example is symbol that represents marriage and love which forces consumers like us to purchase an expensive diamond for that special someone. This is also a phenomenon that has spread across to different cultures.

The history of the Wild West revolver gun was explained in the beginning of the second movie. It went on to how it became so popular and how models of new revolver guns are based off of the original revolver. New companies have went on to design and develop their new and improved products and have attracted consumers. Another interesting topic of the movie was how today in our world it is frowned upon to some to have it be legal to carry an armed weapon on you. This is a controversy that we still deal with today and it was suiting to include it in this movie.

Movie 1 & 2

The first movie that I watched was about the Apple iPad product. I thought the animations especially at the beginning with the pencil and cutting it to create the iPad was really cool. This symbolized how one does not need pencil and paper anymore, everything can be done on this popular device. The movie especially captured the points of how the iPad can be found everywhere and how it is changing our generation. It also went into great detail about the actual design of the iPad; including showing the inside of the product itself. There were also statistical facts that covered the business, social, and cultural values of the iPad. Showing how the iPad has become extremely popular to consumers and how many apps they can have on it reflects the aspect of consumerism and portrayal of the media.

The second movie I watched was about the Seattle Space Needle, one of the famous landmarks in our country. I liked how this movie used other video clips within the movie to hit all of the points that needed to be made. It was introduced at the beginning how the Space Needle was constructed and then went in to discuss the business, social, and cultural aspects. I liked how the author of the movie Incorporated a clip from the restaurant in the building to discuss the business practices of the artifact. The social, cultural, and consumerism all ties into how the Space Needle is a tourist attraction for all ages, generations, and races. The use of technology in the building supplied the element to discuss how it relates to the media.

The links that I find between these two movies is how consumers of each artifact have impacted the popularity of each one. For the iPad, it is the way it functions and the easy access of everything in one device that consumers love. The Space Needle is a landmark that tourists are interested in seeing and draws people from all over the country and the world to experience the site in person. Another connection would be how culturally diverse both of the artifacts are by media approaches and how the world wants to become more technologically savvy.

Informance Movie

Enjoy my movie about high heels! (:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0XJlRn7Ge4&feature=youtu.be

Target Observation

Here are 5 artifacts that I found at Target that can suggest connections of design process, consumerism, and media influence:

A shopping cart is an excellent artifact that was designed specifically for Target stores nationwide. It can connect to the design process by the way it was made. There is a large space for items to be put in the cart while shopping in the store as well as space underneath to fit more items if necessary. In order to shop for multiple items in the store, the consumer needs to use a shopping cart so  one can get everything they need without carrying it. The shopping cart can also suggest that consumers should buy more than just one or a few items in the store. With so much room in the cart, there is plenty of room to shop till you drop. Target's logo is also located on the cart which suggests that the cart can only be used at Target stores. Placement of the logo can relate to media influence as the logo is known globally and appears in commercials.

Apple products are not only sold in Apple stores, but stores like Target. The display of the new iPhone 6 has actual models of the phone and the apple logo and phone are advertised pretty largely on a bright background to attract consumers to look at it. Target also has specials on the new iPhone which may be cheaper than buying the phone at a mobile phone store such as AT&T or Verizon. Selling apple products like the iPhone at stores like Target relates to consumerism by having the products be available at more common stores like Target. One would know where their nearest Target store is located but not necessarily an Apple store. The Apple logo and font used in the Apple ads relate to the media by being universally known and is constantly used in ad campaigns.

Clothing items of popular sports teams in the area are sold at Target in one display. One can easily find their favorite sports team and purchase apparel for the upcoming or current season. The display includes clothing for men, women, children, and even infants/toddlers. There is also assortment of clothing articles like t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, jerseys, and tank tops. Here the consumer has a lot of options to choose from. It can also relate to consumerism by possibly being at a lower price than one would pay for the same thing at a sports shop or team shop. The logos like the Reds, Bengals, and Kentucky Wildcats influence media by being placed all over the articles of clothing. Product placement is probably the biggest influence on media for this display in Target.
 

Like the Apple products, Starbucks coffee is sold in Targets. Sometimes, even Starbucks store locations are inside Target so customers can drink their favorite brand of coffee and get their shopping done. The display includes a sign with the Starbucks logo at the very top and all of the products on the shelf are obviously Starbucks related. Consumers now can buy Starbucks brand coffee or tea without having to go a Starbucks location. It could also be possible that the bags of coffee are cheaper than buying a single cup. Now consumers can have Starbucks roasted coffee in their house and can bring Starbucks home with them. The logo advertised by using a dark background so it will stand out and customers will notice the display right away. The logo is used on all Starbucks products and even things like cups, napkins, and bags from the store; consumers can recognize the logo fairly easily. The logo is also used in all of Starbucks advertisements.

Target has a small selection of fresh produce that is located near the boxed and canned food items. This display is the first food related one that customers will see when they turn the corner to go find the snack food items. Having this display out first suggests that customers can not only buy brand name food, but fresh fruit, vegetables, and handmade bakery items. These foods are on the healthier side of the food pyramid. Selling fresh produce now suggest that consumers can come to Target instead of going to the grocery store to buy their food. From personal experience, this can save consumers time by only going to one store for everything instead of multiple to get groceries. This also comes in handy when a consumer only needs a small amount of groceries. One can also pick up something here if they forgot to grab it at the grocery store. As far as media, Target commercials advertise that they sell produce necessities like milk, bread, and fruits/vegetables. This shows that Target does indeed sell items like that and one does not have to make a trip all the way to the grocery store for those kind of items.

Connections

In the in-class airport assignment, we were to come up with additional objects that were found in the main object we were looking at (an airport) and then think of the space where the objects are located. Taking my artifact, which are high heeled shoes, here are two more artifacts that relate to the shoes and a space of where they would be found at:

Additional Artifact #1: Shoe Box

-an individual box contains the shoes that one has just purchased

Space of Artifact: Shoe Store/Mall

-any store that would sell shoes

Additional Artifact #2: Lipstick

-make-up like lipstick goes along with the sense of being pretty when wearing high-heels and the feeling of "dressed up"

Space of Artifact: Cosmetic Store/Drug Store

-any store that would sell cosmetics/make-up

Project Viewing

It was great to see some past students' projects in class and to get an idea of what my movie should look like as a finished product. The first lesson I learned while I was watching the movies is that it would be a good idea to have a balance of music and talking. This was probably my biggest question going into this project; would I have to talk in the movie or can I make it without it? The one movie Patrick showed us that didn't have any talking wasn't very well put together and it just had the same music on a loop throughout the whole thing. As much as I hate how I sound when I record myself, I know I need both music and speaking to make my movie better. Second, I learned that a lot of pictures and even diagrams are okay to use in this movie. The movie with about the Nike running shoes included many pictures of more than just shoes but of races, others wearing Nike shoes, diagrams of the leg and foot muscles, and he included his own photos of his own pair of shoes. This answered another one of my questions which was could we use other pictures besides our own. One of the movies that literally blew me away was the one that had animation in it. That made the movie over the top and definitely the best one that I saw. The last lesson I learned was to make sure that the information on the slides can be clearly read and up for a sufficient amount of time so the audience can actually read it. It was really distracting not being able to read the material on the slides and to not have an idea of what they were saying at all. The purpose of this movie to teach the audience of what the design process and characteristics of the artifact chosen. If the audience can't see the information, then there is no purpose to the movie. I will definitely be making several visits to the Media Depot to make my movie to its full potential!

Tiny Home

After reading the New York Times article on the newly developing micro NYC, I feel like the article was trying extremely hard to glamorize the lifestyle of living in a tiny space. I honestly could not picture myself living in such a small area with barely any room. I would get so frustrated with everything being so close together and literally having such a compact space! I was impressed however by the picture they showed in the article of the girls' 313 square feet apartment. It looked up to date and very modern, and actually a lot bigger than I expected. One thing I would like about living in such a small space is that everything in that apartment would be mine and I wouldn't have to share a space with anyone but myself. Living with roommates can be so frustrating sometimes, especially when you are polar opposites of each other. Although it is a tiny space, everything in that apartment can be "designed" how I want it to be and I wouldn't have to deal with the worries that come with living with someone else. The downfall of having such a small place is that it would not be a good place for friends or family to gather. I love having my friends over and I would lose that when living in a crowded area. I would also be worried about feeling claustrophobic; as they mentioned in the article, the architects came up with ways to fix that issue such as having big windows or a balcony. I think the room would still give off the same effect though. If I had the choice though, I would definitely not live in an apartment that is under 400 square feet; I need my own space!

Ranch

The design feature about the "ranch" style that is most compelling is the "what's in a name" aspect. This kind of house fuses the modernist ideas with notions of the American Western period to create a very informal, casual living style. Since there is only one floor (besides a basement), it gives consumers plenty of wide open spaces to make it their own. The simplicity architectural design of the house allows families to have a sense of ownership and individuality. This type of house was also a big financial frontier meaning these houses could be very affordable whether one was buying or making mortgage payments. Because of the incredible price and freedom of ownership, the ranch style became extremely popular. Families liked the fact of having a sense of ownership and independence at such a young age. I can relate the most to this aspect of the ranch style house because my parents actually designed and built the house I live in at home which is a ranch style home. My mom picked out how to design each room in the house which goes back to the individuality that comes when living in a ranch. This was the first house that my parents built together so in a sense this was "their own house". Ranch style houses are the best for a creative mind and having the opportunity to make a house yours; being able to personalize it.

House

This a picture of my house at home. I live in a suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio called Broadview Heights. This house was designed by my mom and dad and was constructed in 1990. It is a "Ranch" style home.

Script

The artifact I have picked for my movie is a pair of my high heeled shoes. Designed by Vera Wang, these black heels are approximately two inches tall and are made of a black, metallic material. To add extra glitz and glam, the shoes have a hint of glitter to make them sparkle and are finished with silver rhinestone and bead embellishments. An elastic strap is attached to the shoe to keep my foot from sliding out when I wear them. To support the heel itself, the platform is made of thick black material with multiple layers. There are several openings in the heels; there are two on either side where the decorative part and side of the shoe meet and one at the end to give the shoes an "open-toed" effect. A white tag is located on the flat part of the heel saying "Simply Vera Wang" as to indicate who the designer is. The form of these heels are specific to me by being based on my shoe size which means this pair of heels will only fit me. I wear my high-heels when I dress up for special occasions such as a party, banquet, or interview. I feel sophisticated and appealing when wearing these shoes.

  

The label on the inside of the shoe promotes the designer (in this case Vera Wang) and is a way to advertise the designers other products to women. A sense of ownership and individuality is given when a woman purchases a pair of high-heels. A pair of high-heels in the correct size is packaged in one, individual box and given to the consumer. The heels in the box are specifically for them and cannot be worn by or used by anyone else but the consumer. The trend of high-heels have spread across to different cultures of the world. Many girls and women of different countries have seen models wear high heels as they promote other products or star in movies. This suggests that to be pretty and attractive, a female should own and wear a pair of high-heels. Once women have one pair of high heels, they instantly need more; these specific shoes attract all women of society. The high-heel style has brought us women in the world something that only females can wear. Many versions of the high-heels are out there and my pair is just one of them. 

Artifact Description

The artifact that I chose for my movie is a pair of my high-heeled shoes. Vera Wang is the designer of these heels. The heels of the shoes are approximately two inches high and get skinnier towards the bottom. They are black with silver rhinestone embellishments and beads. There is a tiny opening near the feet to give it an "open-toed" shoe look. There is an elastic strap attached to the shoe for the heel to fit around. Where the elastic is attached to the material of the heel, there is a silver pin on either side to hold it together.  The material of the shoes is a rough fabric and has a hint of sparkle to it to make it shine. There is a white tag on the flat part of the heel that says "Simply Vera Wang" to shoe who designed the shoes. On the inside of the shoe, it gives the size, serial numbers, and the name of the store where the shoes were purchased. The platform of the shoe is made of thick black material and is curved to give the heel support. Faded white lines can be seen on the platform as well; perhaps indicating there are multiple layers of material that are binded together. There is also a tiny opening on either side where the decorative part and the side of the shoe meet. Below is two photographs of my shoes taken by me:

Commodity,Firmness, & Delight

The object that I chose to describe commodity, firmness, and delight is my hair straightener. I have a brand name straightener (CHI) that is light pink with a glitter coating. Commodity is the part of the design that deals with the functional aspects of the artifact. In other words, does this fit the physical needs of the consumer. My hair straightener is something at I use pretty much on an everyday basis. The function of the straightener is to flatten my hair and give me a new style and therefore fits the category of commodity. Firmness is used to describe the durability of the design; is the product designed correctly so that it works properly? The straightener has a power cord which when it is plugged in can be turned on and off. If it doesn't seem to work, there is a reset button which works all the time. The iron itself is made of a durable material and the ceramic hotplates are secured in the iron. If the straightener were to fall off the counter, it wouldn't break. Delight is to describe the aesthetics of the product; does the product/design have a beautiful aspect to it? The light pink color with the glitter is what makes the straightener "delightful" and fun. Pink is my favorite color and anything with glitter attracts my eye and I have to have it. The glitter coating really does make my straightener something beautiful to look at. I think my hair straightener fits all three principals of design very well. Below is a picture of my hair straightener:

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod11471431

Media Depot

I went on the Media Depot tour for class on Friday. The tour was pretty short, but I learned what resources they could offer me. It was nice that they both work with Apple and PC computers and the people who are there to help know how to operate both versions. What really impressed me was the different rooms they have for students to record and make their videos. One room basically had a "selfie" camera on an iPad where you could record yourself. There was another room where they had equipment that you could use for voice overs. It reminded me of a radio station with the headphones and microphones and sound board; I was extremely impressed. The last  room that they had had a green screen in it so you could project images and or your presentation in the background in your video. The girl who gave the tour stressed the point that whoever is there working will be glad to help you and will have knowledge of how to do anything you wish to accomplish. Even if they didn't know how to do something, she said they would google it or figure it out until it was completed. She also mentioned how it doesn't matter what part of the movie making process you're at, they will help you with whatever you nee them to do (from brainstorming to the final product). I actually feel comfortable about going there and asking for help and I feel like I will actually get help when I go.

Postcard 1

From the Votolato reading, I chose a quote that was said by a client to Morris Lapidus who is an architect. The client told Lapidus: "just give me plenty of glamour and make sure it screams luxury!" Based on this quote, I feel that very high pricey items can fit to describe the quote. Glamour brings the words "beautiful", "appealing", and "prestigious" to mind. When I think of the word luxury, "big", "bold", and "over the top" come to mind. Thinking of all these words, these are the pictures I came up with to represent the quote:

Rhinestones: fit into the glamour category
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336925615844024053/

An expensive car such as an Audi: the brand name makes this car a luxury
http://www.talkandroid.com/190046-android-in-the-car-is-finally-here-google-to-take-a-spin-with-audi/

Louis Vuitton Purse: again brand name and a purse is more of a luxury item
http://www.tbs-online.ch/_Jugendseiten_html/_Jugend_aktuell/_aktuell_11_12/Louis_Vuitton/louis-vuitton-speedy.jpg


Apple iPad: another big brand name item and another luxury (not everything needs an iPad)
http://img.laruche.com/1251479-ipad-mini-rendu-3d-3.jpg

Mansion Home: I think we all know that is both glamorous and luxurious
 http://www.arqhys.com/wp-content/fotos/2012/05/Mansion-en-Miami-Florida.jpg

Stump 2

One of the artifacts that was discussed in class on Friday was one of mine. I had the Coach clutch which is a small purse. It has a circular dot pattern with shades of brown and pink. It was given to me by my sister for Christmas one year. Every artifact that was brought into class has a "design story". I think that the main idea for my artifact's story is that my bag is supposed to be used as a fashion statement. It is to show that I have a sense of style when I use that bag and that I care what people think when they see it. People recognize that Coach is a high quality and pricey company. I usually use the clutch when I go out or for special occasions. I think the clutch also shows that what I carry in there is important to me because the bag is "high top" and "fashionable". Expensive companies like Coach, Michael Kors, and Vera Bradley all have the purpose to impress with their designs.

Water Bottle #2

As discussed in class, the revolutionary of the plastic water bottle began to grow in the 1990's and is still extremely popular today. It has been said that plastic bottles make up the largest category of produced plastic products. I think there are two main reasons why people are still using plastic water bottles today: convenience and hygiene. Being able to carry a beverage in the bottle and discard it whenever is extremely convenient for people with busy lives. If you are using a reuseable water bottle, you can not simply throw it away when you are done and you have to tote it around even if it is empty. Pretty much any beverage can be found in plastic bottle or in some portable container. Focusing on hygiene, plastic water bottles are generally cleaner than a reusable one. Reusable water bottles can collect bacteria when used more than once a day and should be cleaned often and well maintained. Plastic bottles could be simply rinsed out and used again but it is not recommended. Usually water in a plastic bottle is filtered or distilled where tap water can contain toxins that are harmful to the body. I think water bottles are still a big trend today, but is slowly dropping due to the scientific findings about how harmful they can be.

Water Bottle

Above is a picture of the water bottle that I brought to class. The water bottle is a light weight, cylindrical, plastic bottle. Dasani's blue and green label is wrapped around bottle to advertise their brand name. Some texture and indentation can be felt when drinking from the hand-held bottle. The green bottle cap can be unscrewed in order to obtain the beverage. A "plant bottle" logo is located on the wrapper and indicates that this bottle was made partially by plants and that it is eco-friendly. The flexible, recyclable bottle holds 20 fluid ounces of transparent liquid. With the circular opening at the top, the consumer can enjoy drinking the contents inside, our friend H2O.