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