If you haven’t seen this, you should

For anyone who does look at my blog, this is one of the funniest things I have ever seen…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uYQWAdAbdfA

Out of class exersise – now this is dark… :o)

 

Little Red Riding Hood.

‘Family Comes First.’

Narrative: - 

- Click on sky – yellow, thus parallel universe where everything is reversed

- Click on trees – explains she’s in the woods, is a bit unstable having just killed parents

- Click on windmill – Has come from Grandmas house, didn’t want to leave any loose ends

- Click on Red’s eyes – Demon introduces self and warns wolf of what is to come in parallel world

- Click on wolf’s head – Plans to expose her for her crimes and save the village from demon she is possessed by – Dialogue “You can’t just go around murdering people, I’m a wolf but at least I’ve got standards”

- Click on Basket handle – Red hits wolf over the head with the basket to confuse him

- Click on Red’s body –  Decides to eat the wolf to dispose of witness, who had followed her to grandmas house

- Click on wolf’s body – Red removes liver of wolf

- Click on basket body – discover is full of body parts

Gulp…

It is now a week since I handed in my essay and project. I have gone through every emotion under the sun over it, from confusion to confidence and back to confusion; from blind panic to frantic research and back. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of dropping it all in the box and thinking s**t, can’t get it back now.

I feel reasonably confident about the next unit, especially having met up with my group, everyone seems quite engaged, especially Georgie, I am glad she is in my group. I don’t think I will really relax in to it until I hear back on how I did on the last one. I think it is just because it is my first stab ever at anything academic, I am not sure what is expected so can’t judge whether I have done it right or not. I bl**dy well hope that’s all it is, I can’t be doing with this sort of anxiety every 6 weeks!

I have started some research in to the next unit, narrative. I have tried to keep my research organised and concise and feel that after the last seminar, I have really grasped the basics, which is always a good place to start! I have been looking at similar projects on the web, for instance, I completely lost myself in Dreaming Methods last Friday. I really love the style of the graphics on that site. That is really the sort of thing I am aspiring to create over my time at uni. I am loving the hi-res guys work as well, especially the Donnie Darko site. Trying to navigate some of these sites however has taught me a lesson in usability, some of them although really pretty, are hard and frustrating to move around in. I have realised that there needs to be a good balance between graphic design and usability to create something that will really engage the viewer.

The brief for the next unit is to create a short interactive story based on a fairytale or folk story. We need to break down the basic structure of the narrative and then use that structure to create our own story. I am looking forward to it, I think it is a really interesting idea. My first thought for the base narrative was Rumpelstiltskin, mainly because the story has a good interactive element in trying to guess his name. I am meeting again with the group tomorrow so I am looking forward to hearing everyone else’s ideas. I will be doing some more research this afternoon so I can bring some more ideas to the meeting.

Anywho, I have to go to the dentist now, great, my absolute frickin favorite, sadists )

Here are the links to my favorite interactive story sites so far:

http://www.dreamingmethods.com/

 

http://archive.hi-res.net/

Nature and Technology – the final!

So, here I am, still avoiding giving my essay one last read before I hand it in later on today. Plus, I’ve just run out of Rizlas which is a bonus, going to get some more can be my last distraction before I get on with it ) Hey, I can’t put it off forever! I have spent the day reading, re-reading and adjusting it, and finishing the final touches to my gallery. I am really quite pleased with the latter, it looks good and all seems to work, I hope my code does not appear too sloppy to the trained eye however!

As for the essay, I think (hope to God more like) that it is OK, I have never had a great grasp of the English language but I have worked bloomin hard so I hope I have expressed my ideas well enough. The actual process of my research was particularly rubbish, but I can see that now and this is definitely an area I plan to improve on in the next unit, along with my note taking skills. That being said, I can now read Barthes without just seeing a page full of question marks, when I look back at my first week or so, this seems quite an achievement! I am looking forward to handing it all in so I can spend the rest of my week reading and consolidating what I have learned over the last 6 weeks. The next project sounds like a bit of a mission, so I need to prepare for that as well.

So, fingers and toes crossed that it is a pass, that is all I am hoping for at this stage, we’ll focus on the firsts later in the year. Let’s not run before we can walk yadda yadda ) That’s enough now, Rizlas then essay…

Nature and Technology project

These are the final images I chose for the project. I have really enjoyed this unit and the course so far and really improved my Photoshop skills, and as for my non existent Dreamweaver skills, well, at least they now exist in the most basic form imaginable!

I think I have done OK on this project so far. Mind you, haven’t finished the essay yet so could be tearing my hair out for the next few days. I did struggle with setting up the website but persevered and it’s nearly there (that’s why it’s now 2am, ouch) . All that code makes my eyes wobble but I guess I’ll get used to it. I have learnt a lot, especially from my theory lectures and I hope I will manage to express this with my gallery and essay. My research process has been a bit disorganised but I am hoping as I move through the course that my skills in that area will improve.

The first image in my gallery in entitled What is Real? It uses an image of the New Forest to connote the natural however the forest was planted by man so is it still natural? The inspiration came from trying to define the meanings of the words nature and technology. If we were to say that what was natural was that which was untouched by man, there would not be a lot left, as man has shaped and changed our environment for centuries through construction and farming.

This is the second image entitled In Our Hands. This is based around the discussions over climate change and how much we actually know about how much of the problem is down to human intervention. The concept is that we are continually told in the media that we hold the future of the planet in our hands, but do we know any more than a child when it comes to our environment and how to prevent climate change.

The third image is entitled The Workers. This image is based on the idea of cloning and how this will affect human reproduction in the future. The concept is around designer human beings, these have been specifically designed  as workers. There is a deliberate darkness to the image and I have used unnatural colours. The sky for instance is orange as this is the colour of the sky when there is an excess of artificial light.

The fourth image is entitled Embrace, this is based around the idea that despite all our technology, nature always wins in the end. The green line guides the eye through the image, I have used this colour and shape of line to connote a hospital heart monitor.

This is the final image, partially based on my first one day project. I liked the concept so decided to develop it further after reading Rolston. The concept is based around the fact that nature has been around much longer and can do much without the aid of man. All our technology needs us here to maintain it so nature would would take back the Earth if we weren’t around to do that. The image explores the concept of a post human world. 

Naturally, if anyone does feel like commenting on my work, please do, and those of you who do, thank you I appreciate it. I would welcome some feedback.

Cloning and the individual

So this is my latest idea, inspired by one of my keynote lectures, I did a little research in to articles on cloning, I find the whole concept wholly unnerving, suffice to say the image has turned out quite dark. However it appears that it’s not just me who is slightly unsure of this new technology. Granted, we would do well to experiment in this area as it could lead to massive advancements in medical science. I do believe that we should be very careful with the information we find through such investigations!

I have had to put together a written piece for this image which has been a bit of a challenge, I think I have done a reasonable job, we’ll find out tomorrow!

So, how do we think we did?

The second one day project was quite a challenge and I put a lot of work in to it. So how do I think I did? Not too bad, I think as far as the logo is concerned, I put too much emphasis on trying to look hip as it was supposed to be attractive to young people, and not enough on the actual purpose of the charity. This has been commented on and I think good point well made! I did start off with a much more organic colour scheme which may have been better but I thought it looked too organic, not paradoxical enough (is that a word? I think so…).

I was trying to acheive a paradox with the organic styling of the shapes and the sense of electricity, I don’t think this translated quite as well as I had hoped. I think the concept works really well for screen so I’ll probably keep it in the bag for future use!

I think it looks bloomin nice but that doesn’t mean it’s good ay? But hey, it doesn’t matter, this is just practice right? If we fall over, we get up and get back on with it. As long as I learn from my mistakes, they are no longer mistakes but part of my learning experience!

I think the first one day project was a lot more successful, I think it was a really good strong concept which always helps. I may use this one as one of my final submissions, with a few alterations (in true frogger style, nothing is EVER finished!). On that front there are a couple more to come shortly which I think are quite strong.

Wow, what a long post, I think I am getting used to this malarky! Frogger’s gotta hop off now, got a video editing workshop, super cool!

One day project 2

Sheesh, what a day…

For my second one day project, I have created a brand around the name Paradox. The campaign is aimed towards encoraging young people to use more environmentally friendly technology. The design concept is based around organic swirling shapes. The screen version of the logo shows these shapes as electricity however I have simplified it for the print version

Below is the screen and then print version

 

 

 

 Here is a complement slip and letter head to illustrate uses for print

And finally a web homepage example

In our hands?

The debate surrounding climate change has inspired this image. We are continually exposed to the idea in the media, that we must take responsibility for our own ‘carbon footprint’, and reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change.

The Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in their report ‘Climate Science and Policy: Making the Connection’

‘The IPCC Working Group reports contain many conclusions. The major ones attribute most of the warming observed over the past 50 years to human activities and predict significant warming over the next century.’ (Schlesinger, J and Sproull, J.L December 4, 2001 6)

However the notion that climate change is a direct result of human intervention has been widely disputed. In an interview published on the BBC Weather Centre website, Philip Stott, Emeritus Professor of Biogeography at the University of London, gave the following statement;

‘In the UK, it is a media myth that there are only a few scientists who disagree with the view of ‘global warming’ on which the Kyoto Protocol is predicated.’

He went on to say;

‘the authors [of the report, 'Climate Science and Policy: Making the Connection'] challenge the key antinomy at the heart of Kyoto – namely that climate is one of the most complex systems known, yet we claim we can manage it by trying to control a small set of factors, namely greenhouse gas emissions.’ (no date)
 
This leads me to thinking, what do we actually know about the impact new technologies have had on our environment, and what the future implications are?
 
The following image attempts to explore the notion that we are continually exposed to the idea that we hold the future of our planet in our hands. However those hands are perhaps those of a child, when we consider what we actually know and understand about the world around us.

Fractal fun

Another of my ideas for the final project has been based around fractal art. Physicists use mathematical equations to explain occurrences in nature, and these are widely accepted explanations. This has caused me to think about the symbiotic relationship between mathematics and nature and whether mathematics itself can be considered intrinsically natural. Fractals are based on mathematics and generated by technology, which could perhaps be considered a juxtaposition of nature and technology.

Below is a simulated a fractal I created in Photoshop. It’s not brilliant but I am still working on it! The base image used is actually the partially stripped down engine of a certain Mr James Ellison’s British Superbike. Possibly the most imaginative use for a motorbike engine ever, unless anyone can think of a better one!?