Betrayal!

For our graphic design one class we were given this assignment where we had to interact with high school kids. They were studying the concept of betrayal in their class, and each of them had a short write up on a personal experience with betrayal. we were suppose to talk to one on one with a student and them design a spread telling their story.

At first i didn't see the point of this project. i mean these incidents are painful to remember n why would you ever want a book to constantly remind you of it? (I still don't get that part. ) and secondly i was like why do we have to interact with high school kids? why not any other client? or why cant we just do a project for fun!

It was only after we did the project that i realized that when you interact with high school kids you can really relate to them and you get extremely emotionally involved in the project! If we had to this project just for fun I would have never put in as much thought and made as many corrections and revisions to it! so i guess it was a really good exercise in understanding emotional involvement in a project and also learning where to draw the line!

THe other good thing about this project was that we were given a lot of limitations! we were only allowed to use red black and white and we were allowed to use only one typeface. think about it. u can always use colors and fonts n make a design look pretty. but when u have these limitation, you have to think of a concept to make the design strong.

Aesthetics v/s Content

For my typography class we were each assigned a typeface and had to conduct research on the history of the type n the origins n stuff. N then we had to create a poster showcasing the typeface.

I was assigned the typeface BEMBO. its one of the oldest fonts was cut in 1495. Its a beautiful font. n the italics version of this font was made in 1920. so there are a lot of differences between the original and the italics. so the first concept i can up with was this. The andpersand is very different in the original and italics version. so i desiced to squezee all the letters of the alphabet into the sign.



This option was aesthetically good. it was nice to look at and explained a little about the typeface.

The second option that i worked out was using the different alphabets and highlighting the the characteristics that made bembo a unique font.



To be honest initially i liked the first option much better! but when i thought more of the project requirements and the objective behind the assignment i have to agree with my prof that option two is a much better solution.
I guess in the design world we ll have to make tough choices between aesthetics and content. Thats pretty much what design school teaches us... how to combine the two. How to make the client happy while retaining your design integrity :)

The art of looking sideways

The art of looking sideways is an awesome book about everything and nothing! This book has no thesis, is neither a whodunit nor a how - to - do - it. Has no beginning middle or end. It is a journey without a destination.
It attempts to open windows to glimpse views rather than dissect the pictures on the walls.
It is an inexhaustibe mine of anecdotes, quotations, images, curious fact and useless information,, oddities, serious science, jokes and memories.

For my typography class i made a promotional booklet for this book. Maybe because i have been so inspired by this book, or because i love typography or plainly coz this book is freaking awesome, I dont know which, but this is one of the best projects I have done so far!

Memory Collage! ( Really?)

One of the first assignments I got in school was this,

Pick a memory or a dream. Write it out in 10 - 15 lines. Pick 10 key words. Assign colours to these words. Now using only this colour palette cut out stuff from magazines and make a collage. and this collage should depict your memory in some way!

CRAZY RIGHT???



but i think i pulled it off....

Taking the Plunge

I spent 2 years agonizing over if I should come to design school. Is it worth the money? can i really afford to "spend" two years on it at this point in my life. will it be worth it? wont i learn the same stuff on the job? all these arguments were trumped by just one - I really want to do this and will regret it the rest of my life if i don't. So my heart and mind battled it our for a while, and got nowhere, so I just decided to take the plunge! They say the heart has a mind of its own, i believe that if the mind had a heart of its own maybe it would understand :) anyway I am at the end of my first semester at parsons, and it was the best decision i have made in my life ( so far:P)

The eduction system in the US is very different. for one I still cant call my profs by first name? Sir, and Ma'am is just second nature to our indian upbringing! Secondly I have never been in a class with only 15 students! even tough we have 2 hrs 40 min classes I have not had any " lectures" so far. Learn by doing is the funda here. But the biggest lesson I have learnt so far is how important culture is in our life. When u have been born and bred in the same culture it becomes a very passive influence in you life. But when you step outside it hits you in the face. In the first week itself I noticed how my cultural references differ from those around me. Our very first project was designing posters for elementary school kids, and in brian storming sessions the slang words, the sports or cartoon references, were all so foreign it was a little unnerving to begin with. But like everything else you learn with time.

The best thing about this school is that they allow you to think! and never ever categorize any idea as stupid or unworkable! if you have done your education from india you will know why this is such a big deal! So coming here is a refreshing change. I m just glad I "took the Plunge"