Compare and Contrast

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Back in 2003, Starbucks Corporation purchased Seattle's Best Coffee, and as part of this reinvention, Seattle's Best changed their logo from their familiar red and gold circle encompassed by a red and gold band with their brand name printed on it in bold white letters. They traded in their old logo in favor of a new more streamlined logo, a red half circle with a white drop in the middle of it and the brand name in red and gray print, enclosed in a gray circle. The strangest part about the new logo is that in seven years of use, I have yet to see it, but instead have continued to see the old logo used.


I began to wonder if the lack of use of the new logo, except for on their website, was due to lack of consumer support. In many ways, the newer Seattle's Best logo is reminiscent of the updated Pepsi logo, which attempted to be more streamlined. Although the newer logo is effective in the aspect of presenting a more modern and streamlined appearance, it is less effective than the old logo in giving consumers an accurate portrait of their product. Additionally, the drop inside the red half circle reminds me more of a drop of blood than a drop of coffee.

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Frightful Design

Over the weekend, I went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's Fright Fest to partake in some good old Halloween fun. What I did not realize what that I was entering into a world of frightful design. Frightfully bad, I must say. Overall, the design of their three haunted mazes was typical of many haunted houses I have experienced in the past--tight hallways with black walls, dancing strobe lights, and heavy fog. However, two of the three haunted mazes failed to appeal to me, and from what I heard, as well as many others.

The first maze we entered was the "Bayou Hazard." About five steps into the maze, the first major flaw in the design was apparent as I began choking on the smoke produced by the fog machines inside the building. Overall, we spent about five minutes in the maze, and the majority of that was spent stumbling blind through narrow hallways that had no attractions. The second maze, "Slasherville," was much better than the first, with less smoke and more attractions. The third maze we went through, "Kamp Khaos," failed in comparison to both previous mazes. After waiting in line for 45 minutes, we spent less than two minutes walking along an outside path with three or four actors jumping out at passersby.

Overall, the three mazes at Fright Fest were typical of the average run-of-the-mill haunted houses, not a design I would have expected at a major theme park. There was poor planning involved in the overall layout of the mazes, as well as the use of the fog machines. The haunted mazes could have been improved by adding more visual interest and reducing the amount of smoke inside the buildings.

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Design as a Conversation

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Not only is design itself oftentimes a conversation, but it promotes conversations across different ideas, and across different generations. Over the past couple of months, I have been indulging in the drama and high stakes of Lifetime's Project Runway. Unfortunately, I am more interested in interiors than fashion, and some of the styles of past decades were lost on me, but I was particularly intrigued by the challenge in episode 8. Let me just say that if you had asked me what "sportswear" is, I would probably give you a quizzical look and tell you it's the shorts and tee I wear to the gym. If you asked me about Jacquelyn Kennedy's style, on the other hand, I'll be more than happy to talk shop with you. This is exactly why I was so thrilled by their challenge, which was to create a sportswear look inspired by Jackie Kennedy.

The winner of this particular challenge was Mondo Guerra, whose outfit consisted out a purple houndstooth pencil skirt, a striped half-sleeve tee, and a cropped black jacket with purple lining. The judges declared that while Jackie Kennedy might not wear his look exactly like that, she was certainly clear as the inspiration. I later noticed quite a bit of discussion on the Internet about whether or not Mondo should have been the winner. Most people seemed to think that his look would never have been worn by Jackie Kennedy. However, I think his look was a perfect example of a design discussion between the early 1960s and today. Clearly, the jacket and skirt hearken back to clothing that was actually worn by Jacquelyn Kennedy, but with a more modern color palette and silhouette. Mondo's look, complete with the retro styling of his model, invoked a discussion across decades.

Houndstooth skirt suit worn by Jackie Kennedy
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The Art of Chinese Calligraphy

On Thursday, October 7, I listened to a lecture given by Chinese calligrapher, Lampo Leong, about the history of Chinese calligraphy. The lecture encompassed the evolution of Chinese script, and ended with a demonstration of Dr. Leong's work. Although the lecture was interesting and informative, it was the demonstration, which lasted less than a single minute, that captivated my attention.

In his demonstration, Dr. Leong stressed to the audience the importance of chi within any given piece. The idea of chi is that every written character has a certain energy, and that energy must flow continuously from one character to the next. Calligraphy is judged based on several criteria, including this notion of chi. Chinese calligraphy, of course, is not the only form of art that stresses an ease of motion, and this is evident as Dr. Leong compares calligraphy to dancing, the way the brush moves continuously from one character to the next, even when there is a break in between characters.

Below is a clip from the demonstration given by Lampo Leong, in which he writes the characters for "fine ambition" in the dance of the Chinese calligraphic brush.

++Photo and video by Kylee Ferguson

Creativity from Without

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This past weekend, while visiting the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco for a class assignment, I came across a piece that really spoke to me. The piece, called Mountains and Rivers, is part of artist Cai Guo-Qiang's Gunpowder series. At first glance, the "painting" was reminiscent of traditional Chinese and Japanese painting, with refined brushstrokes, their lines forming the shapes of nature. Upon closer inspection, however, I discovered that the artist was inspired by something outside of nature, something entirely manmade--gunpowder.

To create his pieces, Cai Guo-Qiang lays out a pattern on his canvas in gunpowder, much in the way a painter may first do a study for a piece in pencil. He then adds pieces he finds in nature--rocks, dirt, sand, leaves, twigs--to add to the pattern that will be left behind by the blast of the gunpowder. Once he is satisfied with a design, he covers the canvas with cardboard and lights the gunpowder, setting off a miniature explosion in his workshop. What is left behind is the impression of the lines of gunpowder and the natural pieces accessorizing the space.

In working with gunpowder, the artist is creating art that is both constructive and destructive. The destructive, explosive qualities of the gunpowder leave impressions and residue that are the construction of the art itself.

To learn more about Cai Guo-Qiang and his work, visit his website.

Design's Stone Soup

One sunny morning, a group of designers students came together, each one possessing an ingredient for the recipe of great artwork. Alone, each student looked at his or her ingredients in dismay. But together, the students began to have visions of great works like those of da Vinci, Seurat, and Picasso. As each person began to add ideas and ingredients to the "soup" of creation, their vision became a reality. While the piece may not have ultimately rivaled the works of the great masters in art, it was a symbol of their cooperation together as designers and as artists. A piece of foam packaging and yards of ribbon later, their "stone soup" of design was a success. Had it not been for their group effort, the design in their visions would never have come to fruition.

For those out there who don't know the story of stone soup, it is a children's tale about three soldiers returning home from war. They stop in at a village, hoping to find food and lodging for the night, but upon seeing the soldiers, the villagers have hidden all of their food. So the soldiers decide to make a stone soup, enticing each villager to add one ingredient. Because of the cooperation of the villagers, they end up cooking a marvelous soup that everyone shares. It was our job as design students to create a similar stone soup (though not edible) by combining art and craft supplies we brought from home. The project was an excellent example of how designers are never their own one-man show. Designers must work together with other designers to make their visions a reality.

++Photo by Kylee Ferguson

++Thanks to Kassie for taking the group photo

The Cost of Art

I came across an interesting article on Yahoo earlier today, and decided to share my views. The article, Venice mayor mocks billboard critics, discusses the recent upset over several historic buildings in Venice being partially covered by billboards. Tourists who come to view these historic monuments are upset at the views they are finding, and many art historians and critics claim that the billboards are degrading and defacing the buildings they obscure. Giorgio Orsoni, the major of Venice, has responded with the reason behind the advertisements: to bring in revenue to support the extortionate costs of renovating the buildings.

Now, one might ask: What does this have to do with design? Everything. Clearly, the design of the buildings and the advertisements themselves come into play in this scenario. However, the bigger issue here is designing a solution that will appease parties on both sides of the arguments. Despite the upset over the situation, the solution currently in place is a smart use of resources. According to the article, restoration costs for the Palace of the Doge alone run approximately 2.8 million euros (about $3.8 million). Without the money brought in by companies such as Coca-Cola, Bulgari, and Rolex, how else would the city afford such costly renovations?

True, millions of tourists travel to Venice each year, expecting certain sights, but most of the buildings being restored are only partially obscured by the advertisements. Besides, if the advertisements were not in place, the areas of restoration would still be covered to hide the work in progress. The main difference would be that the renovations would take considerably longer due to lack of funds. Although I understand the desire to separate the historic buildings of Venice from the everyday commercial advertisements of the modern world, without the revenue that the ads bring, there would be no possibility of the city of Venice completing the necessary restorations in a timely manner.

First Encounters with Design

Growing up with an artistic father always made for an interesting Halloween costume. Some of the most exciting, to name a few, were the apple tree, the Monarch caterpillar, the box of McDonalds french fries, and the cactus; thankfully, my brother and sister both suffered through the menagerie of costumes as I did. While at the time, my focus was mainly on the bulky, often awkward costumes, as I think back on them, the most interesting part of it all was not the embarrassment we sometimes felt in wearing them, but the process that went into designing and developing each costume. For the sake of time, I will focus on the year that I dressed as a box of McDonalds french fries.

The costume consisted of two main parts--the box, and the fries. The box was crafted out of cardboard and covered in red paper with the iconic double arch pasted on the front. It was held up by two bungee cords acting as suspenders across my shoulders. Inside the box, I was dressed in a yellow turtleneck, and foam pieces cut to the shape of french fries were placed inside the box alongside me. Although the costume may not sound complicated, it was an arduous process to design it. Months before anything physical began to take shape, we discussed ideas, finally settling on a suitable design for the costume. Next came the process of engineering what the costume would be made of so that it would be comfortable enough to wear the entire night. (Needless to say, that part of the process was an utter failure; the costume was too bulky and heavy to maneuver very far in.)

Some people may think creating your own Halloween costume is silly. There are plenty of costume stores out there, so why not choose from hundreds of premade get-ups, like the one pictured above? Certainly, there were years when we copped out and took the easy road. But had it not been for those years when we took the liberty of thinking outside the box (or inside, in the case of the french fries), I may not have been given such a fond introduction to some of the nuances of design.

++Photo courtesy of Lynn Applen

A-MUSE-ing Design

Just a few days ago, Tuesday, September 28, Muse performed at Arco Arena in Sacramento. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Muse, they are an English band that began in the 1990's, and has often been labeled as the producers of "progressive rock." The theatrics of their show, Resistance, would suggest a similar genre, one that combines a geometric and linear aspect reminiscent of design in the 1980's--the design of rock--with a more modern use of technology and progression.


The main design of the show used three large columns with the ability to retract into the stage. While these columns served an architectural function as an extension of the stage, they also served as a major design element. Each column was split in the middle to allow the band members to stand atop them, and it was the upper half of the columns that received much of my attention. The columns appeared to be covered on the outside with a material resembling chain-link fence, and acted much in the manner of a scrim in a theatrical production. When lit from the inside of the columns, the stairs built within them were visible. However, when lit with multimedia images from the outside, the inside of the columns were mostly or entirely masked to the audience.


All-in-all, the design of the show effectively portrayed the band Muse as a combination of older rock styles and progressive modern technology. The design was also effective in engaging the audience, as lyrics were projected onto the columns at intervals, and balloons filled with confetti were dropped into the crowd. I can only imagine the time that went in to designing and preparing for such a tremendous theatrical display.

++Photo by Kylee Ferguson