Wii controled home

"Onscreen Flash User Interface that controls the following aspects of the home: Lights, Thermostat, Security Camera, Music Playback, Cable DVR, and more."

Sony House of the Future

Sony House of the Future - Watch more Funny Videos

More creepy 3D designs

Here is a site that has a large compilation of 3D objects being implemented into photography with some creepy results.

Face Manipulation

Foam Typography

This is an amazing video where a bunch of text was made with soap foam and launched into the air. The effect is quite breathtaking.

Flogos

An angry child goes crazy while playing a game. This is exactly the kind of violence that is brought on by some games.

Romanian Social Ad - Kids Campaign Against Violence

A very disturbing video created as an ad campaign to stop child abuse in Romania.

V for Vendetta 3D Text Animation - The V Speech

Amazing animation created purely with typography for the V for Vendetta movie by Zac Autio.

The V Speech

introducing Digital Artist Kevotu

The work done by this artist is very inspiring. He brings together 3D elements into photography in a very subtle way that has a tremendous effect on the viewer. The designs pierce you as you stare at them. This is harmony.
Kevotu

Throwing 3D renders into a 2D environment

By adding insane 3D elements into a flat photo can bring that photo to life. This website has several examples of exactly this.

Sandy Skoglund

2D type + motion graphics = awesome

codesignist
The title says it all. An awesome exploration into making flat typography morph into crazy 3D designs

3D meet 2D

olainteractiveagency is an awesome website that demonstrates how 3d and 2d elements can work together in a way we havent seen before.

Similarities of games vs real war

Shocking similarities between violence in video games and actual war footage set off alarms. Is this a case of predictive programming? Are they shaping our perception to accept and proliferate violence. At the crossroads of civilization, where do we go from here? Do we continue with our government prescribed brainwashing? Do we plug into these corrupt media nodes?

This is just blatently preparing the youth of today for whats planned ahead.

Video Game Violence Film and television production project for Anglia Ruskin university Cambridge

Grand Theft Auto 4 Controversy

News Report on Grand Theft Auto 4 Release and how people considered it too violent for the public.

Game and TV Violence

An article that discusses violence in teens and how it may relate to video games.
Game Violence

A look at long term effects of violent video games and tv shows.
Science Daily Article on Violence in association with gaming

Abuse

Some interesting posters on Animal and human abuse in the US.
This relates to the proposal on the animal rights campaign.
Abuse Posters

Readings 4

the article on Bullshit was absolutely brilliant. It is definitely a spot on judgment... The ones that get ahead not only in design, but in life as well, are not the ones with the skills, but the ones that can BS like none other. It is amazing to look back at my personal experiences in some of my classes where pure, unfiltered BS took a very poorly executed, night before, project into something that the professor not only admired, but gave a 75% for. Like the silly sounding children's potty training books - "Everybody Poops", Everybody Bullshits, some of us better than others, and in the design world, the power of good BS is greater than anything.

Design and Faux Science was very interesting as a critique of today's design. I would have to agree that most of the stuff that is made today seems to follow the same rules, very safe and repetitive. On the other hand, there is a lot of designs out there that have elements that are useless and make no sense. One aspect of the article that got me thinking was the question "Why don't designers study science?". In my personal experience, science was never my forte, neither was math, the way the human brain works, usually you are either an artistic person or a person that eats up math problems and numerical date for breakfast. I don't really agree with all of the article because of the education system in place. Science and all that other stuff isn't usually mixed in with design and art, so we never get a chance to truly explore it. Im fine with reading up a little on a science topic for a design project, but seeing how I got into design to get away from science, i would not want to mix the two on a more permanent level.

And last but not least, the guidelines to the CCAC Thesis project were super useful. The OCAD core course is basically the same thing, and finally, after almost three years of going to this school, I got some actual examples and ideas of what Thesis is all about. The breakdowns of schedules, and the tips are very helpful. This article is getting saved, definitely going to come in handy for next year.

Sadly, there was no continuity in the three readings, no real connection, but they were all brief and interesting enough to remember. The way it felt was, BS is something we all do NOW, Thesis is something that we WILL do, and mixing science into design is something that we MIGHT do. This is the only connection that I could pull out of these readings.

Last weeks reading articles (Reading 3)

Reading 3

Just a personal note on the readings.

I loved the Wikipedia article, as well as the New Yorker article on the death of the newspaper. Both were very entertaining, informative and interesting. They directly related to each other as they both talked about the death of a paper medium, and migration to the digital world.

one thing that bugged me is the third article on research reports or whatever. Even on the test, I could barely remember what it was about even though I read it the day before. The problem wasn't so much the article itself, but the fact that it seemed to in no way relate to the other readings.

I get that it is an important topic, but the grouping of the articles made the most important piece of knowledge out of the three... forgettable. the readings tend to be a lot more interesting when they all have a connection on some level.

Anyways, just a rant to whoever cares.

CAN-BIKE - Summarizing Main Research Points

Brief History
The CAN-BIKE program began as a grass roots cycling education program in the 1980’s.

The Canadian Cycling Associations (CCA) CAN-BIKE program is a nationally standardized set of cycling proficiency & safety courses that are delivered by certified instructors.

The success in Atlantic Canada was emulated in Montreal, Toronto, Newmarket ON, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The new Atlantic Canada instructors have scheduled many CAN-BIKE courses for 2007. They are promoting these courses through local media; radio, newspapers, internet, as well as through bike shops, cycling organizations, environment oriented organizations and community recreation centers.

Communication

- Monthly 4-6 page CAN-BIKE Instructor Newsletter provided main means of communication with instructors.

- A listserv was quickly established to communicate with CAN-BIKE instructors across the country.

- The organizing committee kept in touch with instructors using the listserv soliciting input from all CAN-BIKE instructors and advising them when the latest issue of the newsletter was available.

- The instructor listserv permitted the creation and maintenance of a robust and healthy forum for instructors concerns.

- A second listserv allowed the Project committee to discuss issues amongst themselves in a more focused manner.

- A third listserv was created for National Examiners. A committee level option is in place for the future.

- Ten national press releases were created to raise awareness for CAN-BIKE and safe cycling issues.

- Printed flyers and posters created and distributed to create an awareness of CAN-BIKE courses and safe cycling.

- A CAN-BIKE social marketing plan that provided strategic marketing ideas was developed by York University students.

- Questionnaires were distributed throughout Canada to try and establish if CAN-BIKE was helping cyclists adopt cycling as a form of transportation.

- The website (www.canbike.net) was expanded and divided into public and instructor zones.

- The public zone is where new cyclists and those wanting to upgrade their skill level will find a wide array of information from which to make an informed course selection, including links to course providers and course dates.

- The instructor zone allows instructor-only access to our listserv, newsletters, questionnaire, and support material.

CAN-BIKE, . "CAN-BIKE Cycling Development Project wraps up, sets stage for national renewal.." CCA CAN-BIKE Program. 31-Mar-2007. CAN-BIKE, Web. 20 Feb 2010. http://www.canbike.net/cca_pages/news-2007-03-31_cbcdp.htm.

IPSOS CYCLING SURVEY

Incidence of Cycling in Toronto

Toronto has seen a small, but significant increase in cycling over the past 10 years. The number of cyclists in Toronto increased 6% between 1999 and 2009 (from 48% to 54%).

Moreover, the increase can be attributed to more people cycling for practical day-to-day purposes.

The number of cyclists that can be classified as “utilitarian” meaning they either commute to work or school by bike or they bike for the majority of their errands or visits to friends increased 9% between 1999 and 2009 (from 20% to 29%).

While the increase in utilitarian cycling occurred principally outside of the downtown core, Central (or downtown) Toronto still houses the highest numbers of utilitarian cyclists (36%).

One in four (25%) Toronto residents classify themselves as recreational cyclists; that is they cycle purely for leisure or fitness. This is down marginally from 1999 (28%) because more cyclists have expanded their cycling to include utilitarian cycling.

Perceptions of Cycling in Toronto

There has been a significant decline in the level of concern over careless cyclists since 1999. Today’s Torontonians are equally worried about drivers as they are about cyclists. What was once attributed to concern about cyclists is now being articulated in terms of safety.

Safety on roads remains the public’s principal concern about cycling. While significantly more cyclists are comfortable biking on major roads with and without bike lanes than 10 years ago, still only one-third of cyclists say they are comfortable biking on major roads without bike lanes.

The data suggests that up to 40% of recreational cyclists could be motivated to cycle to work or school regularly, half of whom would do so if biking to work/school were safer than it is now.

While cyclists are more comfortable cycling on major roads compared to 10 years ago, still only three in ten cyclists are comfortable on roads without lanes. Cyclists are much more comfortable on roads with sharrow markings or bike lanes.

Other Relevant Data

People believe that education for cyclists would greatly improve safety, as seen below.

Cyclists appear to be riding their bikes more often and more frequently to work than they were in 1999. The cycling community is growing through utilitarian cyclists. These people tend to do a lot of riding downtown, and education programs such as CAN-BIKE could be essential.

Awareness of city bike programs is very low. CAN-BIKE wasn’t even mentioned by anyone in the large survey group.

City of Toronto Cycling Study - Tracking Report (1999 and 2009). Toronto: Ipsos Reid, 2010.

Sustainable Transport in Canadian Cities: Cycling Trends and Policies.

Page 107

Almost all large and medium-size cities in Canada offer a wide range of cycling courses for all age groups through the national cycling education program CAN-BIKE as well as promotional events such as bike races, bike rodeos, and cycling festivals.

Toronto has a Cycling Ambassador outreach program that sends a team of ten professionally trained cyclists into neighborhoods throughout the city to teach cycling safety and skills courses and to promote cycling in general.

Page 108

Toronto has only CAN-BIKE as a means for safety education.

Page 111

The City of Toronto recently took over the CAN-BIKE program and now runs it directly through its parks and recreation department, with instructors hired as city employees.

Page 117

Unless Canadian cities can implement more of the European-style “stick” measures against excessive car use — while enhancing the safety and feasibility of alternative modes — it may be difficult to convince increasingly suburbanizing

Canadians to drive less and bike, walk, and take transit more often.

Something to learn form other provinces and countries

Page 116

As in most Canadian cities, volunteers run CAN-BIKE courses for children and adults in both Calgary and Edmonton. Both cities also publish and distribute cycling maps. Furthermore, Edmonton and Calgary carry out or support signage and cycle safety campaigns, organize annual bike events and conduct bicycle user surveys.

Page 117

No Canadian city has a truly comprehensive, integrated, regional network of cycling facilities such as those found in so many Dutch, German, and Danish cities. The lack of integrated facilities forces cyclists to share the road with motor vehicles for most of their trips, oft en diminishing the safety, feasibility, and attractiveness of cycling for many potential cyclists, especially children, the elderly, the inexperienced, and anyone who finds cycling in mixed traffic unpleasant and stressful.

Canada’s federal government has neglected cycling as a serious transport mode. National legislation similar to the U.S. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century (TEA-21) could greatly increase funding for investments in cycling infrastructure (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2004a, 2004b, and 2004c). The Canadian federal government should also provide more research funding and more guidance in bicycling planning.

Page 113

In addition to the CAN-BIKE program, the Bike Smarts Program in Victoria is aimed at cycling education for school children aged 7 to 13 years old (Capital Region District 2003a). Almost half of all Victoria area elementary schools participate in this program, which entails five hour-long sessions of cycling courses (taught by regular school teachers) on rules of the road, bike handling, and correct helmet use.

Pucher, John, and Ralph Buehler. "Sustainable Transport in Canadian Cities: Cycling Trends and Policies." Berkeley Planning Journal. 19. (2006): Print.

Promotion and Spreading Knowledge:

The main method of spreading knowledge about CAN-BIKE is through the use of CAN-BIKE Delivery Agents.

Delivery Agents facilitate delivery of CAN-BIKE by bringing clients, instructors and venues together, providing the promotion and administration essential to making courses available to the public. Delivery agents are responsible for ensuring that instructor and participant records are forwarded to their provincial bodies.

In many communities, an instructor serves as a delivery agent, performing all the administrative duties required to promote and run a course and certify participants. Elsewhere, especially in larger centres, municipal departments may be delivery agents, advertising courses, registering participants and hiring instructors. Provincial and territorial cycling associations may also be delivery agents, making the CAN-BIKE program available to their members or the public, while providing an administrative framework for instructors in the province.

Recently, a law was passed that states that anyone in the city of Toronto that has to use a bicycle for work purposes, whatever they may be, has to get a CAN-BIKE course completion certificate. Because of this law, many large companies provide CAN-BIKE courses to their employees. This is one of the major ways that people get to know about CAN-BIKE.

Many employers and volunteer organizations require CAN-BIKE 2 certification for everyone whose duties may include riding a bicycle.

Since the Criminal Code was amended with Bill C-45, organizations have become legally responsible for providing appropriate training for their employees, volunteers and other representatives.

If you are required to ride a bike to perform work duties, then your employer is responsible for providing you with the appropriate training to ride safely. CAN-BIKE is the only nationally recognized safe cycling program in Canada that can provide the certification to fulfill this basic requirement.

"CCA CAN-BIKE Program: Who We Are." CCA CAN-BIKE Program. Web. 22 Feb 2010. .

Reading Assignment 1 - Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art

Author: Gunnar Swanson
Source: p. 22, 23
Connotation/Idea:

• the majority of graphic design programs tend to be nothing more than vocational training programs
• design does not have a subject matter of its own, it exists solely as a practice in relation to the given projects
• the tendency to stuff the curriculum with vocational skill training, students are robbed of important knowledge that would make them much better designers in the long run

Source: p. 25, 26
Connotation/Idea:

• Liberal arts have lost their meaning as an integrated learning process, and have become a source for broader knowledge
• asking graphic design teachers of their opinions of students that didn’t become designers, the students were considered failures, almost as if design educations sole purpose is to prepare a student for work in the design industry
• most design programs don’t help their students become broader thinkers
  

Source: p. 26, 27
Connotation/Idea:

• the constantly evolving job market suggests that designers wont be doing what they are doing today in fifteen years
• despite this, most programs simply give the students ‘job training’
• the problem is that design teachers are teaching their students on how design was done in the past, and are not preparing them for the possibilities of what design could be in the future
• the best possible thing that a student can learn from a design program should be the skills to become highly adaptable
• design should be about meaning, and how meaning can be created
  

Source: p. 28
Connotation/Idea:

• graphic design is about persuasion
• a good designer knows how to touch the very essence of every human through their work, and not just how to create a pretty thing in photoshop
• design is a very deep subject with a lot of hidden meaning, and simply teaching students how to produce objects is nothing more than vocational training
  

Source: p. 29
Connotation/Idea:

• it has been suggested that liberal courses that are related to the subject matter being studied are offered along with the core course
• an interior design student should have a class available where they can learn about families, marriage, usage of space, human interaction, etc., in order to become the master of their field
• a balance between practical and academic knowledge needs to be established
• generally, students get general knowledge of their subject, and then are specialized into their field, design works the other way
  

Source: p.31
Connotation/Idea:
Design on its own is a strong field of study, but if supported by branches of all other studies, design becomes something much more than just a practice, it becomes a true liberal art.

Reading Assignment 1 - The Landscape of Graphic Design Education

Author: Meredith Davis
Source: p. 2
Connotation/Idea:

• 60,000 salaried designers / 74,000 freelancers
• 16,000 individual design businesses
• 90% have fewer than 10 employees
• 15% of these firms are newly created each year

• 1300+ two-year programs teaching graphic design
• 450 four-year programs in 1974 AIGA listing of schools
• Pratt Institute has 700 undergraduate majors
• Graduating 25 students a year = 43,000+ new designers
• 120 programs in architecture
• 50 programs in industrial design

In the current landscape of graphic design education:

• Professional curriculum controversy
• Shifting professional practices
• Emerging research culture
• Shortfall in challenging literature
• Increasing use of adjunct faculty
• Administrative generation gap

Source: p. 3, 5
Connotation/Idea:

• the role of colleges and universities now engaged in professional education is to develop students with respect to both the discipline and the profession of graphic design
• it takes a very long time to produce a professional designer
• some universities offer professional degrees, but their curriculum is built in a way where important aspects that need to be learned from different perspectives are shoved into single courses and force fed to the students
• the way current curriculum is planned out, students in colleges that offer two year programs are unable to transfer a lot of the credits to university when they move to finish their undergraduate degrees
• colleges and universities need to cooperate and plan out their curriculums together

Source: p. 6
Connotation/Idea:
Over the last two decades:

• Rapid technological change
• Democratization of the means of production
• Extreme highs and lows in the economy
• Public concern for the environment
• Consumer activism

• with the world changing the way it is, design is becoming more and more important in the corporate world
• the graphic design programs adapt to current trends, but because the process is slow, the changes are often very late

Reading Assignment 1 - What is Research?

Author: Leedy/Ormrod
Source: p. 17,18
Connotation/Idea:
What research is not.

• It is not just info gathering
• It is not a just transportation of facts from one place to another
• It is not just rummaging for information
• It is not a catchword used to get attention

Source: p. 18, 22
Connotation/Idea:
What research is.

• Research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data in order to increase the understanding of the phenomenon being researched.

• Research originates with a question or problem
• an inquisitive mind is the beginning to research
• the ignition point of all research is the questions we ask

• Research requires clear articulation of a goal
• it is important to clearly state the goal of your research
  

• Research requires a specific plan for proceeding
• on top of having a clear goal, you must also have a clear path to follow in order to reach that goal
  

• Research divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems
• large problems can often be solved piece by piece
• divide the large problem into smaller ones, and you will reach your goal much faster
  

• Research is guided by the specific research problem, hypothesis, or question
• by simulating many possible outcomes of the research, you may find sources of information that will lead you to your goal
  

• Research accepts certain critical assumptions
• there are often self evident truths that may help guide the research these are assumed, and must be valid in order for the research to have meaning
  

• Research required the collection and interpretation of data in an attempt to resolve the problem that initiated the research
• the data is insignificant until the researcher extracts meaning from it
• without human interpretation, research is useless
  

• Research is, by nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical
  
• research usually follows a cycle
• first a question is asked, then, the researcher goes through above steps, and after all the data is interpreted, more questions are formed, and the cycle begins all over again