Week 15 - Interactions Between the 3 Levels

The Vespa scooter has been one of my favorite industrial designs and I consider it combines the representational, abstract and symbolic levels of visual design communication and reception.

The representational level within this design is present in its actual realistic form of a motorcycle. The role it plays in the whole is to demonstrate through its visual information what this object does: it transports people from one place to another. Its form follows its function. And every single detail of it suggests what it really is: a motorcycle. Therefore the impact it has on the user or the audience is that of a realistic interpretation of its elemental visual terms, and general and specific characteristics of such vehicle.

The Abstract level is present in the several variations of the original Vespa. There have been multiple different designs that are ideas of juxtaposed concepts that are put together in the production of different styles of Vespa scooters. As an example, I’d like to show this American football helmet-inspired version of a Vespa that mixes the representation of a motorcycle with the abstraction of American football helmet basic and essential visual elements. The role of abstraction in this specific design of the Vespa is present in the way it adds a special value of fun, sporty look, emotion and sense of humor. The impact it has on the user is that of a more customized design that will fit people’s interests and will ultimately attract people’s attention toward these kind of simplification of forms and elements achieving a very intense meaning conveyance.

The symbolic level of visual communication within the design of Vespa scooters is present in the iconic and symbolic value that this object has acquired throughout the decades.

According to Vanessa Jones in her article The Wasp a 20^TH-Century Icon the Vespa is not just a scooter, but a way of life that has become part of the fabric of our society and that at the same time offers an affordable, easy and comfortable to drive form of transport and has stood the test of time for more than 60 years. Clearly, people had given the Vespa other attributions more than merely a way of transportation  and this demonstrates that the Vespa not only served as a simple vehicle to move around, but it also had its own character and role in society, and people wanted to see themselves identified with it.

“This vehicle has the ability to engender varied social responses and posturing among its owners. Rather than simply a practical transportation device, the Vespa has become a focus around which groups of people can engage in self-definition. The scooter allows for a visual representation of the rider’s values.”(Jones, The Wasp a 20^TH-Century Icon)This is the impact the symbolic level of the Vespa scooter has upon society; its symbolic value refers to a group of people in society and to an idea of independence and light mobility.

The Vespa scooter had also become a symbol of a country’s [Italy] recovery after the war, people’s freedom and it had a connotation of an independent lifestyle. Many people of many ages owned one or wanted to purchase one. It was a trendy product and it rapidly became a social symbol in cinema, advertising and literature. (Neumann-Braun, Retro Meets Rat, or the Vespa Legacy in the Hands of Young People)

Every aspect of this design, and the combination of the three levels of visual design communication and reception: the representational, the abstract and the symbolic are greatly influential in the success this design has and the way it is looked at from many functional, practical, aesthetical and emotional perspectives.

Jones, Vanessa. "The Wasp a 20th-Century Icon." The Gold Coast Bulletin [Southport, Old] 8 Mar. 2008, Q Paradise ed., Paradise sec.: 5. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.sierracollege.edu/pqdweb?did=1442457521&sid=5&Fmt=3&clientId=7985&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

Neumann-Braun, Klaus. "Retro Meets Rat, or the Vespa Legacy in the Hands of Young People." International Journal of Motorcycle Studies. Trans. Angela Oakeshott. Spring 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. http://ijms.nova.edu/Spring2010/IJMS_Artcl.NeumannBraun.html. 6, Issue 1 Volume

Week 14: Representation, Abstraction and Symbolism

Representation:

These two products: the drink boxes design and the tableware designs both represent actual things we see and recognize in our environment and experience. The box’s textures are mimicking real fruits’ textures in the most realistic ways. This must have great impact with the consumer of these products as they could literally say that they’re drinking the fruit and have a better product-user experience while doing so. The designers have been able to reproduce in other kind of materials (non-biodegradable) the same exact structure of these fruits’ textures to make the appear as real and fresh as if they were actual just picked fruits. It’s obvious the degree of attention the designers must have put in the observation of fruits’ textures, and then blending in this strong idea in the box design for these beverages.

The tableware set also represents real figures and shapes of actual things in the real world of physical experience. The bowl which contains apples has been designed in a way each one of the apples can fit in its own space. The little separate plates for apples have the three-dimensional shapes of what a whole apple would look like from its bottom view and what the middle part of an eaten apple would look like. This detail makes the overall experience of this design as something fun for the user. It’s definitely a successful approach of representation within the field of design. The raw meat plate has this extraordinary carved shape of the branches of a tree, and the blood that comes out from the piece of raw meat will give color and contrast as it flows through these little channels. And last, the plate that looks like a frame for a painting or something like that is actually framing the food that the plate contains. Here, again, they represent the natural experience of what food is, how it really looks in its most realistic way by showing real food. Framing it gives it an attribute of image representation.

Abstraction:

The kinesthetic quality of these two designs is giving the viewer and user an emotional sense of what these are with a minimal use or representation of the characteristics or elements that exist in the actual object. The tree on the left is constructed by means of abstracted forms of its branches. This naturalistic modular shelving unit with a shape of an abstracted tree is reduced to its basics in a way that it is not completely obvious what this is if the tree image were not painted on the background. This modular shelving structure design is incorporating the representational and abstraction levels of communicating visual messages. The representation of the tree is painted in green on the wall, while the abstraction of the concept “tree” is derived from this mix of rectilinear and curving shelves that make reference to the abstracted shape of the branches of a tree. It communicates a functional way of conceptualizing the idea of a tree within the structure of a modular shelving unit. Its meaning is also communicated by means of the simplification of its visual information.

The chair on the right is another example of abstraction that I found. Even though it looks like a chair, and it has many representational elements that make part of the furniture concept, I believe it is an abstraction of a bicycle because the designer has reduced the idea of a bike to its basics, essential or most typical elements(a couple or tires and a couple of rims) and the creation of this abstracted object has derived from the use of these few elements that have been put together to represent something else, a chair. This is why I came to the conclusion that although this represents a chair, it is at the same time the abstraction of a bicycle because it conveys its meaning throughout a simplification of visual elements.

Symbolism:

This is a symbolic necklace that conveys its meaning through coded forms that have been drawn from nature. This unusual petroglyph design symbolizes a Shaman conducting a ritual to bring abundant crops for the coming season. The rising snakes signify ancestral spirit guides who travel beneath and above the earth. Ancestral Spirits protect the living as well as, departed ancestors on their life journey.

A person would only know the meaning of this symbol if they belong to a specific culture or tribe. Here, some education of the public on what this symbol denotes is completely necessary for its message to be clear. We may see the abstraction of this symbolic Shaman depicted by a specific civilization for a specific religious or folkloric ritual. It is brought to its essential elements or basics and does not have too much of a detail in its depiction. It could have been a code that was created long before written language existed, so in this case this code serves as an adjunct to written language.



VISUAL TECHNIQUES

Balance, asymmetry, unity, economy, stasis, depth, consistency.

Balance, symmetry, exaggeration, consistency.

Both of these designs are visually balanced and consistent. The first one: the bookshelf with the shape of a tree has an asymmetrical structure that gives it a slightly organic appearance (still being highly geometrical due to the purpose of its functionality as a bookshelf). Its whole structure communicates unity due to the use of one tone of green and in the way the tree branches and trunk have been put together to make a whole piece instead of many separate pieces. The technique of Economy is seen in a way that the designer transmits the message of what this bookshelf represents (a tree) simply by using the shapes of branches and trunk instead of all the detailed visual information like roots, leaves, bird nests, flowers, fruits, etc. So the use of minimum units of visual means is achieving a well-structured composition that fully conveys the message of what it is. Stasis is represented in its suggestion of motionless as it is attached to the wall and the intrinsic static value of a tree. And depth is represented because this is not something flat just painted on the wall. It actually has compartments that serve as space for the books and we may observe the presence of perspective as it is a three-dimensional object.

On the other hand, this futuristic chair that to me, resembles a pair of sound speakers or something like that, perfectly communicates the use of the visual technique of exaggeration through the enlargement and amplification of forms and shapes that have been put together. At the same time, it is a symmetrical and balanced furniture design. And last, its consistency relies on its uniformity and the compatibility of ‘larger than usual’ shapes and forms.

Both designs are highly innovative and functional. They look attractive to the user, and while sharing a few common visual techniques, they have others very different and contrasting ones. In short, these two objects help as inspiration to me, to develop myself as an industrial designer.

WEEK 11: CONTRAST

The use of contrast of shapes contributes to a successful design in this case. The curvy, round and sinuous shapes of the top of this chair make contrast with the vertical legs and its rectilinear base. The regular and predictable shape of the base contrasts the irregularity of the top of the chair making this design attractive and interesting for the user. There is also a contrast of textures and materials. The clean white sleek plastic surface of the top of this design makes contrast with the hardness of the brown wooden and steeled base, which can be considered as a successful approach because it defines the visual meaning of this furniture design and it gives a balanced well contrasted result.

On the other hand, the design of this hair brush is somehow confusing and not functional at all. This is due to the surreal contrast achieved by the juxtaposition of a hair brush and fingers instead of the conventional predictable bristles. This contrast of fingers with a hair brush does communicate some kind of visual statement that the designer wants to transmit. I believe the overall design is a failure because this object turns out not to be functional despite of the visual message the designer wants to convey through this juxtaposition. It does create a dramatic effect, an unpredictable result, an unexpected set of things, but hair brushes are made for people to brush their hair, and no one could ever brush their hair appropriately with an object like this. This object does not meet the specifications of its functionality and serves only as a visual statement composed by this odd juxtaposition or as a decoration article.

Implied Motion/Movement Operating in Tangible Designs.

This image of furniture that has the naturalistic shape of a centipede gives the suggestion of motion by appearing to walk up the wall. The multiple legs and the way they look so natural and organic gives us static visual information that is indeed interpreted as implied movement. It’s great how a strong sense of dynamism is achieved in this piece of furniture design explicitly showing the designer’s intention of emphasizing the natural forms of a centipede and the motion illusion that can be created with a composition like this. Distortion of reality is present here in a way that the sofa transforms into an insect that not only looks like an insect but also seems to “act” like one, by walking up the wall in such realistic way.

This lamp has a visual mode that allows an implied sense of gentle motion by its twisting design. It is very much a static lamp, but its design gives us a sense of organic movement, some dynamism around its own axis. It’s like these swirls wrap up the lamp from bottom to top, almost like a serpent crawling up a tree trunk kind of simulation. The material in which the lamp has been manufactured really allows the designer to achieve this sense of subtle movement and reach the perfect flexibility for it to become dynamic enough to present this illusion.

This is an example of sculptures that are created in a way they look like they are in motion. By hanging all these strawberries from the ceiling at specific heights, the designer has achieved this falling cascade motion simulation very realistically. This dynamism is carefully achieved by the artist intention of showing movement within a static composition. This allows for the intense illusion of this bunch of strawberries that have been "dropped" from above and seem to be continuously falling upon whoever walks under the hanging sculpture.

Dimension/Depth/Space/Scale

The EON Touchlight is a bare-hand 3D interaction virtual reality display system based on an invention from Microsoft Research.

This system serves as a design technique which communicates the objects size, dimension, depth, and scale in this virtual space. The users can interact with the 3D projection by simply by touching the screen or moving their hands just off the semi-transparent screen surface. This system shows 3D models and offers the user the great benefit of interaction and previsualization before the object is actually produced or manufactured.

This system allows the user to see the design and technical issues or challenges posed by space in relation to the object.

Real dimension is a very important element in Industrial Design and designers must deal with the total and actual size and volume of things. This virtual reality display system is a perfect tool during the process of evaluating and examining these two aspects of the dimension of objects, only with the difference and convenience that they have not been materialized yet.

For more information on this device please visit:

http://www.eonreality.com/news/news_archive/press_releases07_18_06.htm

Tone and Color seen in Industrial Design products.

Tone is operating in this example of tangible object in a way that when the lamp is closed, it’s seen in different tones as if it were opened. The color of the lamp itself is white but as it opens or closes up we can see how the effects of light and shadow change the color in which we perceive it. This object is fascinatedly interacting with the element of Movement which has great influence in the way the lamp meets its functionality and allows for the intensity of darkness and lightness to work well as tone stimulators. Another function of tone here is the attribution of indication and expressing space and dimension of the lamp. Shape is another element we see here actively interacting with the role of tone. When the lamp is closed its petals are seen in a darker tone as light that comes from the inside of the flower-shaped lamp illuminates only the inside and the exterior is seen more opaque. When the lamp is opened, the several petals spread out and light finally reaches the environment. Only the exterior petals are kept opaque as light does not fall upon them, but the rest are seen in a lighter tone due to the presence of light.

URL: http://freshome.com/2007/08/30/lull-the-flower-light/

Another example I found that is actively related to Color and Tone are iPods nano-chromatic. They come in all elementary hues and some secondary colors, as well as black and gray. As colors are so closely related with psychological attributions and emotions in general, Apple has thought of this to appeal to the iPod users. Yellow for warm people because it represents light and warmth, blue for more of calmed or passive people because it represents passiveness and softness, red for emotional and active people because it is all about passion and active lifestyles, and so on with the rest of colors offered in the product. This way Apple has thought of a great way of attracting people and making them feel authentic and genuine with their purchase because colors somehow reflect a little bit of their own personality. Tonal gradations are offered as well in iPods. This allows users to choose between more customized options and allow them to reflect with more depth that specific aspect about themselves through their gadget.

URL: http://www.megaleecher.net/iPod_Nano_Chromatic