Behaviour

Does our everyday behaviour have an impact on our lives? Does it determine our mood, our decision making, our concentration...? The answer is.... Of course. However, what happens when there is something wrong with our behaviour? Something that we cannot help: a chemical imbalance in our brain. How are our decisions then affected? How do we live a life without confusion, without compulsion, without fear, without regret, without depression? With medication, with spiritual healing, with therapy, with cognitive training? It is hard to stop and think logically about all of these factors when your mind is racing and you can't seem to catch your breath. Friends appear harder to keep. It is a constant battle with ones self. What if you are never cured? What if it gets worse? What if it takes over? What if it consumes you, ends your life? What if?

A little update on my web design.

Being myself as usual I decided to change my mind about the way my web page was constructed. I have come up with a completely new idea. I have decided to go for a simple, yet more effective route. I chose letters to represent each of my works. I have also used the Main toolbar: About me, My portfolio and my blog as links to my other web pages. I will be working on this project in depth more tomorrow. Here's how it's looking so far :-)

Our brainstorming on The stickiness factor, The law of the few and the Power of Context.

Brainstorm photos

Brain storming sessions

Photography

Yesterday I had an induction on how to use a LCD camera. Today we are putting what we learnt into practice and using it to document images of our models. For another one of my briefs I was assigned to work with one of my classmates. Together we have been working on a model to represent the film "Forbidden Planet". Our model now consists of a rather large circuit board with hot led letters. We have a hand made black, starry background and will be using a strong blue light source as our main element in our photos. After the photo-shoot, which takes place this afternoon, I will be uploading some of the images that we might use in our poster design. This will then be developed over the next couple of weeks. Peace :-)

Module Brief: Packaging

Today I have been working on the third part of one of the briefs I have been given. Firstly, I had to research everything about Stone and its properties (part 1). Then I had to research all about Quinoa (part 2). Now I am at the stage where I need to combine these two materials in some way in order to make a revolutionary food with relevant packaging. After much deliberation, I finally came up with an idea. Over the reading week I spent some of my time researching mental health and hormonal imbalance. I thought, wouldn't it be amazing if you made a bowl that is made from a food that produces an almost "magical" chemical that would help the mentally ill. I then researched bipolar, PMD (Psychotic major depression), schizophrenia and illnesses of the like. I discovered that with all of these related illnesses there was a strong connection: chemical imbalances in the brain. My next process will be to develop my sketchbook with lots of distorted images that mirror how people with a mental condition view the world and their surroundings. I will be experimenting with Quinoa and resin. I will also be experimenting more with lithography in order to get the distorted images I feel portray hallucinations and delusions the best. I will be using lithography to print the ingredients and nutritional values on the packaging, as well as the "magical" element this product has. Over the next few days it will be my mission to come to a conclusion of how I am going to target this product specifically to the mentally ill. I will also try to have a name for it and the branding under way. Once I am happy with these factors, I will then begin with the 3D image making.

Research

These sketchbooks show my research of machinery and it's relation to type. I found an old typewriter that allowed me to understand the mechanics of that time period. This helped me see that printed text from plates are more attractive than text printed from an Ink jet printer. Although It would be nice to mix them on a page to see the difference. I made a printing block out of perspex. I then screen printed on my image and used a vacuum form to pull out my letter. 

Some earlier sketchbook work

I was looking through some of my old sketchbooks, so I could rediscover my way of thinking and improve my methods of collecting information. Visual communication is the heart of graphic design. Thus, I need to open my eyes to the real world and look at things I wouldn't normally think would be useful or interesting. I need to loose my specific "taste" in order to get rid of any inhibitions I may have. Then and only then will my work be pure and insightful.

My tutorial in web design

Okay! Now I understand how confusing and time consuming Web design is. I was thinking of doing this as a career. I haven't changed my mind, but I'm in for a lot of late nights I think (what's new in graphic design). to make a button on a web page it takes about 80 clicks of the mouse. Well it did for me and I was following the tutor. You get such a huge sense of achievement after you have put in all of that effort though, so I suppose in the end it's worth it. Now I think I have a new found appreciation for web pages and how much time is put into making them. I will show you my slow progress with some photo updates. Enjoy!! :-)

The stickiness factor mind map

The tipping point mind map

Daniel Berumen- Designer

Daniel Berumen, on September 30th, 2009 //

I think there are as many ideas as there are people. And as people will keep multiplying so will ideas. I think the main concern with most people is originality. I believe that originality is nearly impossible to achieve, and any effort to achieve it is pointless. Everything is always gonna be similar to something. But distinctiveness, on the other hand, is what we should aim for. All human beings are similar, but each one is distinctive. The same logic applies to design I believe.

Quinoa

I know! You're probably thinking, what the heck is it. I thought the same. Apparently it's a seed substitute for rice or pasta. It is very Vegan friendly because it is gluten free. The Incas saw Quinoa as a sacred religious grain that could not be in possession of anyone but themselves. I am researching Quinoa for a graphic design project and am learning quite a lot about the history of Quinoa and Peru (where it originates). This is the second half of my research. The first was to find out everything I could about stone, and that's how I came across stone lithography. Somehow, we will be bringing these two projects together. I am eager to see what I will come up with. :-)