Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category
This may or may not be related to this blog, however, I felt it prudent to post an image of my (current) studio space:
Setup: MacBook Pro w/extra monitor, Dell XPS, Epson R260 inkjet (for photos), Hp-2575 All in One (general printing), Drafting Table, Easel, and a whole bunch of design books.
-rgm
In order to increase my credibility as a designer, I am taking a web authoring course this semester to build a portfolio website. I know a bit of flash and a decent amount of java programming, however, my html/css stuff is a bit lacking. Hopefully, this class will really reinforce my html knowledge.
The first project for the class was to build a bio web page for yourself using only html and a text editor, but then to subsequently soup it up with a separate CSS file. My page is still rather basic, however, I aimed for cleanliness. And even though cleanliness was my ultimate goal, I found it rather difficult to keep an organized system when there were more than a few requirements; we needed at least one bullet-point list, one table, three images, 500 words, etc… Till next time,
-rgm
So one of the latest assignments in my graphic design class was to find at least two texts and three images and basically write briefly about how they inspire you/ why you are interested in them. As I find various articles/web sites/images that somehow affect me, I will post about them here in this blog.
For starters, cloud computing. For those of you who don’t know, cloud computing is basically server side computing, as opposed to local computing.
Cloud computing occurs when one accesses a program–say, an email program such as Gmail–over the internet. The actual program being accessed is stored on a server as opposed to your hard drive. This setup allows for many users to access the same program from wherever they have internet access. Ok, so maybe this doesn’t sound like big news, however, with mobile internet technology and faster networks, cloud computing is going to be the way of the future, or so BusinessWeek states. In a few years–maybe sooner–we are going to be able to say goodbye to a lot of programs that we take for granted on our hard drives such as word processors, presentation programs, spreadsheet programs, music programs, etc… The faster the networks get, the larger the programs we can store server-side. Other than freeing up hard drive space, cloud computing will allow the use of small mobile internet devices to access these large programs since they do not need the large drive space or processing capability to run them.
This new device/software revolution will have a huge impact on design. As already seen in the iPhone “App” business, designers will be needed more and more to be able to create slick applications for mobile devices to access server-side information. With faster connection speeds, the market for apps will grow enormously and competition will be fierce. Money will favor those apps with logically flowing visual design.
-rgm
If I had to pick a designer who has impacted me the most in the past year, it would be Jer Thorp. Does my work reflect this impact? No, not really. This is due to the fact that I have just gotten my feet wet with Processing, the program Thorp uses to create his mind-blowing work.
Processing is a Java IDE (development platform) for artists and designers. It was developed at the MIT media labs in 2001 as a way to teach object oriented programming in a visual fashion. Since then, it has evolved into a tool used by artists and designers to create anything from digital sculptures to psychedelic wave-forms to–the part that interests me the most–visual trend forms.
Thorp uses Processing to show trends in social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as in socio-political issues and the economy. The graphs he creates track exceedingly large amounts of data in simple, concise, and easy-to-follow visual solutions. They are dynamic, use color very well, yet simple, as they stick to their concept and never veer. The best part about these graphs is that they are organic, since they are fed by the ever-changing data of the internet.
-rgm
Me:
Grids & Systems 