Against The Machine CH5

The Media likes to group and define personalities that they believe everyone should be able to relate to.
“Which ‘Breakfast Club’ Character are you?”
Pick one! Vote! Relate! Fit In!

With the invention of “viewer-directed” television (American Idol, Dancing With the Stars) the public is given the illusion that these categories are self-defined: that we define social standards for ourselves, our colleagues, etc.

The real challenge is to maintain a strong ’self’ identity, “yet [be] successful” (p.101). Sometimes being ‘definable’ is the only realistic means of being promoted, advanced, and rewarded within a system.  If you fit into the ‘promotable’ box, you will be.But not to say that there aren’t distinguishable, and widely accepted characteristics of an entire social group. (this is what Siegel suggests with “Monk” as an example.  His crazy-ness no longer separates him, but becomes a ‘relatable’ element as the general public sees more and more of him and his lifestyle becomes adopted into a character skin.

In general, It IS hard to separate from the collective because someone from us [whether it was up to the media or the general public] created the character types and they’re based off of some one real person, or many.

by the way, I’m Brian Johnson

Event#1

Flod Meeting, September 2, 2009

Art & Anthropology, Inc

Jason Ontero

“The intrinsic desire to express complemented by the imperative to understand”

Jason Ontero believes that designers need to create work that’s relevant and beautiful and that they should always seek intelligent work and clients who are open for it.  Work will ebb and flow, but designers should surround themselves with people will make you better.

One thing I noticed about Jason is that he is willing to do anything, with client approval, (screen printing, hand cutting, etc.) to make an interesting design piece.  The print/design shop I work for gets angry when print jobs are odd sizes let alone partially made out of dog tags, etc.  I think that this difference definitely reveals who is actually more successful.  Jason Ontero is willing to do lots of different processes for the look, while my employer’s company is barely making it and barely tries to work outside the box to please a client.

Have no fear… “say yes to everything”

And figure the rest out later.

Opportunities rarely find you…Get Invested.

Against The Machine CH4

Youth culture completely reinvents itself every 3 monthsm maybe even in less time than that…This rapid evolution is probably kudos to the Internet and its open, free communications. So lets get serious…The guy with the Simple shoes and Bowling shirt doesn’t know whats up with youth culture even though he claims to be completely enthralled and even behind changing web cultures. And sure, youth are affected and easily adaptable, changed and influenced by the internet, but at this point, the internet is so integrated into that culture that they’ve got be able to see through that power system by now and intelligently pick and choose what to believe and how to make that new culture projection either their own, or into a joke.

webdesigntypeface

Graublau Sans Web

<br>

Trebuchet<br>

Pauline Regular<br><br>

*reference

Against the Machine CH+3

CH.3

This section was about the dramatic, and publishing ways of the internet.
Its a new world where amateurs can publish their work online…so its awesome that we all have a chance to be heard or seen, but really…is it just lowering standards?

It seems like everytime a new publishing platform emerges, it has to be “defiled” or “christened” with a tricked ya! Stunt. Orsen Wells and the radio, Photography and darkrooms and now photoshop. The Internet as a means of “self-expression” had to be spoofed as well: like lonelygirl15 and countless others after her did/do.

I do find it interesting that the Internet is kind of a social haven for the anti-social.  Anyone can be outgoing, and have a lot of friends in this realm…Maybe like Marx suggested capitalist society is headed toward alienation, maybe this is the proletariat’s hope for re-connection amongst a lonely world drowned in commerce.

My Website: Design Inspired Links

http://www.screechowldesign.com/blank4.html

http://beautifulpaper.typepad.com/oh_so_beautiful_paper/2009/01/pretty-pretty-wallpaper.html

5 Sketches for Identity/Workmark Mark Logo + 2 examples of color palette

cootie color pallettes and identitys

Against The Machine

CH.2

This section was about the marketing aims of the internet.
Not just e-commerce aspects, but also through creating a culture dependent on addicting material goods, services, and the perpetuation of those ideas. In chapter 2 I tend not to agree with his points because he immediately discounts the internet’s ability to spread information: spiritual and otherwise unless its backed by money-making motives. I think that he is actually limitinng the internet’s usefullness as he points out the overlooked aspects of the internet because he suggests success can only be managed in money (marketing) and forgets about “number of blog hits” as a form of success indicator.

cootiesCatcher Site MAp

Cootie Catcher

Based on the popular children’s game, this site will unlock your future in response to the viewer’s answers to: “pick a color” “pick a number” “pick another number” leading through the paper game interface to the viewers forseen fate.
This website will lead the viewers into a variety of different web treasure avenues via (links, and photos, videos and text…) There will be numerous paths (a new cootie catcher per the day or week or perhaps month), but each catcher will be a linked as they are kind of like a diary entry: my life via internet shenanigans, or a fictional character’s entry, or my best friend’s.
It will be interesting to translate the cootie catcher game into a paperless media, but if it is detailed enough, or engaging, I don’t think that the paperless environment will detract from the charm of the game. I think that the main influences to this idea are journals, blogs, delicious’ personal bookmark collections, fictional stories, and artifactual portraiture. (as this would be a virtual artifact portrait/journal/story)…
General Audience: web surfers, bloggers, creepers, people who enjoy hyper-text based interfaces, and probably primarily women because I am a female creating the content and the stuff I like, make, write about will probably be most interesting to someone like me.

http://www.etsy.com/

http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/

http://www.superbad.com/

Against The Machine

Intro+CH1

suggests Internet as an isolator, a man-soul imitator, time traveler, and yet–a source of community…feeding lonely souls via e/commerce, myspace and search engines.We’re Alone Together: Evolution of technology affects the evolution of human social interaction and the easier life gets, the less responsibility, commitment and challenges befall mankind making us more susceptible to violence, perversion, and self destruction. Siegel’s Intro and first chapter reminds me of Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E ’s depiction of future humans–fat and actually devolved as they rely on computers and robots for EVERYTHING.I guess Siegel’s saying that convience (despite obvious advantages) comes at the price of evolving intelligence and the further development of the human mind (socially and intellectually). I can’t say that I fully agree with him, but his criticisms are very plausible.