NY Times by Claire Cain Miller

The blog discusses Verve Wireless, and how it offers newspaper publishers to make their paper accessible on cell phones. Since May - 728 newspapers have joined.“Mobile is actually a better way to reach people than print or even Web. It’s versatile, immediate, travels and is just as compelling–if it’s done right–as a Web site or a printed page.”Of the 95 million mobile Internet subscribers, 40 million actively use their phones to go online, double the number two years ago.

Seth Godin's Blog

Contains a link to a website for a web design company that is only one page. Seth states that having boundaries can sharpen the mind, while the designers behind the site state that their work is refined, simple, and works.

Design Observer, John Thackara

The blog discusses that although it is a good thing to reach out and help poverty ridden countries, often times, we can learn from them, more than they can help us. An example he gives is in a small town in India, where he witnessed farmers feeding chickens what appeared to be grain. It turns out the chickens were eating the maggots around the grain, so the grain could be cleaned and sold. When the author looked online about cleaning grain, he found the first link was to a high tech grain cleaner, that was clunky and less practical than using chickens.

A huge development industry measures progress in terms of economic growth and increased consumption. This industry often assumes without question that urbanization and transport intensity are signs of progress. But, as another example, the author describes a hotel project lead by Giorgi Armani that would displace 500,000 fisherman natives."millions of people are expelled to the margins of fruitful existence in the name of someone else's progress."

The author states that designing a poster about an issue, or launching a media campaign about it, is not the same as helping real people, in real places, change a material aspect of their everyday reality. The follow through, the distribution of a a product meant to help, along with training and maintenance are even more important. 

The author reinforces that we can learn from those in poverty stricken areas, and the best solution is to combine aspects from both sides. 

Core 77 - Mark Vanderbeeken

What change are designers making? 

Core 77 - Mark Vanderbeeken

Does reading on the Internet promote or hinder literacy? 

articles week 4

NY Times...Nick Currie


a look at 5,000 years of chairs in a 5 minute video. Images that may be considered imperfect, but are still enjoyable.


Seth Godin's blog

review of the pixar movie Wall -E. says that it is not your normal Pixar movie - it has little dialogue, no bad guy, and no violence. He states that is not 90 minutes of commerce but a good movie, that will make a lot of money anyways. "Marketing isn't always about pandering to the masses and shooting for the quick payoff. Often, the best marketing doesn't feel like marketing at all."

The Design Blog.org - by Asmita

A cardboard house designed to be used after natural emergencies, such as the earthquake in China. It comes in two boxes, that weigh 41 kg, and can last up to 6 months and can fit 5 people.

The Design Sponge

A surge protector that shows that even technology can be pretty.

ColourLovers - by evad

The color palettes from this post are inspired by classic video games for Atari. "While technology may have limited the color palettes of some of the first, and most popular, video games, their colors are no less influential on modern game design and culture as a whole, and an important part to any design is its packaging." The author states that usually the packaging was misleading, and the games weren't nearly as colorful.

articles week three

sawatdee ka - hello from thailand! I am out of the country for class this week, but here are links to the blogs I've found...

not entirely design, but in honor of thailand...

blog from new york times, By ROBERT TURNBULL
Thais want to set up a museum that loans artifacts to the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, which is lacking in historical pieces.“We want to educate Cambodian people about their own history,” said the museum’s managing director, Sunaree Wongpiyabovorn. There are those “who know little about its monuments, and even less of the progress of Buddhism and what led up to it,” she added.


web tips

blog from sethgodin.typepad.com, by SETH GODIN
This blog discusses simple changes to make websites more user friendly:
--put USA above Afghanistan on your country pull down list
--make it so clicking on your logo takes me back to your home page
He then suggests that corporate sites hire a pro to:(for a generous hourly fee),
--set up analytics for a website and do weekly reports (by email) that are actually useful and actionable.
He states that $200 an hour is reasonable.



grow green

blog from The designblog.org, by Idealist
This blog talks about a business card used by a gardening company that contains a seed in the card that the consumer can plant to grow their own plant. The basic idea behind this product is to be able to grow plants anywhere and everywhere thus helping even ordinary citizens make a difference to global environmental problems. I liked the idea of reusability in design.




parsons id annual design review

a look at parsons pick for contemporary designs from THE DESIGN SPONGE.
I plan on checking this out when I get back in the country


blog from colourlovers.com, by Evad
article talks abotu how colors in nature were not good enough, so scientists created more colors by mutating genes. hey can also be used as pollution indicators.

articles week 2

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/technology/personaltech/26basics.html
The article discusses the expanding collections of fonts available online for users to customize. Users are not limited to font libraries, but can create their own fonts on sites such as www.fontstruct.com. Other options include having your handwriting customized into a typeface for around $200. These options are not being used by just designers, but by scrapbook fanatics, historical re-enactors, and restaurants.

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/archives/2008/06/the_10_commandm.html

In this article, reputable design figures came up with a list of important concepts to follow while design websites. The list includes attention to typography, content, and immersion in experience. The list says to not overwhelm the viewer with advertising and clutter.

the design blog
design sponge
colourlovers
In the Colors of Corosion from colourlovers.com; there are beautiful images of rust and corrosion and the colors that result from the chemical reaction. It goes on to give color palettes and RGB profiles. The article was written by Evad, and was written to show that inspiration can come from anywhere, and that destruction can be beautiful. "Rust can be a humbling reminder of the passing of time and the fragility of humans and their creations, like seeing rust appear on the edges of your first bike." To go on and give multiple examples of color combinations is extremely helpful to not only designers, but every day people who may be painting their houses.