P'unk Avenue Window

Today will be a day to go over everybody’s instructables project documentation and to reflect back on the first half of the semester. We will be meeting individually with you for the second half of the class period. We are also going to give noogies to Jared Delorenzo, Tim Peet, and Tom Reynolds for doing work, getting publicity for it, but not capitalizing on attribution. We saw the Eames hack project all over the internet a year and a half ago, but never got to know the perpetrators. Without a link back, publicity becomes a deadend.

Over break you will be submitting your final project documentation as actual Instructables entries. Some of you have already done so.

You will also have the opportunity to flesh out your wordpresses— documenting previous projects, current studio work, and personal accomplishments. As designers we often find ourselves playing the dual role of author, creating content and backstory for our work. For the next class you will be filling in that backstory. Your About Page should provide information ABOUT you. You should get credit for your work, building leverage with each new opportunity.

As an aside, those interested in the world of Graphic Design can supplement this week with a reading from Design Observer about the often subtle role design plays in our lives. Remember, we are available at any time to discuss visual design concerns.

Week 6

READ:

• What’s In A Name? by Steven Heller, Director of the Design Authorship Program at SVA
• A Layperson’s Guide to Graphic Design by Adrian Shaughnessy - Recommended, but not required.

WATCH:

• Achieving an Absolute Aesthetic by our own Rick Banister. Some of you watched part of this last week. We’ll be showing it in the second section today.

CREATE:

• Your instructable. If you haven’t done so already, take your revised project documentation and create actual entries on the Instructables site. Get some eyes on your project by participating in the Instructables community.

• More refinements to your blog. By the time you get back from spring break, there should be no more Hello Worlds or default About descriptions. Use your real names.

COMMENT:

• Post your thoughts on the readings to your own blog. Write as if you have an audience other than us. As if maybe next week you’ll be linked on Gizmodo or Wired.

Posted in IDES 322