Monday, March 29, 2010

Critical Mass Media

This past month has just been fantastic with my degree project. I feel like I'm actually making a difference which I wasn't completely satisfied with last semester in visual advocacy. I'm starting to think this would be a viable path that I would be willing to investigate even further after I graduate. I think the aspect of being connected to the cycling community as my audience along with motorist and focusing on the outside environment specifically makes it seem like what I'm doing isn't work anymore but a calling to take action for what I'm passionate about. Not that I don't enjoy sitting at the computer all day everyday... but seeing how my work really holds up whether its a rude awakening or a thrill of excitement to the mass is the true test. Maybe I overlook this when it comes to previous work I've done because little of it was published to be seen to the mass and start that dialogue outside of the design building.

On another note I wanted to share some links that have taken note of the KC cycling scene along with my projects for my degree.

http://www.kcfreepress.com/news/2010/mar/29/kc-critical-mass/

http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2010/03/matt_urlaub_mystery_man_behind_main_street_bike_art.php



I think visual advocacy should be taught to the whole school.

- 46 more days till graduation and 46 things to resolve. This is going to be great.

- If your bikes not locked up you better be riding it because it is beautiful outside!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

DP: MIDTERM

At this point in my degree project my experiments have lead me down a path interesting ways of finding ways to create a system to encourage cycling as alternative form of transportation while also providing information in my own personal tone. from the begining I didn't strive for a traditional form of communication and feel this has informed my project and audience on a deeper level. Riding a bike is a personal choice and shouldn't be forced upon someone in an authoritative way. Keeping this in mind I've explored how illustration along with statistics can create a poetic and unique experience to persuade people to follow proper cycling habits without losing the recreational aspect I am personally attached to. Some experiments included miniature cards, valentines cards, event posters, as well as a guerilla billboard. From these I received vital feedback to develop a consistent identity to strengthen my message.





Beyond the design though, communicating directly with cyclist, bike shops and listening to views about my topic played an important role in how my project reached its current state and the conclusion of the overall design system. Making connections help expose and produce a greater awareness about my project. The real success along with seeing more people out riding is the people who see me working or in the process of installing a project come up to me and are inspired by what I'm making. I recently have done an interview with the pitch and met with the Missouri Bike Federations to discuss thoughts on the cycling community. From here I think what I want to do to conclude this campaign is revisit some of the experiments I did previously but fabricate them in a sustainable way to maintain the awareness. Another way of maintaining this project is making it identifiable by giving it a name and brand attributes. These are some examples of what I currently am developing.


Along with this identity I will conclude this project by making some form of publication that houses my system while also sharing ideas, experiences, and advice in efforts to promote a better bicycling commute and community. This is something all my projects can contribute to in some form to express my overall problem and solution and hopefully will become useful to the general public. ~keep calm move along!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

SEX_CAR SHOW

I had the opportunity to check out the 2010 car show and boy was I impressed. I'm not a big car fan but I really enjoyed this experience. Maybe because design played a major roll in everything there. From the time lapse of the set up to promotional materials. It was overwhelming to be surrounded by so many pretty objects. Cars that looked like bat mobiles with contours you have to see in person. I did get to sit in my favorite car ( 07 Rx8 ) even though it was a 2010. I was kinda bummed though because it was completely stock, but hey it was still pretty radical. So for the actually task of finding something Practical, Persuasive, and Poetic at the car show I came across plenty of examples. Many of them were a mix of all three so I guess my examples might be more literal to each one.

Practical- I chose this photo because the lighting of an object is always an important component to displaying something, especially items worth big bucks.. gotta make them shine under good lighting. just look at the quality of the photographs too (NO FLASH).

Poetic- This is one of the first things I seen when I was at the car show and definitely felt they were telling a storying and tried to put you in the mood of these historical cars. Kind of cheesy but I got the idea. Maybe if they had real models like the price is right or something along those lines it would have been EPIC!

Persuasive- OK. um. wow. almost every dealer had someone persuading the audience with all their great features. Along with informational motion graphics this guy was trying his hardest so I gotta say it got my attention. Maybe if I was interested in actually buying a vehicle I would have stuck around longer but the truth of it is I have to WORK to make money first so I'm going to get back to work!