25 March 2009

INFOARCH: wurman reading response

How did this reading effect or change your understanding of viewpoint on the project readings?

It makes me want to create a really rich experience for the viewer, not just based on the text, but incorporating lots of visual examples, etc, to enhance their perception. I feel like the essays we chose bring to the table the necessary basis for understanding, but we don't have any material to apply it to. I am going to seek out thought provoking examples that relate to each essay to bring it to life even more, and allow the information to do its job: to get our brains thinking.

After reading Wurman's essay, please make a post on your blog about your chosen essays:
Why did you choose them?

I chose to work with the branding essays because I feel like it has a lot of potential to inform my own design decisions in the future. Knowing about branding, what people think about it, and how it effects us are all key areas of information that will propel designers further into the field. I also found it very thought provoking that one side feels that brands are complete lies and take advantage of their consumers, while on the other side, they feel that brands are the source of reliability and trust. I just think that's an interesting comparison... I wonder if they are looking at the same kinds of brands?

Do you agree or disagree with point of their essays? Why?

I agree and disagree with different aspects of each. It is true that brands originated as a way to keep consumers coming back for more, because they knew that they were receiving quality products, but I can also see where Naomi Klein is coming from when she says that brands have progressed in recent history to something very far beyond that quality guarantee. There is so much more competition these days, that brands need to go the excessive in order to be recognized... even if that means selling a lie. Unfortunately, it works for a lot of people.

What possibilities do you foresee for designing, comparing and contrasting the two?

These essays are in direct opposition to each other, down to specific points, so it would be nice to be able to point those sections out in direct comparison. There are a few moments where they reference each other, and other areas where they kind of go into their own thing, so this could be approached in a lot of different ways. I want to keep the typography very large and direct in the web design though, since branding is all about getting seen.

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