Blog That Assignment 5

Lighting for the WAM group project was an interesting challenge for our cabinet.  Obviously it needed some lighting to show off the merchandise, but what would work best?  We looked at rechargeable battery lights, but the battery was too large and the wiring to hide it wouldn't work.  Then there were lights that could be plugged in, but that made for positioning the cabinet difficult and limiting.  So our final solution was to bring as much transparency to the piece as possible to use the light which is already in the space.  The clear top lets in the light and the opaque shelves help to diffuse the light around the items within.  Our hopes is that when placed in the right positions the light will help blend the cabinet with the museum, but also display the merchandise well.

Blog That Assignment 4

For the WAM project I believe that the design principles and elements show themselves in a more defined way.  Whilst the other groups are more extravagant in their representations ours needs to be more applicable and therefore have solid principles and elements.

Rhythm - Our current design breaks the rhythm of the piece with almost complete asymmetrical elements.  Doors, top, hand holds, bolts.

Balance - Both visually and physically this piece is somewhat unbalanced, but the cabinet will remain sturdy.  Materials, weight, design elements.

Emphasis - This will be brought to both the cabinet itself and the merchandise within through the colors and features we use.  Color, materials, lighting.

Unity - As a whole the repeating elements will bring unity to this object.  Materials, color, shapes, proportion.

Proportion - Almost human sized, the piece will fit well within the desired space.  Dimensions, design, materials.

Line - Mixture of curved and straight, there will be a good balance between the two.

Color - Wood birch, WAM green, nickle, clear.  Almost natural with a hint of industry.

Shape - Waves and squared edges.  Rigid and flowing at the same time.

Texture - Smooth materials and polished surfaces, although same may look rougher than others.

Form - Cabinet of course, shelving, doors, cutouts, wheels, drawers, and bolts.

Space - Inside and outward, the space is defined inside as it is in the space it resides in.

Food and Other Inspirations - Dining Out: The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot is my all time favorite restaurant.  I have personally eaten there many times and at several locations.  The specialize in high class fondue meals.  A typical meal has many options, but usually starts with a cheese fondue course, then a salad (not the ordinary of course), an entree course, and then a chocolate fondue dessert.  Unfortunately I didn't take many photos that bring this meal justice, but here are a few.

Pictured here is one of their salads, this one with shrimp, citrus, and pineapple.  The second picture has a glimpse of some of the entree items.  The third is an overview of a few of the delicious sauces that make everything so good.  I think everyone should try this restaurant even though it is a bit pricey.  Oh, and don't do the oil, do the mojo...  You'll see.

201 Blog Assignment 3

So for this weeks assignment post I'm supposed to talk about our speeches last week.  In short I do think that the group did well as a whole.  There were of course some better than others, but then again some people have done a lot more speaking than others.  And then there was the way we did our speeches.  I really enjoyed the constant rotation of the speakers and the ease of flow it allowed.  I think that it helped those who might have been a bit more uneasy with the spotlight directly on them.  One thing from that which needed help though was the introduction transitions.

At first I believe everyone was confused on the assignment.  Its not often that speech's are given so much freedom.  I was able to come up with a theory to base my speech on, and as Patrick pointed out, it became a well balanced analytical point.

For this speech I did not go to the speaking center.  Because of their policies on time frames I wasn't sure if they would accept me.  But I had a fairly good idea of what I would talk about in my speech.  Anyways, the speaking center workshops were able to give me some good ideas and techniques for my speech. 

I have done some small speeches before, but as always there is some nervousness, it takes forever to get to you, and then its over too quickly it seems once you talk.

201 Blog Assignment 2

For this assignment I wanted to have fun with some of the ideas in my head.  Several of the photos I shot in DC were of the Capital building which is massive.  So I began to think about other massive objects, but I wanted something that made sense being in the picture.

 

So I chose Godzilla!

Credit: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/godzilla/images/894438/title/godzilla-photo

The first step was to layer the Godzilla picture on top of the Capital one.  Then carefully erase on the Godzilla layer until it's background and bottom were gone.  After this step the picture was ok, but it needed something more.  It needed a hero.

Enter Mishka!  Mine and my fiance's new pet cat.

So then Mishka was layered on top of the other two pictures.  The transform tool was used to angle his picture.  Then his background was also erased to only show the background of the Capital.  After this I thought that the sky should be darker for this epic battle.  Using the gradient tool a layer above the Capital the sky was darkened without altering Godzilla or Mishka.  Then on another layer above Mishka the polygonal lasso tool was used to give him laser beam eyes to help fight off Godzilla.  And finally the hazy brush tool was used to highlight his eyes and the beams.

And so the Capital Building and DC was saved!