Australian Top Ten Logos (LAST BLOG!!!!!!) :)

1.  Qantas

The Qantas logo is definitely a recognisable Australian logo. Qantas is by far the most famous and iconic Australian airline throughout the world. I think the simple design is what makes it work so well and so memorable.  The triangle shape that fits perfectly onto the tail of the plane where it is to be displayed as well as the incorporation of one of our most famous native animals. The single use of red is also very strong and bold to make it stand out and memorable. The Qantas logo has stayed one of our most popular over a long period of time, with it only being slightly modernised, proving that it works.

 

2. Television Channels

Our most popular television channels 7,9,10 and ABC are all recognisable Australian logos. They have been slightly modified every now and then over the years to rejuvenate the brand and stay modern yet their basic design has always stayed the same. Because everyone watches so much tv, they are obviously easily recognisable.

 

3. AFL

The AFL logo is definitely one of the most popular Australian logos. It is considered by many to be our national sport. Although it is less popular in NSW and QLD which are more NRL base, it is still know up there. I think it is so popular simply because of the love and popularity of the game rather than the logo design itself. The design is still strong and recognisable though. The shape of it represents a sherin but could also be seen as the oval that they play on.

 

4. Australian Made

The Australian Made logo is a lot more recognised now I think because since the last decade (I’m estimating, not entirely sure), people have been more concerned about buying Australian made and keeping money and jobs in Australia. It is now a big focus on a lot of products out there so the consumers know whether they are buying a truly Australian product. The green and gold colours are well known Australian colours in sport so using them gives it more of the Australian feel.

 

5. Holden

The Holden logo is definitely an Australian favourite. It is one of our countries most favourite car brands. Everyone who cares or knows about cars is either a holden or a ford lover and the V8 racing is a big sporting competition in Australia. The design hasn’t really been changed over the years which shows how iconic it is. The one colour of red creates a strong impact and relates to cars because red is apparently related to driving fast.

 

6.Commonwealth Bank

The commonwealth bank of Australia is one of our biggest banks. Their logo is a simple diamond shape using only two colours, gold and black. It has a very corporate look which is obviously what is needed for a bank. I think it is so recognisable because it is such a large company and one of our biggest banks. Because they are so popular, they haven’t needed to change the logo or rejuvenate the image.

 

7. ANZ

The anz bank is another one of out biggest banks. Their logo is simple, being just their name.  They have recently updated their logo to show their ‘human side’.  I think by simply using their name as the logo makes it more recognisable and easy to remember. Also, like  the Commonwealth Bank the fact that the company is so popular makes the logo so recognisble.

 

8. Coles

Coles is one of our biggest supermarkets so it has a very recognisable logo. The design is also simple, just a circle shape with line cut out shapes. The name is next to it. Red is the primary colour of the logo.  Now the logo includes a tick with a circle around it and the slogan save everyday. This is because low prices and saving is an important message to their clients.

 

9. Woolworths

The Woolworths logo has recently been updated. I think this is because all the Safeway stores in Victoria are now Woolworths so they wanted a new branding look. The new look has a shape that looks like a W for Woolworths as well as an apple as they are ‘the fresh food people’. I like the new logo as it’s more modern and it relates to the freshness more. It also looks more modern from the tones and 3D appearance.

 

10. Telstra

The Telstra logo is definitely a prominent Australian logo. It is simply the word Telstra in blue with a orange oval on an angle under the T. I don’t find this logo to be very interesting and think it is a bit outdated but I think because it has been around for so long that it has become to well known.

 

Looking at all these logos, I think what makes them all so memorable is that they are simple and clear. If they were complicated I don’t think people would like them and remember them so much.

Monash Exhibition

I was really looking forward to seeing this exhibition as it was a great opportunity to see what work people doing the degree version of our course are producing. (I also wanted to go as I had friends who were in it so I wanted to see their work)

I was a little disappointed in the exhibition in the end as I would have liked to see more variety of design work. I know the students were given the topic to explore but it would have been more interesting to see more than a poster and book. It wasn’t as graphic and ‘designy’ (not a word I know) as I thought it would be. Most of the work was very minimalistic and plain, which was nice but it would have been good to see something more interesting. It was good however to see the various ways that the books were bound as it gave me ideas for my folio. Some of the books were beautifully bound and used really nice papers.

I also really liked the multimedia room as I saw some cool stuff they have made and some new things they can do with the programs. I really liked the touch screen stuff they did with flash, it was pretty cool to see as we had done flash earlier in the year even if it was only the basics.

I liked the fine art exhibition also. I’m not sure what part it was for but it was where they had decorated and set up a room into a theme. Some of them were really cool, like the one that had the walls covered in bright paper and pictures. I was also looking at some of the photography which was really good and I got to see the print media stuff which is what my friend was doing. Personally I’m not that creative in a fine art way where I can think of these topics and explore them in creative ways through different mediums and installations, so I really appreciate and admire what they have done and how they have explored these topics and ideas.

One thing that I didn’t like about the set up was that there were hardly any signs around. Yes there were signs outside the doors of each room telling you what subject was inside but there weren’t signs directing you to where all the rooms were or to where the fine arts exhibition was. Obviously it was in the fine arts building but if, like myself, you had no idea where you were going it wasn’t very helpful. I ended up getting lost and dragging poor Lauren around trying to find it.

Overall, this exhibition wasn’t as good as I expected but I did get a few good ideas and pointers from it. I enjoyed the multimedia and fine arts more than the graphics part of the exhibition.

Mothers Art

Mothers Art is a art based company located in Spotswood, although they are soon moving to South Melbourne (i think this is what he said). Mothers art focuses on design and construction to create 3D art and sculptures. Some of their work has been made for zoos, museum’s, cities and councils, theatre events, and corporate and retail. They do work for Australia as well as New Zealand.

One thing that has enabled Mothers Art to remain over the years and still have such a strong client base is their ability to change with the trends. Mothers Art first started out mainly doing advertising as Australian ads needed to be made locally. However, the laws changed and there was less work so Mothers Art changed their direction which they continued to do over the years and are still a successful business. Depending on how busy they are and what the economic situation is depends on how many people are employed there. Over the years it has changed depending on these factors.

When we were looking through their design proposals upstairs I recognised some of their work like the Christmas decorations that they had done for the city. It was a good opportunity to see a proper design proposal and how they present them to clients. I’m sure we will need to do one in our career to that will help. They also gave us some good advice on job hunting and work experience. He told us it was good to just go and see people to get our names out there as most people don’t advertise these days for jobs. He sees lots of folios throughout the year and had some good recommendations. I hadn’t really thought about a place like this for employment but now see it as a good opportunity to gain some experience in a different area. This wasn’t my favourite outing that we’ve been on but I definitely got some good pointers from them.

Transformations

Transformations is a exhibition by the graduating students of the certificate IV in interactive digital media. Students have created work that combines traditional media with new media. I found the exhibition to be quite interesting in the work produced and how they did it. At first I was unsure on how some of the large canvas works were created as they looked computerized as well as painted. I was told by someone that photoshop is used on an image and then its printed onto canvas. They then have the option of painting over this as well. I really liked this technique as it looked both realistic like a photo from afar and when upclose you can see the painted detail.

My favourite work was number 60, called Foxes in the Chook House. I really loved the abstract appearence and colours in the piece. I thought that the angles of the shapes in perspective with the blocks of colours gave it an unusual appearence combined with the trees and wolves. The trees and wolves made it seem dark and gloomy like you were in a scary forest. I think that the scale of the work also greatly helped the effect of the piece. If it was smaller, it wouldn't have the same impact.

I also liked the tank work called 'Not of this World'. I have never seen anything like this before and thought it was a really interesting way to create something. I'm not sure how they did this and it would be interesting to find out. It created a sort of illusion in seeing the woman. I like the colours of the blue and greens. I dont really understand what this piece means but visually it looks great.

Another piece I liked was the one of the muslim women with different buildings in the background i think. I can't remember what number this is so I'm not sure what it is called but I found this to be very stiking and bold. The women in the forground, being so large creates a very strong and bold impact.

I found the variety of mediums, and work on display to be interesting and I learnt new ways to create art.

Walker Street Gallery

I went during the afternoon instead of the 6.30 opening as I wasn’t going to be able to make it. The current exhibition featuring works by Peter Biram and Peter Rowe is running from November 2- 25. Both artists have an abstract style to their works but use completely different mediums.

Peter Biram’s work used oil paint as the medium on large scale canvas. The work showing is an exploration of the theme land ownership and usage within an environmental framework. The work came from a visit to the Murray River and deals with the water shortage crisis and the Black Saturday bushfires. His works had a very abstract style, combining thick paint to create a crazy/messy look and well as smooth areas blending colours together. This helps with his investigation between order and chaos.

My favourite piece of Biram’s was ‘Black Saturday landscape regrowth’ which was the first painting. I thought that the colours he had used were beautiful and loved how he mixed all of the warm colours like red, purple and pink together. The yellow and orange dots looked like scattered leaves blowing in the wind but also thought maybe they were meant to represent the ferocious fire and strong winds that made it spread so quickly. You could see the aboriginal influence and exploration he was using with all the dots. There were also a few others paintings that I liked. One of them was ‘Tidal river landscape with vapour trial’. It showed the trees on the riverbank reflecting in the water.

Peter Rowe’s series called ‘Torn’, used paper, coloured pencil and photographic images on acrylic paint. Rowe deconstructed photos by cutting them into circles and rearranged them to produce abstract pieces. The series uses geometric shapes combined with torn edges to create this abstract feel. I wasn’t as keen on these pieces as I didn’t understand what the meaning behind them was. Because of this I found I was less interested and focused more on Biram’s work.

I enjoyed this exhibition as I found the work to be interesting as they were different. I preferred Peter Biram’s works as I found them to be more interesting and I loved the strong use of colour and dots to create the imagery.

SORRY THE PHOTOS ARE SIDEWAYS

Peter Biram's 'Environmental reflections with undertones of possible disaster'

Black Saturday landscape growth, oil on canvas, 2009

Tidal River landscape with vapour trial, oil on canvas, 2009

Peter Rowe's 'Torn'

more howard arkley work

Here are some more of Howard Arkley's works

Some work and artists that I like

Howard Arkley was an Australian artist who reproduced images of Australian suburbia showing how it can be beautiful and artistic. He used airbrushing to create these. He also used patterns and bright bold colours which I like as they remind me of the pop culture period. He was also heavily into the party and drug scene in Australian music. He produced pictures of musicians in some of his works too.

Andy Warhol- I love Warhols work. I like how he used everyday objects and turned them into art. He was critisised by the art world for this but proved them all wrong when pop art became an influential art movement.

Gilbert and George- I like their work because they use the bright colours like in pop art. I also like their grid system that they use to make up and seperate their works.

Typolution

Typolution is a 3 minute video made by Olivier Beaudoin. The clip uses type only to create its imagery and message. It explores the evolution of our natural world and the destruction of it caused by pollution. Beaudoin has used punctuation and letters to create objects like clouds, trees, flowers, buildings and roads.

I liked this video as it is very apparent to the world we are living in now and what we have done and are doing to our earth. It also makes you think about these issues like climate change. I think the way typography has been used to create every aspect of the clip is very interesting and effective. It shows how you can use various methods to get a message out. It also showed me how graphic design can be used as a way of sort of discussing a serious issue in our society. The music also contributed to the mood of the video and making the viewer think. Music is a very important tool as it can help to change your opinion and feelings instantly.

This video was interesting to watch, just to see another creative way to use typography. I find it good to look at things like this as it can help me with future projects in making creative new designs.

Salvador Dali- NGV

I went to see the Salvador Dali exhibition with my friends in August. I studied him during studio arts in high school so I was looking forward to seeing his works in person. I enjoy going to see the exhibitions at NGV as the work is obviously amazing but I love the way that they curate them also. Each room has a theme or relates to a period in time. My favourite exhibition I’ve seen here is the Art Deco one last year but I also really enjoyed the Guggenheim one too.

When I was younger I never really appreciated going to see works like this and found it boring. I wouldn’t spend the time to really look at the artwork. Now though I love looking at old classic pieces. I find it truly amazing how some of these works can be hundreds of years old yet the colours are still so vibrant like they have been painted recently. One thing I appreciate about these works is the detail that was put into them, especially considering the lack of advancements they had compared to now. Nowadays with the whole ‘contemporary art’ everyone seems to just go for the abstract ‘modern’ look. I’m sure there are still people out there with the talent like past artists, but unfortunately we never hear or see them any more – or I don’t at least. I think if you can paint like they used to then you really do have amazing talent. Personally I’m not that into the whole abstract look of things.

Back to the Dali exhibition, it was great that they showed a range of work from paintings, drawings, fashion and jewellery to film. The work went through the various stages of his career when he explored surrealism, and subject matter like love, religion, science and the land.

My favourite room was the jewellery room as I loved the classic, intricate designs of the pieces but also I just loved the look of it. It was dark with walls lined with padded red velvet creating a very intimate, elegant and high class feel. The pieces were displayed in little black velvet lined, glass fronted boxes helping to provide the intimate feeling. Other rooms had beautiful vintage wallpaper which also created an elegant feeling.

Another work I enjoyed was a Disney film that Dali had done the artwork for. I simply liked it because the music playing was the type they had in old Disney films like Snow White and Peter Pan so it reminded me of them. One controversial work on display was Dali’s film ‘Un Chien Andalou’ made with Luis Bunuel. It is a 16 minute silent film which was controversial because some of the scenes in it, one where they use a knife to cut a women’s eye open. I remember in school, they had to ask permission to be able to show it to us.

I really loved and appreciated this exhibition and wished I had made a time to go back again as it was so busy when I went to see it. I do wish however that they had shown more of his surreal art which is what I knew him for. I really liked these pieces as I found it fascinating how he created them and included hidden images like magic eye where it depends on who and how you look at them as to what you see. Here are some pictures I found on the internet, some of which were taken by a photographer, Marcus Bunyan for the event.

Slave market with apparition of the invisiblebust of Voltaire, 1940

Shot from the film 'Un Chien Andalou' 1928

Bleeding world, pendant 1953 made from gold, rubies, pearls, diamonds

McClelland Gallery

Ron Mueck created his ‘Wild Man’ sculpture in 2005 and sold it in 2008. I don’t really go to sculpture exhibitions so it was good to see something different. The sculpture ‘Wild Man’ was pretty amazing considering the size and detail of it. I was surprised as how realistic it looked. Everything from the skin tones, hair, expressions to the veins looked perfect. You could even see and imagine the pressure being put on the feet and hands. When you looked at the face of the sculpture, you could see the scared, uneasy look as if we had just walked in on him and he was embarrassed. The size of this piece is obviously what grabs your attention first. I wasn’t expecting the sculpture to be so large and obviously this portrays a strong presence in the room creating the awkward feeling even more. I think that is why Mueck created it so big. Not only to show off the amazing detail but to engage us as viewers in the scene and experience. One thing I appreciate the most about this piece is the amazing amount of work that Mueck has put in. It would’ve taken forever to create something like this with this amount of detail. I personally know I would be able to work this long on something as I would get so frustrated and over it.

I really enjoyed looking at all of the sculptures around the gardens. They were all so unusual and abstract. I didn’t really understand the meaning behind them but thought they looked great and interesting too. I liked the ones made of fake grass as they reminded me of Edward Scissorhands, and the one with all of the rocks hanging from wire to create a pattern. The one with the rocks would have been difficult to construct because all of the wires would have to line up correct. Some of the sculptures like the red sticks layed out on the ground and the cage type one I didn’t like and thought they were a bit pointless. Personally I don’t see how laying red painted sticks on the ground in a pattern is very remarkable.

I really enjoyed this exhibition especially looking at all of the sculptures in the gardens. Some of them were really interesting and it gave me a new appreciation of sculpture.

The Dwelling

The Dwelling was an exhibition on display at ACCA. I had never been here before and didn’t know that it existed. When I first went into the exhibition I was unsure of what it was about. It was a very dark exhibition so the first time I walked through I found it to be a bit confusing with all the dark corridors and curtains. Once the educational began to explain to us about the exhibition and how all of the artists were exploring another side of the topic ‘the dwelling’ it began to make more sense. When she asked us what we think of the topic the main answers were all about homes. The artists however were looking at it from a different perspective and looking at the dwelling as a spooky, dark and mysterious subject.

My favourite work was ‘Opera for a small room’ 2005 by Janet Cardiff and George Bures-Miller. I liked this work because it engaged you more than others which were just film. I also liked the how the artists found all of these records with the name R.Dennehy on them and designed the room as to what they imagine his room may look like. I find this type of art intriguing as it is though we are looking in on someones life or how the artists imagined it. I also like how this is their vision and R.Dennehy’s real room would most likely be completely different. By making us able to walk around and look in from different angles enabled us to feel engaged in the experience with all the lights and music. I think what made me like this the most was the music and light show plus being able to feel engaged in the piece.

Other pieces I liked were ‘House II: the great artesian basin’ and ‘Talo (the house)’. House II reminded me of a scene in Jamuji. I didn’t really understand the meaning behind it but I just liked the video of it. At first I didn’t like ‘Talo’ but once it was explained that the lady in it had a mental illness, I found it to be very intriguing.

I found this exhibition to be one of the better ones we have seen as it was different and the subject was darker than others. It also engaged you more and I found I had to think about what it was about more.

Roger Ballan

Brutal, Tender, Human, Animal- Monash Gallery of Art

Roger Ballen’s exhibition Brutal, Tender, Human, Animal is showing at the Monash Gallery of Art from 4 September until 1 November. The photography ranges from work made in 1983 to 2007. His work is described as unsettling, beautiful, tender and often brutal. Shaune Lakin, Director of the MGA states "Roger Ballen is one of the world's most important photographers. As with all great
works of art, Ballen's photographs are at once beautiful and challenging: they raise serious questions about ethics and social responsibility, class and race. This is a rare opportunity to see some of the most powerful images produced in our lifetime."

Ballen’s photographs document his experience of South African fringe dwellers. Ballan was trained as a geologist and taught himself photography as a hobby. He began to photograph the houses and people he met while looking for potential mining sites in the 1970’s. He travelled to some of the poorest areas where he saw the lonely, isolated characters of the area, which people in the cities chose to ignore. Ballan’s work explores the ‘depth and nuances of …what it means to be a human animal, driven by a range of fitful and barely understood forces’. It moves from documenting the world outside to an imaginary world within.

I thought some Ballan’s work was quite confronting especially the second room. I found it difficult to understand most of his later works in the second room as they were very unusual. The lady who spoke to us said something that I thought was very true however, ‘art is not always about beauty’. I think this was a great point as most people believe art is meant to be a beautiful but sometimes art needs to be shocking to grab people’s attention and make them notice what’s going on in the world.

All of his works seem very bleak, with the message not obvious at first -or that is what I thought. Some of his works included 'man shaving on verandah', Western Transvaal, 1986, and 'Dresie and Casie, twins', Western Transvaal, 1993. 'Man shaving on verandah' showed a old, poor, starving man sitting on the steps of an old building with rubbish scattered around him. When I saw this you could obviously see that he was trying to show how these people live in the dorps but it was hard to tell if there was another meaning behind it. 'Dresie and Casie' was a photo that disturbed many people. Most didn’t like it and didn’t want to look at it. I didn't find it that disturbing because I didn't really understand it.

I liked part of this exhibition, the first room as I was able to understand it more. The second room I didn’t like because the photos were a lot more unusual and some of the subject matter was really creep. Overall, I thought this exhibition was pretty good considering some of the works were a bit disturbing.

The Offering

THE OFFERING

The exhibition ‘The Offering’ was definitely not what I was expecting. I had looked on the website and seen that it was in an old church but I didn’t realise that it was going to be a sculpture/installation art exhibition. When we walked into the building I was very surprised by what I saw with all the floors ripped up and the strips of the wall lay across the floor. I didn’t understand the artwork at all and didn’t really see how it would interest people to come and see this.

While watching the video that accompanied the artwork, the artist began to talk about using the idea of layers to create the artwork. Once he talked about this I began to understand a bit more his meaning behind the artwork. He said that by cutting away the carpet and cutting these panels out of the wall he was pulling back the layers that had been put on the building over the years from the various people who had used the building.

When the artist spoke to us, he further explained the meaning behind the artwork. He talked about his previous works and why he does what he does. I liked what he said about the building being 105 years old and that is the average oldest age you can live to. When you think about it like that, what is happening and what he is doing to the building is kind of symbolic to that.

The question of whether it is art or not depends on the person. Everyone has different opinions and what someone believes is art, someone else might think it isn’t. When I first saw the space, I didn’t really think it was art but after hearing the artist speak, I can understand how it is art just a different form of art that I’m not used to.

Overall, the exhibition is not something that I would be interested in seeing as it was a bit to unusual for me. However, after watching the video and listening to the artist, I can understand the meaning behind the artwork and what they are trying to show.

SLEEPER

The sleeper exhibition was a moving picture exhibition at Dandenong station. There were small screens placed around the station with videos playing of plant life. I didn’t like this exhibtion very much at all. I thought it was weird and kind of pointless. They spoke about how 10,000 people walk through everyday in peak hours alone but really, how many of them would actually stop and look at the screens. Most people wouldn’t even notice because they are in such a hurry to either get to work or go home.

Design Now

Design now is an annual exhibition running at Melbourne Museum. It showcases work from a range of graduate students from universities all over Australia. The exhibition shows design for studio practice, the body, the built environment, communication, the home and for industry. Students work was in a range of mediums from fashion and textiles to furniture and sculpture. Majority of the work was in abstract form.

Renata Carmichael from the University of Tasmania created the two furniture pieces; Pseudofelis Majestica (2008) and Canis Domesticus (2008) from the series ‘Animals in Furniture’. In these pieces, Carmichael was exploring and questioning the relationship between humans and animals. As you can tell from the furniture, she loves animals and is trying to bring them closer to the human domestic world. I think that from just looking further into the names you can see what she is trying to portray. The footstool is called Canis Domesticus, clearly saying it is meant to be a dog (canine) and she is trying to make it even more domesticated, more human. With the chaise lounge, the word majestica incorporated into the name clearly shows she wants it to be elegant like she said in her blurb.

I also liked the work ‘Your Threads Are Showing’ by Hannah Wight from the University of South Australia. When I saw this I found it to be really intriguing yet I found it difficult to understand until I read the blurb. I like how she is trying to challenge tradition and the so called ‘perfect design’. I think she shows it can still be beautiful while showing her individuality and taking the traditional practice further.

Some works I didn’t understand, like the fashion work by Harmony Lam. I found this to be very abstract and confusing. It didn’t really appeal to me at all, the weird shapes of the clothes and figures.

I liked the way the exhibition showed a range of abstract to more traditional art forms like with the ancient artefacts by Karla Way. It showed how everyone is inspired by different things, and we all have different creative ways of expressing our ideas.

From East To West

Liu Xiao Xian’s exhibition ‘From East to West’ at the RMIT gallery explored eastern and western culture and how Liu Xiao Xian fit into them. The gallery was set up in three rooms. I didn’t really like this as I felt it disconnected the work but obviously this is just the way the gallery is set up and can’t be helped. I also didn’t like how the work seemed to go backwards in chronological order when you viewed it. His oldest work was in the smallest room which was the one you saw last. I’m not sure if this was the intentional set up but I personally would have preferred to see his early works when there were the government problems in China and he became a refugee, before the others as I think this would have explained his story better.

My favourite work was ‘Our Gods’ created in 2000. The artwork was two large images of Jesus and Buddha made up of 18 panels of lambda prints; each being 300x 300 cm. Jesus’ faces is made up of thousands of tiny Buddha faces and vice versa for the Buddha image. I like the strong colours used in these works also. From looking at these two images, you can see the contrast between the two cultures. Buddha is smiling, like he always is, and Jesus is looking sad obviously as this is an image of him being crucified. The contrast is the views and outlook from the two different cultures and how their followers live their lives.

I also liked the artwork ‘Lock’ made in 1990. This was a series of a photo, mainly in black and white and sepia tones, but also incorporated blues and oranges in them. The photos showed a face with the eye and mouth stitched shut. This was representing him being silenced at the time in China when the communist Mao was in charge. I thought the way he made this artwork was very meaningful as it shows his pain and frustration at the time in China. It must have been horrible to be living there at the time and especially since he was forced to leave as a refugee.

I think the way Liu Xiao Xian went about creating his artwork and expressing his image was very interesting and effective. I liked how he represented the mixture of cultures and him trying to fit in through the family portraits in various western landmarks. I also like his use of various mediums such as film, photography and sculpture. I especially liked the two sculptures of the human body representing the east and west. At first I didn’t understand this but once I was told that the bronze had the pressure point markings used for acupuncture all over I was able to see the contrast between the two cultures he was trying to portray.

Overall, Liu Xiao Xian’s work was very successful, leaving the viewer thinking about the meaning and stories behind what you immediately see.

Ellen Lupton

What I took from Ellen Lupton’s talk is that we are continuously changing design, trying to make it ‘better’ with all these new features. However, like she said, we are simple messing up a good thing. We don’t need our toaster to poach eggs or be ovens, they were made for one thing and that’s making toast.

I think our generation is focused on inventing the new and the better technologies and we as consumers keep buying because we want the best gadget out there but what we really need is the original concept for which it was made. This is like with the toaster her husband bought her, it may have looked the best and been the best technology yet it didn’t even work.

Another point she made was that whenever we design something, it affects consumer’s behaviour. We know as students, when working on an assignment, we have an audience that we are designing for and we create a design that will appeal to them and make them feel a certain way. She showed this with the toilet roll dispenser. A simple object can create such emotion. With the spring dispenser, we are filled with rage because it is so much more difficult to use whereas a simpler design leaves us calmer as we can do it quicker.

She also made the point of designing for our own comfort. We design things so that consumers are more comfortable with the product and themselves. This was like with the luggage. Even though others may be uncomfortable with the amount of space it takes up, we aren’t because we can’t see it.

Overall, she shows how design affects all our lives, even those who are unaware, and continues to push the point that design in its simplest form is most effective.

Hello friends