I guess there's been some sort of hoopla over Tropicana changing their packaging, to a point where they are changing it back to the original. First, if people are going to complain about a Pepsi Co. redesign, then why not look at the Pepsi soda redesign. Of the two, I'd say that's the more "generic" looking.
The funny thing is, I've come to realize even more so that I live in a design bubble. Everyone I've talked to likes the new packaging. At the same time, everyone I've talked to is a design student who also noted the change. Why do I like the packaging? It's clean, but still has playful touches, like the green leaf dotting the "i." I also love the glass on the front, which invokes the daily breakfast ritual better than an orange with a straw. I guess the original orange image was too realistic and straightforward for my taste. A package doesn't need to scream its message: a simple mix of color and words works fine. Especially for orange juice, which isn't trying to be "extreme!" or "bold!" or anything silly like that. Orange juice isn't loud, and the new packaging conveyed that.
Ah well, I'll just have to buy a carton or two and save it to enjoy on my own.
I wish my vocabulary included some of these words. Trajectitious? Essomenic? Quaeritate?
I wish the FAQ section was updated. It's a really cool site, but the full purpose isn't entirely outlined. I'm assuming the words have been removed from the Oxford English Dictionary?
I made a logo of sorts this weekend: I just wanted to do something quick that showed a little bit of personality. Why a bunny? Well, I spent a good deal of my life assuming that I was born in the Year of the Dragon, only to find out that my January birthday meant I was a rabbit. No offense to them, but dragons are far cooler than rabbits. So, I decided that if I was going to be a rabbit, I'd be a fire-breathing rabbit (with sharp pointy teeth)!
This guy was an honorable mention. A bunch of people said he looks too much like the Donnie Darko rabbit. I personally think he just looks pensive: Not sure why they're so light. Saving JPEGs from illustrator is quite a pain.
A video of a group project I did last year of an installation we made. The assignment was to translate a written, abstract expression of a space into a full-scale model, entirely out of cardboard. We created these sort of treehouses, which, as you can see, were quite structurally sound.
Just posting this reminds me of the warm weather Syracuse was experiencing at the time. It was only April, yet we had 75 degree, sunny days. I think all the groups decided to make their pieces outside, just to have more time to soak up the rays.
Saw this posted over on Cinematical. Absolutely stunning use of still photography to create the animation. The song is pretty good, but really would be nothing without the visuals. It makes me extremely happy to know that there are still plenty of people out there willing to take the time to make something so complex and beautiful. My roomate found a video of stills of London, I shall have to find it and add it to this post. Oh, how I wish I had the time to learn to do all these things. I guess I will jsut have to learn them later.
Happy Friday! I am making mushroom soup and going to a dinner party! I hope your weekend is just as lovely.
The second simple exercise in Symbology. I'm a vegetarian, so it was a bit awkward as I haven't really looked at tuna fish in a long time. I never liked it when I ate meat, anyway. I'm more of a fluffernutter girl, with raspberry preserves. Or grilled cheese, with some mustard on it. Yum!
I'm watching Billy Elliot while working on making some rough books for my book binding class. Hopefully I'll have some schnazzy three dimensional stuff to show off soon. This semester is a lovely combination of theory (Symbology), computer skill (Alias), process (Plastic Production), intellectual pursuits (Jewish-American Lit and 20th Century American Art), and hands-on skills (Book Binding). I love having such a variety, my brain gets to work in so many different ways. I think in words, images, sounds, and emotions.
I leave you with my favorite scene from Billy Elliot, the "angry" dance:
Assignment: Take "institutionalized" symbols and make them into a uniform system. This probably isn't the "best" solution, but I wanted to be both playful and as different from the established signs. It's hard to fix symbols that have been so ingrained in our psyche. The class is "symbology and semiotics." We spent the first class learning the difference between icon, symbol, and index. Very interesting, but very theory-based and conceptual.
The charrette from the first week was eye opening. I have a manifesto to post soon, the result of my group's weeklong struggle with solving humans' energy problems. That will need a whole post to itself. More to come in the next week!
We've hit the ground running in the ID department, starting the year off with a 5-day charrette. It's all based around the Next Generation contest held by Metropolis. We're working with Interior Design majors. The past two days have consisted of a multitude of environmental lectures, from sustainability to better building processes. Hopefully something great will come of this.
I will have some amazing update when this madness is done. For now, I have to get some sleep and recharge for tomorrow's activities.
