COLOR WEEK!

All last week we worked with ColorAid paper. We mixed colors, blended shades, and mastered cutting/mounting techniques. These are the results...

We first learned how to find the middle shade between two colors.

Here we learned how to "middle mix" three colors.

We used complimentary colors and "middle mixes" to create a color palette.

We had to use only the colors on our color palette to create an abstract composition that represented the four seasons.

SOCIAL NETWORKING IN TAIWAN

The most popular social networking site used in Taiwan is PPT, a BBS (bulletin board system) site. Users can log in, read news updates, post pictures, and chat with each other. Facebook isn't the most popular (surprisingly to us Americans) and is only used by 6.2 out of 15.6 million Internet users in the country. It is on the rise, however, and Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou just recently joined!

Social networks in Taiwan help people reconnect/stay in touch with friends, post/review resumes and interests of potential employees, raise funds for disasters, and even market and advertise products. In such a technologically advanced country, it's no surprise that social networking is prevalent and on the rise.




http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-bbs.htm

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/04/12/does-taiwans-explosive-facebook-growth-mean-more-to-come-in-east-asia/

http://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/computer/218789/taiwan-president-goes-on-facebook

http://www.money-made.net/2010/06/social-networks-in-taiwan-gaining-importance-in-present-times-18.html

RR3

BP 3:10 KEY WORDS/IDEAS AND UNC GREENSBORO CAMPUS

Last Wednesday in class we discussed ten joint ideas to help us explore the Xianyang Palace. They were: space, power, experience, principles, precedence, size, order, scale, technology, and surface. These same terms can be applied anywhere...even to the UNC Greensboro campus.

SPACE:
When you look at UNCG's campus you'll notice that there are different parts that make up the whole campus. There are buildings for class and learning, dorms for living and resting, and even the cafeteria for eating and socializing. On a larger and simpler scale one can think about space in terms of location. UNCG is in the city of Greensboro in the state of North Carolina.


POWER:
All around campus you can see symbols of power. There are the important buildings like the library and the alumni house. There are tall trees that soar over you when you walk down Spring Garden street. There are even campus policemen that represent power. What I first thought of when I thought of power on the UNCG campus was all of the columns on the buildings. The columns, and especially the repetition of them on all of the buildings, symbolize strength and power and they can be seen all over campus.

EXPERIENCE:
Large brick buildings and towering trees are part of the experience you have as you walk around the UNCG campus. The brick and stone give a very collegiate feel to the campus and make you feel like you're here to learn.


PRINCIPLES:
"Inspire. Change. " This is the university's tagline and I definitely think it has something to do with its principles. Minerva is also a big part of our campus. She's the Roman goddess of wisdom. There's a statue of her outside of the Jackson Library. She looks and points ahead as if leading us forward on our educational pursuits.

PRECEDENCE:
UNC Greensboro is a university. That alone gives it precedence. It also has walls at the entrance defining the entrance and setting the location apart from the rest of the city.

SITE:
UNC Greensboro is located at 1400 Spring Garden Street. Spring Garden is one of the many major roads around the campus. It actually runs right through campus. The campus itself is filled with trees and plants of all kinds. This makes it warmer and more inviting to experience. A campus full of nothing but brick buildings would feel colder and wouldn't be appealing to visit.

ORDER:
The main aspect of order that comes to mind when thinking about the UNCG campus is the roads and sidewalks that run through it. They tell us where to go. The symmetrical stones and concrete blocks of the sidewalks and walkways also have a sense of order. This is paralleled in the bricks of all the buildings. This sense of order helps UNCG to feel like a University campus...an institution for learning.


SCALE:
UNCG's campus is around 200 acres. Although it's not the biggest campus out there it still takes a little time to walk across. There are plenty of parking lots and decks as well as bike racks around campus. Driving or riding a bike can make navigating the campus a little quicker.


TECHNOLOGY:
There are plenty of computer labs and resources around campus for all of its students. There's also a wireless network that students can access anywhere on campus.


SURFACE:
The UNCG campus is beautiful with its large brick buildings and great foliage. The campus is well-maintained and clean. The brick buildings and Classical style add to the collegiate feel.

LIGHT BOX

Our first studio project of the semester was to make a white 12 x 12 x 18 box. We then had to cut holes in it to where when a light was shone through it four spaces were defined. It took serious thought and creativity (and a little rule-bending) for everyone but the results were pretty amazing.

I cut a 2 x 2 square out of one of the sides of the box. Then i cut the square in half. I cut a slit in one half of the box and attached it perpendicular to the other side to make a cross form. Then i placed the square back into the cutout. My light source was a small flashlight. 

 

 

This was the original light effect I got.

After we did that part we were told to use bristol paper and bamboo skewers and expand on our box. We had to take the light effect somewhere. We also had to include a scale figure to put a spatial perspective on it. 

I had the idea to make little tiers out of the paper and sticks to attempt to give each of the 4 squares of light its own space...to essentially separate them and get them out of their original window-looking state.

 

I think it turned out pretty successfully.

BP 2:CIRCLES GROUPS and STACKS

This past week we've been learning about three design elements that go way back, even to ancient times...circles groups and stacks. They can be found in all sorts of objects, places, people, and spaces...no matter where you look. Friday we went out and looked around the UNCG campus for examples of these elements and we were surprised at how many we found.

CIRCLES: sacred spots, connections to sun and moon [light sources], center points [focus], etc.

One of the best examples of a circle on campus was found on College Avenue. It used to be [and still may be] the center of campus during simpler times before the school was expanded and built up. It was the center point between the dorms, the cafeteria, the library, and a few other buildings. It symbolized a meeting point for people and an equal space for everyone to travel to. Another place where circles were found was in the EUC. There were circles above both entrances letting in natural light and adding visual interest. The circles, like the one on College Ave. also represented meeting spaces for people. The principle of unity/harmony ties in very well with the circle element and it's shown in many places on campus.

GROUPS: people, trees [groves], columns reaching vertically, etc

There are so many examples of groups in the buildings and architecture around campus. Many buildings have columns in front of them. These could emulate many things: trees, people, etc. The housing buildings are also in groups. They stand together like a group of people, nicely balanced. Anything that's grouped together and has unity fits the group element and can be found rather commonly around campus.

STACKS: mountains, piles, gathering resources

 Stacks were also pretty easy to find around campus, considering most buildings are made out of brick. The School of Education, Alumni House, and Faculty Center are all places we looked at to see how the stacking of bricks contributed to the structure and appearance of the buildings. The stacking provides structure and unity as well as balance. Stacks can also be found in the stairs and their upward ascension. 

The question of environments and rituals and their effects was also posed to us. We were asked, "do environments influence rituals or do rituals influence environments...or both?" I honestly believe it's both. Rituals can be anything-they don't necessarily have to be "religious". So throwing trash away or driving to work can be rituals for people. These things definitely have an effect on the environment in that they lessen the quality of it. On that note environments definitely influence rituals as well. People have always felt a connection to nature and that can be shown in some of their rituals. I think the two can go hand in hand.

RR 1:Gonur, Margiana...2200 B.C.E.

So it came time for us to change our headers again and this time we had to use computer font(s) that described us as designers. We also had to incorporate a hand-drawn graphic that also reflects us as designers. I chose fonts on the tall/skinnier side because I personally like those best. My graphic is a series of lines that vary in shape/tone/placement. If you've seen my work from the past semester you'll agree that the graphic looks like something that would come from me. I like clean lines and lots of order...but there's always room for imperfections (as long as they're small!) and I think that my new header really relays that.