design research

new advances

2007-12-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

Reben is a paint made out of 100 percent natural materials. This paint not only does not emit harmful toxins, but it actually cleans the air and as if that wasn't enough, it can also control the humidity in the air. Because there are no dyes or glues in this paint I would assume that the color would be solely based on the ingredients in it and therefore colors would be limited.

Designers are striving to make solar power work, they are trying to make functionality meet creativity which I believe many of them are doing exceptionally well at. Solar power is where we harness the sun's power and convert it into energy rather than making energy to create energy. Very eco-friendly.

foreign journals

2007-12-09T23:48:00.000-08:00

Abitare
This is a very well organized website. To be honest I dont know how websites are any different than foreign journals except that we cannot read most of the foreign journals.

Archis
This is a very well organized website with man interesting things to pursue. The colors are complimentary and well thought out.

Architecture Australia
This is not as well organized of a website as it could be. The colors are very uniform however it seems to be slightly too cluttered.

Vimar
This is another website that is in a different language which i cannot understand. However, from looking at it, it does seem to be well designed. The colors are right, it is very well organized and there is a very high level of interactivity.

websites

2007-12-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

livingetc.com
This website has a good interactive theme, there are slideshows of different designs and very clear set categories. Very well organized.

architecturaldigest.com
This patricular website has very good graphics and is also well oranized, however, the amount of ad space overwhelms the actual designs of the websites.

green source
This website has a very aesthetically pleasing layout. However, there is not so much interactivity as there are in other websites.

dwell.com
This website though it may be well designed and organized is so clogged with ads and pressuring the viewer to subscribe all of their hard work is lost.

ID
This website though it is well organized, there is very little interactivity and very little aesthetics seemed to be put into it.

domus
There is something very simple about this website that seems to work. I love that they give a choice of languages before you even enter the website. Very effective.

graphis
Before you even enter this website there is an intro which really is very captivating. Very well designed website.

architectural review
This is a surprisingly a poorly designed web site for a design magazine. There is no direction no interactivity no aesthetics it looks like a 13 year old's blog.

metropolis
I can see the organization of this website and where they wanted it to go, but it is very cluttered with other things that the organization is lost.

interior sources
Here is another example of a good attempt. Im not sure the website knows it is supposed to be for design or not, it is a very god effort and with a few touches I believe it could be very successful.

sustainable design

2007-12-09T21:51:00.001-08:00

I actually really like this last sustainable design; it is building materials made entirely out of earth. Im not quite sure how this would hold up against rain or any other percipitation though.

Here is another sustainable design It seems to be using the natural resource of water rather than grass or light. After reading up on it I am still not quite sure what its function is.

This is another green roof, this one takes on more of a garden motif rather than just all grass it goes for a slightly more aesthetically pleasing design.

This is known as a "green roof" rather than the usual tar covered roof which emits heat, these roofs absorb the heat and harmful toxins in the air.

This is a sustainable design in another sense. it has more to do with the lighting. It needs less lighting because of the massive amounts of natural light pouring in.

This has to be one of my favourtie designs so far, and it just so happens to be sustainable. It takes the river/stream and does not interrupt its path. Instead it works with it and lets the stream run through it.

Here is another example of sustainable design but through solar power instead of using a surrounding area to design a building.

This is another example of sustainable design through grass or leaves. I dont know what it is about it but I really like this design.

This is a sustainable design because it is using the resources it has already given. In this case it is using the grass and ivy to create a dwelling.

I didnt know what "sustainable design" was when i first read it on the to-to list so I decided it would probably be best to figure out what it meant. It is actually "eco-friendly" design. Something helping the environment.

buildings

2007-12-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

I actually dont know the name of this building, but I do know its in Honolulu. It looks almost cartoonish to me. Even with that said I like it and I dont know how to explain it

This is the Milwaukee Art Museum designed by Santiago Calatrava. It seems to be inspired by a backbone. It actually reminded me of Ben Adams' time capsule design.

The Big Ben in London was designed by Augustus Pugin. It is an English icon seeing as it is the building of Parliment. It is a very detail-oriented building. It is definitely a more classic design, I dont know if there is anything negative to be said about it.

This is the Essen Opera House in Germany designed by Alvan Aalto. When I first saw this, it reminded me of Frank Gehry's style, but as I looked closer, I noticed it is a little more clean cut than Gehry's. A very successful piece.

This is the London City Hall designed by Norman Foster. It is a very unique shape. Im not so sure how I feel about it. It may almost be taking away from the simplicity of the classic architecture that London encompasses.

This is a design by Richard Rogers. The red on the bottom of these stairs really catches the attention of the onlooker. Other than the pop of red, this building has a very industrial feel to it. I cant quite decide if i like it or not.

This is actually an underwater restaurant in Eilat, Israel. The interior is designed to mimic the coral on the outside. A very clever idea not too over-the-top, well done.

This is the Guggenheim Museum in Spain designed by Frank Gehry. Its free-flowing forms make for a visually entertaining piece. The curve of the metal catches the eye and draws the looker in.

This is also a design by Antonio Gaudi in the Park Guell. This particular building from the park has gingerbread feel to it. I believe it is another successful Gaudi design.

La Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi is such an interesting structure. Gaudi's attention to detail is amazing. Walking through this building was an amazing evet in my life, from the spiral stairs to the beautiful balconies, this is in my opinion, one of the greatest buildings ever designed.

media and graphic design

2007-12-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

The unexpected direction of the scene on this Starting Line album cover goes along with the name of the album Direction. Very interesting design, it definitely drew me in.

This is Double Cross by James Patterson. The design of this cover is not the best that I have seen. The words draw you away from the actual picture which I do not feel is a successful graphic desin.

This is a very well known graphic design from the 7th Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows written by J.K. Rowling. Even though there is alot to focus on here it paints an interesting visual.

This graphic design, What is it to Burn by Finch is a good example of repetition and clarity.

This album by Copeland, Know Nothing Stays the Same, has more of a simple feeling. The one pop of color is a very successful graphic.

This very well known book cover is of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is an excellent example of graphic design. It is very effective in its simplicity, the red pops out off of the blue as does the black but without competing for attention.
This album by The New Pornographers uses a two-tone cover with somewhat complimenting colors. Very appealing.

This album, Funeral by Arcade Fire is also a good graphic design. The intricacy of the feather contrasts nicely with the simplicity of the hand.

This Angels and Airwaves album cover achieves the same goal as the one below. The bright light draws the eye right into the middle of the cover, then the fading light brings the eye out to the edges.

The vibrant colors of the globe on this Acoustic Syndicate album cover really pops and draws the eye right to the middle. A very effective use of color.

product design

2007-12-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

This was also a design from the Abitare website. It is made out of glass which I think is a very bold move and it seems that the designer has pulled it off.

This is the Salone design which I actually cannot find who designed it, mainly because the website was in Italian. I love this chair though, it just looks so inviting, it makes me want to curl up with a good book or watch a movie.

This design found on pointclickhome.com has n Egyptian feel to it. Depending on the setup, this could be a brilliant piece.

This bench designed by Century Furniture seems to resemble a sort of "King Neptune" theme. It may work as garden bench, but I dont believe it is successful in any other aspect.

This is a very simple design. The pattern on the pillow is not overpowered by the couch. Very classic.

This is a design from the designer's guild. The couch on the far left is a successful design however, the color does not compliment it.

Here is an example of a simple yet enticing asian design.This is a very successful design in my opinion. The bright blue cushions bring out the blue flowers on the rest of the couch.

This is also a Jane Churchill piece. This has more of a classical feel to it which I enjoy. The pattern draws the eye to the middle of the couch.

This is a piece from the Jane Churchill collection. The difference of the patterns at first is shocking, but the matching red ties the entire thing back together.

This is a design by la-z-boy. It is a very functional design which seems to follow the design of a chaise and a "typical" sofa.

interior spaces

2007-12-07T14:46:00.001-08:00

designers

2007-12-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Santiago Calatrava was born in Spain in 1951. He designed the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Sondica Airport in Spain.

Augustus Pugin is not such a well known designer, but as soon as I found what he designed, I was shocked. He is most famous for the desgn of the Big Ben in England. He is a very big advocate of Gothic Architecture which is somewhat shown in the building of Parliment (Big Ben).

Alvar Aalto was a Finnish designer born in 1898 and died in 1976. He was sometimes known as the "Father of Modernism." Here is another designer who has many amazing accomplishments throughout his life. He designed the Municipal Hospital in 1928 and the Essen Opera House in Germany in 1988.

Norman Foster was born in 1935 in England.He had mamy great accomplishments. A few of them being the Center for Clinical Sciences Research finishing in 2000, and the London City Hall in 2003.

Richard Rogers was born in 1933. He is a very talented designer, he designed the Millennium Dome in London in 1999 and the Hesperia Tower in 2005.

Frank Gehry was born in 1929 in Toronto, Canada. He was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989.

Frank Lloyd Wright was born in 1867 and died in 1959. He had many accomplishments in his life, he also lived through the depression. In 1959 he started work on the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, but died later that year.

Antonio Citterio was born in Italy in 1950. He got his degree from the Milan Polytechnic University. He is a very successful designer. One of his designs can be found in LivingEtc. October 2007.

Aldo Rossi is an Italian designer. He was born in 1931 and died in 1997. In 1970 he became a professor at the Milan Polytechnic University. He designed the "Teatro" chair for Molteni.

Antonio Gaudi was born in 1852 in Reus and died in 1926. He was a major part of the catalan modernismo movement. His 1st commission was a lamppost in barcelona in the Plaza Real. Some of his more famous work is the Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona and Park Guell also in Barcelona.