Non-Functional Item and Functional Item Project #1

        For my non-functional item, I have chosen to create heels for dogs. Heels are a challenge for women, who stand upright, to walk in without help. I speak from experience, here. I have spent time before a a fancy occassion practicing walking in heels. The last wedding I attended, I had to lean on my boyfriend to walk without falling on my face. Dogs may look adorable with accessories such as sweaters and snow booties, but those are comfortable for the dog.. most of the time. I have seen dogs walk like they had gum on the bottom of their paws with just the flat-based booties. Putting heels on a dog guarantees them feeling unhappy, unbalanced, and unsafe.

        For my functional item, I have created a dog tag that has a GPS tracker embedded inside. There is a chip already created that is embedded inside dogs themselves that contains the owner's contact information and address, but one cannot locate the dog. The chip only gives information to read once the dog has been found. The dog tag I created acts as a sort of low-jack for your pup. If they run off to play with their furry friends, or if some awful person steals them, you can track them down by using Google Maps so they are safe.

To The Point: Interview With Dave Perillo, aka Montygog

          I find the common misunderstanding that television stifles creativity to be very funny. Looking at an artist as talented as Dave Perillo, one can see that television can also be a source of great inspiration depending on the person; In my opinion, a true artist can find inspiration in anything. The shows and artists that Dave found his inspiration in have inspired so many other artists as well, in the form of other television shows, movies, Easter eggs, prints, songs, everything; The artists who created them no doubt found inspiration from other artists in some way shape or form. There is one Bugs Bunny short in particular that comes to mind; “What’s Opera, Doc?” which parodied Wagner’s 19^th century opera.

          I relate to Perillo, in that I had a hard time concentrating on the subject matter at hand in grade school. I would constantly get called out for doodling in the margins of my notebooks. I even drew caricatures of all of my fourth grade classmates. All I wanted to do all day every day for a number of years was sketch everything around me and give my creations to my grandmother, my fiercest supporter.

          I find it interesting that sketching has moved onto sketching then editing in the computer. I feel conflicted about it. There is something really special about that original hand-drawn piece. It’s like a children’s creation in kindergarten; It’s inspired by something, but it’s not perfect, and each piece is a little different, sentimental and unique. On the other hand, it’s near impossible to create the exact uniform shade of purple for those violets on the front porch by hand, and a computer makes it a thousand times easier to get that crisp line for the shadow on the hand of the grandfarher next door.

          With a computer, we can save our artwork in a cloud in case of fire or flood, etc. Lastly, connections are made by using sites such as Deviantart. If it wasn’t for someone discovering Perillo on Deviantart, I would not be reading this interview right now, nor would I be wishing I owned his Gotham Records piece, or Mario Bros. piece for his Squares 4 Squares exhibit at Gallery 1988. I’m also a huge Whovian, and I sincerely hope he gets picked up by BBC to do an official piece, preferably featuring the Tenth Doctor.

          I can only hope to one day be successful enough to work with companies like Disney and The Simpsons. I have officially found an artist to seek out at Comic Con. I’m going to work on making my own style. Like Perillo said, “a million Garfields” is “a scary though.”

Bat Piglet

Neil Diffrient's Rethinking the Way We Sit Down

    I find this man to be very interesting, because he is so passionate about his endeavors that he makes them interesting as well. Airplanes have always been revered as incredible, something people never thought possible. Chairs are generally pretty immobile, simple staple items wherever you go, even on the go in planes themselves. People see them everywhere, and most of the time they just are not impressive. Neils Diffrient's passion for bringing the romance into every object, has translated into an excellent work ethic, and therefore functional, beautiful designs.
    Diffrient got me thinking about how really everything is very much connected. He once had his heart set on working in the field of aeronautics, and ended up designing chairs for land, air, and sea. As well as finding his path in life, he improved the connection between the human body and that which he sits on. The chair he displayed in is presentation was built with functional versatility, in a pleasing-to-the-eye package. It just goes to show that a good design is not just beautiful, but also sets a standard in it's field.

On a side note, I find it funny that an innovator such as himself has a last name that is so very close to literally being Different.

How To Ruin A Great Design paragraph

It seems these days that London is reinventing itself in rather controversial ways. Like their recent separation from the European Union, their traffic signs do not seem too welcome or cohesive with the original way things were done. Art is fluid, constantly changing with the ages, but design with a purpose has certain standards to live up to, and I do happen to agree with the author that bold, simple designs work better than signs with fonts that are not uniform, with many words, pictures, and directions bundled together. Though it is descriptive, it is too much to read as you are driving by looking for simple directions. Traffic signs should work similarly to the laws of the card game Sets. In Sets, players compete to get as many groups as possible, as quickly as possible. The catch to Sets is that each card is simple, marked with either 1, 2, or 3 shapes, in 3 different colors. You can match cards based on complete uniformity, partial uniformity (all the same color, but different shapes, for example), or completely different cards. This works, because it is always simple, and the cards are straight to the point. No one wants to have to read a lengthy sign whilst trying to find their way.

Introduction Questions

What is your computer experience?
I use my laptop at home for basic web browsing, as well as uploading photos, and editing them. I have previous gaming experience from simple games such as Spider Solitaire, to creating complex worlds in The Sims.
What is your experience with Photoshop and Illustrator?
I had a brief stint as a Graphic Design minor at Centenary College of New Jersey in 2009, as well as a major at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (online program) in 2010.
Do you have a computer at home? If so dose it have Photoshop and Illustrator?
I do have a laptop at home, but it does not have Photoshop or Illustrator at this time. I will be purchasing them before next class.
What is your major ?
I am majoring in Web Design and Development, with the intent to graduate from Camden County College with an Associate's Degree. 
What do you hope to get out of this class?
I hope to get a gauge of my graphic design abilities, gain a working knowledge of Photoshop and Illustrator, and create a portfolio that I am proud of for the start of my career in this field.Who is your favorite artist?
It's hard to say who my favorite artist is, as there are so many mediums to choose from. I am a fan of weird and differently thought out takes on normal things, such as abstract or surreal art. Going off of this, my favorite classic artist would have to be Salvador Dali, though I do also favor VanGogh's "Starry Night" piece. As far as modern artists, I thoroughly enjoy Tim Burton's work in movies such as "The Nightmare Before Christmas", as well as his pen-to-paper work.
Who is your favorite musician?
My favorite song is "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. While I cannot say I have an absolute favorite musician, I can break it down a bit. My favorite drummer is Dave Grohl. My favorite singer would probably be Justin Timberlake.Tell me something interesting about yourself?
I was an only child until I was 19 and my little sister Julia was born. She looks nothing like me, because she is only my half-sister biologically, but she is my little minion and my biggest supporter.Write a five line story?
I adopted a dog last May. Her name is Scarlet, like the color, not Johannsen. She's a mutt, and a misfit, like me. She's half pug, half raptor. I call her a raptor, because, while it doesn't happen often, but when she is unhappy, she belts out a sound I can only compare to that of a raptor. She was returned to a pug rescue in Austin, TX, because she defended herself against a dog who had spent almost an entire year bullying her with no intervention. She rescued me. Post an image on the blog.
This is Scarlet :).