My Personal design

This is a essay i had to write for a school assignment, written at 1 in the morning over two nights after several coffees, it revealed some interesting facts about what design means to me.

Design to me has become the key deciding factor to every element of life, from the clothes we wear to the words we speak, the choices we make in our everyday life, no matter how large of small, be it choice of bread or choice of car, it all conveys a message to others about who we are and what we do.

As the child of an actor and an artist, it should come as no surprise that from an early age is was a very creative child, showing less interest in socializing with other children and more in working on artistic projects of my own devise.

Though not aware of it at the time my design career started at an early age, as I designed menus for make believe cafes, invites for birthday parties and intricate pulley systems and trap doors in an attempt to improve efficiency around the house.
Though my designs were not always successful, I always had a very clear image of what I wanted to create

Its wasn’t until after high school, and several years of retail work that started to see past my design skills as more then just a hobby to fill my free time, and rather as a path to a meaningful and respected career, that would allow me to use the passion I had always had, as a way of making a living in life.

It was at this point that my whole perspective of the world started to change, and I began to see that not only had my whole life been leading towards design, but my future lay heavily amongst it too.

My perception of the world around me began to change as every angle, colour and word began to take on new meaning, as I started to read into the hidden language behind each and every design, what it was trying to say to the world, the feeling it was creating, and the effect it had on the people who viewed it.

It was this power to shape human emotion on such a subconscious level that drew me into the world of design, the idea that as the designer we have the power to create a piece of imagery, an object, a sound or even a whole city block, that would effect people on such a large scale, to make them feel a certain way, to shape their perception of a certain product or brand.

As I became more aware of these things I started to look at design on a personal level, the image I portrayed to others and therefore the messages I was communicating, and as I started to get deeper into it, I began to develop myself as a brand, an image that conveyed the message I wanted others to know about me, about my values and about what I stood for.

I approached getting dressed in the morning the same way I would designing a logo, my speech became the body text, my artworks the visuals and the products I used, an advertisement for the ideals I stand for.

As a designer it is my aim to create a piece of imagery that not only fulfills the desired vision a client wishes to convey, but at the same time reflects my own image, and design style, once again communicating the vision and ideals of my own personal brand.

I am driven by the fast pace of our society, one that embraces the styles of the past, while constantly looking for new ones.
It is in this environment that I hope to flourish, to develop a style that is more then just one style, one that evolves with discovery, knowledge and interaction, just as I do in my own life.

Most people would say that my personal style is constantly changing, that I am always updating myself in some sort of way, just to keep things interesting, and though some of these changes may sometimes seem a bit strange to some, it is the passion and confidence behind them which gives them legitimacy.

My willingness to try out new things means that I am always one step ahead of the crowd in terms of thinking, thought development and creative ideas, though with so many thought processes and ideas going on, I can sometimes neglect certain aspects or brush over necessary tasks, in an attempt to reach a finished product sooner.

I feel that while the creative aspects of design have always come quite naturally to me, it is other side of design, involving what most would consider quite tedious practices that still elude me.

Things like market research, testing and proposing of ideas to potential clients are aspects that still do not fully register to me as essential parts of the design process, however I am still aware that in the bigger picture of design, all aspects are just as important as each
other.

I understand that while in a future situation these tasks could be divided amongst a whole group of people, the more knowledgeable I become of the process, the better I will become at controlling and utilizing it to its full potential in order to create a premium finished product.

My personal belief on design is that the world has changed a lot in the past few decades, the pace of the world rapidly increasing everyday, and so the same techniques used several years ago are not as successful with today’s modern audiences.
Attention spans have become shorter, consumers have become smarter and more aware, and the average person has become desensitized to that which would have shocked a previous generation.

It is because of these changes that new forms of advertising have evolved; smarter advertising that catches the viewer’s attention with something quick and profound, then leaves them just as fast, causing them to seek out further information.

It is called viral marketing and can be applied to all sorts of mediums, in most cases being quite cost effective to produce, allowing for greater coverage, quicker turn around times and a larger saturation of the market.

Many larger companies have begun to use it as an alternate form of advertising to their mainstream approach in an attempt to cover all demographics, but it works just as well as a primary advertising tool in itself.

It often uses recognizable iconography from street art, pop culture and common everyday objects to disguise the design as something else, once again not thrusting it in the path of the consumer, whose world is already filled with “in your face advertising” but rather leaving it for them to find and create their own interest.

This sort of advertising is essential when appealing to an educated market such as today’s youth, as it doesn’t force a view upon them, it doesn’t assume ignorance and it creates an entertaining device, that will further spread via word of mouth and other new technologies like the internet ( youtube, facebook, myspace and blogs ) and mobile phones.

All this leads back to the idea of a developed personal brand, a singular image that communicates a message, from the works I create, to how they are produced and finally how they are to be received by the viewer, who ever they may be.

Everything is an element of my own personal design, developed over many years, and continuing to develop over time.
Taking its inspiration from past and present in order to create a familiar brand, whilst throwing in something outrages to keep the people coming back for more.

All that I represent and all that I stand for is proudly displayed for the entire world to see in my own personal brand.

...Try and understand it

So ive decided to write a blog about something that really interests me, rather then everything that shits me (see earlier posts) so this is my new design Blog!

Now right now i really should be working on several assignments i have due for my course, but while watching TV last night i found myself more interested in the ads then that actual show itself (who shot Horatio? who fucking cares, if he didn't stand in the one place for so fucking long these things wouldn't happen) and felt the need to share with you a discovery i made

I saw some great new campaigns last night; the new Optus ad featuring an orchestra playing out at sea to whales, which instantly led me to their site that allows you to create your own whale song, and the next installment of the Boags Draught Tasmanian waters beer ad with a great little gag right at the end that caused me to laugh out loud.

but then i saw one ad that just didn't seem right.

Right from the begining i could tell something was wrong, because it was one i was quite familiar with from youtube and various other sources but this time it seemed different, there was the opening titles, the establishing shot... but wait! where is the usual lead in music, what is this horrible wailing... WHERES PHIL!?!? no its.... Farnsy!

what an outrage, do these people really think they can just re release a classic masterpiece like that, with music that can cause a grown man cry tears of puppies and kittens, AND JUST CHANGE THE SONG TO 'YOU'RE THE VOICE' IN AN ATTEMPT TO APPEAL TO A WIDER AUSTRALIAN MARKET!?

don't they realise that by doing this all they're doing is pissing off their previous fans, my metaphorically urinating all over theyre past efforts with the implied statement "look how many old daggy songs we can set to this ad"
bringing the street cred of this once mighty campaign down, with every washed up singer they attach to it. (not that Phill collins is washed up, but Farnsey!? C'mon!!!)

And if they really wanted to appeal to the Australian market the why didn't they use a kangeroo, bouncing around like peter garrett to 'beds are burning' in an outback pub... And that's just off the top of my head

sure this isnt the first time its happend (re released in Ireland and the Uk with Bonnie Tyler's 'Total eclipse of the heart') and it probably wont be the last, but surely a company that could come up with such a great campaign, as well as two more follow up ads ( eyebrows, Trucks) could do better then a track change, and a quick edit job.

One can only hope that the other two ads dont suffer the same fate.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

please excuse my unworthy crack

This was the first phrase that came into my head as I sat here thinking of the best way to appologise for all my incomplete blogs as of late, so far this page hasn't been the "up to date" "this just in" "story of my life" I had hoped it to be, and the simple truth is I have been busy, and by busy I don't mean the usual " oh I need to go home and veg out for a bit, maybe play some computer games" busy, but actually busy busy, and most of my blogs have been written on public transport, which really limits the length of the blog/rant to the length of the trip, but I promise in future I will not start a blog unless I have a ful intention of actually finishing it... I might even go back and finish some of the old ones... don't hold your breath though

an update of the week that was AKA HOLY FUCK DUDE!

As my ex girlfriend once put it so elegantly I " only sell coffee for fucks sake " and if only it were as simple as that, but as the secong highest traded camodity next to oil and one of the most consumed liquids on the planet, thing can never be that simple. Though ill admit I am at the more glamorous end of the coffee process, the customers as of late have driven this jobs stress levels to that of hollywood movie hostage negotiator, with disputes with customers becoming equally as dramatic. And frankly I just can't be fucked dealing with it anymore, having made the decision to leave several weeks ago, but with several months left, I am finding it harder and harder to stop myself from telling the customers to forcibly insert their milk frothing devices up their rear orrifices (of course said in much cruder terms). I am no longer able to force a laugh and the repetative and tedius jokes of the customers, and funny little quirks which were once a fun way to identify certain customers have no become so infuriating that I now refuse to serve certain customers upon the principal that they don't deserve to be treated like regular human beings. Take "sneaky hands muldrich" for example, who would occasionally would take one or two capsules from the displays on his way out, which I always let fly becuase it was no big loss (I would go through twice that amount a day just keeping my self entertained) but these days SHM considers himself a bit of a master thief, as I watched him the other day, first pretending to look at the displays, then as I processed his sale he would palm them off to his other hand,then eventually into his pocket. I watched him the whole time aware and amused at first at how sneaky he was trying to be, thinking he was getting away with it. Then as I went to serve another customer, he continued to pace up and down the store with the same OBVIOUS routine: look,replace,look,palm,look then pocket. Now once again its not the loss of product im concerned about but rather the insult from this sad klepto fuck that he thinks im that stupid that I wouldn't notice. Next is mr jack kiss who can can only be described as a creepy f

might have over done it

After reading an article on the internet the other day about the side effects off caffeine on exercise, I decided that it was a good idea to load up on coffees before my sunday jog that afternoon, of course I made this decision before finishing the article and was downing my third espresso when I came across the cons of caffeine and exercise, so I decided to stop at three and then that afternoon I did the entire 7 km jog in one go for the first time. So naturally in my cocky young mind it made perfect sense that more is more and that I could only get better the more I drank.... so.... today I started the day of with one macciato at a cafe with a friend, then once I got home I busted out the good ol nespresso machine and downed another 4 espressos withing ten minutes.... then proceded to put on some loud music and dance around the house jumping about whilst getting my jogging gear together. I straped on my brand new heart monitor that I hadn't used before and got a base reading of 85 bpm (now like I said its my first time using it so im not sure what exactly that means but im assuming given the amount off caffeine in my system it would be higher then normal) and out the door I went. Now its hard to feel the effect of 5 coffees (possibly 6 I can't be sure) when your jogging 7 kms in the hot afternoon sun, but once I got home things just didn't feel right, there wasn't that usual satisfying exhaustion, but rather a feeling of "WHAT'S NEXT" so I messaged some friends to see if they were up for a movie, and then for what seemed like hours, sat around anxiously waiting for a reply (hmm) finally it came (it was prolly about 20 mins) and I was out the door again. Sitting at the bus stop, I once again had a panicked feeling the something was not right, and was constanly looking around for god knows what. Suddenly I remembered my little splurge that afternoon with the coffee machine, and realised I was prolly in for a long long night. Not becuase it would be particularly difficult or troubling, but just because I would have no patietnce for anything and I certainly would not be sleeping tonight... so that brings me to this moment now, sitting in the broadway shopping centre, waiting for my friends, watching the slowest fucking clock in history, eyeing off random strangers as they pass... sweet dreams

dental guilt

As most of you may be aware, I am one of the braces wearing elite, however something you may not be aware of is that I was actually not born wearing braces, though given the length of time I have had then on, you can be forgiven for thinking otherwise. In truth these braces were placed there by mere mortal man (woman) and some day may even be removed, alowing me to once again dine on bok choi with out fear of choking to death (if this confuses you then you've obviousley never had laksa with braces) but this dream can only come true provided I put in a little effort and actually turn up to my dentist apointments this time. Yesterday was my first appointment this year as well as being my first apointment IN a year, which clearly hasn't helped my progress, and not surprisingly the dentist wasnt to impressed with my 1 year break from aural hygiene. From the moment I walked in the front door I could feel their eyes, judging me, from the lady at the front desk to the dental assistants collecting patients, my mind running with paranoid thoughts about internal memo's warning all staff about the guy who thinks he's to good to go to the dentist "attention all staff, please be aware that a patient by the name of mattiaf morelos (they always spell it wrong) will be coming in for an apointment today, mr morelos has decided to return to us after evadeing us for over 12 months now, choosing not not care his teeth but rather jeopordise his eternal smile with an unhealthy life style of coffee, cigarettes, candy and class 1 narcotics no doubt. Please make sure this patient is given no special treatment, and if you have anything you would like to throw please do so. And finally the weekly dental hospital bingo night is postponed this week due to an internal outbreak of herpes, all hail lord dentalor!" finally my name is called and I get up to walk the long walk of shame

on a side note

Over the last month and a half I have taken up jogging, well more walking at first but gradually working my way up to long distance running over the past couple of weeks, I might go into more detail later, but it just occured to me that perhaps one of the reasons im enjoying it so much is because when im jogging the only thoughts going through my head are "man my legs hurt" and "damn im thirsty"... its nice to have a break from questioning the complexitys of the universe for just 45 mins 2 times a week...