My Stamp Art

I'm really into comics so I couldn't help but draw something for my stamp art. I thought this project was a great idea, a neat way of showing off our interests. After I was done sketching, I scanned it into my computer and fooled around with it on Photoshop. Please enjoy the finished piece, comments are welcome :D

Jenni

Design I Like

For me, design has to be engaging, it has to not only catch your eye, but draw you into it. It has to make and keep you interested. That’s the beauty of design, its power to make you go out and buy that product or wear that shirt, you’ve succumbed to its lure. Design that carries information must say something that people are interested in and willing to learn about. It must be presented in a way that is clear and simple.

"Death and Taxes" by Jess Bachman

A brief description from historyshots.com:

"A Visual Guide to Where Your Tax Dollars Go. This chart was created by Jess Bachman. The poster provides a uniquely revealing look at our national priorities, that fluctuate yearly, according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congress, and the will of the people. If you pay taxes, then you have paid for a small part of everything in the poster."

According to Donald Norman, "well designed objects are easy to interpret and understand...[Two of the most] important principles of design: provide a good conceptual model and make things visible." I like this chart created by graphic designer Jess Bachman not only because of the important information she lists, which is data regarding the USA 2008 Federal Discretionary Budget ($1075 billion!), but the way she presents the data to the viewer. The overall composition is visually appealing and easy to read. Though Bachman includes a substantial amount of data, there is no unnecessary confusion because all of the data is categorically connected and organized. The chart includes both graphics and text presented in a cohesive manner. Graphics were encompassed in a number of circles, creating a symmetrical balance. Bachman uses a variety of colored sans serif text.
Norman stated that, “affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used.” The data in this chart can be useful and interesting to anyone in the US who has paid their taxes. After all it was Benjamin Franklin who once said, "in the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes." The message is to visually show viewers where their tax money goes according to our national priorities. Constraints limit the possibilities of how an object can be used, the discretionary budget listed in the chart is only a third of the total government spending.


Cool links:

http://www.historyshots.com/store.cfm?s=sas

http://www.cbsoutdoor.co.uk/web/Image-gallery.htm?searchparams=%7C42%23-1%7C43%23-1%7C8%23-1%7C49%23-1%7C45%23-1%7C10%23-1%7C47%231148%2C208&gallerykeyword=Keyword...&47=1148%2C208&42=-1&43=-1&8=-1&49=-1&45=-1&10=-1

"Overnight" Documentary

Have you ever seen "The Boondock Saints"? If you haven't, I highly suggest you rent it, if you're into a little action, crude humor, and non-linear story telling. Plus, Willem Dafoe is amazing!!! A DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 makes the movie and soundtrack come alive. I decided to write this blog about a documentary called "Overnight,” released in 2003, which follows the director of "The Boondock Saints," Troy Duffy in his quest to create his movie. Filmmakers Mark Brian Smith and Tony Montana (haha, that's his real name!) center their documentary around Troy Duffy and his various circle of friends as Duffy's script is picked up by the legendary Harvey Weinstein at MIRAMAX. This documentary should be shown in film class as to how NOT to start a successful career in film. The documentary begins at Duffy’s place of work, a bar called J. Sloan’s with news that Harvey Weinstein will allow Duffy to turn his script into a movie, letting him direct it and provide the soundtrack with Duffy’s own band. Unfortunately Duffy’s ego steps in the way of his success, the documentary follows him as he constantly chain smokes and curses his way out of the film business. Duffy had the chance of a lifetime, but his attitude ruined his chances of ever working with MIRAMAX again, Weinstein drops the movie and Duffy ends up destroying friendships with lifelong friends. Although the film does eventually get made, it was low budget and had limited distribution. Documentary filmmakers Mark Brian Smith and Tony Montana, shot the documentary in black and white, I think, symbolizing Duffy’s dualistic view on how his movie should be made. They determined the “look” or “feel” of the documentary by including interviews (like other documentaries) of Duffy and friends, capturing Duffy’s world unfolding as it happens. The documentary tends to use stable close-up shots, creating the sense that everything we hear is very personal. With Duffy smoking a cigarette in nearly every scene, not to mention the binge drinking, the audience gets a sense of his self-destructive behavior. These choices remained constant throughout the piece, documenting the rise and fall of an amateur filmmaker.

Jenni