Category: <span>Design</span>

Published February 28, 2008 by

Thursdays at Uni

concept_enviro_web.JPGYou should read Tuesdays with Morrie. Which has nothing to do with anything but I thought I’d just say so anyway….

It’s been an interesting day. I amazingly have classes all day with my friend Kellie – of which I am very pleased about.

Currently Thursdays mean Package Design, a lecture then a tute. It’s totally different to anything I’ve done before. Our brief is based on a fair dinkum real package design competition, we are still looking at last years brief as the new one hasn’t quite made it out. Bizarre. I’m a little strapped for ideas. Basically we have to create packaging for an existing product that is: economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. So… know any products that are packaged badly then eh?

The lecturer is quite unusual… in that he doesn’t really endear himself in the usual way (if there is one?). Slagging off other uni’s??? I frankly wasn’t that impressed. I believe that you can have perfectly healthy competition without being rude and elbow-like. He clearly doesn’t. I also don’t care if I’m not mean enough for the corporate design world, that’s not who I want to be.

The afternoon bought Interactive Design for Web Technologies. Quite the contrast. It’s being tandem-taught by two guys and seriously, it was the best and clearest (as well as slightly entertaining) taught tech-related class that I’ve ever come across. And I’ve had a few now. Today did bring very basic html but I’m sure forcing me to go over the basics can’t do too much harm.

As it so happens, our first assignment is to create a html/css based portfolio of our work. Damn. Check what I’ve been doing lately (unofficial launch). Here we go again. No happy little blog platform to lean on now. Gosh I love WordPress.

I am slightly dreading the second half of the semester as all prior interactions with Flash have never been pretty… I’d love to be able to use it, I seriously would, but oh to get my head around the thing. Animation and I aren’t the best of friends.

Or perhaps it is just my lack of patience?

image from here… yes I’m getting better at this!

Design Uni

Design folio package design thursdays university

Published February 27, 2008 by

Make it sustainable

Aside from having a fun name, Ezio Manzini is my new design hero… I don’t know if I’ve had one of these before, but we’ll give it a shot. I don’t mind Ray and Charles Eames either for their funky chair.

I found out about him today courtesy of my class on, ‘Contemporary Issues in Design’.

He blogs here

and better still, runs/contributes to (?) Sustainable Everyday

Blogging Design Social Justice Uni

Design Eames Ezio Manzini

Published February 27, 2008 by

Oh look at the timetable

After my previous rant, things leveled out slightly better than I could’ve hoped.

I still have that unslightly blight on my Monday, but I managed to fill my 3hr gap on Thursday with a class from Friday and move the last remaining class to Wednesday (Yes I am currently meant to be paying attention in my online class – but it’s the first one and my parents mercifully forced me to learn to type way back when). Huzzah.

I scored dandy this morning re. WordPress themes. I managed to get a free membership for the $5 theme club giveaway, thanks to: A Typical Life, which I found through some other design blog as I was chowing through my backlogged feedreader.

Thinking about it, I also scored well yesterday where an innocent request for logo files for something I was doing for work, turned into a strange little email conversation that has probably thrown some freelancing work my way. Yay!!! Unknown to you, I have been working on a website for folio/freelancing etc. and I used it and she liked it and she’s got too much on her plate. Thank you Helen!

Blogging Design Uni

freelancing timetable wordpress themes

Published February 20, 2008 by

Bikes and Water

Culture Design Social Justice

inhabitat sponsor urban bikes water

Published February 19, 2008 by

Bag yourself McD

430556347_ebf1b09867.jpgI did choose today to do a lot of running around. Mum called me with a ‘quick come down to xyz op-shop’ there’s a mass of ‘Brown Sugar’ seconds on a rack here. So I did (because I had places to go near there) and got two tops for $5 each. They retail for ~$60.

So I went and then wound around in some back streets for a bit to find the epson printer service place. Unlike the last time where I rocked up only to find a sign on the door saying ‘they’d moved’, they were there so I relinquished my A3 baby for 5 or so days.

Now today is hot. Melbourne’s weather has flipped on it’s head again. My car is ala-crapola meaning you don’t run the air conditioner (even though it works) because it makes the automatic even more likely to stall.

So being well past lunchtime and me being insanely thristy, I decided I’d grab something at McDonalds. It was that or Red Rooster – not a place littered with cafes or other options. Healthy I know, but frozen coke on a day like today is really quite perfect.

I’d love to totally bash Macca’s but I admit that I like some of their food (in moderation and only now and then) and they do opt-in on the convenience level. But really McDonalds, what the hell is with all your packaging?!

Burgers used to come in paper – now in boxes. Right OK I get it. It’s easier for the people to a put burger in the box than wrap it. But now they put the boxes in bags – usually whether you need the bag or not. Now, the boxes say Recycle (NB. Not recycled paper), but no do McDonalds stores have recycling bins?

And the bags!

If I come into the store, I am most likely staying to eat in the store. Otherwise it’s drive through or the odd occasion where I think I could cope in asking for a bag. Give me a tray if it’s too much for me to carry, but hey, even those come with a paper sheet of advertising. Don’t automatically assume I want a bag to carry my burger, fries and drink 5 metres to that table over there.

I was considering this rant while ploughing through my Google Reader and came across this post on One Plus One Equals Three.

The End of Packaging: Some Thoughts

Packaging is an interesting thing as a Communication Design student/future real-working-person designer. In many ways I should love it, but when the shit hits the fan I’d rather live on a greener planet than supply myself with more work. I really need to suss out and decide on my ethical stance when it comes to working because ‘greener’ mightn’t always be an option for smaller clients.

This semester (and I think I’ve already mentioned it) I am studying package design, which I am really quite excited about. No doubt the ethics thing will come up. Thankfully I think that Swinburne Uni is relatively good at exploring the environmental implications of who they are training up for the workforce.

Next time you’re at Macca’s probably don’t tell the person to shove it where it belongs, but do refuse the bag. Maybe even harass the company via email – if you can navigate the new crap website. Better still, go and start your own enviro-friendly fast food joint (if it were possible). I would buy from you every single time. That would mean no Big Mac ever again, and that would hurt just a little.

image found here

Culture Design Social Justice

bag big mac environment maccas mc donalds packaging waste