Tilt-Shift is coming back like it’s 1975
I'm a big fan of the instagram app. Images from old-school medium format cameras (especially the nasty plastic lens cameras) have that artistic quality that I love but can't achieve with a normal camera.
One of the additions they've added to the program is a selective focus filter that gives the illusion of using a tilt-shift adapter or doing a selective focus in post. In honor of this awesome new feature, here's Thom Yorke's "Harrodown Hill" music video that uses the effect really well.
Forward Thinking Groceries
Over the weekend I got out quite a bit to do some shopping. Well, more accurately, I was suffering through a few shopping trips so I could get a new grill while we were out...
Anywho. We ended up at several different places and a few things really stuck out.
1. Walmart has started using QR tags on a lot of their products, especially their flowers. I didn't stop to take the time to find out what the tags led to (my grill was right there!) but I can just imagine it popping up information like maps of growing areas, videos on proper planting techniques and great flower combinations.
2. Marsh has started using a new visually based system to help consumers identify the nutrition quality of the foods they're buying:
At the bottom of the sign there are also several icons to represent lo-carb, organic, etc. I'm never sure how accurately these things are (especially since there's a conflict of interest in selling their own products) but it's a pretty awesome step forward to meet the demands of the market. This is a great way to help people make informed, quicker decisions without needing to do a bunch of homework to figure out what will be best. It's not always as easy as choosing between frosted donuts and grape nuts.
3. The redbox machines have a QR code on them now to direct your phone to an app download. It's a great way for instant gratification and to increase downloads. If you like redbox (we netflix) it's a great app for finding redboxes around you and knowing what you want to rent before you get there.
Democracy is for Losers
Lately, it seems to me that more and more people are talking about how great this "democratization" thing is. Of course, they aren't talking about places like Iraq or Afghanistan. No. They aren't even really referring to making the American system more democratic (although there certainly are a lot of people screaming very loudly at the moment to see if it will work that way). No, these folks are talking about things like web standards and design. They're bringing it into business and decision making.
Unfortunately these same people live in a country where to want something other than "democracy", as they've termed it, is purely unpatriotic. To say that you're against this so-called democratization is to be at best "the man" and at worst a crazy Nazi.
So, let's step back for a minute.
What is the point of hiring a designer? Isn't the point to have consultation and recommendations? Because, let's be real, if you could design, you wouldn't be hiring a designer. So why be "democratic" about it? If you truly want the best possible result, why would you want to have an equal voice in the process itself, rather than veto power?
Let's be honest for a minute, when it comes down to it, should everyone have an equal voice in all things? Should the layperson really have equal say in the engineering of a bridge as an engineer? Should Joe the Plumber really have equal say in teaching your kids business ethics? Should you have equal say in things being designed for you?
It seems like a hard question to answer, but the answer is a clear no. Of course the client should have some say in a design project, just the same as a client would tell a mechanic which parts of the car to fix or accepting the lawyer's suggestion to settle. When it comes to the project, however, the point of the designer is to be the expert, the consultant, the artist. It's important to remember the reasons you hired your agency: they know how the market works, they've done their research on the demographic, they have the artistic talent, they have the skills necessary. And you don't. That's why they are so valuable. (resist the urge to read "expensive")
Democracy doesn't make your design better. (I've already addressed the other concept of democratization that really means having lots of people doing the work and paying one, which is a lot more like modern day snake oil sales) Having an equal voice in the process won't help you. You have something much more important to contribute. As the client, you know your company, the people who work for you, and the people you work with. You (hopefully) know where you want to go and what you want to be doing. You have the knowledge and words, and the designer has the ability to turn that into images. So, I urge you, give up this notion of "democracy" that many are starting to champion, and let the system that's worked so well for so long continue to be the best it can. This isn't a government, it's a market.
Sadly, Still Sex-nifigant
The other day I stumbled upon an article that UnderConsideration had a link to on the Quipsologies page. The article raised a point that I don't think we pay attention to anymore, not because we don't care but because it's such a ubiquitous truth that there is no reason to raise it: sex still sells. The article appears to have been written in response to public outrage at a certain Calvin Kline billboard with what appears to be an orgy about to happen. The public was outraged that such advertising could exist, that there were no filters or oversight to prevent such a travesty from happening.
But then the article makes the real point: this has been going on for ages.
Should we be outraged at the continuing process? Should we even be surprised to see such explicit imagery being used in advertising? The problem, it seems, is really the double standard we set for ourselves. When companies like Abercrombie only receive passing criticisms for their use of explicit imagery. Society declares it's outrage, screams that it shall not tolerate treating people as objects, and raises it's voice against those who would perpetuate such indecency to our children! Then it sits down calmly, plunks the credit card onto the counter and pays for the pair of jeans and t-shirt it just bought.
What's truly outrageous is that it's been happening for a very long time. The article goes into some depth by pulling examples from the last several decades to make the point. It's not new, and outrage at "new" or more "outlandish" examples betrays the fact that we continue to let it happen, period. As a member of the design community, I understand that it's a more complicated issue than it looks like at a glance. It's more than just trying to associate a product and good feelings, it's about trying to sell a lifestyle. That lifestyle exists, and our society embraces it. We look to the news for drama and scandal. As a society we revel to watch Jon and Kate break apart their marriage vows. We applaud (and almost anticipate) politicians who are crucified to marital unfaithfulness. As a society we don't marry as often, we have more partners on average than ever, and our sexuality is at the forefront of so many major issues. The advertising we complain about isn't causing this, it's the mirror pointing back to us.
And that's really what it's all about. We can't keep blaming ads for ruining our society. We can't keep saying that the ads make us stumble or that the drama makes us weaker. Those are only reflections of the things we already wallow in. Yes, ending the use of explicit imagery in advertising would be great. Praise, hallelujah! But the real change comes from our society, and the ads will reflect that change, should it ever happen.
Training a Pet Peeve
This is to all of those people out there who choose to type in ALL UPPER CAPS. You know who you are. Maybe you think it helps you get your point across, like screaming it somehow helps in comprehension. Or maybe you're just really lazy and won't turn the caps lock button off. Perhaps you think it just looks pretty or that it matches your handwriting better, thus being a better representation of who you really are. Well, you're not fooling anyone.
You see, we know all about you. And it's not a two way street. What you don't know is that we [the people] in order to form a more perfect union have collectively chosen not to read what you write. Yes, you've read correctly. Despite your valiant attempts at gaining our attention, you've failed. Big time. Of course, there is occasional rebel in our group who thinks what you have to say IN ALL CAPS might be worth reading, but after one [two if you're lucky] lines of type, those idealistic notions of breaking away are quickly relieved.
The fact is, you are writing to a wide forum of people who are mostly literate. And, unfortunately for you, they've grown up reading mixed caps. That is to say, 99.9% of all non-headline media that a person reads is made up of either an initial capital letter, or a mixture of capital and lowercase letters with the capital always at the front of the word. It's easy for everyone to read. Letters are easily distinguished from one another, and words take on unique forms. We don't need to focus on phonics [what you may call FONIX] because our brains have been trained to treat certain shapes as specific words.
Case in point:
In publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum[p][1][2] is the name given to commonly used placeholder text (filler text) to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document or visual presentation, such as font, typography, and layout. The lorem ipsum text, which is typically a non-sensical list of semi-Latin words, is a hacked version of a Latin text by Cicero, with words/letters omitted and others inserted, but not proper Latin (see below: History and discovery).
is far easier to read than:
IN PUBLISHING AND GRAPHIC DESIGN, LOREM IPSUM IS THE NAME GIVEN TO COMMONLY USED ELEMENTS OF A DOCUMENT OR VISUAL PRESENTATION, SUCH AS FONT, TYPOGRAPHY, AND LAYOUT. THE LOREM IPSUM TEXT, WHICH IS TYPICALLY A NON-SENSICAL LIST OF SEMI-LATIN WORDS, IS A HACKED VERSION OF LATIN TEXT BY CICERO, WITH WORDS/LETTER OMITTEND AND OTHERS INSERTED, BUT NOT PROPER LATIN (SEE BELOW: HISTORY AND DISCOVERY).
Did you just see that? I know you did. Don't deny it. You didn't finish even trying to read that second block of copy. Why is that I wonder?
I hope we've learned a valuable lesson here today Mr.-I-love-the-all-caps-treatment. I hope we can now go on to be a civilized nation [interwebz] of people who are both literate and capable of saying things without having to scream them or cry for attention. We can continue to be a polite, well rounded society of folks who have a proper understanding of conversation. Maybe, just maybe, we can move on to the second or third grade of interwebz communication. Congratulation grad.