Form vs Function

This illustrations demonstrated clearly on what is forms and functions. Does forms follows functions. Or functions follows forms? Meaning to say, is it better to look good but doesn't work well, or it can work well but doesn't look as good? Can we strike a balance between both of them? Objects that both looks really good and work really well? How can we make it look better? How can we make it work better? 

Take for example a pair of scissors, it works well, it is good at cutting paper and such. But does it look good? How can we improve the design in such a way that it looks more appealing to the user?

Taking a look at a popular shopping mall in Singapore ,ION Orchard, or the newest university in Singapore , SUTD. I'm sure there are really beautiful piece of architectural design. And also it works as well as it looks. It look really pleasing to eye and has an effective used of space! 

Or a top of the line branded wallet, yeah it does looks good, but it does the same job as every other wallet does! The job of the wallet is to contain money bills and cards. But the wallet's designer put an extra effort to make it look good even though it does the same job! 

Synesthesia

On the previous class of creative thinking, Lecturer Mickey introduced a word which was new to me. Synesthesia. It is a condition in which one sense is being simultaneously being perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Meaning to say, someone who suffers from synesthesia is able to feel colours, taste words and hear numbers. Wait, this does not make any sense to me? How do one be able to feel colours? It's not the case whereby I'm green of envy, I'm feeling blue today and I'm seeing red! They literally feel with the colour! On Monday though, and especially Monday and no other days, where most working adults will feel blue. Because who doesn't have Monday Blues?

Can't you hear it? The number "3" is yelling at you!

According to a person suffering from synesthesia, The colour of the various words and letters are as follows: The Letter "N" is sienna brown, "J" is light green, number "8" is orange and July is bluish- green. So imagine one that have go through a mathematical exam, and a person with synesthesia would be struggling to give a numerical answer but coloured the answer instead.

While I myself do not suffer from this disorder but there is an App, Sadly by your side which gives us a small glimpse of how synesthesia might feel. It is an interactive music video whereby you are able see colours in music and in songs.  
Video link here

So how does one actually see colours in sound? They see it not in the form of colour pigment such as paints but they see it like the colours we are see in computer screens, the colours of light. They see it in their mind's eye. 

Edgar Degas broke the rules of impressionism

Edgar Degas a impressionist painter in the 18th century. Although technically, Degas often differed from what the other impressionist always does. He continually look down upon their practice of outdoor painting or en plien air. Critics who reviewed his works often describe him as anti impressionism. As impressionistic works alway have bright dazzling colours which concentrates primarily on the effects of light. As the the impressionist wants to express what they saw in that exact moment. Most of Edgar art pieces are lacking of colours or the minimal use of colours, that is why his painting doesn't always look vibrant and dazzling.

Although, Edgar was regarded as one of the founders of impressionism but he considered himself to a realist instead. 

Design Fault or User Fault?

Before I begin this blog post, allow me to introduced myself for a bit.

I'm currently working at Epicentre as a Mac Evangelist selling iPhone, iPad and computers. My workplace is at Marina Bay Sands. Apple is known for their minimalistic and clean design, taking the minimal approach in designing their product. Apple has boasted that their products is easy to use and is user friendly to many first time user. So this is what I have encountered when I sold one of the iPad Air 2 to a customer from China.

The customer requested to download some applications to her new iPad. But being a first time user of iPad, she would need to set up a new Apple ID account in order to download apps onto her new iPad. The iPad was set to Mandarin already, she knows how to read and speak Mandarin. But at the first page of the set up page, she was stunned. It is like she is seeing a foreign language or some alienated language. I asked her to follow the instructions prompted from the screen and fill in the necessary personal details for her Apple ID. But she doesn't know how, she doesn't know where to press and what to do to what she is seeing. Obviously the user is feeling the frustration of not knowing what to do. Apple has created a great User Experience in all their products except for the Apple watch. 

So I observed her for a moment. Does the user blame herself for not knowing what to do with the iPad or is the User interface not easy enough for comprehension.When people have trouble using technology, especially when they perceive that nobody else is having the same trouble, they tend to blame them self. The more trouble they face, the more helpless they may feel. Believing that they are technologically inept. Or they may blame the product for bad user interface resulting in a frustrating user experience. Remember that Apple has boasted how easy it is to use their products to even first time user. But why is this customer having trouble with it? Even changing the iPad language to her own mother tongue. Is she just that technology idiot and just wanted to play candy crush or whatever they play in their iPad? Are they too lazy to fill out their own credentials because of the long list of items to fill up? Are they too lazy to crack their brain to fill up the blanks? So who is at blame here?


Reference: The design of everyday thing by Don Norman

The bee

The night before this incident, the bee had an overdose of honey at it's own honeycomb. The bee was taking in so much honey, that's it is way above the recommended intake value. Because of this overdose, the bee became intoxicated.

This cause the bee to have dizzy spells. As time passes, the vision of the bee became so blur that what the bee saw is a faint dull colour of the world around the bee, the sense of smell is not as sensitive as before and lacking in spatial awareness.

Frantically, the bee flew around aimlessly panicking. It flew and went to a room with a fresh rose and a painting of beautiful colourful boquet of flowers. But instead flying to a fresh stalk of rose. It flew to the painting. The visuals and colours of the painting is too overpowering because of the array of colours used in the painting. And as it flew towards the painting, it bump into the painting and tried to draw pollen from the painting. What the bee thought was pollen was actually painting residue.

Rules are meant to be broken!

There are some who create the rules and there are some who breaks them. But who creates the rules? We all have have heard this famous quote by a Spanish painter Pablo Picasso,

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.

 But why should one break the rules? Are rules meant to be broken?  Breaking the rules may seem unconventional to many, but when a broken rule is applied to a particular painting or design correctly. It shocks the audiences, it surprises the viewer.

In designing typography, one of the well known rule is not to use more than two typefaces or font in one design. Why? Because each font conveys a different mood. When all the many fonts come together in a design. It will bombard the viewer with many different moods. This will confuse the viewer, unless your goal here is confusion. The following poster is designed by Müller-Brockmann. Because how this designer paid particular attention to the relationship between each other, how each font interact with each other and to the audience. He is able to be successful despite breaking the rules.

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Grey Matter.

Where have I heard of this before my creative thinking lesson last Wednesday? Ages ago perhaps. Whenever we are taught anything about thinking, using ours brains especially in a seminar or a classroom setting, there is this man who is often talked and discussed about. It is none other than the masters of thinking, Edward De Bono. Yes, I have heard of his name not once but several times throughout the course of my entire 23 years of existence.

So what is this term Lateral Thinking really means?
It is the use of creative and indirect means to solve problems, sometime it maybe an unorthodox method but well it works, doesn't? Using reasoning that is often not immediately obvious, not laid out plainly to us but it takes a little cracking of the head. Sometimes answers that we need cannot be obtain through a step by step approach. Such methodological can often lead to results that are unimaginative or something common, not new.

I have personally found myself thinking laterally but I don't even realise I'm thinking like that. So during the class, I now know that how to one is able to think laterally. And using it as one of the thinking tools to be able to help to study and lead my daily life more effectively.