[Small/Big Design]

You know, it's gotta get hella boring reading all these essays from people. And let's be honest, occasionally I write like a pretentious bastard. So I think I'll write you a rap about this one

(and yes, I do sorta rap. I mean, I know I'm a white, middle class suburbian, but that makes me like twice as qualified to throw down a design rap).

Back in the day, we hella done well,
Lookin back at men like Izzy Brunell,
Building ships so big they made us shit bricks
The bigger the ideas the better the fix we get.
But since then, we've gotten kinda small,
Hipsters screenprinters hanging shit up on a wall.
And I think our ancestors would be appalled,
Forget hellenistic-we traded Greeks for geeks and lost it all!
And I can't point, cause I'm just one of em-
Heck, who's got money or guts to go all in.
But I can't help but think that it's a sin
How we traded big thinking for aesthetics and a new spin.
And who doesn't love a shiny new thing?
We've been trained to consume like we're in the ring,
We're that motherf****n parrot that they taught to sing.
To the dinging and the ringing of walmart doors opening.
And true that's a cynical thing to say-
But it's true at the end of the day
we're so wrapped up on how every little thing looks that
when my best friend wears a scarf, people think he's gay.

(Here's where that girl with the sexy voice sings that tight hook)

You see we left the big to go small
Try and make consumption feel personal
But it's kinda hard to make a person feel hella special
When their one in a million in your f*****g shopping mall.
Because theirs something to be said about the handmade-
Handwritten notes delivered with lemonade.
Why else would things like Kickstarter work
And why do artists make work even if their not paid?
You see we forget the human factor
That fact that humans are f*****g more than actors
That adding up our parts isn't enough to explain this
Love, hate, souls, fate and last words shit
We've learned over time that bigger isn't always better
But design is on the right track when it's human centered.
When we admit that our goal of design is the betterment
Of the human race, we become unfettered.

(That sexy hook again)

We keep talking about global change,
But personally I think that it's kinda strange
That we focus so much on building a better world
When our brothers and sisters are burdened with pain.
Cause you see life is hard,
And I'm that white guy who's barely been marred
By the nasty side of life-I rarely see strife
Cause I was raised in the suburbs by parents with credit cards.
But I've seen the scars life can bring
When a kid's situation is sexually abusing
But why the hell am I still talking
About this shit in a rap about designing?
But I can't get out of my head
That perhaps It's not about big or small in the end.
That perhaps its about reaching out to a friend
Responding with honesty to the signal they send.
Perhaps that's a little to spiritual for us
Design is after all physical stuff
But if in the end we all end up as dust,
I'd like that dust to be ash cause I'll burn up bright if I must.

(Repeat that sexy hook till you end)

Anyways, just thought this would be a nice change of pace for you. If you're looking for a beat, I sorta used Watsky's Sloppy Seconds as a background track in my head. Here's the link if you're into that stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCEsveSK5to&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLblxhEQYeadFpbYhpeSWgk1zS2dK7YqOk

Also, this was off the TED Talks video by Tim Brown

[On City's and People]

Cities are an odd mixture of careful planning and instinctual human behavior. In order for a city, to grow, it must have people pouring into it, and a city must be physically growing in order for that to happen. Because of this, one city may grow for a variety of reasons: need of housing, economic stimulation, simple additions to homes. With such disconnection happening within city growth, it is no surprise that some city growth seems to not make sense, giving a sense of confusion to the city. It is then the job of the designer, be he architect or civil engineer, to help these divided interests grow together as one, cohesive unit.

Realizing this duality of growth in a city will help us understand how best to help people understand their surroundings better. The realization that the city is constantly in flux; a pond in rain, and each ripple a person's decision to change the city. Our goal as designers should be to create a flexible pathway through the madness, rather than trying to perfect and solidify a solution. Life is constant change, a dance of repetition and contrast, and design must help us navigate the change.

[Using graphics in Wayfinding]

The purpose of using graphics is to communicate information or ideas. Successful graphic use combines the context with the image, to bring about clearer, more precise understanding and feeling.

In wayfinding, the graphics must be created for the context of movement. They need to be easily understood and readable from a distance. They need to help people understand their surroundings, not confuse them. Good wayfinding is focused on getting people from point A to point B.

Now let's go back and look at basic Gestalt theory. We want to accomplish coherency through visual means. In Gestalt theory, repetition produces understanding and contrast produces interest. If you want to help people understand they are on the right path, repeat a graphic. If you want to signal a change of direction or node, use a contrasting graphic.