Iconic Icons

Everyday people are exposed to hundreds of icons, from street signs to stop signs, and religious symbols to company logos. Though people may not realize it, icons are everywhere, guiding us through our daily routines. But, what is an icon and what is its significance? According to Housefield, iconography is the pictorial language of signs and symbols and their transformation over time. The word, iconography literally means “image writing.”

Iconography is important in the design world because it enables communication between the designer and viewer. Designers create icons to communicate important messages and meaning to the viewer. When looking at an icon, people are able to identify and understand the icon at first glance than reading a written message. Because this method is very efficient, many icons are used for signs on highways and streets to help us find out way. They are also used to communicate warnings and hazards, to keep people from getting into dangerous situations. Icons can also be used in various situations, even humor.

While searching through the internet, I happened to come across a group called Improv Everywhere, their motto, “cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places.” When browsing through their videos, I found one to be the most memorable, titled “who you gonna call?”

The video takes place in the reading room of the Public Library in New York City. The scene starts out with 3 people walking into the reading room. They dressed with white sheets over their heads pretending to be ghosts. The audience around them stared in confusion wondering what was happening. A few minutes later, 4 men dressed in uniform suits with the iconic Ghost Busters logo walk into the same room. The men immediately begin to chase the ghosts around the library and eventually chase the ghosts out of the library.

As soon as the viewers were able to identify and recognized the iconic Ghostbuster logo and image, they immediately reacted with laughter and applaud showing feedback of understanding. It was the iconic logo that really brought the audience to comprehend and appreciate the scene. Icons are very powerful in that they can change confusion into understanding almost immediately.

Credits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKB7zfopiUA
http://www.blognewsarama.com
http://www.aceinfowayindia.com

Design as a Conversation

Design is a conversation. A conversation between the designer and it’s audience. It is the

conversation that communicates change.

Last week, the popular clothing company, Gap, unveiled a new logo design. The new logo would be described as more “contemporary and modern” than the original logo. But when Gap unveiled this new logo, many customers were not so thrilled about the change.

On social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, many people criticized the new logo design. Commenting on why Gap would do such a thing, destroying it’s own image by replacing it’s iconic blue box logo with something that was thought to be very unappealing and poorly designed by many. Some would even say that the logo looked like a 5^th grader had designed it.

With today’s evolving social media, the upset against Gap’s logo triggered thousands of tweets and Facebook status updates, even a fake Twitter account gathering many followers protested against the new design. After reading all of the feedback, Gap had followed up and responded, “Ok. We’ve heard loud and clear that you don’t like the new logo. We’ve learned a lot from the feedback, we only want what’s best for the brand and our customers. So instead of crowd sourcing, we’re bringing back the Blue Box tonight.” After less than a week, Gap had swapped back to the old logo.

This backlash against the new logo is a clear example of a designer’s conversation with audience. Gap created a design and released it to the public. The public listened and responded with feedback. Gap responded to the feedback with change. This communication between designer and audience is the most effective way to solve problems within the design world. Especially with our advancing technology and social networking, we are now able to communicate and respond much more quickly and efficiently than before. Our design world is ever changing.


Credits: http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/gap-logo/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/gap-gets-rid-of-new-logo_n_759131.html
http://www.whitebirchbrewing.com
http://www.farmersmarketowencounty.com

Comparison and Contrast

What makes an object popular? What makes it attract people’s attention? What makes it work? 

There are many infomercials on television selling special products to fix various problems or products just to create convenience to peoples’ everyday lives. But I always wondered why some products became a success and why some were just a flop. I guess the answer is, it’s all in the design.

One of the products that happen to intrigue me the most was the Snuggie. If you didn’t know, a Snuggie is basically a blanket with sleeves. When I first saw the Snuggie commercial I assumed that it was just a brightly colored blanket. I wondered, “why not just use a regular blanket? It would be the same.” But it turned out, it wasn’t the same as a blanket, a Snuggie had sleeves! I thought, “if you are that cold, why not just wear a jacket? It has sleeves, it will keep you warm.” But I guess some people refuse to wear jackets indoors.

When I first saw a Snuggie, I thought it looked very strange and I admit that I had always made fun of the people in the infomercials because I never really understood the idea behind it. But after seeing it on television after many years, I had never realized how popular it became. And then one day, I had a chance to try a Snuggie and it was not bad as I thought. It even had a pocket! The Snuggie is not a just a blanket or a jacket, but a hybrid of both. I guess the reason why it became so popular was because of its convenience and function. Even though in my opinion it is not the most appealing to wear, it’s function over fashion with this design.

Credits: http://www.snuggiesourcefortwo.com

http://www.pioneerlinens.com