A Festive Evening

After reading all about the hype of Dundee Light Night and hearing of it on the radio I was looking forward to an evening filled with fun, however this feeling was soon short lived when I left uni at 5 o'clock this evening and started to walk home in the bitter cold knowing I was going back to a flat with no gas and the thought of going back out just didn't seem so appealing. I got home and to my joy and surprise my flat mate had managed to top up the meter and we had hot water! Still not really wanting to go out I sat down attempting to do some more of my design studies 'essay' as such, but after a few hours I started to way up going out and having fun or sitting in doing my essay on a friday night.... so I got my hat and scarf on and headed down to town to what I thought was going to be a fantastic night but I was soon to be disappointed. Granted I only made it into town for the back of eight and all the things were finishing shortly after nine, so the festivities where coming to a hault, and the only thing left to watch was the fireworks. If anyone could actually see them.....

I asked a steward where abouts the fireworks where going to be and he, with the most sarcastic tone and look on his face held too hands up pointed to the sky and said 'in the sky!' YES i know they are going to be in the sky!! We seen a crowd of people gather just outside the Caird Hall so assumed this was going to be the place with the best view.... then all of a sudden we heard a loud bang but there were no fireworks in sight, and a small child from someones shoulder points and shouts in the direction of Dundee High and it was like a scramble, people rushing past one another, shouting at kids to speed up and clipping your heels with their buggies. It was pandemonium, and left me feeling rather disappointed and not very christmassy.

Walking home we decided on going to see Disney's A Christmas Carol to try and get us in the christmas mood, and all it took was a set of 3D glasses and some snow on the screen. The movie was fantastic, I loved it. I have never seen the original Christmas Carol but I knew the bases of the plot, but I think this was better because I sat up and paid attention and really enjoyed the film. Disney never fail to disappoint, I have yet to see a film I haven't enjoyed, the stories are so simply yet their animation has evolved over the years and gets better every time and now seeing movies in 3D is another huge step. I believe this is the way forward for cinemas now, you just feel so much more involved in the movie that you are actually in it and there witnessing it all happen. I have been to Florida a few times over the past few years and have been on numerous 3D and now 4D rides, when your seat moves along with the movie and smell is introduced. This is the ultimate cinema experience and I think possibly the only thing that could now top Disney's new 3D movies.

So in the end my festive evening turned out to be not so bad, and all that was left to do was get home get the kettle on and have a nice glass of hot Vimto, the taste of Christmas.

Change

As designers, well up and coming designers change is a very important thing for us. We have to keep up to date with latest trends and new technology and the ever advancing world, but I sometimes feel that change isn't particularly very good. I don't really like change, I hate to see somewhere from my hometown or childhood to have changed when I get back from being in Dundee because I feel when things are changed the memories of that place change with them.

I remember being in 6th year at high school and being soooo annoyed when the cafeteria changed from square tables to round tables and I remember coming home and ranting to my parents about it and mum said to me you'd think it was a life or death matter the way you are going on about it......

But to me it seemed so important, (at the time) looking back now doesn't seem so important however my point is I don't like change when it directly effects me. I like to be organised, I like things to run in a particular order and have a routine I can stick to. And when something mucks with my routine I get agitated. Still talking of the same situation with the round tables, I remember a friend of mine, a very free spirited friend might I add, said 'I love change, it's such a breath of fresh air, don't you just get board of the same old same old.....'

This got me thinking today, I enjoyed first year of university so much I didn't want to go home at summer and couldn't bear the thought of not seeing all my friends for months but second year hasn't quite been the same. I have been taken completely out of my comfort zone and dropped somewhere where nothing is the same as before, all I keep doing is reminiscing about how great first was and not been enjoying second year to it's full potential. I believe alot of this has got to do with my friends. People change. Friends change, people move on and I think this is something I need to understand, something I need to get to grips with because no matter how hard I try to hold onto the past, although it never changes, holding onto it isn't going to stop the future. I would love for things to just go back to the way they were, but I think I'm in need of a fresh start, a 'breath of fresh air,' after all if I am going to become a successful designer I need to get used to it, make the most of it because in todays ever developing society you have to be ready for whatever life throws at you and hopefully design something that will help explain the 'ever changing' world to someone else.

There's no point clenching to the past hoping it will stay the same forever because in reality this never happens and its our job as designers to try and change the world we live in, make people perceive it differently, open people's eyes to new experiences and hopefully change some things for the better.

Websites Activity 3

For the final part of Activity 3 I was asked to create a list of my 'Top 5" websites that I think will be useful in helping me to keep updated about all the latest advances in the world of Graphic Design. Here are my top 5 website which I think are worth taking a look at on a regular basis.

www.youthedesigner.com

This website is a blog full of handy hints and tips to help inspire the new generation of innovative Graphic Designers, including areas such as marketing and branding. It was set up by a Gino Orlandi when he was in design school and the blog soon became well known, took off and turned out very successful.

www.eyemagazine.com

This is an online magazine for reviewing the world of Graphic Design. It covers lots of different aspects of design and has the option to not only read online, which is preferable for some, but to subscribe to receiving the magazine and collecting the issues with the very well designed covers.

www.howdesign.com

Again, this is another online magazine but not to help inspire graphic design but to help designers run professional and successful organisations. HOW magazine is full of information and influences covering all areas of the business and design world.

www.cmykmag.com

CMKY is an online magazine that displays work of ambitious designers to the commercial design world allowing for professionals to browse through and find fresh new talent.

www.studio7designs.com

Finally Studio 7 Designs are a design company that do branding and advertising for 'environmentally-conscious' companies. This I feel is a very important issue in today's society and I am glad to see design companies doing their bit to help promote and save our planet.

I was then asked to make another list of my top 5 websites that will be useful in keeping me up to speed with all sorts of matters happening in the world today that are not related to Graphic Design. These websites, if checked regularly, I believe will benefit me with my studies and help me to understand the world that I not only live in but the world I am trying to design for.

news.bbc.co.uk/

This is the main british news website with lIve news feeds updated at very regular intervals or in the event of breaking news is updated immediately. From here you can access all kinds of information about current events, politics, education, technology and many more in all different parts of the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

The BBC radio 4 website is full of all the information aired on the radio and so much more, BBC radio 4 covers all genres of topical interest and is there to help the listener gain better knowledge and understanding of the world we live in. On the website there is a blog and an area for feedback for people to express their views on currents issues or to get much needed answers.

www.nytimes.com/

The American or in particular the New York version of our BBC news website, just updating of all current affairs happening in the USA. It is just as important as designers that we keep up to date with not only issues effecting our own country but those that are effecting others.

twitter.com/

If you are following the right sorts of people on Twitter and not just your friends this can be a very effective and beneficial tool to gaining knowledge of what is happening in the world, and it is a great place for meeting potential business clients and making connections with people in the similar field to yourself.

Music and its influences

Sitting in class this afternoon i was beginning to lose my patience with my web design, i had a slight sizing problem in flash and had to go through a grand total of 72 photos and resize them from 291x277 dpi to 300x300, and if I see the number 300 one more time......

I am usually quite a patient person and I have alot of time for technology as I believe it is our future and if we are to get anywhere these days you'd better know how to use a computer, but as I was sitting today Friday afternoon 5 o'clock after a very long week I was starting to get to the end of my tether and the only thing I knew that would cheer me up would be to listen to my all time favourite ablum on my ipod..... this I am not going to share with everyone!

Whilst working away listening to my music the time soon flew in and before I knew it, it was ten to six and I had FINALLY managed to complete my tedious photo editing, I packed up my stuff and headed home after feeling like I had had quite a productive evening.

This weekend is my first weekend alone in my flat and I am going to use it wisely as I have no distractions and plenty of deadlines to attend to, so I got home dumped my bag and loaded up itunes, but as I sat in my quiet room listening to the same album as before I began to feel a little home sick and not quiet as inspired as earlier. This album is also one of my dad's favourites so is played alot when I am back home and it got me thinking of how no matter what the song the situation you are in when listening to it alters how you feel about it. When I am busing about and trying to complete a task it seems to give me some 'get up and go' and gets me moving but when I am sitting alone with my thoughts it seems to dampen my spirits a little.

This then made me think of something said in a lecture I had last week all about WW1, my tutor was playing a series of war time posters with backing tracks and we were asked to jot down our original thoughts on the posters. Firstly was German and Russian posters with harsh sounding music then followed by British which was accompanied by some jolly patriotic music. This divided the views all the students had about the posters, even though both were putting across the same message.

Music plays such a vital part in the way we perceive things, it's like the adverts for sick children and animals on the tv they are accompanied by sad, soppy music which in turn makes you feel bad and sympathize with the problem. Although these situations are bad and unfortunate the advertisers are using very clever yet simple techniques to get you to part with your money!

All of this is part of the world of advertising and manipulation for retailers to get you to do and buy exactly what they want! A very effective tool if you ask me, a little unfair perhaps, but that's what this business is all about.

I always knew about music in advertising being so influential but I never realised how much of an effect the same song can have on you depending on your situation..... well I have now discovered my trick, getting my ipod out when a design problem arises, and being a productive worker/designer so no more excuses!!

Activity 3

For this activity we had to research a mixture of books, journals and websites in relation to our selected topic. I choose to look at how family's function and how important a child's youth is to how they behave in later life especially as young adolescents, and how they conduct themselves within the local community.

My researched started using the Cross Search Facilty within the University of Dundee's Library to look into journals written by academics of the university, then I went along to the library and looked into books relevant to my topic and finally on to the internet. I found several books and journals helpful however when looking on the internet I found limited reliable resources.

Jensen, A and McKee, L (2003) Children and the Changing Family Between transformation and negotiation. Kent: GreenGate.

Jensen and McKee in this book are analyzing how family and social changes are effecting a child’s youth and how they grow up perceiving the world. The three major changes covered in this book are: parental employment, family composition and ideology. The child’s point of view on family changes is a key element explored in this book.

Moore, M, Sixsmith, J, and Knowles, K, (1996) Childrens’ Reflections on Family Life. London: RouteledgeFalmer.

Moore, Sixsmith and Knowles are researching into the effects of the home and family from the point of view of the child. How important all the factors of a stable family life influence the child’s behaviour in the community. Each chapter focuses on different family type and expresses the childs feelings, and the authors have assessed this knowledge to show parents why they might want to alter their life style to benefit their child.

Phares, V, Fields, S, and Kamboukos, D, (2009) Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement with Their Adolescents.

Phares’ investigation into time youths spend with both their mother or their father has resulted in understanding of behavioral aspects of a young adolescents life. It has been discovered that a majority opinion of mothers and fathers agree mothers have more responsibility for their children when it comes down to daily conduct.

Smart, DF, Sanson, AV, and Toumbourou, JW (2008) How do parents and teenagers get along together? Views of young people and their parents

This journal is a study on developing children based on the Australian Temperament Project (ATP), which is looking at circumstantial surroundings, including family, and trying to understand their significance to the child’s welfare. Looking in particular at the similarities and differences between how teenagers and their parents view their relationship, and the final outcome found that “difficult parent-adolescent relationships are atypical and that community perceptions of the relationship are out of order.”

Waasdorp, TE and Bradshaw, CP, (2009) Child and Parent Perceptions of Relational Aggression Within Urban Predominantly African American Children’s Friendships: Examining Patterns of Concordance

This journal is investigating the effects of relational aggression and the impact it has on children and how they behave. When asked parents believed that if their child was suffering from relational aggression that they would confide in them, however when the children were surveyed the results showed girls were more likely to speak to a school teacher and boys to another adult. This give us an insight as to the differences in opinions between parent and child on the same matter and what Waasdorp and Bradshaw believe is that this research may lead to progression of methods to helping families cope.

White, D and Woollett, A (1992) Families: A Context for Development. London: RouteledgeFalmer.

In this book White and Woollett are looking at the network of contemporary families and how each member plays a vital role in the development of one anothers behaviour and social skills. They research beyond the usual assumption that the two biological parents are responsibly for their children’s behaviour by looking at how they child affects their parent. Finally they look into all types of families for example, single parent families and separated families etc, and how these circumstances change behaviours within the family.

Wright, D, SImmons, L, and Campbell, K, (2007) Does a Marriage Ideal Exist? Using Q-Sort Methodology to Compare Young Adults’ and Professional Educators’ Views on Healthy Marriages.

This journal is looking into the views of young adults and family educators to investigate if both parties have similar opinions of what they believe makes a healthy stable relationship. Three final conclusions where reached, including partners that agree with one another, good communication and similarities in tackling problem solving.

Zabriskie, RB and McCormick, BP (2001) The Influences of Family Leisure Patterns on Perceptions of Family Functioning

Zabriskie and McCormick managed a study looking at Family Leisure Patterns and how they affect the union of families and the chance for them to change. They looked into two different kinds of ‘family leisure patterns,’ which they differentiated as ‘core’ and ‘balance,’ and trying to see how each affects the need for steady relationships, the room for progression and the need for change.

Author Unknown (2009) The Medical News. Available <http://www.news-medical.net/news/2009/05/05/49165.aspx (14/11/2009)

This website is looking at the tension between parents and child and how it effects both sons and daughters in different ways and also how it effects both parents. Sex is seen as a very important factor in relationships between parent and child and is explored in some detail. Other components included in this website are housekeeping habits, lifestyles and personality clashes.

What is home?

I attend Mhairi Bowe's 'Is there More at Home than the Heart: The Psychology of People and Places' lecture this evening in Sensation Science thinking that it would be relevant to my design studies activity but it wasn't however it left a thought in my mind as to what I would class at being 'Home' since I am living away from home for my period of study in Dundee.

Home to me has always been Airdrie, where I have lived my whole life, where my family and friends are. Until I moved away from home I always thought of myself as being able to go anywhere and not miss home so long as I had my friends with me, just like being at school camp, but this has since changed and I have never felt so home sick.

I coped fine last year being in halls as I felt there was always something happening, some sort of drama kicking off in the kitchen or just someone popping in to say hey so there was no time for me to sit and think about missing home, but this year is very different, being in your own flat has alot of good points but with this comes so much responsibility.

Feeling at home for me means being comfortable in my surroundings and feeling like I belong, and there is no where in the world I feel like I belong more than sitting at the dinner table with my mum dad and sister listening to our 'Sunday Dinner' music and enjoying each others company. Some one mentioned in the lecture the importance of belongings making wherever you are feel like home, but to me having my room in Dundee full of all my stuff doesn't make me miss home any less if anything its more because along with all my belongings are the memories I have from back home but this for me works both ways as when I am home for the holidays my 'Dundee things' look out of place in my room. When I go home for the weekend or an over night stay I do sometimes feel like a guest in my own house as I am living out a suitcase and my room doesnt look like my room anymore. I seem to over the past 2 years accumulated doubles of lots of things, I cant have a frame of me and my best friend in Airdrie and not in Dundee so I have one in each and the same with less important things such as pillows and calenders.

No matter how well i settle in Dundee or how much I get used to my routine and surroundings nothing says home to me more than driving into my town past my old dancing school down the road I used to drive to school and driving into my housing estate seeing mum and dads car parked on the driveway, opening the front door and shouting 'hey' to which my whole family come running down to greet me with a hug as if they hadn't seen me in years and we talk for hours and hours......

Sitting here right now in my freezing cold flat in Dundee thinking about all of this I want nothing more than to jump in my car and go home and see my family, unfortunately I can't so thank goodness for technology because this means that my family are only ever a phone call away and I can speak to them whenever I want.

To me Home is family, memories and a sense of belonging and not the house I live in or the things I have in my room, its the times spent making memories with the people I love most in the whole world, in the place I call 'My Home.'

How does desing relate to the power of context part 1 Bernie Goetz

After spending time brainstorming with my group on both my own chapter and other chapters studied by my group mates I have come up with a possible solution to relating design to the unfortunate events surrounding the story of Bernie Goetz.

I looked into the way we conduct relationships with our family members and how this effects our behaviour and how we act towards others. In the end my idea was to create some piece of jewellery that 'Zaps' both parties in a relationship when you start to argue with one another to try and help to 'keep the peace' and hopefully help build a very healthly, strong and stable relationship.