New terms and ideas that I am being exposed to in the book Practices of Looking by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright.
] Objective [
The ideal state of being unbiased...
] Subjective [
Something that is particular to the view of an individual, hence the opposite of objective. A subjective view is understood to be personal, specific, and imbued with the values and beliefs of a particular person. Read the rest of this entry »
New terms and ideas that I am being exposed to in the book Practices of Looking by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright.
] Simulation/Simulacra [
Terms most famously used by French theorist Jean Baudrillard that refer to a sign that does not clearly have a real-life counterpart. A simulacrum is not a representation of something, but is more difficult to distinguish from the real. Hence, it can be considered to be a kind of fake real that could potentially supercede the real. Baudrillard stated that to simulate a disease was to acquire its symptoms, thus making it difficult to distinguish between simulation and the actual disease. For example, a casino or amusement park simulacrum of the city of Paris can be seen as creating a substitution for the actual city, and can perhaps for some viewers seem to be more real than the city itself. The term simulation is often used to describe aspects of postmodern culture in which copies and realities get blurred. Read the rest of this entry »
A few days ago I found the Insights Incite Change Style Guide webpage for Syracuse University. I was temporarily thrilled, for as an alumnus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications I could not wait to experience a new visual transformation of my alma mater.
At the AIGA Next conference there was a segment called 20/20. It was 20 young designers, each having been granted 1 min to talk or show what’s next. One of the designers, Geoff Halber, asked others to contribute to his presentation by submitting a version of an 08.
My domino version of the 08, already blending with the next version.
Thanks to Kelly Murdoch-Kitt for having taken the photo.
As part of my explorations on the relationship between the disciplines of architecture and graphic design, a current work in progress delves into the subject of representation thru typography. Here letterforms (which designs are dictated by the medium) can be texture, but at the same time a message, which at the same time is a texture. The revelation of this meaning arises from the interaction the user has with the work. These are process photos. The project is half way in the process.
Architecture by Jorge Rigau, FAIA. Typography by Alberto Rigau. Scultpture and modeling by Jaime Suárez Toro.
New terms and ideas that I am being exposed to in the book Practices of Looking by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright.
] Abstraction [
The quality of being conceived apart from concrete realities.
] Capitalism [
An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth are held primarily by individuals and corporations, as opposed to cooperative or state owned means of wealth. Capitalism is based on an ideology of free trade, open markets, and individuality. In capitalism, the use value of goods (how they are used) matter less than their exchange value (what they are worth on the market). Marxist theory is a critique of the ways that the system of capitalism is based on inequality and exploitation of workers, allowing a few to prosper while many have only limited means.
] Flaneur [
A french term theorized explicitly by cultural critics such as Walter Benjamin, that refers to a person who wanders city streets taking in the sights, especially those of consumer society. In other words, the flaneur is a kind of window shopper, with the implication that the act of looking at the gleaming offerings of commodity culture is itself a source of pleasure wether or not one actually ever purchases anything. The flaneur is simultaneously in the world of consumerism and detached from the cityscape around him. Read the rest of this entry »
My father and I many times mused about graphic design and architecture. We conversed about the disciplines’ similitudes and differences. We evaluated how each of us could use our fields to impact the other.
Architecture can aid my understanding of balance (specially when it comes to grid work and the alignment of elements), it can fuel my understanding of the different ways my work will affect others, and it can be a catalyst for three dimensional explorations of a basically two dimensional area of study. Graphic design can influence him by improving his communications, by opening a space to create strategical standpoint for the conceptual exploration of aesthetic representations, and in providing a typographical groundwork on which to develop a new layer of expressive meaning. Read the rest of this entry »
This model was thought, envisioned and created in 1 hour and a half as a reaction to the phrase: Empowerment as me jumping on top of you and screaming like crazy!
I spent this past week at the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ (AIGA) NEXT Conference in Denver, Colorado. For those of you who know me well, yes, this was the conference about which I rambled on all summer while I awaited the results of the selection process of a contest for designers under the age of 26. See the file I submitted as my application for the contest, called Command X. (I know that for many of you the summer seemed endless as I waited for the deliberation. Thanks for sticking with me.)
This story, which is the product of a in-class brainstorming session with the rest of my classmates, uses exact quotes given to me by my peers (in red) and I have created a whole fictitious narrative around them to explore the idea or concept of empowerment.
Welcome back to another segment of Who’s pica is it anyway?
] For this segment the rules are simple: a random person of the crowd will yell out a theme for two of our improv graphic designers to execute. Then, remember those little paper pieces that were handed to you at the beginning of the show? Those papers where you could write whatever you wanted on? Well, every 15 seconds, our improvisers will incorporate one of these statements into the overall dialogue. (If you later decide to go online and download the transcript, we will include the nicknames of those who submitted statements.) Let’s begin!
_Master of ceremonies_ Our improvisers for the night are girgen29 & pirindinga. Anyone have a theme in mind?
] not even a second went by and a voice from the side of the room yelled empowerment (crispygonzo) [
Since I spend more than 80% of my time in this room, my wall has grown into Gretchen’s space. I am about to explore the west into Robert’s space. Soon I will have to begin layering in order to keep all things up.
As a graphic designer, I wonder about my possible contribution to a social & architectural development project. How can I aid other professionals whose practice and form are key in improving people’s lives while recontextualizing their social condition. How can I help them understand the possibilities that are at hand?
I analyzed the case study of Quinta Monroy at Iquique, Chile. This social housing development project was idealized by architect Alejandro Aravena from the Elemental Group and the Barrio Chile civic organization.
In this case study, and in many others that the group has already finished, Elemental does a wonderful job of working with the community. It understands that in this kind of relationship, understanding social realities is the key to the success of any endeavor. It is not possible to come in with a brilliant idea, impose it and carry it out. If no interest is shown on the community’s opinion, nothing will take place.
Seminars, collaborative sessions, educational exercises, informational meetings… just a small sample of the efforts that Elemental performs to gain confidence and understanding from the members of communities, which are usually skeptical any kind efforts made in order to improve their way of life.
My project concentrates in the touch point between these two groups (architects vs. community members). I explored the possibility of a visualization system to allow a better dialogue between the architect’s’ diagrammatic style and a verbally denoted system that allows for the community to develop a sense of ownership and understand that this kind of project is not an imposition, but a template for them to develop within. It’s about realizing the unlimited possibilities.
Armando Rigau currently pursues a Master in Architecture I at Cornell University. He received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy with History and Spanish minors from Georgetown University.
