MEDP 160 Blog Post #2

In this post I'll be looking at the trailer for "A Serious Man," the next upcoming feature from two of my favorite directors, the Coen brothers.

Like most trailers, this one uses a montage style, where meaning is derived from the interplay between different shots. The opening clip shows the main character, Larry, being slammed against a black board repeatedly by another man.


This clip sets the stage for Larry's desperate condition. It also allows the editor to introduce a cacophonic soundtrack made up of noises within the film, giving a sense of Larry's distress. The following shots are composed of Larry explaining his problems to an unsympathetic rabbi's secretary, broken up with shots that show his plight. This method of cutting back and forth adds a build-up of tension that brings the viewer into Larry's world as it slides downhill.

When the scene changes and piling of sounds cease, it almost seems as if relief is about to come for the besieged main character. Both Larry and the viewer hold their breath in anticipation. Even though the editor finally allows us to stay in one scene, the quick cuts back to Larry's anxious face followed by eye-line matches of the secretary approaching to the rabbi add suspense.



The suspense is resolved by yet another let-down: the rabbi is too busy "thinking" to see Larry. After a text sequence, we again see the opening shot of the main character being smashed against the blackboard, seeming to signify that Larry's dire situation is without end.

Judging from the trailer, the film looks to be just as genius as any of Joel and Ethan Coen's other movies!

MEDP 331 - Project 1 Sitemap

PROBLEM: Many Hunter students come to school and leave without forming any bonds or feeling a sense of community. There are over 100 clubs at Hunter that could solve this problem if only it were easier to get involved in them. Also, many students find it difficult to become an active participant in the Hunter community and their voices go unrecognized.

SOLUTION: Develop at site that makes it easier for Hunter students to get involved in clubs and have their opinions heard.

MEDP 160 Blog Post #1

Upon reflection, it's frightening how seamlessly my life has become integrated with media and technology. For this blog post, I'll focus specifically screen that dominates this student's daily existence. Here it is:


Ah, Gmail; it is, for me, both a bane and an enabler. Without this interface, the way I flail about now would be entirely unsustainable. Through Firefox plugins and Google Labs add-ons, I have turned the thing into my main source of life management. First, it serves as a hub for accounts across the web, receiving my messages from Facebook, Flickr, the student government site I admin, six other email accounts, and other web services.

On the left, you'll see that I've installed GTDInbox (a.k.a. Getting Things Done Inbox). This incredible Firefox plug-in employs Gmail's "labeling" system to turn each email into a task. Here is an example screenshot of GTDInbox working at the individual email level:


With GTDInbox, I first "tag" emails by one of three statuses: "Action" for emails that contain things that I need to act on or reply to; "Waiting On" so I can later check who needs to get back to me; or "Someday" for messages that I'll get to eventually (I try to stay away from this category).

Next, I tag emails by which of my projects they fall under. For example, when I was organizing a retreat for the student government, I would use the "Projects" drop down menu to group emails under "P/USG-Retreat," as in "Project: Undergraduate Student Government Retreat."

After that, my messages are tagged by what context they fall under. Are they from my parents? Do they have to deal with the University Student Senate? Are they graphic design work-related? A label is assigned for each of these categories.

Finally, categorize emails by what "Reference" type they are (for example, if the email contains a contact list, I group it under R/Contact-List) and whether there are any miscellaneous labels I need to apply.

Back to the home screen:

In the middle, you'll see my feed of emails, which I auto- and manually filter by which email account they're coming from and all of the categories listed above. All those colorful boxes are my labels.

Lastly, to the left you'll see another important component: the "Remember the Milk" (RTM) interface. RTM allows me to keep track of my to-do list, grouping tasks by when they're due, their context, and other hierarchical labels. Handily enough, RTM syncs with my iPhone.

Thus, I present to you my Googlized life. And I didn't even get to Google Docs or my Google Calendar yet.

For MEDP 331 - 29 Things Post

Thing 1:
I've embarked on the online journey entitled "29 Things." The first Thing was to view a set of 23 other Things. After reading the description about turning people into life-long learners, I am intrigued.

Thing 2:
Intended for (presumably older) librarians, I found the ensuing 7 & 1/2 Habits online tutorial to be a bit fluff-filled and slow-moving. Easiest for me of of the 7.5 habits would have to be "Viewing problems as challenges," since that's sort of the default mindset I've cultivated since something inexplicable clicked in high school. Hardest out of those presented would probably be number 7 1/2: "Play," because it's tough for me to find the time to do so.

Thing 3:
My blog has been set up. You are reading the first post re: 29 Things.

Thing 4:
I've registered for an account on 43 Things. The amount of Things on my plate are quickly stacking up.

Thing 5:
As a regular user of Flickr for image hosting and inspiration seeking, my account has already been set up: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyleralterman/. With a quick search through some of my favorite design groups, I stumble upon a compelling poster, with strong use of type, consistent echoes of color, and a clean yet creative layout.


Here are a couple images that I've uploaded from my design portfolio, tagged, organized, and submitted to groups:

What I Hear

Location: Lincoln Center Area, Upper West Side

Keynotes

• The chirping and chittering of birds. One sounded like it had throat cancer.
• People complaining on cell phones.
• The omnipresent squeaking of breaks.
• The nails of dogs scratching the pavement.
• The heels of shoes scratching the pavement.
• The building growl of accelerating cars.
• The whirring of bicycle, stroller, and suitcase wheels.
• The distant wailing of police sirens.
• The grumble of cars waiting for the light to change.
• The shh shh of jacket fabric rubbing against jacket fabric as people walk by.
• The nonsense language of babies.
• Buses beeping and letting out air like deflating balloons as lower to the ground to let the elderly out to the sidewalk.
• The sound of an ocean wave as a car passes.
• Tires clunking over metal plates.
• Buses letting out small farts of air as they drive past.
• The roar of the subway underneath.

Signals

• The deep rumble of buses in wait.
• The cry of a police car horn.
• The beeping of taxis.

Soundmarks

• Pretentious laughter.
• The clicking of fancy shoes.
• The complaining of old people.
  

Location: Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Upper West Side

Keynotes

• The pinging of glasses.
• Silverware jingling against silverware.
• The grinding of chairs on the marble floor.
• Plates clanging onto tables.
• The clink of silverware being picked up off tables.
• The crinkle of opening a ticket envelope.
• The dull murmur of a room of people.
• The echoing of voices.
  

Design I Like

For this assignment, I'm going to talk about and dissect a portfolio site that I've been admiring for a while now. I speak here of the portfolio site for a young Swiss designer named Loic Dupasquier. (Pictured below.)


I suppose that I'll first talk about the design of the site as a whole. One of the things that immediately struck me was the site's great use of color. We see a consistent use of shades of purple to focus our attention on specific areas of the site. I like the fact that the designer kept the site monochrome and used color only where necessary. In fact, the site feels very clean and clutter free, while still having a sense of energy due to economic uses of effects like gradients, rounded corners, drop shadows, and a somewhat grungy background texture. I also noticed that the site has a wonderfully uniform grid, adding to the sense of subtle elegance. You'll notice that the information on the top aligns with the images on the bottom in a four-column grid. Another nice aspect of the site is that all the information is on a single page, relieving browsing headaches. Finally, the maximum width of the main content is only about 675 pixels, so that users with smaller screens can view the content without having to scroll from side to side - a usability nightmare.

Onto specifics. The first part of the page that will likely draw the user's attention is the header:


The header here provides a logo that strikes a great balance between the typographic and the purely graphic. The memorable logo immediately brands the page as fun and creative with its playful lettering, reminiscent of jello perhaps. To the right, the user receives an immediate description of the page, so they know what to expect in the following content.

Next the user is presented with biographic information, along with contact information and a creatively presented image of the artist.

To the left, we see the biographic info presented with large, colored headings that clearly designate hierarchy. Underneath, the text has an aesthetically pleasing line height and a consistent baseline. The sans-serif font works well stylistically and is very readable. Further right, we're given links to further information about the designer: his contact information, his resume, and his Facebook profile. To show that these links are clickable, we're given a feedback effect upon mouse-over - the text of the links turns purple. Furthermore, the artist's self-portrait to the far right sends a clear message that we're looking at the page of a creative person. The imaginative energy, it seems, is literally escaping from his head, as signified by the purple blobs flowing out from underneath the artist's hat. As a nice twist, and further symbolism of creativity, this picture breaks out of the grid structure.

Last but not least, we have the actual porfolio section of the website:


The designer makes this area extremely usable by providing clear categories to the left, previews of the portfolio images, and descriptions of these images as clickability feedback upon the user's mouseover on any of the thumbnails. Rather than directing the user to a difference page for each image, the designer has a javascript lightbox pop up to show each work in its full glory. As a fantastic touch, the information up top stays constant as the user surfs through the portfolio below.

To sum up, why is Kiluka.ch a design I like? Because this online porfolio has the perfect balance of style, substance, and usability.

Stamp Assignment

Vector graphics created in illustrator. Textures, gradients, and other effects done in Photoshop.