Course Reflection 1

            The first day of class we were introduced to the course and our teacher. The following class we began to discuss what design is. The dictionary definition, “design is to design a design to produce a design,” brings up the issue that design means different things to different people. Many times when you ask different people what design means to them their definitions will vary. I liked that during the lecture the idea that “art is usually oneself, design is usually others” was brought up. It helped me to understand the difference between the two. Once this idea was brought up the quote from Louis Sullivan, “form follows function,” was discussed. I think it’s necessary for certain products to be designed following this idea such as, toothbrushes and telephones. These types of products are made for a specific purpose and if there were only one type of each of these products people would most likely buy them regardless of what they looked like. We also watched Tim Brown Urges Designers to Think Big video. The video discussed using design thinking rather than designers focusing on one small project at a time to help make a larger impact. I thought Tim had a good point, if all the designers today were thinking at a large scale and “building to think rather than thinking to build” design could change for the better.

            During the third class we went on a mini tour of campus on the way to the two different libraries we visited. It was interesting to see some of the architecture we talked about in class in real life and on campus that I otherwise may not have noticed. Such as the Bauhaus type architecture of the building our class is in. The fourth class meeting we talked about the differences between the three design majors, industrial, interior, and visual communication design. I learned exactly what each type of designer focused on during this lecture. Industrial designers are more focused on inventing or refurbishing products while interior designers focus on the functionability, safety, health, and welfare of interior spaces. Visual Communication design is used to communicate a specific message to an audience whether it is to inform, educate, persuade, or entertain. Lastly, I found most interesting in this lecture was the difference between photography and illustration. I never gave much thought to the difference between the two besides that one is taking pictures and the other is making a picture. An illustration of a stomach with a scope inside was the example given. We discussed that it would’ve been difficult to take a picture of the inside of a stomach and many people would be grossed out by the picture rather than learn from it. The illustration was a much tamer way of communicating what needed to be taught. Overall, the lectures and videos have been very interesting to me and I am glad I took this class.