Design Blog 6, Designer

Richard Taylor is a New Zealand designer and filmaker.  He is a good friends with Peter Jackson and he worked with him on a number of films.  He created the props, costumes, prosthetics, and weapons.  He did work on Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings The Return of the King, and King Kong.  Where he won a multitude of awards, including a total of 5 oscars.  He won best achievement in visual effects in King Kong (2005), he won best costume design and best makeup for Return of the King (2003), and he won best effects, visual effects and best makeup for Fellowship of the Ring.  He was also nominated for best costume design for Fellowship of the Ring.

Here is a picture of an Orc, one of the grunt type enemies in the movies.  The design concept is based off of J. R. R. Tolkien's book, but Richard Taylor really brings it to life.  The make up is designed to turn a human being into a creature of mythology.  And everything from the swords to the armor has been designed specifically to make this movie come to life.  

Next, in the movie King Kong, he went all out in design concepts.  Even though the beasts depicted are based on old concepts and ideas from decades ago, the creatures still are marvelous to look at.  The dinosaur is based on conventional ideas, but just the fact that it is look life like is what makes this movie and these designs stand out.  The main attraction is King Kong, and even every little hair on his body brings out the incredible time commitment requirement and shows how much work they put into designing him.  

Though a lot of these movies employ a heavy use of CGI, or computer generated images, the designers still need to put all the ideas and concepts together in order to build this world.  Look at how many soldiers are in this picture, in reality there are maybe a couple dozen men down there.  Every thing in this movie was designed from the ground up.  Look at the buildings in the background, they make you really feel like your in the middle ages, yet in a fantasy setting.

Richard Taylor did an outstanding job creating these worlds.  He honestly deserved these Oscars.  

Design Blog 5, Designer

Frank Gehry is a Canadian architect who designs contemporary buildings.  His work is considered deconstructivism.  Which means it is post modern art.  Post Modern architecture grew to prominence during the 70's when designers started mixing styles and makes shapes and forms just for the sake of having them in the design.  Frank Gehry helped popularize this type of design.

The point to deconstruction is to move away from form following functions, and the purity and trust to materials that modernism follows.  It is the exact opposition to modernism. Basically it looks to improve on and to solve the problems transparent in modernism.  Like excessive designs and little details that would have been excluded, and now included to show the importance and dedication the designers have in their creation.

                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTswlJDd8nE

 Often times people mistake Frank Gehry's work for unfinished or crude works of art.  But in reality his art features the use of inexpensive items and non traditional means to sculpt his designs.

 For instance lets take a look at the Guggenheim Building:

This is one of his contemporary works, and it has been heralded as "single moment in the architectural culture" because it represents "one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something" Even the World Architect Survey voted this building to be one of the most important buildings designed and completed.  The curves appear to be random to the common eye, but in reality it was designed to catch and reflect the light.  It had non tradition titanium panels that were designed to resemble organic life of a fish.

This next piece of art is called the Stata Center:

And

This is located at MIT.  One of the premiere reasons that art listed for wanted to attend this school is for the amazing architecture, and an emphasis is placed on the Stata Center.  Robert Campbell from the Boston Globe wrote "the Stata is always going to look unfinished. It also looks as if it's about to collapse. Columns tilt at scary angles. Walls teeter, swerve, and collide in random curves and angles. Materials change wherever you look: brick, mirror-surface steel, brushed aluminum, brightly colored paint, corrugated metal. Everything looks improvised, as if thrown up at the last moment. That's the point. The Stata's appearance is a metaphor for the freedom, daring, and creativity of the research that's supposed to occur inside it."

I can't describe the building any better than this.  It looks sensational.  Everything about deconstruction is described in the building.  This is especially cool because you can see the definite use of artistic lines, and how shades of color give it life.

Frank Gehry is an amazing architect that designs some of the greatest buildings of our generation.  He has won multiple awards in a variety of institutions and people often put their faith in his designs.

Desing Blog 4, Designer

Calvin Klein is one of the most famous names in the designer world.  His rise to fame came from his clothing jeans line, but today the Calvin Klein brand sells all sorts of apparel.  From watches, to perfumes, and even jewelry.

Calvin Klein excelled in creating a urban but sophisticated look.  One of his main ideas as a designer was "less looks more".  I feel as if what sets Calvin Klein apart is his clear design philosophy which is "I've always had a clear point of view about being modern, sophisticated, sexy, clean, and minimal".

                                                   Which is show cased here quiet nicely:

Calvin Klein has been referred to as the "supreme master of minimalism" for 40 years now.  His designs usually are not very intricate.  They give a sense of a modern look with a minimum amount of design.  But they still retain a look that makes the design seem intricate and inspired.

                     This speaks volumes about how important minimalism is to Calvin Klein.


The Calvin Klein brand features an extensive amount of clothing for both men and women.  Mens clothes are traditionally made for a more urban but modern look, whereas the women's clothes are designed for all sorts of occasions.  They have everything from prom dresses to picnic clothes.  The womens line of clothing encompasses a wide variety of design styles, while simultaneously sticking to the minimalism philosophy Calvin Klein implemented almost a quarter century ago.

The thing that Calvin Klein started that really set the design world ablaze was putting his name on the back pocket of his designer jeans.  That started the entire craze for designer jeans.  Today you would be hard pressed to find clothing that does not include a label, name, or some sort of mascot advertising where you bought that particular clothing from.  All of this is due to Calvin Klein's brilliance.  

 

If you notice, there are not any tears or rips of any kind showing.  They did not up an over abundance of pockets or zippers of any kind.  The design is nice and simple, while still looking fashionable.  There isn't a multitude of colors.  Everything is designed to look comfortable, and accessible, but minimal and urban.

Calvin Klein is one of the best known designer brands of the world and all this was reached because of his unique style situated at practical design clothing that does not exaggerate jewelry or any other accessories. His minimalistic look really has gone a long way to pave the way for future designers.  Today's look is more focused on getting a certain look across rather than a particular name brand.  Calvin Klein really set the boundaries for what you can expect to find in clothing selection.

Design Blog 3, Penthouse

One of my biggest goals in life is to one day live in a penthouse.  I love the idea of having an infinite view of the sky and the city.  I feel like it would be the most amazing feeling in the world if I could wake up and look out the window and see the whole world.  Or if I was eating diner it would be a an unreal feeling looking at the sights.

Obviously any old penthouse would not do, it would have to be designed well and include certain features I consider key for every penthouse.  It would definitely need to catch my eye and be sight worthy like this:

I like the use of windows, which gives it a wide open look.  From a design standpoint everything is neat and straight which gives it an air of tranquility.  My penthouse also would need a patio no matter what.  There would be no point to living on the roof, unless I get to actually experience the feeling of being that high off the ground:

Notice the use of windows again, and how lines are used throughout the entire picture.  There is so much to look at, its hard to decide where to start.  But the blatantly obvious aspect is the amount of comfort the designers show.  They set up this scene to make it look homely but elegant, also it looks like a great place to relax.

Another aspect of a penthouse that I require is a rooftop pool.  As long as it is well crafted and designed there is limitless potential to making one.  Here is an ideal pool:

Not only do the designers make great use out of the space, since they are on the roof they were able to add to the actual building to fit in a bigger pool.  By putting glass at the end they make it seem like the water is suspended in mid air.  Also I love the use of the archway right before the pool ends.  Its a great indication of the pool ending.  If I were the concept designers I would combine the patio from above with this pool to create the ultimate rooftop penthouse experience. 

And last but not least, the very most important part of a well designed penthouse is the view it gives:

Imagine living in a home where looking out the window is more mesmerizing then watching whatever is on television.  When designing a penthouse nothing is more important then making sure the view is not interrupted or obstructed. 



To reiterate, a well designed penthouse requires an amazing pool that adds to the overall quality of the home.  It needs a spacious living room that will not hinder the overall experience of owing a penthouse.  It needs a patio which in itself can be considered a separate entity that requires its own design style and focus.  Then finally a view that is breathtaking. 

Design Blog 2, Level Design

There are two main categories that go into designing a video game.  First you need a detailed, but exciting and remember able gaming level.  Then secondly you need well crafted and an easy on the eyes protagonists.  Most designers spend a huge chunk of time creating the perfect character that everyone can relate to, or will at least admire.  Someone that's likable or even lovable.

Instead of spending needless amounts of time doing such a thing, there are games that try to implement you as the protagonist, sometimes you are given the freedom of creating your own creator.  Here are some examples of games that gave you this freedom.

First, here is World of Warcraft, where a huge chunk of the world is effected by:

Or a more detailed game is Elder Scrolls Oblivion:

The reason that this is a brilliant design decision is because it gives free reign over the story, we are not following the actions of a single person and how they feel about the situation they are in, this puts us the user into the game, like how Mass Effect gives you choice not only in look, but in opinions and choices in making game changing decisions, what you say or do, or how you act towards people can seriously effect the overall design of your character and his world.

  

Character creation is a genius idea because of how deep the system goes.  Most games let you govern over a basic skill set, but games like Mass Effect and Oblivion let you completely restructure your characters face.  You determine the shape, width, height shade, or length of every attribute on the body. 

Even though character creation is very important to the overall design of the game, nothing is as important as the layout, the level selection, or the overview of the game.

This is a map of Zelda, A Link to the Past:

Now if you look closely you can tell where thee game is divided into sections, this game's level design is so highly regarded, some deem is the pinnacle of video game design.  It is a completely open world game, meaning every inch of this map is explorable to some extent, and there is something to do anywhere you go.  If you look at the overview you can see how they implemented lines and shading, everything from the forest to the mountain top is distinguishable, and playable.  This is just the tip of surface for video game design.

Another highly regarded level design is the one found in Castlevania:

The best part of the Castlevania design is that it takes the basic concepts found in the original Mario or Donkey Kong games where the levels are designed to be linear, or just trying to get from A to B without dying.  But Castlevania adds the twist of letting you explore regions that don't necessarily pertain to the story.  You can explore any number of rooms in the castle, and you can go back and forth as you please.  Back in the old days old days of gaming you would have Mario climbing a ladder to save the princess from a giant monkey.  While this showed a good use of lines, from a design stand point it was too linear.  Now days designers need to focus on making the game complex, people want unique experiences.  

Today designers have a lot more work cut out for them.  The old system doesn't work any more, people don't like to play the same game with a different skin.  They want new environments, they want new hero's.  Designing a video game level or protagonist involves many hours of work and effort.  While it is a very difficult job, i believe it is one of the most rewarding when the finished product brings countless hours of joy to various people.

Design Blog 1, Biography

Cliff Bleszinski, better known as Dude Huge, is the creative designer of the video games Unreal Tournament and the Gears of War series. 

He might not be a world famous designer, but to all video game enthusiasts around the world he is a huge inspiration.

I chose Cliff Bleszinski because he's living the dream.  He gets to be head of projects that most people can only dream about and he makes millions of dollars doing it.  His most recent work is 2008's Gears of War 2,  which many people consider the greatest use of the Unread Engine which many many games are built upon.  Graphically his games are well above the spectrum, and often times they set the bar for what we would consider the best looking game.

Game play is a huge part of what makes a video game considered well designed and with Gears of War he reinvented the classic shooter by introducing an seamless way to take cover on objects.  The addiction of a chainsaw onto the main gun also changed the way gamers looked at melee weapons.

All in all Cliff Bleszinski is an excellent designer and we can only expect his work to get better and better as time goes on.