iPhone for business

Just got myself an iPhone for business. It will now be a great help as i can send and recieve emails on the go, this will be vitally important as i need to be contactable at all times whilst freelancing.

Business Cards

I have got some business cards printed up which i’m really pleased with. I used an online printing service provided by print company Jamjar Print who are based up in Bristol.
It only took 3 days from me sending them the pdf to having them delivered. I got 500 lithographically printed on 350gsm board with a matt varnish.

Portfolio Website

I have got a working portfolio website up and running. I have used the free service provided by Carbonmade and it can be found here.

www.hintondesignbureau.carbonmade.com

Business Plan Challenge

I have just spent the last week writing and researching for my business plan and i’m happy with the final outcome. I believe it is a viable idea and its helped turn my idea into something that bit more real. It was really hard trying to work out the finance side of things due to me having very little experience with these things but I got there in the end.

Horizon – Alan and Marcus Go Forth and Multiply

This episode of Horizon is found on the BBC iplayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jmzdk/Horizon_20082009_Alan_and_Marcus_Go_Forth_and_Multiply/.

Comedian Alan Davies and Professor Marcus du Sautoy go on a journey to help explain how mathematics is used to help our understanding of the way the universe works and is put together. Of particular relevence was a piece of maths based around a game of probability around the use of 3 cups and 1 prize. The essence of the game is that there is one prize under one of the cups that the player must guess. He makes his first guess and then the person in charge of the cups will then lift up one of the other cups that does not feature the prize. Now this is where it gets slightly confusing as now there are two cups left most people would assume it would be a 50/50 chance of being right but in fact your chances double if the player chooses to swap cups from their original choice.

This theory still has me scratching my head but their demonstration seemed to be pretty conculsive so this is perhaps some kind of game that I can work into my exhibition as it talks about chance and probability and how our choices have a direct impact.

Colour Psychology

Colour psychology could play a significant role in the colour of light used throughout the exhibition. All of this information was taken from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html.

“Like death and taxes, there is no escaping clour. It is ubiquitous. Yet what does it all mean? Why are people more relaxed in green rooms? Why do weightlifters do their best in blue gyms?

Colours often have different meanings in various cultures. And even in Western societies, the meanings of various colors have changed over the years. But today in the U.S., researchers have generally found the following to be accurate.

Black

Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil. Villains, such as Dracula, often wear black.

White

Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. However, white shows dirt and is therefore more difficult to keep clean than other colors. Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility.

Red

The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention.

The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy.

Blue

The color of the sky and the ocean, blue is one of the most popular colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. Blue can also be cold and depressing. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty. People are more productive in blue rooms. Studies show weightlifters are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.

Green

Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in “green rooms” to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth. However, seamstresses often refuse to use green thread on the eve of a fashion show for fear it will bring bad luck.

Yellow

Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.

Purple

The color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.

Brown

Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.”

A Bright Idea

I really like the direction that the project could take if I use the idea of selective content for the viewer which would be achieved by using tinted glasses. This would open up the identity and content to be more vibrant and colourful and also bring in another interactive element that would suit the exhibition well.

My thinking would be along the lines that for each room/section of the exhibition I would have 2+ paragraphs that would be printed on the wall outlining various situations or predictions of the future.
The paragraphs would then be printed in two or more colours so that depending on the tinted glasses the viewer would be wearing then only certain paragraphs would be viewable.

Rose Tinted Glasses

I found this very interesting work by Jasmine Raznahan found at http://www.jasmineraznahan.com/work/rosetintedglasses/

This piece of work is based around wearing rose tinted glasses and the Guardian newspaper that features only the bad new in the rose tinted colour. The affect this creates is when the viewer wears the glasses then only the good news is viewable as it is printed is black as opposed to the rose tinted coloured print of the bad news.

This idea of using colour to view selective pieces of work could work for my project as I could link it into towards what we do or don’t see of our future. This is certainly something for me to explore.

Choice Theory

Psychologist William Glasser has come up with the notion of ‘Choice Theory’ and how there are basic needs and desires that we want as a human and this is where choice is used to hopefully benefit ourselves. These are the 10 axioms of choice theory taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice_theory.

1. The only person whose behavior we can control is our own.
2. All we can give another person is information.
3. All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems.
4. The problem relationship is always part of our present life.
5. What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future.
6. We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World.
7. All we do is behave.
8. All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology
9. All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think.
10. All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable.

Building Models

I found this incredibly useful pdf from here that features a useful guide to the elements to consider when building a model. Although really quite obvious it highlights the need to first consider the design within drawings and sketches. I will then need to consider the scale of the model in relation to the desired final size.

It then rather usefully touches on the materials needed and it would appear that one of the most popular materials to use is called Hi-impact Polystyrene. This potentially could prove to be quite costly so another route is to perhaps use some think card, another consideration is that I would like my scale model to feature scaled down graphics.