Great projects. I am looking forward to the results of your creative labor.

READ THIS ESSAY- it deals with designing for 'the elderly':   http://www.alantyedesignstudio.co.uk/rsacomm.htm

ALL:
Remember to identify the type of qualitative and/or quantitative research you conduct in your project.
No project will receive full credit, unless it does so.   Your audience doesn't know anything about the 'alternative body' group for whom you are designing. Introduce us!  


Your presentation and hard-copy should include these five elements, if not more: 
--Who did you meet of that population in your research? 
-- Describe encounters with your communities.
-- Recall your own feelings and thoughts about yourself as a designer as 
you met new people in this community.
 -- Shed some light on who and how you observed them.
-- What were some sensations you remember (smell, sound, touch, sight, muscle memory)?


An example:


Today I went to the grocery store. The cashier looked like she was a dancer, and that excited me as I am researching dancers in this city. I want to know what they like to wear while performing. My method is to find dancers in San Francisco, by walking around the city. This project will be a report on my movements throughout the city, and will include a final comment on "dancers and clothing design," which represents the culmination of my research this semester. 


The cashier wore red shirt and turquoise scarf. She stretched while she rung up the vegetables I was buying.  Her arms stretched around her head, and her shoulders seemed to move in another direction.  I felt freer as a person as she did her 'dance' at the cashier stand.  I smelt a freshness in the air. The sunlight was brighter.
--


Work hard!
Dr. T.

Elderly in the Buses

I thought we really got the project and brain storming right on point, thinking about developing something to help the elderly to get in to the buses faster and without having to struggle. Using an existing solution really was all we needed to do, it was certainly fun to dream about electric stairs and else but nothing like Muni ramps.
Great work.

Conclusions from last class

Discussing the solution to the elderly transportation issue last class was very interesting. Trying to put ourselves in the shoes of a different segment of society (one that we will inevitably become) was a lot harder than initially perceived. The conclusion we decided on for the problem of the elderly transportation issue was a city-wide building of concrete ramps to better access the height dilemma of the average bus in San Francisco. Although this is not a perfect solution, it does best fit possible budgeting limitations and is simple and straight forward to use.

What creates the Alternative

This past week, I have begun to integrate the idea of designing for the alternative body in my other studio. I find the idea of a hierarchy of senses extremely interesting, and in my projects, I tend to design for the senses. To emphasize one over the other with the goal to invoke total body awareness of one's surroundings. The idea to design for one of the more secondary senses rather than the primary sense of vision; though one's sense of vision cannot go away entirely (though yes, it can, when thinking of blindness) there is an effort to change the natural hierarchy of the human senses.

In thinking about the senses and changing the hierarchy, I thought about what really creates an alternative body in society. Its fascinating to realize that vision is the main (if not entire) reason why there is such a thing as an alternative body. What categorizes people into the category of the alternative body is the shallow and distancing sense, vision. It is interesting to think about what the world might be like if everyone were blind, and what if we operated primarily on the other senses such as touch, sound, taste, smell (taste and smell could get kind of weird).

The sense of vision is one that observes life and objects from a very removed and distant perspective, not always "seeing" the entire picture. The other senses such as touch, sound, taste, and smell are a much more intimate way of observing objects and space and the fact that as a society we do not really capitalize on these senses really talks about why there is an alternative body or bodies. Vision by itself presents a lack of understanding and removal from wanting to understand it seems.

Nice work today - all read

Nice work today everyone. If you want to watch the whole video by Trinh Minh-ha, 
you can find it at the Oakland library.  Name: "Re/Assemblage: From Firelight to Screen" by Trinh Minh-ha. Trinh is a French-Vietnamenese filmmaker and this work is seminal.  (It is a very important film in ethnographic method.)   


If you were not in class, a reminder: 3 absences = a Failure of the course.  I recommend no one be absent - it's important that you are with us.   If you are having any difficulty in the course, ask to see me during one of the breaks.  You are responsible for the material that we did in class. Get this info from your classmates.


We are all here to help each other understand why it's important to address your design practices with an interrogation of race and other factors which push some people out of the mainstream market-place.  Your goals should be to design in ways that are inclusive of a critique of the European ideology as it is aligned with excluding those who are not Christian, white, middle or upper class, heterosexual, and normative gender (Male, or Female).


You will find variances on how each person sees and understands themselves, when you do your interviews or discussions with the community of 'alternatively bodied' people you choose for your project.  Does an "elderly" person see themselves as "elderly"?  What factors do they cite as what it means to be 'older'?    What is "older" to you?   Or, what are some of the practices in the Muslim faith from people you know, and how is this belief reflected in the designs of their faith?  Do we get to see these images in the media? Be specific about where you've seen these.


See you on FEB 25  with your final project proposal hard-copy (yes, you have to type it out and give me a hard-copy), and a presentation that describes a) your community choice b) your medium c) your method, from those we have discussed in class.   Your methods should be described in great detail: who will you talk to? how will you access them? what kind of research is this - qualitative or quantitative? why have your chosen that method?  what similarities and differences do you have with the community you choose? Be sure to describe the community beautifully: put it in a location (the one where you spoke to the members of the community), describe the people, and then focus in the people you spoke with. Have fun.


You're on your own now - see you next Friday!


- Dr. T

Stripes

Alternative

Another stripe to the tiger

I was thinking about how there is this trend in fashion which is particularly popular, using the patters of animals fur, tigers as an example.
I have never thought i would try to use one of those patters in my clothing, I think, i see many people how uses these kind of fashion and most of them are part of the tattoo scene.
Why is that? or am i wrong.

Stripes boom in fashion industry.

After reading the book , The Devil's Cloth, stripes becomes more knowledgeable for me in fashion. According to the book, historically, in West, slaves and servants were dressed in stripes. However later on, stripes have taken on positive meanings like for example, we can see stripes on French and United States flags. In these flags, the stripes are represented as freedom.

Stripes also become iconic and trend in fashion industry. One of my best, favorite icon, known as an actor, artist, Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol's girl, I think she is the one of the ones who brought stripes in fashion industry. When I hear Edie Sedgwick's wear, firstly, she reminds me of stripe dress, a cigarette, big earrings, and stockings.

image of Edie Sedgwick wearing stripes

Just earlier, there was also a trend of pilot look: blue and white striped t-shirt or skirt with a captain hat on. In Korea, one of our singers which called Girl's Generation, they showed a pilot look and everybody liked it and also their look boomed in Korea during the summer.

I love stripes and they become a need item!

Okay, so I feel like saying something about the minority status of some communities. (Taking a break from stripes) I keep having this question in my head - whether or not a person being alternative to mainstream is bothered by the fact that he/she is not being accepted as the normal? Sometimes it can lead to neglected or unaddressed needs.

My second question is: Who's the bad guy? Are people in the mainstream lacking understanding and sensitivity? Who are less tolerant on indifference of value? What are we trying to express or justify when we work on the alternative bodies project?

The book somehow makes stripes even more noticeable to me than before. I have realized that there are stripes all over the world with various colors and lengths. Stripes actually work as a very powerful source for everything. As an example, observing my room, I have found approximately more than 30 items of stripes. Stripes in clothes are just magical since it makes a person look wider, skinnier, taller, or shorter. While reading through art history books and art works it is possible to say stripes were popular in art world since the past. It is almost impossible to say what stripes actually represents but it is still a popular pattern. Stripes do not say only one thing as a whole, but it has all sorts of explanations on how it is used, where it is used, what colors it is, why it is used, and so on. It makes me wonder : Can desginers stop using stripes in their design? Can comsumers live without stripes and can they imagine the world without stripes? If so, what can be the alternative pattern replacing the stripes?

Stripes stripes stripes stripes

The section of reading this week was very interesting. "The pastel is a failed color, an almost color, 'a color that dare not speak it's name.' The striped--used in this way--is a half color, a mutilated color, a color woven with white." (66). I found this to be a very graphic (no pun intended) image of how stripes are conveyed. Though this was discussed in terms of being towards the end of the nineteenth century, the description being that it is a mutilation of color is entirely interesting. Using this and referring back to today's referral of the stripe and how common place it is, it's interesting to consider the fact that most consider seeing pastel stripes on baby clothes as it seems like an entirely different sort of meaning. The best part of this section of the text was the quote "Too many stripes will finally drive you mad," and seeing this quote referred me to how color factors into a lot of the perception of things. Color is influential, and depending on the color when associated with the stripe it can mean something entirely different.

Restaurants with stripes

In this week's reading, the author mentioned how shops would use striped awnings to "make a good impression and seem to guarantee the freshness and excellence of what is sold within," or also to convey an "elegant, youthful, gay, and summerlike air."

I always walk by the Rockridge shopping center to catch the shuttle bus, and I noticed that Boston Market has a black-red-white striped awning outside. As I thought about it, other chain restaurants seem to use striped awnings. Each restaurant location might vary when choosing to have an awning or not, but if they do choose one, chances are that it's striped. Some restaurants I thought of were Applebee's, TGI Fridays, and Bennigan's.

What those restaurants have in common are that they're trying to promote themselves as being part of the community or neighborhood, a place you would eat at when having a good time with your family or friends. Applebee's slogan is even "There's no place like the Neighborhood." In that way, the striped awnings create that young and energetic vibe Pastoureau is talking about. It also creates a feeling that the restaurant is local and familiar, a place you can return to any time for the same food.

Stripes observation

While reading the book, there was a specific quote that interested me the most. The book said that the Italians favored the stripe more than other european countries. At first I thought that this fact could not be proven, but recently I have come to observe something that may prove this statement from the book.

I am a huge football (soccer) fan, and i follow the english league, italian league, and the spanish league. One afternoon after watching several games of football at home, I have come to realize that all of the big and famous teams from italy wore striped jerseys, and english and spanish teams preferred to wear pure colors. Italian teams such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus all wore striped jerseys.

Here is a picture of AC Milan's jersey, at first i thought that it would be normal to have stripes for their jerseys, but i did not know that there was a meaning behind it. The color red in this jersey is representing the fiery spirit of the players who wear it, and the black color is representing the fear that their opponents feel when playing AC Milan. Another reason of why they picked stripes as their jersey was because in 1899, when the club was founded, the club was mainly for those of the working class. The bond between the players and the fans are represented by the vertical stripes on their jerseys.

While Italian teams favored the stripes as their jersey pattern, english and spanish teams favored pure bold colors, to represent their ambition and luck.

Observation of Stripes

Since I started to read this book, I actually pay much more attention to stripes. I start to look at my surrounding for the use of stripes. I looked at my friends who wore stripes shirts. I also noticed that there are so many countries besides United States that use stripes for their flags, including my country Indonesia. Most of them are horizontal with really eye catching pure colors. There are always specific reasons behind the chosen stripes' design and their colors, but I guess the main reason is to make the people of their nation aware of their own flag as well as for other nations to be easily recognized others' flag. Another thing that really attracts me is the diagonal stripe.

Few days ago, I walked at the mission district and I looked at something that is really interesting, it was a revolving barber's pole. As soon as I went home, I tried to figure out the real meaning behind those stripes. And I think I want to share it with you guys. Back to the middle ages era, barbers was not solely cutting hair, but they were also surgeons. The red and white stripes wrapped around the pole signify the blood bandages, while the pole itself represent the pole that was gripped by the patient during the surgery in order to enhance blood flow. While the blue is not the original part of the pole, it was added in America merely as a symbol of patriotism.

Sunday, Feb 13

Pastoureau suggests on p. 51of Devil's Cloth that "To dress oneself in stripes is not only to offer proof of public spirit, but also to display one's adherence to certain values important to the latest ideological trend."  


While he was talking about the revolutionary stripe, let's think about how this applies to today's world.  Does Pastoureau's suggestion carry weight today?


What examples can you think of today in terms of a design structure or icon that is both trendy and prolific because it provides a way for all people (either citizens, or not) to express an adherence to a dominant ideological standpoint?    Offer some responses here if you'd like - or just think it over. We'll discuss in studio.


To be caught up: subscribe to blog; finish Pastoureau; present/ed stripe collage; blog by Thursday midnight; do some research on the 6 options so you can determine which group/medium/research method you will select.


BLOGGING
If you're unsure of what to blog about, look at your classmate's entries and make a 'comment' on one. There are some interesting discussions going on!


If you want to know something about Trinh Minh-ha, the filmmaker of "Re/Assemblage," google her. There is much info on her on-line.


See you all Friday!

Alternative bodies T-shirt

Professor Hammidi has already posted it for me while I was still being confused, but here is my T-shirt and explanation.

I simply tried to express diversity of alternative bodies by using various colors, types, line thicknesses and line strokes. Some letters are in capitals, others are not; some are thick, others are thin; some are wide, others are narrow and tall; some are made of connected lines, others are made of dashed lines.

Response to the reading

I am 2000 and late, but here is my response!

As I got into the post-medieval, modern part of the book I enjoyed finding out how the meaning of stripes gradually changed and expanded. Like I mentioned in last week's class, in pre-modern Korean traditional dresses, multicolored stripes (and any other patterns or motifs) were meant for the high class or for special occasions such as one's birthday or New Year's Day. (And because I didn't show you the image of the dress I pasted it under this paragraph for you information!) But in contrast, stripes in medieval Europe had a pejorative connotation and were for condemned/guilty people. This contrast was interesting for me, and the later expansion of the meaning of stripes in modern Europe was even more interesting. Before reading the modern part of the book I was wondering when stripes came to be considered stylish and chic. Then the modern part hinted that stripes were expanding, although stripes were not taken as stylish in modern times yet. It gave me an a-ha! and yes! moment.


^ the multicolor stripes in traditional Korean dress for girls


One little thing in the modern part of the book that excited me and gave me another a-ha! moment was where it stated Venetians loved stripes in 15th and 16th centuries and they began the vogue of stripes in Italy. This reminded me of when I visited Venice last summer and stayed at a hotel, because back then, as soon as I entered the hotel I was to stay two nights, I recognized that the wallpapers were all in stripes in the hallways and stairways, and that the curtains and bedding in my room were all in stripes as well. They were very stylish, in gold and teal or gold and blue. At that moment I simply wowed, but upon reading this one or two sentences in The Devil's Cloth, (sorry I didn't mark or write down the page number) I made a connection and thought 'so that is why I saw so many different stripes in Venice!'

I love how this book frequently gives me a-ha! moments and makes me reflect on the different notions of stripes in different cultures.

Alternative Body T-Shirt Design

Striped this that and the other

It seems whenever something taken for granted, like how significant stripes are, is brought to your attention, you can't stop realizing it in actuality. I am seeing stripes everywhere and finding my self questioning what there purpose is and why they are where they are, if their direction matters, or if their size and regularity matter. Diagonal verses horizontal and vertical, these all have meaning and can greatly influence how we see something. For instance if the stripes on on a cross walk were diagonal, or went length-ways instead of the way they are, that would completely change the way we looked at a cross walk. Also, I went to a CAL basket ball game last weekend and noticed that the referee was wearing vertical black and white evenly spaced stripes. This got me thinking about why refs wear stripes and other brightly colored shirts, well obviously because they want to stand out, but could there also be a slight comparison to the penal system and this idea that the ref is someone to be treated with feared respect, for if they dressed like authoritarian figures they would be in dark muted colored uniforms, or is their outfit a new style of authoritarianism? What do you think?

My interpretation of Alt. Body

How to Post on this Blog and make Comments

Hi Students


In order to post on this blog, you need to be invited by me to be an 'author.' I have sent that invitation to the emails you gave me in class;  I have also sent these invitations to your CCA emails.


Accept the invitation in order to become an author to the blog.  As an author, you will be able to post by choosing "NEW POST."   Selecting 'new post' will bring you to an entry field where you can choose your font type, size, color etc. as well as upload a: link, video, photo.    You will have to have a Google account in order to be an author. If you don't have one, create one for the purposes of this class.


Please think about what each person contributes to class and make 'comments' to each other's posts over the course of this semester.  To 'comment,' look at the bottom of each post and find the purple 'Comments' word.  Press on the word once, and it will open up into a new field.  Type in your comment there.

Alternative Body - T-shirt/Zipper exercise

My design deals more with the font itself. Any "v" shaped letter became an opening zipper, any straight letter became a closed zipper, and all other letters became stitches.

alternative zipper

Alternative Bodies - T-shirt/Zipper Exercise

What is an alternative body? How do we signal it in design?

In this exercise, we took the words "alternative bodies" and used either 

the image of a t-shirt, or a zipper 

in attempting to answer that question.

 Martinus

 Adika

Suri 

Alternative...ness

This past week when thinking about the ideas of alternative bodies, and what it is and what it means to design for an alternative body, the idea of interaction becomes impertinent. Stripes are a way to represent the opposite of society or craft or objects. The "normal" versus the "alternative". What is interesting to think about is the natural distancing that people create in public spaces. The alternative body is made through the spacing and movement of people, and stripes are like a visual diagram of this idea.

Your 6 "Difficult to Reach" Groups

Students,


DIFFICULT TO REACH GROUPS
Please pick one of the following six subjects or populations. Your choice will be your subject area/population.

1) age, size, and mobility related to "alternative bodies." This choice could address our much-discussed pregnant butch lesbians who need a big car but don't want the "soccer mom" SUV. It could address an age, size, and mobility issue of your choosing - topics need to be okayed by me. 
2) f-t-m transgender / gender-queerying fashion design and/or modeling, current and historical 
3) refugee and/or immigrant textiles / garment workers
4) very tall people
5) those with a disability, either physical or mental
6) non-Christian religion and design, current issues 

MEDIUMS OF FINAL PROJECT
The mediums of your FINAL PROJECTS are your's to choose. Some ideas:

graphic novel, fine art, painting, animation, interior design, fashion design and/or construction, performance, illustration, industrial design, graphic arts, architecture 


BASIC REQUIREMENTS
Your FINAL PROJECT goal is to utilize the techniques and concepts learned in Studio to do a needs assessment and solution design for your group. Present your choice, the problem, and your solution on FEB 25, along with your MEDIUM CHOICE.  You are required integrate the theories from the texts we are reading in class. Cite pages and recite excepts.  Professional presentations are expected.  Have fun.