Not a Real Blog

Just some thoughts about design, art, and the world we live in...

#visualdesign, #postmodernistdesign, #designart, #digitalart, #graficdesign, #design

Time of Uncertainty and Visual Mannerism



Photo:WALALA X PLAY at NOW GalleryPhotography by Charles Emerson

There was a long time since the world felt this kind of uncertainty. For sure, many world countries did not see certainty for a long time, but this feeling of not knowing what will come next is global now. As always, life reflects art and design. But even before this huge shift in our lives, we were able to see visual uncertainty that leads us to (as I see it) some kind of new-age mannerism.

Let me elaborate this, from the last decade we are seeking disruptions and changes in everything. We strive for innovations, technology improvements, and catching life-changing experiences. And let's be honest what we humans did with this world seeks great catharsis. In this general cleanup that we as a society need, we rethink everything we create, even the stuff we just came up with. It seems like a big tornado thirsty for changes is spinning among us, and we just can't reach up to see what will come from it.

So, what we did, we reached for a familiar hand and look back for inspiration. Inspiration in past times, in colorful patterns going against a composition. Those bright visualizations that made us happy before. As our uncertainty pushed us toward comfort, and we felt overwhelmed we easily ditched Dieter Rams - Less is more, and embrace postmodernist - Less is bore.

From that point, we start to play with familiar designs, patterns, bright colors, bold geometric shapes, even collages of new and past times. We are playing for fun. We even call our fellow design algorithms to join. It seems like we are pushing postmodernist pop culture even harder and mixing it with our reality to recreate something new, some kind of new-age mannerism.

Between us, I enjoy colored patterns and technology glitches in visualization - it makes me feel more human in these uncertain times. But frequently, as soon as we can recognize something and put it in context, something new is there. Change is the only time loop we can always count on to happen. In the end, we will need to face the uncertainty we live in and rethink our futures as deserved, or nature will rethink us. I really hope to see us succeed.

#AI, #design, #behavioralnudges, #creativeproceses

We and AI



Photo: Part of the web photo

It seems that we slightly begin to realize that we live in a new world that brings a new species among us. Artificial intelligence with different kind of robots will help us do the shopping, make things for us in factories, help us at airports, deliver our mail, etc.

We can't help ourselves but offer it/them a human touch. We want to make them understand the feelings, learn empathy, feel art and be spontaneously creative.

Sophia the robot is already a celebrity with homeland and passport. But she is just one among many. You can also meet Erica realistic Japanese humanoid from Kyoto, Japan - produced to be smart and beautiful, as she said. You can be interviewed for the job by Mya or Vera robots, with slightly racist or sexist results, as some articles are writing (sometimes the best results are given by reading white men's voice and facial expressions, but it can be fixed).

That is not all... They can conduct an orchestra, a robot called YuMi has made its conducting debut in Italy with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. We also have a first painting made by AI sold on auction. The artistic tech trio from France used the algorithm to illustrate the point that algorithms are able to emulate creativity.

While we're so amazed by what they can do and don't get me wrong, I am amazed too. We, humans, are training ourselves to become robots. How? We have divided almost all of our activities in processes. Different, repeatedly done processes. We call them with different names, but they are processes we do. They also include circular smaller processes, weekly, daily, etc. We developed strict processes for creative thinking, design thinking, innovations as well.

Inspiration? Come on, leave that to the robots, they learn soft skills. We are processing, and someone is writing algorithms of our behavior.

The era of Behavioral Economics is here, Neoclassical "Invisible Hand" by Mr. Smith is long gone. We have our Persuading Algorithms, AI Nudges and other behavioral processes that shape us and help us shape the others.

So, don’t be afraid of the robots, we are already striving to meet them halfway.

#visualdesign, #uxdesign, #uidesign #designart, #digitalart, #graficdesign, #design #art

It’s alive



Photo: Katerina Kamprani the Uncomfortable

In the past several months I had read articles claiming the death of UX. Some of the authors even passionately speak how they do same (for them only proper) process for years - and now “it is the end of the world they now” … Seriously?!? …and then I remembered how I was attended UX class a few years ago where lecturer told us how we should simply use UI guide from one big company and for him (at that point) that was a Bible.

How can anyone involved in a process that has word user or experience in it, dogmatically follow paths or do things in the same manner for years? Changes are in a people nature. We all know that customers are changing, processes are progressing, visual design trends are shifting. Everything we use and enjoy today was created by changing something. Because some creative mind wanted to try things in a different way or express something in a different manner. If this was not a case, we would still use the same fonts as Gutenberg used, or the same visual setup of drama and excitement that Da Vinci captured and set as a trend.

Changes today are faster than ever in history. Today with each project, we do our best to create a difference for our clients - to do processes on the best creative way ever, and have deliverables that are unique on market. We cannot do this if we are afraid of changes. Changes are good, they are driving us from good to better and further. There is no right or proper way anymore, we can recognise only the processes that are beneficial for a certain moment or situation. We need to learn from those processes and upgrade them whenever we have an opportunity.

And do not worry about UX. Experiences that users have will always be analyzed. Maybe the process will be different, the same it was different before we call it UX. Just try to think about how many different names for the user-centered design you know in design history – especially in the last decade. Sure, it was always being struggle what is more important visualization or usability. Now we know it is a combination of both, costumers want everything these days. If you are still thinking that costumers now want more creative design and pixel perfect visualization, you are probably right. But that is not because they are a drop out from usability. Perfect usability is implied now, no one will ever go back and question it again. Maybe only as an art form as Katerina Kamprani in the Uncomfortable collection did, but this is stressing the point of usability importance even more. In the Art Academy, they taught us that art and design are always step ahead of reality. So, if we trust Mrs. Kamprani - it is very much alive…

We live in an era of individualism, experiences are changing and we need to target them together with the best creative design in order to reach goals for our clients. Or as Dieter Rams said: “Good designers must always be avant-gardists, always one step ahead of the times. They should–and must–question everything generally thought to be obvious. They must have an intuition for people’s changing attitudes. For the reality in which they live, for their dreams, their desires, their worries, their needs, their living habits. They must also be able to assess realistically the opportunities and bounds of technology.”

#visualdesign, #uidesign #designart, #digitalart, #graficdesign, #design

Visual Communication Challenge



Photo: SvenMieke-Unsplash

It is a long established fact that a picture is worth a thousand words. One picture for thousand words, that is the challenge. If you are a designer, you are facing this challenge every day. Putting clients brief into an idea and at the same time gathering costumers’ needs in understandable concept.

Yes, there is a thousand words to be put in one picture.

Today, we can easily understand the picture as a framed experience. Painters we love from art history once framed experience they tried to communicate with their target audience in the wooden frames. Today we frame experience we are assigned to communicate in the responsive frames. Responsive frames, that are worth a thousand words – mobile, tablet, laptop. One message for one easy readable, responsive experience.

Not so long time ago we had a question - can we go outside of that frame? The answer is given to us by itself… Why not? If Matisse did it in his paintings at the beginning of the 20th century, why shouldn’t we do it today? People love when something tickles their imagination and leads them to their real needs and to their satisfaction. Artist had understood this in their communication a long time ago, and UX designers understand it well today. Seems like we have it all…

But, with technological opportunities, we have today the real question is - do we still communicate with one picture?

O, yes! Maybe more than ever, because we are not challenging only with one picture problem today. Today we are facing with restless audience challenge, too. Recipients of our visual messages today search fast, and if they do not see what they are looking for in a few seconds you are losing them, maybe forever.

So, the real visual communication challenge today is - the proper one, a quickly understandable, easily readable, catchy and creative message. That is the challenge!

In a big market we live in, with the highest possible competition, every time your potential customer opens your web or app you should ask yourself: Do I have the right person facing my visual communication challenge?