Billabong

Blog on a brand you admire (not just the product or service). Explain what elements of the brand “speak” to you and what they say

One of the many brands that I like is Billabong. Billabong is an Australian clothing company that sells dresses, surfing shorts, swim suites, pants and many more. Regardless of what the product is, all look fun, playful, funky and designed. Also, it feels like their cloths are designed for the beach or a hot summer day. It is very clear that they are targeting young audience but it really lively and fun adults can pull their cloths off too.

The look and feel of their brand comes through in the design of their logo and expands to the design of their cloths, shops, websites and the events they sponsor.

I have always been a big fan of their brand not only because they make really nice cloths but also because I think by wearing their design I can make a statement. I have a passion for design and I enjoy wearing something that I consider designed.

Midpoint Grade

Blog on what you think your midpoint grade should be in this class. Be specific about what you’ve done or not done to earn that grade.

Since this a direct message to both Christopher and Maria, I would like to thank you for the amazing semester. As expected, business of design is unquestionably an essential course for any graduate design Student. It is obvious that you have both dedicated a lot of energy to the class. Thank you.

I, like most other student, believe I deserve an A at this point of the semester. I have turned in all my blogs on time and have exerted an enormous amount of time and effort on each one. I have actively participated in the team project.  I may not have asked questions for the sake of asking questions but I did ask questions when I thought it was appropriate and necessary.

School in the Cloud

After watching Sugata Mitra’s ted talk, I was surprised to learn how little our education system had evolved.

It is sad to see that we use the same old teaching system as those used during the British Empire even though studies have clearly shown this method to be outdated.

The system of educational currently in place reduces curiosity and punishes creativity. Mr. Mitra’s theory of a “School in the Cloud” would undoubtedly promote curiosity and reward creativity. However, I do not believe the “School in the cloud” approach is without its flaws. For example, the “School in the Cloud” approach requires an active and dedicated student body. Absent such, kids may be left behind.

In my opinion, the “School in the Cloud” approach is a great way to spread education in hard to reach and impoverished areas but may not be the global solution to improving our “obsolete” education system.

Ethics of designing for behavior change

Reflect on the ethics of designing for behavior change. When is it okay and not okay to “trick” people into doing things that are good for them? Does everything we create, in one sense or another, change an end‐user’s behavior? Use concrete examples to illustrate your points.

Regardless of our intentions all design will create behavior change in a way or another. Now if tricking someone to changing his or her behavior is ethical is the question.  I think the morality of such a change depends on the intentions behind the design. For example in advertising, even if the client is going to benefit from that product or service, it is for the sake of personal interest. When burger king designs an ad showing a grilled patty, they want nothing more but to gain more profit. Burger King may be a healthier choice than McDonalds, but their intention is not people’s health, all they care about it pure profit.

I believe tricking people to change their behavior is justified only if it is done to improve their lives. This improvement could be medical, in education or even simply helping someone achieve their goals. For example Protius, is designed to change behavior for the client sake and improve their lives. My father is diabetic, he is very well motivated and has the ability to take care of his health but a signal would be very helpful.  A little reminder to encourage him to stick to a schedule will significantly help his health.

I believe that if the intention behind a design is to improve ones life, then it is justified to trick people into helping them. But if your main reason for the design is for the producer to benefit from the behavioral change, then it is not ethical.

Disappeared Technology

Have you experienced a technology that has truly disappeared? Describe the experience and why the technology disappeared. What replaced the technology in the forefront?

One of the many technologies that has truly disappeared is connecting to the virtual world. I remember my brother discussing with my dad about a piece of hardware that he wanted to buy for his computer, later I realize that piece of hardware was a modem.

connecting to the internet it was a long and somewhat irritating process. I was fourteen years old when my brother bought the first dial up network card. On the card there was a username and password that we had to scratch off and a network number. First, we had to connect the telephone line to the desktop computer and only one computer could connect to one line at a time. Next, we had to open the network dial up connection on the computer, feed the number, username and password to it and dial the number. After a few rings, you would hear a noise that sounded like aliens communicating to the world.  And that wonderful noise meant that I was finally about to connect to the Internet.  The most frustrating part was when the network was busy and you had to constantly redial until you could finally connect! In order to reduce online traffic the government would have discount rates if you tried to connect between the hours of 11 pm to 5 am.

However, today this technology has become so transparent. We expect it to be available everywhere at all times. There is mainly a one time setup for the wireless modem in most cases. Then we can connect as many devices as we want to the same network. We can simply walk into a coffee shop and connect our personal computers to the wireless internet. Moreover, we have the internet on us all the time through our smart phones. The Internet is no longer a mark of luxury as it was when I started using it; it is becoming a necessity. It is impossible to imagine our lives without it.

Architecture for Humanity Questions:

Blog on 1-2 questions you would like to ask the folks running Architecture for Humanity.

I want to take a few seconds and thank Architecture for Humanity for their hard work. I have two questions that I would like to ask them.

Question 1:
Through Cameron Sinclair’s presentation on Ted Talk I realized that the Architecture for Humanity projects are international and without any boundaries. I was very touched to know that Rebuilding Bam in Iran was one of their projects. Currently, with all the sanctions and political restrictions on Iran would  Architecture for Humanity still be able to execute a similar project? In other words, how much political and international barriers restrict their work? What are the barriers that Architecture for Humanity has to overcome if they want to run a project in countries like Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq where people are forced out of their homes because of war and/or occupation and ultimately  live in refugee camps?

Question 2:
I always thought the power of image is much stronger than any other source of communication. I want to become a designer because I want to make a difference and  help raise awareness. I believe regardless of where you live the information you receive through social media or other outlets is manipulated in one way or another. When I was living in Iran there was a constant contradiction between the information we were given by the government and what was really happening in the country and worldwide. After living in the United States for about 7 months, I have realized that the social media is as controlled here as anywhere else in the world. I hope by telling people the truth, we can stop war and hatred against one another and move towards peace. My goal is also to use the power of design to spread knowledge to help humanity. I guess my question is, based on your experience, where do I begin?