Course Reflection 01

Okay, I probably will not go in order of classes and more of just what comes to mind whenever I think back to the past four classes. The first day was pretty much a normal first day of class day except for we did it in a different manner. When we got to class we each picked a random card from the deck and took a seat. I enjoyed learning a little bit about Gabe before we started because its always nice when a teacher opens up and shows that they are as interested in you getting to know them as they are in getting to know you. We then paired up with another card which was had the same number and color. We learned a little about that person and then introduced them to the class and got their information in case we had any questions throughout the quarter (instant study buddy). In the first actual lecture we learned about the history of design and what design actually was. This was interesting to me because I am relatively unfamiliar with the details of design and I learned that there is much more to design then just graphics. I was also very interested in learning about the road to modernism ( the differences between curvilinear vs. rectilinear, etc.) I really like Frank Lloyd Wright who was touched upon. I have been to both the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater. The evolution of the chair was also interesting I never realized that it went through so many intricate stages. You can really tell the differences when you go through the chairs as to what was important to people at that time and what was considered "in". I am really glad that we did the on campus field trip to the Wexner Center of Art and the architecture library because although I knew they existed I had never been in either library nor did I know any history behind the buildings. I feel like when you know history about something it makes the place much more significant and interesting to the viewer. I also would have never known that all of those famous chairs were in Knowlton Library had we not gone. I am looking forward to going back to both in order to do the next assignment to simply browse through all of the books and magazines. Also finding out that Ohio State has one of the only, if the only, cartoon libraries on a college campus was very intriguing and I definitely want to check that out. We also learned about in our second lecture what designers actually do. I was glad that we did this lecture because although I knew the three design disciplines at Ohio State I didn't know a lot about what each entailed. For instance, I had absolutely no idea that industrial designers were involved in creating medical diagnostic and treatment equipment. However, when I really think about it that makes a lot of sense. It made me realize that to a certain extent everything needs designed, not just the obvious things that come to mind. I also thought that the part on typography was interesting because I have never really learned anything along those lines before. We also watched a video on Paul Rand who was a graphic designer, known for his corporate logos with companies like IBM and UPS. My dad actually works for IBM, so I have the shirt with the logo with the eye, the bee, and the M. I thought it was very interesting how he did not take into account the opinions of the companies at all when coming up with a design. To me that means that he had earned a tremendous amount of respect and trust within the community for people to fork over thousands of dollars and not have the slightest clue what they were going to get in return. Overall, the first four classes have been interesting and have provided me with a wealth of knowledge, so I can only wait and can imagine what the rest of the quarter has in store.