Logos and Branding

This week I have been asked to write about why logos are important.  The reason that logos are important is actually surprisingly simple.  People remember the logo, it is the visual representation of the brand or the company.  When people think of Coke, they think of the bottle and of the script.  When people think of Apple, they think of the apple with a bite taken out of it (or Steve Jobs, may he rest in piece).  Logos are amazingly important for a company because that is their advertising.  The Duquesne “D” is everywhere and the ring has become a type of logo for the school, that is the way of advertising.  When one thinks of a company, logos come to mind, and that is why people who dedicate their lives to making logos become very rich people.

If I were to take Apple, just because I miss Steve Jobs, and look at how they have evolved their logo over the years, I could see that they have kept it pretty simple and consistent.  There have been minor changes to it, but overall it seems to be working for them.  I actually cannot look at an apple without thinking about my iPod, but I’m a freak.  The logo was originally Issac Newton standing under an apple tree (I bet that that is not common knowledge) and then moved to the logo we know now, but it was a rainbow instead of being silver.  From there it moved to the silver/black logo that everybody recognizes.  The logo for Apple has not changed too much since 1976, and that is why they have been successful.  Since the logo has not changed, the general public recognizes it easier and will be more trustworthy in that brand.

Sources for more info on logo design/redesign:

http://www.logodesignlove.com/10-successful-logo-redesigns

http://wefunction.com/2008/10/50-stunning-examples-of-a-great-redesign/

How Much is Too Much?

In regards to Photoshop, how much is too much?  This is an excellent question because it is so open-ended.  Personally, I think that we use Photoshop too much.  Nobody is really that skinny or has skin like that or has that “perfect body” and the pictures that are magazines and on the internet that have been “touched up” Photoshop are just ridiculous (and kind of funny to look at).  However, there are people who do a lot more than just put a monkey’s head on their friend’s body (or the other way around).  These people just go too far in their quest for the “perfect” body type that nobody actually has.  They do this because they think that it looks nice but if the person looked emaciated it’s not nice, it’s disgusting.  Nobody has a 2 inch waist and if they do they need medical and psychological help because they are going to die.

For me, going too far is making somebody look emaciated or making somebody look ridiculous.  If you put somebody else’s head on a body, it’s a problem.  Also, taking somebody out of a picture because it “looks better” without them, that’s going too far.  Hence the Obama oil spill picture.  that was too far.  Also, taking women out of pictures because you don’t think that they belong there is not just going too far, it’s also ethically wrong.  We live in a culture where everyone is equal, if you don’t agree with that, I suggest you read the Constitution or leave the country.  (Sorry for the tangent, this is not about women’s rights.)  Anyway, going too far and taking away (or adding) too much is just not acceptable.  However, the society in which we live prevents us from ever going back to normal pictures.  we have become so used to having Photoshop that the media and the public cannot and will not handle the transition back to an average looking model or average looking celebrities.  It just will not work.  It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way of the culture.  Unless the general populous begins to stand up against images that have gone too far, and the media responds, there is no hope.  Also, it would help if the general populous knew what was too far.

examples of going too far

http://entertainment.msn.co.nz/img/blog/aug11/blog020811_photoshop.jpg

In this example, it is clear to see that somebody went into Photoshop to make Mariah Carrey smaller than she really is.  Way smaller.  This is not okay.  It went way too far.  They took off INCHES!!!!  Not like one inch.  It was like, INCHES!!!  This is not what she looks like, she might wish that she looked like that, but unfortunately for her, it’s not.  Everybody knows it and they went too far in attempting to get more people to like her and buy whatever it is that she was selling at the time (I think it was a Christmas CD).

 

 

http://fastcache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/39/2007/09/glamourferrerra.jpg

Obviously, the body does not belong to America Ferrera.  It is not the right skin tone, body shape, or proportions to actually fit her head and what people normally think of when they here America Ferrera.  Really Glamour magazine?  I could have expected more from you…

Web Technologies and Multimedia

So, the class that I have to write these blogs on is about multimedia stuff and all that fun stuff.  The topics that I need to discuss this week are what my first thoughts about web design were, what I think about it know that I’m three weeks in, the concepts that I’m struggling with, and my thoughts about the scripting language.

To be honest, I never really thought about web design before this class.  I had taken Photoshop classes and had worked with Dreamweaver a little, but that was it.  It never really crossed my mind about how websites were formed and any of the language that went into what I was watching.  I never had a thought about what I was looking at because I was never focusing on that, I was focusing on what I wanted to and nothing that went into it.

Now that I am forced to think about it web design is pretty interesting, however, it is not something that I would ever think about doing for my career.  I think that it takes too much skill for me to do it every day and I would never want that type of pressure, especially after the Metallica example.  I would be too freaked out to do anything.

The only thing that I have trouble with is FTP-ing and that is apparently really difficult.  I don’t really mind not knowing how to do that because it has only been a few weeks and this is not what I want to do with the rest of my life.

The scripting language is okay.  It’s pretty cool but it’s nothing something that I want to have to remember.  I mean, it seems easy enough, but it’s not my favorite thing to have to do everyday.  I like it, but it’s just ridiculous.

So, that’s my blog for this week.  Super exciting, I know.

HTML5 and CSS3

My assignment for this week was to write something about HTML5 and CSS3.  However, until I started to research  on Monday night (this is due on Tuesday morning) I had no idea what those even were.  So, for anybody who is like me, here is the run-down.  HTML5 and CSS3 are both new structural languages for the internet.  For all of us who have trouble running anything with Adobe Flash because of the stupid plug-ins, fear not, the plug-in is no longer necessary, a BIG thank you to outgoing Apple CEO Steve Jobs for that one.  Another one of the main points of the new languages is that they are replacing new ones and people are getting upset because they have to update everything.  For all of you, get over it.  If you don’t update, someone else will and you will lose traffic, just saying.  This is because HTML5 and CSS3 can do things that there predecessors can’t.  For instance, I’m going to go back to the stupid plug-ins, no more need for Flash and it loads faster and we don’t have to deal with the bar at the top of the screen that tells us to update our plug-ins or update something else and then have to restart our machines because the internet is being inept at what we want it to do.  We want it to give us information now.  Nobody wants to have to wait for a computer to restart to watch a funny video or talk to a friend.  It’s not human nature.  We used to have a seven minute attention span (funny fact: that was time in between commercial breaks) now we have a seven second attention span (funny fact: that is not the time in between commercial breaks, if you watch commercials and know what they are).  I see a very limited amount of problems from upgrading something that is used everyday all day all over the world.  For those of you who do, it happens.  For those who think that it’s not fair, I have a newsflash for you: life isn’t fair.  If you don’t believe me, ask William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride (best book ever).

From my extensive research in the past hour or so, I have come to realize that the problems that could occur from the change is no worse than what we have now.  The last time that HTML was updated was 11 years ago.  I was 7 and ignorant to the ways of the world.  Now, I am 18 and know fully well that if something has not been updated in that long, there has to be some problems with it, especially in this age of technology.  However, some believe that if these programs are not treated like they are new, we’ll be wasting them.  However, those same people could argue that while being entirely new, nothing has really changed.  Anybody who thinks otherwise, these are not my ideas, don’t shoot the messenger.

Now, don’t go getting all excited.  Both CSS3 and HTML5 are still in development according to my readings.  However, hopefully they will be up soon.  After all, HTML5 has been in development since 2004.

Where most of my reading came from:

http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/07/what-is-html5.html

http://www.css3.com/about-css3/

Hello world!

I have to blog for one of my classes.  So, this is my very first post.  I will be posting every so often for my class about stuff in the technology world… fun and exciting I know.