Design is an idea about creating something in a creative way for a purpose.

There are two types of design. The planner making the first type of design will concentrate on making a product work better. The designer of this product is mainly concerned about the function of the product. In the second type of design the planner wants the product to look good, so this designer makes the product visually appealing and up-to-date.

If we go back to the statement “Design is an idea about creating something in a creative way for a purpose”, we can say that anything that is created is creative. Anything that is created in a creative way does indeed have a purpose, whether it be for the function of the product or for the pleasing, visual effect that a product gives. There are times when creativity makes things work, and with further planning and refining and better design they work even better. Design can also be how something looks. Even though two products may have the same function people will often be attracted to the one that looks better. All in all, both types of design go hand in hand and no matter which way you look at it, design is an idea about creating something in a creative way for a purpose.

Media In My Life

This is a list of approximate times spent on each type of media per day and week.

1. Reading – books, newspaper, magazines – 1 hr per day – 7 hrs per week
2. Listening to the radio (internet, satellite, traditional) -5 hrs per day – 35 hrs per week
3. Listening to music (via mp3 player, itunes, CD) – 5 hrs per day – 35 hrs per week
4. Watching TV, movies, DVD,etc. – 2 hrs per day – 14 hrs per week
5. E-mail (writing and reading messages) – 1 hr per day – 7 hrs per week
6. Surfing the net.(including Facebook) – 2 hrs per day – 14 hrs per week
7. Playing video games (via the computer or the system) – 1 hr per day – 7 hrs per week

Although these times are approximate times because the hours may vary from day to day and from week to week, it is easy to see that a large concentration of time is spent on media requiring technological devices such as computers, mp3 players, game systems and so on, rather than the traditional books and magazines. As time goes by the advancement in technology has allowed us to use different methods of communicating, such as e-mails. We can now surf the net in seconds and find out any information we are looking for. We can carry with us and listen to our favourite tunes in the mp3 players. Movies and videos can easily be seen on computers and cell phones. The list goes on. We are gradually getting away from such things as reading books because so much information can be accessed using other media. This could be both a good thing and a bad thing. Yes, on one hand, things have become easier for us. The world is at our fingertips. But, on the other hand access of too much information about people or things may not be so good. Personal information is too easily accessible. People are also becoming less personal. We used to have to call people on the phone more often, so we actually got to speak to people. Now we have become reliant on the e-mail instead of the phone call. So, have we alienated ourselves from each other with technology and media, or have we brought each other closer together by being able to access information across the world in seconds?

Preliminary Design Process

Before actually starting the design of the Music CD many ideas flood my mind at first. But then I have to start sorting and extracting only the ideas that will suit the client requesting the CD and also what I think would be appealing to the viewers. I gather the information given to me (i.e., the print and pictures that the client wants included on the CD cover). I find if the client has any other preferences or wants, or if there is a predominant colour that should be used and so on. After finding out what I “must” include I can now judge how much room there is for me to use my own ideas and additions. I make decisions always keeping in mind the client’s “wants”. Then I proceed to making decisions on what look I want to start developing, what colours I want to use, what images I want to include, where I want to place the information I have on the CD cover, what typeface I want to use and so on. In other words, the design creation depends on ME, even though the client has made certain requests. When coming up with the design I, of course, use my own prior knowledge. I can also look to other people’s works to get ideas and to enrich my own knowledge. I look to sources such as magazines, internet, books etc. to get ideas. Once I have thought about it and have done a lot of observations I can start trying out my own ideas. When doing this I keep in mind that I want to “WOW” my client, the viewers and most of all ME. My ultimate goal is to make my CD cover design creative and it must capture the attention of people. The CD cover must reflect or be a glimpse of the music and the musicians it features.