THE DAWG HOUSE

Wow, what a time to be alive. The last bone. We are so close to ending the semester you can almost taste it. Before this semester, I had never had to keep up a blog page, and this year I was tasked with two blog pages from separate classes. Visual Communication being one of them, of course. These blogs challenged me to keep writing and responding on a consistent basis, which at times felt overwhelming, but I still did thoroughly enjoy doing them.

In regards to this class, I enjoyed the loose nature of what we were prompted to write about, it challenged me to think critically and also offered me the opportunity to write about the things I actually wanted to write about.

It actually surprised me how much I involved myself in some of my blogs. That’s not to say that I didn’t run into some challenges with the writing. Sometimes there would be specific topics of discussion that, for some reason or another, I just couldn’t find it within me, for lack of a better word, care enough for. Those topics were, obviously, much more difficult for me to find things to say that I felt a sense of passion about and I do feel it might’ve shown in some of my writing, but I also hope that it was identifiable the ones that I felt more pulled towards.

There were a lot of things about this class that I enjoyed, one of them being a sense of creative freedom and expression. I was able to organize these blogs with the whole “bone” and “dawg” theme, which is something I would be much more hesitant to do in another class due to its lack of ‘professionalism’. I felt like I was able to write these blogs in a more personalized tone that ‘traditional’ academic writing sometimes has an odd grudge against. I really liked that aspect of the class.

I have always been more of a ‘wordy’ person. In the sense that I am typically a person who learns best by reading and writing. I just like words, to put it bluntly. I did, however, learn in this class the power of good visuals and their use as a possibly better alternative or assistant to the writing. I find myself now considering how a visual might strengthen my writing, rather than ignoring the idea of a visual altogether. It’s still difficult for me sometimes to think about what visuals, may, or may not work; and as I’m writing this post, I have no idea how to incorporate a strong visual or what the visual would even be (probably some ‘bone’ reference to stay on brand), but I know the amount of strength it can give to my writing if I can find the perfect visual that words themselves could just never accomplish. So give me a minute to think…

…

You know, visuals can almost be viewed like a boy flexing in the mirror.

Anyways,

Chew on that bone for awhile, Dawgs

When first learning about propaganda I always made the assumption that it was inherently bad and manipulative, but after further research and thought I’ve changed my mind slightly on the issue.

Physics.smu.edu states: “Finally, in this study we realized that propaganda is everywhere; practically every message you are exposed to is propaganda. Given the principles of propaganda, every such message is suspect. Given the volume of them that hits you, it’s not possible to critically evaluate every one. The tendency, then, is to become totally cynical and refuse to believe any of them. This may prevent you from being misled but is not good for the nation as a whole. Imagine the consequences if the government tried to pass on some very important and truthful information and most people refused to believe them.”

I find myself doubting more and more the things that I hear from the news or internet every day. I have a very cynical view about any information or message that is backed behind strong emotional support, but maybe I should reconsider my initial disgust when hearing a message, and consider the last line of this paragraph: “… Imagine the consequences if the government tried to pass on some very important and truthful information and most people refused to believe them.”

I will admit though, it is very difficult for me to come to terms with anything that tries to force me to believe something. I have an immediate gut reaction to reject it if I find it to be too impassioned and a lack of perspective of an opposing point-of-view.

I believe more people fall into the trap of propaganda, whether it’s good or bad, constantly. Propaganda is widely distributed throughout today’s social media societies and if you can’t recognize some of the tell-tale signs of propaganda, a person can easily be tricked into thinking some things are factual when they are, in fact, simply lies or misleading.  

I imagine most of us, if not all of us, have believed a piece of false propaganda at one point in our life. It’s nearly impossible not to.

Anyways, “BONES ARE MADE OF PLASTIC!”

Chew on that bone for awhile, Dawgs.

I’m going to be honest with you Dawgs… Before this class, I really did not appreciate the level of care that goes into our maps and wayfinding visual aids. Maps and wayfinding tools are abundant among human societies, and some are just necessary. A wayfinding tool can simply be the remembering of a landmark and because of that remembrance, we have this amazing ability to be able to estimate our location in the town, city, country, and the world.

Wayfinding visual aids are so much more than lines and colors. They are, in essence, our peace.

Let me explain. When we are thrown into unfamiliar territory with no context of how we got there; it is probable that many of us would see a rise in our stress levels. Hypothetically speaking, we could be in ‘heaven’ or a heavenly place. A place that exudes peace, love, and safety through its décor and setting, but if heaven does not have a map or some sort of wayfinding tool to get around; we all would probably be quite anxiety-ridden. We are in our supposed Nirvana, but without any clue of direction or location that Nirvana could quickly turn into a hell.

Wayfinding may not seem so important, and it’s a topic that can be easily overlooked, but it is essential for humanity to have devices that can inform us of where we are going. They are survival necessities and I believe that’s why they are so easy to overlook. A world without any sort of wayfinding tools, mentally-noted landmarks or otherwise, could become near the equivalency of all-of-a-sudden running out of any sort of food. That is how essential wayfinding is amongst our societies.

Without wayfinding tools, we are depending on luck for our next meal or drink of water. Without wayfinding, we become severely limited in our abilities and our resources.

Fortunately for us, we have the inherent skill and ability to ‘way find’ for ourselves. It’s similar to breathing. We don’t think about it sometimes, but you just do it. Our ability to do this act, and devise tools to make it more precise, more clear, and accessible has, in my opinion, been a backbone to human civilization.

Further, maps are not technically a necessity. Given enough time most humans would probably figure out how to navigate through their environment by simply learning through trial and error, but with the use of an aid, such as a map, we are able to move and grow at unprecedented speeds compared to the rest of our animal brethren.

The people who create new and improved wayfinding visual aids, that are clear and understandable, are some of the most important people in our daily lives. These people create tools that are easy to use, easily accessible, and not confusing. The best of them know what is “too much information” vs. “not enough information” and without them, we would, quite literally, be lost.

Let’s take a look at a bad map vs. a good map.

This first map is of the Tokyo subway. I feel that it is extremely convoluted with immense amounts of information that boggle the mind, and honestly, I don’t want to look at it anymore because there is just too much information flow on it. I’m succumbing to my ‘lostness’ and I’d rather just figure it out on my own.

Let’s compare the Tokyo subway map to the Washington D.C. metro map. The D.C. map is extremely clear, more detailed information is easy to pick out if need be and has bright distinct colors that help our brains separate the different tracks. I don’t know about you, but I could look at the Washington D.C. map all day.  

Anyways, if you can’t find your bone… just use a good map.

Chew on that bone for awhile Dawgs

While looking through the videos and articles for module 5 I was immediately intrigued by the concept of Anthropomorphism and how it radiates throughout all of humanity and our man-made creations. If you don’t know what anthropomorphism is; let me define it for you. Anthropomorphism is essentially the way we perceive something as having human-like traits. Here are a few pictures that might clarify this for you.

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In the first picture Anthropomorphism at play is obvious. It’s an alligator with big human-like eyes, standing on 2 feet, and wearing golf attire.

In the second picture, we see a tree, but for most of us, we are immediately drawn to the 2 upper ‘eyes’ and the ‘screaming mouth’ below it. This is just a regular tree, but we are so drawn to those eyes and mouth that it’s impossible to not somehow associate it with humans.

I hypothesize that the idea of anthropomorphism is more profound than we may give credit for. Anthropomorphism was and is essential to the creation of many designs that we may not notice anymore since it is so abundant among society.

Anthropomorphism is a powerful way to create a deeper emotional connection to a design and that somehow elevates the status of an object the more anthropomorphic an object is. For example, there have been potato chips that just so happened to resemble famous faces, and the more it resembles a face the more value we attach to it. These potato chips will sometimes sell way above their initial worth. We can even look at the tree example above and let’s say someone wanted you to cut this tree down. There might be slightly more hesitation on your part at the idea of doing that, simply because of the way it looks. It would much easier to cut down if it looked like your standard tree with no anthropomorphic qualities.

One last thing I want to bark at you about is that our attachment to things similar to us is somewhat egocentric, and I feel humanities obsession with their own kind is the crux of our attachment. As of right now, it seems we like to see ourselves in our designs; whether those things bring about negative or positive feelings, we are associating a design to us as humans. Do we like what that image says about us? Is the primary question we ask when we see anything with anthropomorphic qualities.

I would digress into the topic of humanity’s egocentrism and the part it plays in all our creations and how we have a way of always wanting to relate to something because it brings us a sense of comfort, but I should end this here.

Anyways, <(^^)>

Chew on that bone for awhile Dawgs

What’s up Dawgs! Today’s bone is about comics!

I think one of the things that really intrigued me regarding the topic of comics is the way we read them. No, I’m not talking about the weird visual pleasure and mental stimulation we receive from them, but the way we are able to know how to read them.

It’s not always your typical way of reading, which is left to right in most western cultures; or as the cool smart people say it, a “Z-path”,  but comics can also be read from top to bottom. Manga’s are typically made to be read in a more right to left direction.

There isn’t exactly a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to reading comics. Comics, in a way, is its own language. I’m not sure its even enough to know the “language of comic”. Comics universally have their own little culture that comic-enthusiasts have a deep understanding of. An understanding of that ‘culture’ will also help the reader interpret what is being presented to them.

Let me try to visualize this for you. Below you will see a comic I created on Microsoft Paint.

when you read the first panel what was the first thing you read?

I have a feeling that most of us probably already know that you should read the solid top text block first, “ a man named Rex on a sunny afternoon”, but if this was your first ever experience with comics; you might have read the thought bubble first (which knowing the thought bubble is a thought and not spoken word is another aspect of visual language and culture informing us that this is, in-fact, a thought.)

I feel a lot of us take these aspects of comic language and culture for granted, but isn’t it quite exhilarating that we have at least a semi-fluent understanding of “comic language” ? And the more you read comics; the more complex they can become, and you’ll need to have more of an understanding of the “comic language” and culture.

Anyways,

Chew on that bone for awhile, Dawgs.

Dawgs… I made a metaphorical mess of things. I thought for sure this blog post was due at midnight on Friday… I was mistaken. Alas, there’s not much else to say on that issue when the ink is dry.

You may have caught on that today’s bone is about metaphors. Wow, I love metaphors. I love metaphors like a mouse loves cheese. Metaphors, for me, are a way of expressing my creativity and my emotions. I am constantly trying to find new and unique ways to express my thoughts and opinions, and metaphors act as a major vehicle for that. I find it awe-inspiring that seemingly simple phrases can hold so much meaning, and depending how deep you look into it, can have varying levels of meaning.

Let’s look at the example I used for the title of this post “Well, this is a kick in the balls”. It’s an example of an implied metaphor. Now, me being late on this assignment didn’t literally feel like getting kicked in my balls, but by our mutual understanding that getting kicked in the balls is typically a very painful experience and equating that to a late homework assignment; you can grasp the idea that being late on this assignment is a very unpleasant experience for me. I believe this is an example of William Gordon’s “direct analogy” as it really identifies a 1 to 1 relationship between a late assignment and the painful experience of being kicked in your balls, and it really tries to stress the similarities between those two things.

I’m going to take this a step further though. You might remember me mentioning in this post that there can be varying levels of meaning to a metaphor depending how deep you want to look into it. So, lets go down this rabbit hole.

Yes, we all probably grasp the idea of the pain associated with being late on an assignment, but getting kicked in the balls is a fleeting pain (hopefully). So, I don’t believe it to be right OR wrong in also taking that extra mental step and assuming that I will eventually “heal” from this blunder. Much like the pain of getting kicked in the balls is fleeting, so too is the emotional pain associated with a late assignment.

It’s honestly quite marvelous to me how much more can be gleaned from a seemingly simple phrase.

Let’s just trying something here: “Wow, he died of natural causes. That must have been a real kick in the balls for him.”

Something seems off about this statement right? (Other than it’s somewhat morbid)

I think we all can take the mental leap and assume the hypothetical emotional pain someone might feel being dead, but there’s still something that feels off. I believe it’s the fleeting-ness of the pain part of this metaphorical equation that doesn’t really compute because death itself is not a fleeting “emotion” or “thing”. It lasts forever in our human understanding of it, and while that statement might be somewhat humorous, the metaphor “kick in the balls” is kind of out of place here, but only kind of!

We can understand it at its first glance impression of “painful” and somewhat easily justify it’s use, but we really can’t take it much further than that because it doesn’t really make sense anymore if we do, but I don’t think it can be considered a necessarily wrong use of this metaphor.

I find that idea of “varying layer’s to a metaphor” to be quite intriguing and the way various people can interpret these metaphors. It’s as if metaphors can really take a life of their own depending on the culture and perspective. I think that’s why they can be such powerful tools.

In regards to culture effecting interpretation, lets look at an extraterrestrial (ET) with no concept of death, but has a pair of testicles; that ET might just as easily assume death is painful and also non-permanent.

Anyways, all metaphors are like onions…

Chew on that bone for awhile, Dawgs.