"The Last Lecture" - Dr. Randy Pausch

This lecture is meaningful to many people worldwide.
To who studied and are studying Introduction to Programming at RMIT, it is related somehow.

Now, you may wonder:

What is "The Last Lecture"? The Last Lecture is the name of a book about "importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because 'time is all you have... and you may find one day that you have less than you think')" - from the book - written by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow. It titled The Last Lecture because it was inspired from the lecture of Randy Pausch named "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), on 18 September 2007. Randy Pausch delivered the lecture after being told about his terminal pancreas cancer which took him away from his family on 25 July 2008 and he didn't knows it is his last lecture at that moment.

Who is Dr. Randy Pausch? Randy Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) is a Professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He received many award of teaching and researching. He worked for Adobe, Google, Electronic Arts and Walt Disney Imagineering. He was a pioner of a project to help young people to learn programming via storytelling and interactive game-playing.

Why does this information somehow relate to IP's students? As I mentioned above, Randy Pausch's project help young people to learn programming via storytelling and interactive game-playing. If I had known about him and had watched The Last Lecture before the last semester, my IP result would have been much better. Because I feel being encouraged after watching it. Yes, Randy Pausch is the father of ALICE PROGRAM.

Hope that you will spend time watching this because it's pretty long. However, believe me, it's worth.

Life

When you were born, smiles are always on your face. You don't have to worry about anything in life.
When you are a child. School, games, nature all become your childhood experiences.
When you are mature, you have to think about your occupation, you career, where you wish to work for, what you do to be successful and many other things.
Then, when you grow old, when you are retired, you may think about what have passed by and look forward to the rest of your life. Thinking.
And what comes will come, you may go to heaven.

Photoshop Blending Exercise

This is a photoshop blending exercise.

Although the result is different from the tutorial, I am very happy when find out how to make the light glow from the eye which I couldn't finish in class.

Use filter Ripple and Radial Blur, you can create this effect easily. The result depends on how you draw the area and how much these filters are applied.

Try it yourself.

Layout Practice

This is my practice of creating name card.

I apply the idea in the book Design Basic Index - Jim Krause to devide the space of image and text.

In the vertical layout, the upper part is smaller than the bigger one used for text information. The same to the horizontal layout. The left space contains the image is smaller than the right space. This make the text information dominant and easier to pay attention.

I like the horizontal layout because the image is tall, it can overwhelm the height of the card but still have more space for text and easier to create the harmony between text and image.

Reference:
Krause, J 2004, 'Composition', Design Basic Index, 1st edn, HOW Design Books, pp. 22-23.

Several Flash Websites

There are several flash websites that I found interesting and creative in design or layout. Because most of them are created in flash, the speed of downloading may be slow. It means that some sites you need to be patient for a masterpiece.

Checked

[1] http://www.guraphic.com



[2] http://www.mudbubble.com



[3] http://okaydave.com/



[4] http://www.allandye.com



[5] http://www.burstlabs.com



[6] http://www.rothaniko.hu



[7] http://calamityphysics.com/main.htm



[8] http://www.lesucre.com/



[9] http://www.enigmind.com/#/NEWS/



[10] http://www.ry-guy.com/



Unchecked
http://www.stephaneguillot.com/index_uk.htm
http://www.dontclick.it
http://www.hyro.com/en/Pages/Hyro.aspx
http://www.homestarrunner.com/main14.html
http://www.typeiswhereitsat.com
http://www.bsouza.com
http://www.oqoqo.com
http://www.hungrysuitcase.com

Gestalt Exercise

Click on image to view actual size

Gestalt theory applied here includes:
- Closure: the text and the lines create the flowerpot.
- Proximity: all the petals of the flower get touch. Grouped petals create the flower.
- Continuance: the title make viewer read from top to bottom and then the main text.

Tools used: AI.

Milton Glaser

Graphic designer I chose for the essay: Milton Glaser.




















Three pieces of Glaser's work to analyze:

Darfur Poster
http://miltonglaserposters.com/pop/new08_darfur.html




















Design and Influence
http://miltonglaserposters.com/pop/poster32.html




















Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival 2003
http://miltonglaserposters.com/pop/poster84.html

Sun & Moon

This logo was designed in black and white to meet the demand white moon on black background and black sun on white background.

The two curves which stand for Sun and Moon are tangential and create another curved line as a letter S which stands for Studio.

It isn’t a complete designed yet because it hasn’t human characteristic as the description.

Draft

Tools used: AI & PS.

Designer vs. Artist

All of you who study in this semester must have been familiar with some questions such as "What is design?", "Who are designers? Are they different from artists?" etc. The short conversation below between Paul Rand – a well-known American graphic designer and John Maeda – a Japanese American graphic designer in the night before Paul Rand’s lecture at MIT Media Lab will explain somehow.

PR: I’ve waited eighty-two years to come to this place. I knew Gyorgy Kepes and Muriel Cooper, but they never invited me. I’m wondering why Mr. Maeda invited me at this late date, but I’ll do my best.

JM: What is design?

PR: Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions, there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.

JM: What is the difference between a designer and an artist?

PR: There is no difference between a designer and an artist. They both work with form and content. I try to create art, whether I make it or not is not up to me, it’s up to God.

JM: What is the difference between good design and bad design?

PR: A bad design is irrelevant. It is superficial, pretentious… basically like all the stuff you see out there today.

JM: What are the fundamental skills of a designer?

PR: The fundamental skill is talent. Talent is a rare commodity. It’s all intuition. And you can’t teach intuition.

JM: Most of your design have lasted for several decades. What would you say is your secret?

PR: Keeping it simple. Being honest, I mean, completely objective about your work. Working very hard at it.

…

Several days after the lecture, Paul Rand passed away on November 26, 1996 after he agreed to join MIT Media Lab as professor.

I hope that you get back some ideas about design and art after reading the short conversation above.

Reference
Maeda, J 2000, ‘New’, Maeda @ Media, 1st edn, Thames & Hudson, London, United Kingdom, pp. 305-337.

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Enjoy it!

Viet.