How Design Can Save Democracy

I don't think ballot design will SAVE democracy. The title is misleading. Are our voting methods/ballot designs a centerpiece for democracy? No. Democracy is equal rights and our freedom to choose.

However i do agree that ballot design is an issue. We have many talented citizens dedicated to design and layout, and we still can't get it right? There needs to be a universal voting method. Yes, this will cost money, but this could alleviate our design issues.





VOTE OBAMA

My Poem

I Want IT. COFFEE
LOVE
TRUTH

i Want THE Vision
the Revolution
THE flair

FACE THE edge.

Sagmeister 05

I would like to touch on some of the artistic elements in Sagmeister's video. I really liked the short clips of words put together to create sentences. Each word had its own individuality and character, but when put together created one harmonious sentence. Each sentence also seemed to have a meaning. Instead of interviewing him more, he used his art to speak to the audience. I really felt like I was engaged. Visually, and Emotionally.

David Carson

David said, "let the personality come through." Even though he was working for someone else, it was still important to him to have personal elements included in his work. Much of the work I do is not digital, but does have very personal elements. I do not work for anyone, my art is made for me.
As a graphic artist, David sounds like he's been through points in his career where he is not making art for himself. Now, maybe he is realizing the importance of "personal touches."

Typography: Vancouver Film School

The film opens up by defining typography as “the way our language looks.” I am discovering the importance of typography in our culture. To begin my assignment I gathered my magazines. I selected all of my old Elle issues and started paging through. I found many intriguing words, but many of them were in the same font. Over and over again I saw the same typeface. Just like Country Living and Elle Décor, I realized these magazines had created a “brand” by simply using the same font.

Back to the video:
Typography sounds like a complicated and detail-oriented adventure.

John Maeda

“The gleaming devices (referencing his iphone) that surround us are intrinsically different from the designed objects of the past. They simply don’t work all the time, nor do we expect them to. We’re obsessed with the potential of our gadgets, yet we always bump into this kind of turbulence.”

John is reflecting on the possibilities our technology offers, yet these are only POSSIBILITIES. We do not assume our computers, cell phones, and PDA’s alike will last forever. Of course we will encounter problems. Of course we will send them back to the manufacturer “once in a while.”
John has a new plan. A plan that may delay the launch of a new product, but a plan that will produce BETTER, more EFFICIENT tools. John says, “I plan to focus on how RISD’s core ideals of art and design can humanize our advancing technologies. Or, put another way, to focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can.”