TAPIOCA CARBS?

I just found something out from a friend, I wonder if it’s a rumor! My friend told me that for every one tapioca that is in those Bubble Tea drinks, it contains the amount of Carbohydrates as one slice of bread! If this is true, it means that every one Bubble Tea drink will have the carbs of …. TWO… loaves of bread…. Well that shoots my carb free diet in the foot. And here I was thinking I was doing so well, eating healthy and feeling great. Now to go find out if this rumor is true…


Update: 100 g of bread is less that 30g of carbs, 100 g of tapioca is 84g…. that can’t be good =S

Source(s):
http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/26/59/23045926.jpg

BLOG: DESIGN POWER: GIVEN THE OPTION, WHAT WOULD YOU USE YOUR POWER TO PROMOTE?

Given the option, I would use my power to promote world peace. I know sounds a little cliché, but war is a bit issue that is happening within our world right now. Specifically, the reason I chose to promote world peace is because gas prices are at such a high rate in Canada at the moment because of the Iraq war. However, aside from high-priced gas, world peace would solve a lot of other problems as well. There is so much violence in the world that even the slightest bit of world peace would do a great deal in our society. Then we could all concentrate on other issues like; world hunger or global warming. There are just too many issues that having one power would not solve the numerous issues within the world; cancer, abuse, environmental issues, etc.

BLOG: AIGA & Design Trends

After watching the AIGA Design Conference, it made me realize how important presentation is. A person could take something boring and dull, and turn it into a convincing and bold through a something as simple as a good presentation. The contestants on Command X were amazing in both their choice in style of design, and in their presentations. What made the conference really work was the humour incorporated into the presentation. It definitely made the contestants feel a little more comfortable up in front of 2000 professionals.

The remaining 3 contestants; Kelly, Matthew, and Michelle did an amazing job. To be able to make it to the top 3 speaks volumes on both their design skills and their ability to communicate to a big audience. The last challenge was a voting campaign that was targeted to an audience of their own age group. This was an interesting challenge because the contestants were allowed to use any means to convince their audience. This challenge was one of the best yet, because it made me realize that something as simple as words can be so convincing. Not surprisingly, Michelle won the judges hearts with her inspirational and touching words. So, relating back to "Writing is Design", I agree that writing is a form of design. Writing can be convincing, and mentioned previously, as well as visually pleasing when placed appropriately.

Looking back on the conference, I would never be able to present in front of such a big audience. It is, without a doubt, so inspiring to see such talented designers who are able to complete a task in such a short amount of time, AND present in front of a big audience. It makes me realize that complaining about school and assignments and presentations is nothing compared to the contestants on Command X.

Source(s):
http://designconference2007.aiga.org/dc-commandx

BLOG: WRITING IS DESIGN

Is writing design? Yes, I feel that writing is considered design. Being able to write something that can influence a person or change their mind about something is design. Poetry, novel writing, song lyrics; they are all forms of design. Poetry usually expresses a thought or opinion through the means of writing, a novel is writing that is used to entertain the reader. Song lyrics express a song through words and often poetry, and powerful words that have meaning can have an effect on a person easily through persuasion. So design does not always consist of images and illustrations. Writing is design; creatively communicating through words and expressing through poetry is design.

BLOG: ARE DESIGNERS OBLIGED TO DO PRO BONO WORK?

I do not believe designers are required to do work for the good of the public. It is a matter of personal preference, whether they choose to do it or not. A graphic designer should usually get paid if they were doing work for a client that is under contract. However, if a designer chooses to design work for a friend or family member for free is another question. Because there are so many companies out there who take advantage of graphic designers who are unfamiliar with the design industry, it is hard to decide when someone should get paid for their work, and when they are not. I feel that all work that is done should be paid for, any roughs or concepts that are presented should get some credit for.

Yes, I personally would do work for free depending who my client is and what contract I am under. If I were asked to design something for a family member or a friend, yes, I would definitely take the time to help a friend or family. Someone should never feel forced to do work if they do not feel comfortable doing. In the end, it all comes down to the designer's decision and how they feel about doing free work.

BLOG: A LIST OF WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR

- Communication skills
- Importance of getting a long with others
- Times management
- Self dependency
- Responsibility
- Technical skills

If someone were to ask me to give them a list of something I’ve learned so far, the list would be endless. However, if someone asked me to give them a list of what I’ve learned since I’ve stepped foot into Humber College, there are many things I’ve learned that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. One big thing I’ve learned so far is my ability to communicate with others. Communication is a big part of society, let alone life itself. It allows us to communicate with others in ways that is just more than verbal. Without communication, the world would not be able to function successfully. Communication is a big part of design, design is communication. To be able to tell them how what you think and give them your input on something is crucial.

Another thing I’ve learned so far is how important it is get a long with others. Communication and the ability to get along with others come hand in hand. If a person was unable to communicate with a person, that person would definitely not be able to get along with others. In the design industry, the ability of getting a long with others is so important.

Time management is of the biggest things I’ve learned since I came into Humber. It is so important to manage every thing you do by time to ensure every thing that needs to be done, gets done.

I could say that I am definitely looking forward to acquiring new skills throughout the rest of my education at Humber College. I feel that I could really learn more from the instructors and peers at Humber that I will carry with me through the rest of my life.

"MAKE SIGNS THAT MAKE SENSE"

I saw this ad on the subway and the first thing that came to mind was; communication = graphic design. Graphic Design is more than just good graphics, and interesting designs. It is the process of communicating visually across to the viewer, using texts, images and illustrations to present the message across. I felt that this ad was a good example of graphic design, and how important it is to do “good” graphic designing. It definitely helps explains the importance of information design, and how crucial it is to understand it through the viewer’s eyes.

Source(s):
http://www.accesson.ca/NR/rdonlyres/DE811FD5-8D8A-49E3-BA60-1E82DBFFFA84/1975/information1.pdf

BLOG: ARE ADVERTISING AND GRAPHIC DESIGN MOVING TOWARD DELIVERING "EXPERIENCE" AS THE END RESULT?

Looking at advertisements and graphic design, delivering experience to the viewer and target audience is crucial. Advertising promotes and sells a product to viewer's, trying to communicate the product through images, illustrations and words. Giving them the "experience" through images is important because clients want their target audience to "know" the feeling of owning or tasting that certain product they are trying to sell. As a consumer, I would like to know how it feels to own a certain product before I spend my money on it. If I am convinced through an ad, that would definitely speak volumes on the designer and ad itself. Experience is important. Experiencing something is different than just knowing about something, which can change the mind about how someone feels about something by just experiencing. A person could hate coffee knowing that it's bitter. Now, after they've experienced the taste of coffee, knowing they could add sugar and cream so they can alter the taste of the bitterness allows them to "experience"- which could possibly change their mind in the end result.




An example would be the new 5 Gum. Their ad commercial is all about the experience - "Stimulate your senses". The commercial wants the viewer to experience the flavour by watching the commercial. I recommend that you watch visit the website to get your experience of the 5 Gum flavours!

Official Website Campaign: 5 Gum - Stimulate Your Senses

Source(s):
http://www.5gum.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=n98KQEpDroU

BLOG: WHAT DESIGN WOULD YOU REFUSE?

Design and personal ethics -- where is the line?

Designing is something a person enjoys doing. It is a hobby or interest, and should never feel forced to do something they do not believe in. If I were ever asked to design something that I did not feel comfortable doing, I would refuse to do it.

One thing I would be uncomfortable deigning, and would most likely refuse to so are any racial and sexist designs. I do not feel that racism is appropriate in any circumstance. I feel quite strongly about that issue today, and how there are so many racial issues in our society even after so long. Sexism is also another issue I do not feel should be tolerated. If I were ever asked to work along any of those lines, I would refuse to. . It all comes down to how a person deals with the issue and how strongly they feel about it.

However, there are other issues in the world I do not agree with, but I would take work for if I were asked to. For example, smoking. I have never smoked a cigarette a day in my life, and do not agree with it either. If I were asked to design an ad for a cigarette campaign, I would. Everybody knows that smoking is bad for them; it causes cancer and other deadly diseases that do not just harm the individuals themselves, but the people around them. If designing an ad is “promoting” smoking, then that is their problem they should deal with. A person does not have to smoke, and the decision of smoking is their choice. If someone feels that smoking ads are promoting the wrong message to their child or children, they should speak directly to their children about the issue.

Everybody has their own opinion to speak for themselves. A designer should never feel like they “have” to design something when they feel so negatively about it.

BLOG: 10 THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

There are so many things in the world that can make me happy. Usually, that varies from how I am feeling that day, to something as simple as what I ate earlier that day. It doesn’t take a lot to make me “happy”, and what makes me the happiest the most are the simple things in life.

(the list ranks in order from 1 to 10, 1 being the thing that makes me the happiest)

10. Shopping
9. Sleep
8. Food (sushi, Swiss Chalet, chicken)
7. Listening to my music
6. Computer/Video games (Brain Age!)
5. Random drives in the night
4. Simple walks around the neighborhood on a warm summer evening
3. My friends
2. My boyfriend
1. Spending time with my family

BLOG: ME VS. MEDIA

This is just a rough estimate of my time well spent on different sources of media. It's quite surprising how much time I spend on a certain form of media, compared to another. Now, if this was recorded a few years back from now, I really feel the results would have been different. It just comes to show how much media has changed our lives and what we do on a regular basis.

READING:
Books = 1 hours
Newspapers = 10 min
Magazines = 30 min

LISTENING TO THE RADIO:
2 hours

LISTENING TO MUSIC:
25 hours

WATCHING TELEVISION:
10 hours

WATCHING MOVIES:
DVD: 0 minutes
Theater: 0 hours

CHECKING EMAIL:
2 hours

ONLINE:
Forums: 8 hours
IM/Messenger: 20 hours

TIME ON THE PHONE:
14 hours

** That was just a rounded estimate