MANDERSON

I'm really beginning to regret not diving further into this book since I had purchased it. This was a very insightful read that immediately hit close to home in addressing the importance of embracing sensitivity and the act of listening. Shaughnessy writes that "designers sometimes imagine that the world revolves around graphic design, and when you are working fourteen-hour days it's hard to remember that it doesn't". What this says for me is that it is so important to develop an ethical code – a personal manifesto – because if you are going to dedicate laborious hours, they should be fruitful and inspiring. Tyler talked a bit about this in our first Visual Advocacy meeting, and how our late hours should be fueled by excitement and without dread.

After reading from Adbusters #27, I couldn't help but misquote an old saying:

"We the unwilling – led by the unknowing – are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much with so little for so long that we now feel qualified to do something with nothing." - Unfortunately Unknown

Why are graphic designers so jaded? We develop identities and question our own. We submit to the encryption of influence – to which we do not always align. Our craft is exploited and marketed in upgradeable doses. But whose isn't?

I've accepted the fact that graphic design tends to function as a commodity to our American society; often a "hammer that drives the nail". Any sort of self-righteous act in graphic design just seems to translate as pretension. After all, it seems that the designer is first considered in production yet last acknowledged in success – to the benefit of whomever.

I was really engaged in reading the story of "Boss" Tweed and his publicized response to the political cartoons that were being drawn of him. Tweed fostered some pretty controversial commentary regarding Nast's cartoons. Not only had Tweed demanded the halt of his inky ridicule, he reportedly stated "I don't care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures!". In this case we find that propaganda graphics had fostered some secondary social unrest in eventually informing Tweed's constituents of his manipulation and disrespect to their intelligence.

Never had I fully realized just how far governing bodies had pursued the prosecution those who had designed a strong, educating message. From Philipon being forced to appear in court for his depiction of the "pear-headed king" and Stalin's action of outlawing abstract art in benefit of socialist realism, it becomes true that visually driven propaganda will always be under consideration in politics. It's no wonder that carefully edited film reels and photographs became primary modes of controlled thought distribution once they became technically developed. I love how the author concludes the role of the modern advertising poster in WWII and how it "became the main vehicle for sustaining one of the most devastating wars in history".

I think Quince made a great comparison in drawing a parallel to our recent presidential campaign. Such an overabundance of polished promotional material and "trustworthy" typography left me staggered; the dramatic campaign treatment played an undoubtable role in the poll results.

1. Unfolding sheet of paper that will reveal different sections of the site within panels.
2. Cluttered desk area - navigation occurs with the organization of the space, implying "mouse hands".
3. Three dimensional walk-thru of a gallery space.
4. Personal sihlouette constructs and pulls apart the page based on the users preference of wayfinding.

In assigning and establishing a contextual system for phase three, I paired the notion of "Orphaned" technology further, pressing the initial concept of older technology being dominated by newer gaming development. The text element compliments the imagery, providing insight for those older gamers who would have been subject to the now antiquated, monochromatic gaming formula. Why do we, as intellectual gamers, have to be convinced of a characters tactile believability? Does "realistic" gaming improve our gaming experience, or is it technological development that makes new games just appear to be better resolved than older ones? To design, this deliverable provides a very important question: Just how important is this emulation of real life objects and figures to design communication? Does "new and improved" aesthetic development negate the attention to design choices as ideas versus effects?

Vivian's juxtaposition of gaming elements creates a comparison of modern versus antiquated technology; the evolution of the user interface. Today, the original Game Boy has become a fetish object for a new breed of gamers. Retrogaming has emerged as a subculture consisting of hobbyist gamers who collect original hardware to play older computer games. This subculture has introduced the concept of Abandonware, referring to computer gaming software that is no longer sold or supported in this case. Software can be abandoned when it can only be used with obsolete technologies. Older computer media are fragile and prone to rapid deterioration, necessitating an evolution of gaming to more modern, stable media. The Game Boy has become a subject of a similar Orphaned technology, often deemed to lack the user interface that modern gamers desire. These terms also refer to technologies for which there is a need, but not a large enough market investment in the technology financially viable.

In contrast, the US mobile gaming industry has entered a stable growth stage. Carriers and publishers have increased marketing awareness, introducing new business models, distribution channels, and game genres. The advent of mobile broadband-enabled portable game players will solidify its status among fans of on-the-go gaming; an exemplary application of the original Game Boy's target usage principles.

LINKS:

The Original Game Boy

abandonia - dedicated to classic DOSgames

"Dashed Dreams and Orphaned Technology"
By Dave Lucas

"The New Frontier: Portable and Mobile Gaming"
By Yuanzhe Cai

The incorporation of a fully rendered Mario Land "bomb" symbol has been placed in juxtaposition to a tiny, pixelated Mario on the opposite side of the Game Boy. The difficulty in associating a common dialogue for these images can be addressed in viewing just how sterile this environment has become. We now have four rendering perversions; the bomber, a digital stock image; the blurry game boy, now superimposed with a block of color; and the furry pixel Mario placed to the East. This sparse dialogue, though vague, posts a disoriented, negative tone throughout the objects, which now become characters in this environment. Mario could possibly be interpreted as the protagonist, but only if the viewer understands and can relate to the implied syntax. So much must be taken into consideration when implying cultural reference in this medium. To the enlightened audience, they may find this treatment surreal or awkward atop negative. To those unfamiliar with the given objects, they may undoubtably view this as a positive composition. Unsure as of how to pursue the development of this series, a definite strengthening of overall detail needs to occur before a concise, external dialogue can be addressed.

Through the following phase of exploration, I began to merge and further amplify some of my earlier concepts. A specific tone began to form in the images that I had placed. Once mixing key elements of my stronger concepts, I was able to identify a stronger dialogue and formal relationship within my image selection.

The red purse reveals itself an element of insecurity; a skeletal catalyst of fear, old age and death. The woman's flowing mascara portrays the instability of cosmetic content. Revealed within the purse are associated images that loom and inspire anxiety.

The original Nintendo Game Boy was released in the United States in August 1989 and was bundled with the game Tetris, selling one million units in its first week (comparable to iPhone 3G). The decision to package Tetris (developed by a Russian mathmetician) with the Game Boy was made by Nintendo because the games style easily fit in with people who were on the go. The game also appealed to adults more than the Nintendo Entertainment System, which became a key marketing aspect in Nintendo's future advertising campaigns. Game Boys in 1989 cost $40 with games ranging $20.

Emotional resonance is very strong for those aging 20-30. The clunky, rigid feeling of the controller and the 8-bit beeps and chirps are some of the dominant characteristics of the console. Many game reputations have also been established:



Ownership of video game entities has always been a major issue in video game culture. Portable gaming has not just risen to levels where gaming communities are becoming bigger and more popular, but also has come to a stage where online and offline spaces can be seen as ‘merged’ rather than separate.