Ismael Obregon

One of the things about Ismael Obregon that stood out to me was how laid back he seemed to be. Not only in his presentation, but with the way he approached his work with a kind of effortlessness that we all wish we could one day possess. Even when he described his educational background, it is clear that he is an imaginative man with plenty of book smart. The story behind his company's name, Oishii, made me realize how important a name and a logo is behind a company. I have recently become very interested in logo design, and how it is created, so it was a treat for me when Ismael discussed the meaning of his logo and the name "Oishii" (which means "delicious" in Japanese). It is easy to take your name and make that the name of your business, but instead doing your research, and finding a story that can relate to you and your goals is what will truly make you stand out among the rest.

At the very beginning he gave a very important piece of advice: don't limit yourself with a computer. Never feel like you are limited in design--utilize everything you have and then use it in a way that no one ever thought possible. So go out there and surprise yourself with what you can dream up! Speaking of limitations, Ismael made it clear to us that we do not have to be limited by language "barriers" when it comes to design. Art communicates! So educate yourself in the art of visual language--a language that can communicate ideas to any audience.

After a very short presentation, he forced us to continue his presentation with questions from the audience. Eventually everyone understood that unless we kept asking questions, the presentation would be over. From the questions asked there were a some very strong points:

• Clients. Learn to listen to your clients. They know what they need, not what they want.
• Be excited (to graduate)! As students we are closer to what is new and fresh--something that more seasoned designers are looking for. Internship as much as possible!
• Learn a lot of the rules of business (and then break them). Get into the nitty gritty of business such as getting a line of credit, money management, etc.
• When joining forces with another designer, always pick someone who is smarter and knows more than you (FIRM believer).

Oishii Creative

Well Color Me Happy!

Color is so beautiful, ugly, chaotic and calm that it's easy to forget it's usefulness in our information-obsessed world. From street signs to the world atlas, color has been our friend in depicting everything from height, to temperature, weight, and even numbers. After reading a chapter titled "Color and Information" from Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte, it began to become clear how purposely and thoughtfully color should be used in pictorial information. For our class project we are to pick a data set with at least two variables in any kind of chart, graph, etc. that we choose. One will be in black and white, and two others (of the same graph) will be in different color pallets. I have decided to use my kitten, Zoe, as inspiration for my variables: time of day and what level of "pain" she inflicts upon myself and others.

Zoe:

I will upload the finished project for my next blog.

Tufte described Oliver Byrne's The Elements of Euclid (1847), of which I have seen many times but never realized how grateful I was when color was used in mathematics. I am.....well let's just say math and I have had a long, stressful relationship since the beginning--and yet, since the beginning, color and math have always come hand-in-hand for me. From the colorful cartoons that came with every situational math problem, to the simplest use of depicting a number from another. Color has been there for millions of children, teens, and adults throughout their days in school. Even my math professors from college would use different colors when writing our equations for us, be it chalk or markers.

Yet even through the general used of color, Tufte goes further to explain how carefully color not only should, but must be used in order to convey the information to the viewer. Something I hope I have accomplished with this project.