Blog recommendation: mStonerblog

I recently returned from the UCDA Design Summit, which was held in Denver, CO, this year.

One of the presenters, Doug Gapinski, the design director at mStoner, spoke about "Branding and Education" ("If your institution was a person, what would the qualities and characteristics of that person be?" Hmmm...) and "User Experience Fundamentals" ("Are your audiences having intuitive and satisfying experiences when dealing with your brand?").

At the end of his presentation, he told us he would post to mStoner's blog and ask us to provide feedback on his talk there.

I just checked out their blog and believe there may be a treasure of relative musings useful for us here at Berkeley. So, check out the blog when you get a chance.

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Oh, by the way, I went to the new wing of the Denver Art Museum (above), which was designed by Daniel Libeskind. I went on an architectural tour before wandering through the floors on my own. The building has no 90% angles; I was amazed by how they solved the problem of hanging art in such a space. Check it out if you're ever in the "mile-high city."

In or Out of Focus?

Photography that represents the University as a whole (the sum of its many diverse parts) has also been on our work radar since spring.

Any of you who alter photos in Photoshop (who doesn’t?) might have liked the Peter Henry Emerson (1880-1895) exhibit I saw at the J. Paul Getty museum in May featuring his early photography from Eastern England.

As suspected, the alteration of negatives has been going on from the get-go. I saw the variations of prints from altered negatives. The big debate then was about “truthfulness” vs. “character of nature” in photography. Whether photos should be sharply in focus capturing detail with startling clarity, or more fuzzy, closer to what the human eye sees. These were quite heated salon discussions.

Quotes from the time:

“Negatives must be printed without alteration.”

“Nothing in nature is a hard outline, but everything is seen against something else, often so subtly you cannot quite tell where it ends and the other begins. In this mingled decision and indecision lies all of the charm and mystery of nature.”

“Remember that your photograph is a rough index of your mind, it is sort of a rough confession on paper.”

Due to my procrastination in posting the show is gone but here is a link to the highlights: www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/emerson.

Two exhibits you should see

via e-mail from Roland

There are two exhibits in San Francisco which we should all be aware of. Both Ron and I have seen these shows and recommend them for their richness and innovation. They can serve as inspiration to us all.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
California College of the Arts at 100: Innovation by Design
March 23–August 26, 2007
Encompassing some of the most mesmerizing design objects from the Museum’s collection and beyond, this exhibition showcases the innovation and boundless creativity manifested by faculty and alumni of CCA on the occasion of the Bay Area college’s 100th anniversary.

M.H. De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park
Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion
March 3–June 10, 2007
Vivienne Westwood is both iconoclast and global icon. This exhibition, which was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and which makes the de Young its only U.S. stop on an international tour, celebrates Westwood's extraordinary, nearly 40-year-long career.