Sunday, April 17, 2011

The "House" versus "Home" Theory Pertaining to the Individual's Personality/Identity

For our Senior Capstone project, our identity as artist/designers will be evident in the work that we create for the assignment. Our main objective is to design artworks that will express our perspectives on a particular topic (of our choice) that we will address. In order to catch the attention of our client and/or audience, we as artists should choose a topic that we can relate to or have strong opinions pertaining to it. Choosing a topic that follows the guideline of the previous statement would make it better for everyone to express themselves in an influential way. For my Senior Capstone project, I believe that Karl Marx’s perspective of the “House versus Home” theory helped me a lot in expressing my opinion of what design can do and what it is good for in terms of allowing a client to be comfortable with his/her identity and/or personality. In my opinion, it is essential to create products, shapes, colors, and anything tangible that will attract clients of all races, ages, genders, religious practices, and etcetera to help them achieve to attaining a certain mood that correlates with the client and/or audience’s personality.
Including my own experience as an example, I like warm colors such as reds and oranges. These two colors can also be found in images of sunrises and sunsets. To me, those type of images soothe me and allow me to relax and unwind from my stressful days at work, school, and etcetera. So with that being said, it is logical that I should surround myself with artworks and/or products that have a sunrise, sunset, reds, and oranges incorporated into it. It is my task as the designer of this project to visually create ways to convince the viewers to agree and comply with the particular view point that I identify with and relate to in this assignment.

("house")


("home")

17 comments:

  1. monica! i love that you're incorporating the idea of house and home in your capstone project, and that everyone has their own personal utopia. as a designer, i can relate to the act striving to design the ideal world around myself. good luck with your project!

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  2. I grew up around warmer colors as well and I feel like it definitely reflects on what makes me feel comfortable. It was so much more apparent when I moved to Chicago and then went back to Hawaii for winter break. I feel like winter gives off cool colors and when it is cold and snowy...which is unfortunately almost half the year or more, I tend to be so much more irritable. I've gotten used to it over the years but it was really annoying to me when I first moved hear. When I go home where it is always warm and the sun is almost always out I tend to see more warm colors--it is a nice break for me. I wouldn't say color is the only thing to create such emotions but it definitely plays a huge role. Can't wait to see what you come up with for your project.

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  3. I'm really excited to see your final project. I love graphic design and all, but it all started with my love of interior design as a child. I was always moving around the furniture in my room and begging my mom to let me paint (I succeeded several times, and I think if they ever knock down the walls of my bedroom it might take some serious equipment!) My favorite shows were Trading Spaces and Divine Design.

    That being said, I really like this idea of house vs. home. A lot of college students who live in apartments don't feel the need to decorate their space, but I feel like it's really important to make whatever space you call home FEEL like home! It's amazing the new inventions that can allow people to decorate without damaging anything (command strips!) and the many innovative ways you can add color and excitement to a room.

    Rug patterns are something that I find very interesting in relation to house/home/interior design/graphic design. They might be something to look at for your project. Even a quick search on 'rug patterns' on Google brings up so many interesting designs! Just something to look at for inspiration.

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  4. Jumping off what Katie said about students not decorating their space...I think sometimes that where people feel most at "home" might not even be an actual interior space. I remember reading in a book about one guy who lived in a pretty small apartment that was sparsely furnished, because he preferred to spend most of his time doing outdoorsy things like biking and camping. It's really about figuring out what your priorities are.

    That being said, I definitely think people should take more care to really think about how they arrange and design their own personal space. One of the things I'm going to miss when I move out of my house is my "watermelon" bedroom, thusly named because the carpet is pink and the walls are an obnoxious lime green (painted over the original sugar pink of the room). There's a lot of customization going on in my room that's the result of spending so much time in it and trying to make it the ideal world for me. On the other hand, one of the things that I look forward to when I move out is getting a larger space of my own that I can use as my "canvas" for designing my own personal space. In particular, I can't wait to set up more space for all of my books, and I love looking at Bookshelf Porn (site is totally work-safe, despite the name) for inspiration. Apartment Therapy also has some great posts on decorating/remodeling/etc. in a limited amount of space.

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  5. Your project intrigues me. I am not sure what to expect from it, so I will be looking forward to seeing what you do with your project.

    Steph, thanks for the links. Bookshelf Porn is an awesome site. I will be spending some appreciable amount of time there in the near future.

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  6. This is an interesting idea. I find myself wondering what would happen if you researched what colors and pictures tend to make people UNcomfortable as well, and why?

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  7. I came across this website, which I thought was an interesting view point of color philosophy. http://www.cristinaacosta.com/.docs/pg/10027

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  8. I love your topic, I think it would be interesting for you to ask everyone in the class what they consider to be their house and their home. You might get some interesting results which might be able to inspire you more about your capstone topic!

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  9. I think a lot about this topic, especially because I am so far away from where I call home: Florida. That is why your pictures really got to me... I live in a Chicago apartment, but I never really feel "home" here. It's hard warming up to a place where it can still snow in April!

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  10. House vs home is something that I haven't seen too many artistic perspectives on so I'm intrigued to see how your final project will turn out. Do you think you will do a series with tones and moods or just one piece?

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  11. I'm a big fan of warmer colors, too. My mom was always about neutrals, but my first bedroom was a pink, pillowy wonderland in an old Cape Cod house. I think I associate small, vintage spaces with comfort now.

    Domestic spaces say so much about a person - I can't wait to see what your project will reveal.

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  12. Warm colors found sunsets and sunrises also make me feel home...saw a beautiful sunrise this morning!

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  13. This would be really a great idea to showcase peoples roots vs. where we are now in our lives. It would be a great way to not only get to know about people, especially those who have moved around a great deal in their lives.

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  14. I can't wait to see your project. I deal with this too, just sometimes in a broader sense (between two countries).

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  15. I love your idea for your project. Its true for everyone even if its space inside your house between your living room and your bedroom.

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  16. I think this idea of color can be applied to many other projects in your future.

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  17. I am going to bring in that book, Poetics of Space, for you tomorrow! "One of the most appealing and lyrical exploration of home.. to show how our perceptions of houses and other shelters shape our thoughts, memories, and dreams"

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