The New Idiom

Foundie photography Each Fall semester, Foundation students take...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:12:00 -0500

Darren Peterson

Katie Kowaloff

Maggee Bond

Parry Koriath

Roy Luo

Sarah Ekblad

John Trotti

Wei Sun

Woljciech Tusz

Foundie photography

Each Fall semester, Foundation students take Graduate Intro to Photography. In 2011, the course was co-taught by 2005 grad Eric Holubow and ID veteran John Grimes. There is a strong emphasis on dealing objectively with how the eye and brain will naturally process an image, and on the Gestalt principles of how humans interpret relationships between objects in an image.

Holubow says of the class, “I think the primary intentions of the class are to teach students how to see—to train them to evaluate how 2D imagery can be used to effectively communicate to a viewer, and similarly understand ways in which the primary message is being distorted and lost through visual ‘noise.’ Of secondary importance is to teach students to effectively create these images themselves.”

This emphasis on “seeing” an image does seem to have successfully impacted the Foundation students.

Katie Kowaloff said, “The class taught me to see in a different way–to take photos by looking with the camera instead of through it. And to be deliberate about the way in which I compose a scene.”

“The ideas we learned in class about color strategy, specifically, helped improve my eye a lot,” said John Trotti, “because it added a different dimension to composing the image, like all my life I had existed in 2D and suddenly found I could move along the z-axis.”

Rough road

These insights were hard-earned. The Foundies were dealt weekly critiques by Hobulow that included blunt appraisals of photo subjects and zealous detailing of Photoshop techniques. Both Hobulow and Grimes were quick to point out the distance between student photos and what they considered to be professional-level work. And when both instructors commented on a photo, the criticism was sometimes conflicting.

Maggee Bond said, “At certain points during the semester I lost all confidence in my ability to take a decent photo. Now, I see things differently. I don’t feel like I ‘snap’ pictures anymore—I see the frame and the composition. It’s much more intentional.”

By the end of the course, to the amusement of his classmates, Roy Luo became a resource for predicting which photos would be favored by which instructors. His photo for this piece is one that both Grimes and Holubow liked.

Photography as a learning modality

Early in the course, Grimes announced, “If you can’t lie, you can’t communicate. Photographs would be of absolutely no interest if they were totally factual.” As the Foundies pondered this enigma, each week, their assignments pushed them to experience Chicago through a viewfinder.

“The most important thing that this class offers in my opinion is not that you become a great photographer in one semester,” said Woljciech Tusz, “but that it profoundly changes how you look at the physical world. You begin to see little details that often are the essence of a particular thing. It makes you realize how much you have been missing and encourages you to seek that level of detail in everyday life.”

“Take a camera around with you and get out of your comfort zone,” Katie said. “It’s an awesome way to see the city and have crazy, weird conversations with people you would otherwise never meet.”

On photographing strangers

For many Foundies, “outside the comfort zone” involved getting well-composed, well-executed shots of unsuspecting Chicagoans. The street theater, gesture, and environmental portrait assignments yielded results ranging from awkward or hilarious to rewarding, on the best days. Some learned to value the disapproving scowls they sometimes captured as the stuff of interesting photos.

Darren Peterson said, “At first I got dirty looks or got yelled at. Later I still did, I just didn’t mind as much.”

Sarah Ekblad said, “If you have a large lens or a tripod, they assume that you must be a professional photographer. This resulted in people ducking out of the way of my shots (when actually, I was trying to photograph them). Other people were excited to interact with a camera. For instance, one guy voluntarily crawled under his buddy’s legs because he thought I should photograph this ridiculous pose. I also had the ‘pleasure’ of being mooned by a group of teenage boys who happily jumped into my shot just to show me their backside. I guess everyone has their own definition of good photography.”

Tips for the uninitiated

After the course, some of the Foundation students had some new insights they were willing to share.

Wei Sun quotes Grimes: “Look at the camera. Do not look through the camera.”

Parry Koriath says, “Use manual mode!! Experiment and learn what ISO, shutter speed, and aperture is. Learn how these three things are related to each other. This knowledge alone can take you far in basic photography.”

And John Trotti recommended the Cambridge in Colour tutorial website, a resource for vocabulary and informational diagrams.

We have a winner!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:01:57 -0500

Congratulations to Annie on her winning T-Shirt Design!

Get your very own t-shirt with Annie’s artwork:

Women’s white

Men’s white

Women’s black

Men’s black

Women’s gray

Men’s gray

insideID and IDSAB hosted a Thanksgiving dinner last night on...

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:54:46 -0500

insideID and IDSAB hosted a Thanksgiving dinner last night on the 6th floor with all the fixin’s. Good food and good people!

Crissy's Corner

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:51:58 -0500

Reverse Checking Your Logos

I know its been a while but I thought I’d bring back Crissy’s Corner with an awesome resource for all you guys!!

Check out TinEye. It reverse searches any image you input for where else it appears on the interwebs. I’ve only used it to reverse search logos but it works great.

socialID (Kareem, Kwame, & Nate) held a routy ping pong...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:30:12 -0500

socialID (Kareem, Kwame, & Nate) held a routy ping pong tournament last Wednesday night. Here are a couple pictures.

Nik was crowned the winner after Nate was disqualified.

ID T-Shirt Contest We’ve received six stellar entries! Now...

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:18:16 -0400

ID T-Shirt Contest

We’ve received six stellar entries! Now we ask, “Which ID-themed t-shirt would you most like to wear?”

Voting will close Saturday, Nov 12, so be sure to submit your choice by then!

On October 20th, OutsideID hosted SAIC Visual Communication...

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:49:52 -0400

On October 20th, OutsideID hosted SAIC Visual Communication Chair John Bowers, who came to ID to run workshop about Graphic Design Methods. The workshop was based on his new book, Introduction to Graphic Design Methodologies and Processes: Understanding Theory and Application. Here are a few photos from the event.

Chris, Hans, Dan, Leslie, and Sajid, who are sadly leaving us...

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:43:13 -0400

Chris, Hans, Dan, Leslie, and Sajid, who are sadly leaving us this year, distributed custom ID-specific fortune cookies to all the student desks yesterday. Here’s what one said [photo stolen from Annie’s Facebook.]

Follow DRC X live with The New Idiom

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:09:43 -0400

Check out our handy dandy widget on the right sidebar of our blog to follow updates from DRC X live.

In honor of National Dessert Month (editor: we’re pretty...

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:46:00 -0400

In honor of National Dessert Month (editor: we’re pretty sure they made this up, but we’re not complaining), IDSAB ordered some cupcakes for busy ID students from Bleeding Heart Bakery, which produces “local and sustainable” desserts.

The difference between Amazon and Google's platforms from an employee's perspective

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:03:05 -0400

The difference between Amazon and Google's platforms from an employee's perspective:

Submitted by Stephanie S

T-Shirt Design Contest We’re loving the submissions thus...

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:06:56 -0400

T-Shirt Design Contest

We’re loving the submissions thus far, so we’re extending the deadline to Oct 28th! Please email your designs (.ai format) to thenewidiom@gmail.com.

The winning design will be sold on Spreadshirt.com (winner gets a free t-shirt)!

ID remembers Steve Jobs

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:02:00 -0400

Who at ID (or Stuart, for that matter) hasn’t discussed Apple’s design, strategy, marketing, or business model in one (or probably, many more) of their classes? Steve had a profound impact on our community and we are truly sad to see him go.

Here’s what people at ID have to say about the passing of a true design legend:

I feel I owe my career to Steve Jobs. Not because his technologies have made the thinking and doing aspects of my work relatively seamless, although that’s true, but because he put design at the strategy table. And his products demonstrated the wisdom of that decision every time they launched. Apple shed light on the power of design and user experience, and that gave design a platform in the business world that didn’t exist before. I’ve been standing on that platform for 18 years. And while it’s true that when I bought my first iPhone, I was so delighted and persuaded that the future had (finally) arrived, it has been the access to problems and opportunities that didn’t have obvious links to design, and to executives who would not have considered giving designers a voice in their business that has really transformed my life. So, yes, iSad about says it all.

The following is on display at Gensler, the architecture firm:

As a recent alumna of ID, l remember how every “best practice” example, every innovation framework, and every seminar held up the “Apple example,” to the point where people went, “oh please! We know Apple’s done it all.” Steve Jobs, as unschooled, untrained as he was, was a design thinker of our times, who in many instances articulated the unimaginable, achieving incredible finesse and skill in “conceiving the fog” and then cutting cubes out of it! The latter we all strive for. I haven’t felt this sad, for a long time. A loss for the design community.

Jobs had a hero’s journey - a unique birth, an apprenticeship (at the young age of 12 at Hewitt Packard), a quest, and the return. I just wish he was here a little longer.

As designers who rely so often on technology, where might we be today without Steve?

Slogging around in DOS 10.7? Hopefully not, though it is hard to imagine what our world would be like, had Apple’s (and Pixar’s) visionary leader not taken the path he did.

He brought a human side to technology, opening the door for mere mortals to more easily create, innovate, and inspire.

My favorite tribute was David Pogue’s column in the New York Times.

I had the opportunity to meet Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple in college. He is an amazing guy. Here is his tearful remembrance of his friend.

I’ve been an Apple geek for life. Jobs was a large part of why I fell in love technology and design and why I am at ID today—hoping to learn what was simply so intuitive to him.

Some of Steve’s greatest work.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - From his inspiring Stanford graduation speech.

We’ll update as we receive more.

Have something to add? E-mail thenewidiom@gmail.com

ID T-Shirt Design Contest!

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:52:59 -0400

The New Idiom is running a t-shirt contest!

Design theme: What is the ID mascot?

Contest instructions:

Submit designs to thenewidiom@gmail.com in next 2 weeks (Illustrator .ai)
Voting begins on the New Idiom on Friday, October 14
Winner’s design will be sold on Spreadshirt (winner gets a free t-shirt and, of course, fame!)

IDers enjoying Doughnut Vault treats!

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:12:00 -0400

IDers enjoying Doughnut Vault treats!

PubID Karaoke Night Photos

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:34:38 -0400

PubID Karaoke Night Photos

Crissy’s Corner The History of English This 10 minute 10...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:45:00 -0400

Crissy’s Corner

The History of English

This 10 minute 10 part cartoon series is quite funny and gives a little bit of insight into why the English language is such a horror show. Enjoy parts 2-10 on youtube…

Crissy's Corner

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:56:29 -0400

Missoni Madness: a study in extreme shopping behavior

So as many of you already know, Missoni did a special line of products which was released at Target yesterday. Being the excellent consumer that I am, I was roped in by the ridiculous amount of hype that Target created around the launch. I don’t really buy into the notion that you are getting something resembling an actual Missoni piece but I found a few of the items compelling. Really all I wanted was a pair of the flats. I am a shoe addict and destroy flats like nobody’s business.

My original game plan was to save myself the trouble and buy the suckers online. After finding the website down for the count (as it would be all day) I was, for some reason, compelled to go to the actual store. I arrived a whole 30 minutes after the store opened to find utter mayhem and plenty of crazed looking women zooming around the store. After locating the completely empty clothing and shoe racks, I decided to wander the store for a bit- that’s when it got interesting…

I have never participated in the shopping frenzies of Black Friday but I imagine they would be somewhat similar to this. I made my way toward the bike section of Target (the Missoni bike looked cute and I thought I might as well look at it in person even though I have no need for another bike). That’s where I found their hide out. In the corner of the store a hive of ladies was congregated with their precious Missoni finds. Imagine shopping carts stuffed and piled high with anything and everything Missoni. The handle bars of the carts were now converted into clothing racks for easier viewing. These ladies clearly just grabbed arm loads of clothing off the rack with no regard for size or style. They weren’t buying for themselves but any relative they could imagine and if none came to mind, then off to ebay with the rest. Each lady had at least 5 of each clothing item (one in every size, I suppose) in addition to accessories and luggage.

I did manage to score a new laptop case, which I needed anyway. I wasn’t looking for it or anything…I just happen to walk past it sitting on a random clothing rack. Serendipity, I suppose.

When at the check out I found out that these dedicated super shoppers had waited outside the store in a line more than 200 deep well before the doors even opened. The whole outing was an interesting glimpse into the kind of shopping technique apparently required to take advantage of these limited time offers.

Me and my shoes never had a chance.

If you care to see what you missed out on, go here.

19 ID students tell The New Idiom what they did over the summer.

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:53:43 -0400

19 ID students tell The New Idiom what they did over the summer.

If You Give Continuum 800 Sheets of Foam Core… “The...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:57:15 -0400

If You Give Continuum 800 Sheets of Foam Core…

“The most interesting part of the story, though, is what happened behind the scenes: Continuum took over a warehouse and used 800 foam core sheets to construct a life-sized prototype of the lobby. This is what prototyping is all about!”

Thanks to Leticia for recommending this article!