Another Year Over, A New One Just Begun

It seems that wherever you go the world is full of design, some good, some bad.

It wasn't until I started this course that I realised just how much design plays a part of our lives. Advertising is the main use of it as it is intended to make you buy a product just because it looks nice and is well designed, even if you don't really need it. I have been taken in by this lots of times but lately I am beginning to see under the surface of the design and actually look at the product.

I imagine the meetings when the client comes into the advertisers office. There must be so many tips and tricks to make the packaging, the advert and the appeal to the target audience. Yes, just like designing a website.

I am going to be more wary of this when buying products but at the same time use it shrewdly in my own work in the forthcoming months. Christmas has taught me this when buying toys for the kids. The 2 main presents for each of my children were a nightmare. We were taken in by the advertising and the packaging, ultimately buying inferior products. While they did not tell untruths, they skipped over what you shouldn't know by showing just the good points.

I started building up Mega Motors Anti-Grav Barrel Challenge on Christmas day. It says on the pack 'suitable for 8 years and over'. Now that might be the right age to play it but to build it you had to have a degree in highway maintenance, physics, engineering and have the remarkable ability to kneel down for great lengths of time.

I finally finished building the track on 3rd January working on and off, constantly spurred on by a 6 year old whose excitement was getting the better of him.

The children have great smiles on their faces, the cars whizz round at great speeds with lights on, the controllers are enabling you to control the speed.I am talking about the picture on the box. In reality what we have for our £50.00 is a track that was built spanning 2 years, the loops fall down when a car goes over them, so far the most one car has done is half a lap without falling off and now we are left with the fear of putting it away and having to do this all again when they play with it next time.

Don't get me started on the other present.

Always learning.