As The Page Turns:

Spring break is around the corner. Deadlines are basically yesterday at this point. Italy will be here in roughly 10 weeks.

Classes are running together. Projects are building together and working hand in hand.

Stress levels rising. Amount of sleep is falling.

WELCOME TO COLLEGE.

Here is a not so public deal for you all to check in on projects and assignments (works of art sometimes).


-more later as always

ps. prayers are welcome!!!

Dale Herigstad was a guest speaker tonight at Ball State. The ball room was packed with eager minds like sponges absorbing the flood of information. I missed the first half-an-hour or so because Nick and I have ballroom dance lessons until 8, but for the remaining time I made the most of what I could.

Somethings found interesting to most people can be navigated on his website found here. Along with concepts which piggyback off modern development, such as Xbox's Kinect, Herigstad introduced the mind blowing Sony Ericson Timescape. His point was to encourage young designers to assist him in a challenge which promotes the concept of dimension and to push the elements of "gestural" based technology. Also, Herigstad encouraged these developments for advanced organization and the overall improvement of functional society. 

A video of a virtual 3-D organization/media based concept caught many off guard, including myself. The concept displayed in first person view demonstrated elements from label projection onto exterior cabinetry to accessible directions with voice commands when preparing a cup of hot tea. Feature controls allowed the first person user to filter the amount of incoming information from different ends of the spectrum and everything in-between giving usability nearly infinite reign. A student posed questions of possible surrounding fear to Herigstad who responded with reflection on internal debates which full circled back to the pro's outweighed the cons if constructed properly and cautiously. "The baby steps of technology are the glue in constructing the big picture. Every advancement is necessary no matter the magnitude" (paraphrasing Herigstad).

After the speech, I was more than disappointed by the number of students eagerly dismissing themselves. There was practically no effort on my part to reach Dale and spend 5 minutes with him. (If you get the chance, you'll find him more than friendly, positive, and very informative.) As a student with a future in design, I commented on personal struggle in landing a solid internship and the feeling of being overwhelmed by the numbers (including financial) when considering grad school. His response was enthusiastic about Ball State's VisComm program (kudos!) and encouraged me to keep focused on building my resume and portfolio in a well rounded manner rather than a special emphasis on any one (design) program. Although it has been my primary goal during my undergrad, it was reassuring to have my efforts confirmed by a leader among the professionals of today's design world.  


What an exciting night tonight became!