Journal

NEW APPLE IPAD

Helped By Design — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:46:14 +0000

CRAFTSMANSHIP IN A MODERN WORLD

I rest my case when it comes to design. Apple know how to get it right. The ipad has stormed onto the market selling two million ipads in less than 60 days.

Initially I wasn't expecting it to be anything that would blow me away, I was going to wait until the next release of version two. I am glad I didn't. It delivered more than I expected with style and fuctionality.

I had to stop and think of why it had such an impact on me. Apart from all the hype which would have been a small percentage being apart of the collective mind, and It wasn't that I have always liked the simplicity or how Apple systems work... it became apparent it was all about the design. As a consumer product it was beautifully crafted, sleek, elegant very nice to hold and interact with.

This is what happens when your senses are stimulated by well designed objects or art. You enjoy being around them, viewing, touching and interacting with it and you don't feel ripped off in any way because someone didn't care respecting these details we all desire and wanting to just get it out there and make a dollar. This unfortunately is the norm of what we purchase and see around us in our world.

In business we all need to observe how it can be done well particularly when we offer a service or product to another person.

Everything that apple does seems well thought out in terms of design, the symmetry the minimalistic approach that doesn't overstate any part of the design but ties it together and presents it in a completely well crafted product. It represents technology with a style that will last and is fitting for our current millennium. You can see with this product and most of the recent apple products they have actually had the input of designers who love there work and know about proportion and balance which is what we all intuitively desire, albeit with our limited perception.

Design has become an essential element in apples success....why because as consumers we want good design full stop. As human beings we all deserve good quality and to be surrounded by an aesthetically pleasing environment. We should demand this and its great when someone delivers.

For what it's worth this is a very good example of great design in action.

Beauty in Design part 2

Helped By Design — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:00:15 +0000

When you go into a department store for clothes you don't go and deliberately buy the worst looking thing on the rack. Most of us want to look good and feel good about what we wear. This goes for every aspect of life, we consciously or unconsciously want to surround ourselves with well designed objects.

If we look at something that is beautiful it gives off an energy or vibration that is in harmony with our own nature and so we feel good, we want to be around it. Its not something we consciously analyse we just enjoy being in its presences.

The same for something that is unpleasant. In the company of unpleasant objects or people as we know most of the population I think would would rather move on. The " vibration " starts to affect us and eventually it will bring us down and over time can make us very uncomfortable. Unfortunately there are huge proportions of our fellow earthlings that are stuck in these unfortunate situations, not by choice.

Why would we choose to flood our senses with ugliness when we don't have to.

When you consider how much time most of us spend on the internet flooding ourselves with bland ugliness its a wonder we are not all depressed. Hey but hang on isn't depression on the rise worldwide? I am not saying it from the internet but I get so bored and uninspired by the unbalanced technology driven pages they call design that gets passed off as "the trend".

It might function well but it has all the appeal of a hairless dog with warts and three legs. I think you get the picture.

Back to question. How can we change this.? Get a designer or an artist who has a good foundation in aesthetics to design your website. Don't leave it to technically minded souls who just want to make it fast. They can't see the forest for the code! There has to be defined rolls and seeing bland lifeless pages is not the trend it's just bland lifeless pages.

Beauty in design

Helped By Design — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:19:22 +0000

Having a good understanding in the fundamentals of design is the foundation of any artist. We are all attracted to beauty in life. Our eyes get drawn toward beauty whether its in nature the human being or an object. To me what draws us in is symmetry, proportion, balance and on a subtler level colour. Nature is the ultimate artist/designer, it doesn't even have to think about it it just DOES IT.

On the other hand we human beings have ot learnt it. You can be lucky an be born with this sense and it just flows out, a good example of this would be Mozart. You can also look at a painting by John Singer Sargent and you are drawn into it by invisible hands that hold you spellbound. Everything falls into place and your mind doesn't even have to think about all the elements that go into it, it just works .It is everywhere in nature.

This sense of beauty is an important part of life and we need it to be there, it is the food for the spirit.

There are places that it is missing most government buildings, hospitals, prisons, most office blocks and may schools. Spend all day in any one of these and you will experience what I mean, our world if full of bland uninspiring places.

Where else lacks this beauty MOST WEB PAGES ON THE INTERNET!
Spend all day on the internet and apart from going bug-eyed your head will crave something of beauty to look at. We need to change this.

To be continued...

Welcome to our new website

Helped By Design — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 03:24:41 +0000

Welcome to Helped by Design! Well it has been a long time coming but it has been worth it. As you can see it has been a complete overhaul. What was once Sahitya Graphics is now HBD.

WHY?

I went to a seminar by Paul Dunn on the Sunshine Coast here in sunny Queensland Titled WOW - Standing Out - Standing Up.

I thought it sounded good so my wife and I went along to see how it would help my business and hers. Well it certainly did in ways we both didn't expect at all.

Paul talked about many out of norm ways to grow and expand your business...really inspiring stuff. But the big one the one that changed my whole way of thinking was being able to give back! Sounds simple you say, but how many of us actually do it especially as a business.

There is a lot of bad stuff going on out in the world and I would think ...what on earth can I do about it? Occasionally I would stick my hand in my pocket when someone rattled a tin in front of me and it made me feel good for about 2 minutes. But I wanted that giving to be a permanent part of my life. I finally had the answer. DO IT EVERYDAY IN MY BUSINESS!

Underlying being able to this was B1G1. Here is a brief a overview taken from the B1G1website:

Buy1GIVE1 - B1G1 does that by turning our world into a world full of giving through working with businesses around the world. In the B1G1 world, everyday transactions give back to make a difference. Someone buys a book, a tree gets planted. People dine out, hungry children get fed. And much, much more.

It really involves having the opportunity to start giving back and that is what as a business wasn't happening before. The thought of being able to help a cause or make a difference to someones life changes the whole feeling of offering a service in business. For me it has given it an extra sense of purpose. There is an old saying which goes "to give is to recieve" Well its very true and it puts a whole new dimension on going to work each day and making a difference in what you do.

Well not to ramble too much, thats the reason for the name change. So now every design or website that is purchased my business and indirectly my client will be helping to save a child in Thailand from the street trade. There are many ways and causes to help as a business this is the one I have chosen. If you want to find out more about B1G1 here is the link http://www.b1g1village.com/

The great thing about B1G1 is absolutely 100% of the money goes to the chosen cause. You really don't need B1G1 or anyone to help you do this this is just my story.