Thought & Theory

First off, I really liked the downtown area of Grand Rapids. Nice growing scene was lots of cool spots to hang out. Thanks to Ben for showing us around. We’ll be posting a couple more pics tomorrow on another post.

On Thursday we got to tour their new Art Museum (GRAM) and I was just blown away by the building. The art was amazing too but the space was just incredible. Loved the way they used natural light and moved it throughout the building with carefully planned glass.

Only weird thing was the ridiculously long staircases which Jason enjoyed, but for shorter people like me, made for awkward stair ascending.

Check out the Video Tour
Pics of the Museum (.pdf)

Almost everyone knows M. Night Shyamalan’s name. You may or may not have watched any of his movies, but you’ve most likely seen a few of his movie trailers/teasers. I can vividly remember almost every movie trailer for his movies and how excited it made me for that movie. He has a knack for creating captivating trailers but for some reason tapers off on the delivery of an entire movie; most definitely in his last 3-4 attempts. The stats don’t lie (from Rotten Tomatoes):

• The Sixth Sense (1999): 84%
• Unbreakable (2000): 68%
• Signs (2002): 74%
• The Village (2004): 42%
• Lady in the Water (2006): 24%
• The Happening (2008): 15% (current)

So what happened in the last 4 years? He has written, directed, produced and acted in every one of those films. Has he gotten caught up in the media hype? Has his success changed his outlook on film creation? It doesn’t seem to have affected his movie trailers, they still create an incredible buzz. I can’t imagine that Shyamalan wants to have his legacy be great movie trailers and mediocre movies. I know I will be seeing his latest movie, The Happening, but I will be going in with low expectations.

My favorite trailer, Unbreakable:

Sixth Sense Trailer
Signs Trailer
The Village Trailer
Lady in the Water Trailer
The Happening Trailer

You can tell within the first five minutes of meeting a designer whether they love design or are just going through the motions. Beau exudes a love for design and creativity.

I had the pleasure of meeting him at UF’s portfolio review this past May and have been more than impressed with his passion. Case in point is this video he made for his job interview at IDEO. Absolutely inspiring to see this level of dedication in someone so young.

Check out Beau’s Site

By now I am sure most of you have heard of BMW GINA Light Visionary Model. If you haven’t, I will preface this video by saying this could be the most innovative step in the automotive industry since its inception. Does this mean I will need to start dry cleaning my car instead of waxing??

The GINA’s innovative body is underpinned by wires or flexible carbon struts where movement is needed, such as in ducts, doors and rear spoiler. There are no gaps between body and door, for example, as the flexible fabric acts like a hinge itself. When not needed, the headlights are covered by the fabric skin, and turn signals are likewise invisible until they are switched on, revealing only their light source through the translucent skin.

Read the entire story from leftlane.

The Girl Effect, n.

The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.

Pretty amazing message set in a favorite of mine, Trade Gothic Bold No. 20