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The Brick Thief: A LEGO Short Film
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Hans Rosling: The Joy of Stats
This one-hour documentary takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride through the wonderful world of statistics to...
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PES: The Deep
Metal objects of the past come to life in the depths of the sea in this beautiful stop motion film by PES. -
California Redwoods: Growing is Forever
Tag Results
12 posts tagged transportation
California High Speed Rail
500 million trips around California in one year is a lot - a lot of poisonous gases. There are only clear advantages of California building this High Speed Rail system, including 600 thousand new construction jobs, 450 permanent jobs and state oil dependence reduced by 12.7 million barrels/year. If that’s not enough, you will be able to hop on a train in downtown San Francisco and arrive in downtown LA 2 hours and 40 min later. Hope I’m still here by 2020.
A case for open data in transit
This video examines how we have made use of open source transit information in the past year, and how governments should be a supportive platform fro society rather than a supplier.
Exploring Media Platforms
The second part of the film, where Dentsu explores the otherwise monotone train ride, in an attempt to make it more noteworthy. You can take a closer look at the project here: http://www.dentsulondon.com/blog/2010/09/14/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-making-future-magic/.
Hoping that the future will hold cars that are part of the ecosystem instead of working against it, Mercedes did the best job in the annual Design Challenge.
Semiotic Reading II
The Amtrak Poster:
Representamen/Signifier:
Medium: Poster/Print, Photography.
Colors: White, different shades of purple, blue, brown, black, yellow, grey, green.
Font: Caps sans serif.
Composition: Centered, with additional info left and right, with the logo centered. The image is relatively flat, with elements of perspective.
Object:
There is a rectangular, wide shape with rounded edges. Within there are strips of different photographs of cities during nighttime or late afternoon/morning. The skyline starts at one corner, smoothly goes down in the middle and meets the other corner in a soft curved “u” shape. You have no idea where the buildings come from, unless you have a specific knowledge of one of them, they are all pretty generic and not iconic. On the left it says Los Angeles, CA and on the right it says Boston, MA. This could mean that the far left and right buildings are from these cities, but not necessarily. In the middle you see the Amtrak logo, which is read last.
Interpretant:
The image communicates different things being shopped up and brought together through the rectangle, which in relation to the Amtrak logo could stand of a window, or the vehicle itself. Say it decodes a window in the Amtrak, and therefore the images would be what one sees on a trip from LA to Boston. The interesting part here is that all the snapshots of different times are put together into one instance, and furthermore fit nicely together creating a nice flow. The difference in colors suggest opposites but the shapes suggest unity. Does this then mean that all of America is/looks the same, or that all of America is very different?
What does the ad want to communicate?
This ad is reminding consumers that the journey is just as important, by emphasizing what you see on the way. They are telling them that you can experience a lot, and see the differences, but that you can also experience a smooth ride as seen in the transitions. The consumer is sitting on the Amtrak looking out into the created world from the window. Amtrak promises a varied but smooth ride.
Its great to see this kind of forward thinking, for many obvious reasons, such as practical, environmental and healthy living. I have to say that the people of Copenhagen have qualified as true urbanists and have adapted to the modern city. I am not suggesting that you take the cargo bike far out with heavy loads - its good for short distances. And they are a lot of fun. Who wouldn’t like to order thirst-quenching refreshers from the Margarita Bike while sitting in the park? I think this connects people, as you feel closer to a business when you skip that concrete barrier of a store or a metal van. Businesses also get to approach you in a more private environment. With caution though; I don’t want to see shouting and screaming for attention like in the annoying touristy areas. If a business gets the privilege of taking a peak into your private life, it needs to do so with a lot of respect.
