My Design Notes

0

30 Mar 2011

Accidental art
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
I walked by a construction site today and discovered some accidental art.
(download)

Click here to download:
accidental-art-eqnGecsxbueysdfcvBIp.zip (8.29 MB)

accidental art.
- views
- Tweet
1

3 Sep 2010

Where are all the people in architectural photos?
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Professional architectural photographs have one thing in common: they almost never have people in them. Browse any architectural magazine and you'll notice this, rather weird thing. Why is that?

I've come up with some explanations for the lack of humans:
- Architectural photographers are expected to present the architecture at its best. People are not in the leading role this time.
- Architectural photos have long exposure times. People should not move a bit unless you want to use fuzziness a special effect.
- It takes time to come up with a good composition. People should be at the right place at the right time, and that's not easy.
- People steal the attention. Look at any picture with an individual in a built environment. Do you admire the architecture first?
- Are passer by ready to be shown in published photos? You could use models, but it might look a bit fake.
There are, of course, reasons why people should definitely be in these photos:
- Architecture is for people, not the other way round
- A person is a good yardstick, making the dimensions of the building comprehensible
- People demonstrate how the building or environment actually works
It is interesting to see that computer-generated 3D visualizations of buildings often include people. It is much easier to use virtual persons since you can place whoever you want, wherever you want. In real life that's more challenging.

Photo: iStockphoto
- views
- Tweet
0

21 Aug 2010

A brief visit to old Porvoo
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Today I made a brief visit to Porvoo, a Finnish town that originates from the 13th century. King of Sweden granted it town rights in 1346. The older part of the city is charming with its old wooden houses.

The town was quite busy. I had a couple of minutes to take some photos with my iPhone.

(download)

Click here to download:
a-brief-visit-to-old-porvoo-CBhGFzEIbstbqrmsmmos.zip (5.31 MB)
- views
- Tweet
0

16 Aug 2010

Wonderful scenes from old Europe
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Here are awesome photos the I've picked from the Flickr collection of the Swedish National Heritage Board. They are from 1880s onwards and present scenes from Europe.

More information on the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/swedish_heritage_board/.>
(download)

Click here to download:
wonderful-scenes-from-old-europe-IhCawCisskyAqdkIjFHn.zip (3.61 MB)
- views
- Tweet
1

2 Jul 2010

Stock photos that you should avoid
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
I like to use photographs in my PowerPoint or Keynote presentations. Good photos evoke emotions.

Choosing photographs for your presentation is not an easy task. Best photos communicate your idea clearly and at the same time offer a slightly intriguing perspective. Poor photos are self-evident and unoriginal.

Here are examples of stock photos that I cannot recommend:
- Handshake - symbolizing agreement, trust, co-operation and so on
- Light bulb - representing innovativeness or an idea
- Anonymous group of model-like young people in an office environment - collaboration
- Charts going up or down - denoting growth, profit, or losses
- People in suits running, jumping, or doing some other sport - competition
- Business person with a laptop in nature - telecommuting
- People talking on a mobile phone - communication
- People with helmets at a construction site - construction industry
- Keyboard shots - whatever is digital
These conceptual photos were perhaps once original. Due to overuse they are now just tiresome.

Photo: iStockphoto

P.S. Even if this particular type of photo is on my list I like iStockphoto very much!
- views
- Tweet