Family Guy eloquently juxtaposes political satire and humor for the simple minded, while ruffling the feathers of conservatives.

Astonishing are the producers and writers of the show Family Guy for being able to come up with provoking and mindless jargon that, although crude and childish at times, allows the viewers to become more competent of how the world truly works. Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Emmy Award winning show, has gone beyond creating a show that is meant to entertain the average American with an IQ of 100 for 30 minutes. MacFarlane has designed a masterpiece that allows the more liberal viewers of higher intelectual cognition to quaff from the fountain of political satire the show is offers. In a sense, Family Guy is MacFarlane's own personal soap box on which he defaces the indignities of American politics and culture, while incorporating PG13 slap stick humor. A vast majority of Americans were frustrated and in utter dismay by the actions of the Bush administration, which MacFarlane found a great oportunity to indirectly voice his shared opinions on the show. In a few episodes, MacFarlane shows a couple clips of an animated G.W. Bush in all his glory by depicting him as a 5 year old child with a severe form of attention deficit hyperactive disorder. MacFarlane and his team have also thrown several left hooks at the Catholic Church through the aid of the anthropomorphic dog on the show. Brian was designed by MacFarlane to be a level-headed, witty, agnostic, and very liberal character who is an avid drinker while acknowledging it freely; all traits of which most Americans lack severly. As MacFarlane put it ever so gracefully, Brian is a "dog who has a wit as dry as the martinis he drinks." Media giants such as Fox News, Time Warner CEO Ted Turner, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner have had their fare share of blows on Family Guy as well for their right-wing political opinions, erradic behavior, and speculated anti-sematic ideals respectively. Irronically, Entertainment Weekly, which has been chastized on the show as well, has voted Seth MacFarlane over all as "the smartest person on TV". Family Guy's overall design by MacFarlane to use eloquent vernacular, crude humor, and American culture satire while entertaining a broad range audience has made it a great success.

Has PETA reached a new low? Probably...

I'm humored by most conservatives and republicans, due to the thick-headiness that comes with their structure of beliefs, ideas, and ways of life. On the other extreme side of the spectrum, I am perpetually dumbfounded by liberals and hippies who think killing animals for consumption is punishable by death. Yet I don't judge, for I have done some suspect things in my short life span that I would rather not have my character be judged upon. It is in my opinion however, that PETA (not People for the Eating of Tasty Animals, but People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has gone off the deep end in a weak attempt to lure unsuspecting victims into their cult of misguided facts. The coercive manner of this add is a perfect example of a flaccid attempt to attract men and women to become meat-eater haters, by presenting a provocative picture of Alicia Silverstone and asking whether this will make you go vegan/vegetarian. I begin my rant, yet still not judgmental only opinionated, by saying bad form PETA I'm sure this is the lowest I've seen you go in years. First off, if PETA opposes farms that have Chickens which produce eggs and cows that produce milk, why would they seduce people with a sexually appealing actress into becoming vegetarians. Although, I do agree there are many different forms of vegetarians, many of them consume eggs, milk, and cheese products all which come from chickens and cows respectively. How is visual stimulation by using a picture of Ms. Silverstone supposed to make steak eaters turn into salad lovers? Lets be honest here, the chances of individuals gawking over the picture actually meeting her and seeing her nude are slim to none. Deceit plays awful games on the minds of naive individuals and unfortunately many groups, including PETA feed off of this in order to gain numbers.

Continuing on with my opinionated rant, no where in this ad does PETA explain why one should become a vegetarian or a vegan. People who eat meat, do so for its taste, nutritional content, culture, or due to its over all benefits to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In order to elicit life long eaters of meat to switch to the dark side, PETA must show how an individuals health would benefit. It is a fact that most Americans could care less about issues that do not directly impact their lives. If individuals were to find out how it would personally affect their health in a positive way, without stimulating their hormones by using Alicia Silverstone, I believe that more people would go "green".

Design is an idea that is simple which makes it very complex

"In most people's vocabularies, design means veneer. It's interior decorating. It's the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service." (Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple) The design of a product goes far beyond the thin layer of aesthetics, which is a point Jobs touches on. In early stages of development of a product, for example a sports coupe, a company must first look at its target clientele and direct competition from other automobile producers in its same class. The company must then design an exterior that will be as visually pleasing as the interior, while being superior to the previous years' model. The company must design engine, drive train, and safety features that will further increase the chances of individuals purchasing their product over others. Once the design for the entire car have been mapped out, the company must design methods of mass producing the car at an affordable price that will yield the highest profit margin without compromising the quality of the product. Finally, the company must design advertisement that will make the product appealing, affordable, and a more savvy investment than that of other motor companies' products. What individuals see as the sleek and simple design of a new automobile, is really the complexity of design that is involved in the innovation, production, and selling of the new product. Using another quote from Jobs, "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."

The impact of unique typeface in visual marketing on attracting consumer spending

In the field of consumer marketing, it is of great importance to take into account minute details that will appeal more consumers into investing their money in one company, rather than spending it elsewhere. Details such as logos, and certain typefaces that will appeal to the target audience, allowing the company, which in this case is spectacular aquariums, to get an edge above the other competitors. The logo for spectacular aquariums was designed by Dejonge Design, with the intent of appealing to consumers interested in purchasing and installing of business and private home aquariums. At a first glance, the prospective client visually encounters the color blue in the typeface and the bubbles. For one, the color blue is a soft, visually pleasing, and a non-intimidating color that will immediately grab the attention of the client. In addition, the artist used a type face that is nor bland or over powering, and has a bubbly complex to it that complements the bubbles coming off the word "spectacular". Finally, the artist in a very subtle way made the word "spectacular" larger than the word "aquariums". By doing this the artist is focusing the attention of the client on the larger word, and insinuating that the aquariums produced by this company are "spectacular" and of greater quality than those of any other company. The color, typeface, and overall appearance of this logo fits the company quite well and is appealing to the target customers interested in purchasing aquariums.

War Propaganda

This war propaganda poster was produced during World War II by the Canadian government to sway citizens to by war bonds (in Canada they were called victory bonds). These war bonds are issued by the government in order to finance military operations, while allowing citizens to feel like they are directly involved in the war against the opposing force. The posters often portray the enemy as demoniacal or non-human that are attacking or targeting innocent individuals. By doing this, the posters allow naive individuals to view the enemy as sub-human and justifying the fight against them.

In this poster, the artist portrays the Nazi regime and the Japanese as monsters that are attacking a woman and her child, whom presumably are Canadian. Although irrational, it can be deduced that the artist attempted to sway citizens to purchase victory bonds in order to keep the Nazi's and Japanese away from Canada's women and children. Regardless of how irrational it may seem, propaganda such as this allows the patriotic side of many citizens to gleam and pushes them to purchase the bonds to "help the cause".

Love your experiment as you love an ugly step child:) Blog on Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto

I am a scientist. I conjure up what some individuals may perceive as ridiculous and sometimes asinine ideas in order to increase the lifespan of humans by preventing microbes from ruining a otherwise healthy individuals life. While reading the "An incomplete manifesto for growth" by Bruce Mau, I could not help but laugh at the commonalities I share with this individual who makes a living in a field completely opposite of mine (although I consider microbiology to be art for the science geeks).
The first portion of his manifesto in which he states "allow events to change you" reminded me of how I got myself into wanting to play lab rat. Prior to college, I wanted to go 4 years through my undergraduate career and then straight into medical school. I decided to go into microbiology with an open mind, for the subject somewhat caught my interest. As the years transgressed, I met professors who were in love with their areas of specialty and allowed me to enter their world of germs. Realizing why they were so obsessed with microbes, I soon began to share their interest and found myself putting the idea of medical school in the back burner. After all, medical schools will always be there and I still have many years in my scheduled life plan.
The portion of the manifesto that tickled my fanny per se and brought some insight on how I look at my experiments was the one titled "Love your experiment as you love an ugly step child". At my prime age of 24 I have more white hairs than the average man of my age has, and I am sure it is due to my area of work. The countless hours I have spent, seem in vain at times due to errors, unfavored outcomes, and countless amounts of data that just don't make sense. As Mau gracefully states it is of importance to love these God forsaken experiments though, because when it comes down to it, all the eternal days and nights spent on research may some day save the lives of millions.

The rising of economic stability from the ashes of financial woes

I found this picture on the internet and was intrigued by the different aspect of visual metaphor it could take. The artist explained that one of her friends had noticed that the picture could represent a visual metaphor of the dwindling economy. Before reading her friend's thread, I looked at the picture and saw the dollar surrounded by dead leaves. One thing her nor anyone else noticed, and maybe it's because I'm from the midwest, is the lush green grass under the dead leaves and the dollar. Adding to her friends comment, this picture could portray the grass as a "phoenix" rising from the ashes of a crumbled economy. I guess how someone interprets this metaphor just depends on whether they see the glass as half empty or half full.

Short film: Bridge

Prior to watching the short film, the brief synopsis of the movie describes how the viewer watches two friends as they move toward discovery. The artists' choice of words allows the viewer to prepare their emotions and expectations of what they are about to watch. As the short film unfolds and the two friends sit in close proximity to one another, the viewer acknowledges that they have a relationship stronger than just a friendship. Although many viewers would be upset that the although the female has a significant other, due to the artists' carefully chosen words in the epilogue, the viewer is more comfortable with the idea of there being feelings among the two individuals. The artist does a great job of slowly exposing the viewer to the friends feelings toward each other by positioning both of them at a distance at the beginning of the film and as the film transgresses, they get closer in proximity. The ending allows the viewer to receive as much closure as possible without a subtle feeling of discontent, because the scene cuts with both friends smiling without having kissed, which could have lead to some issues.

Definition of Design, Culture and Language

Depending on the context used, "design" may have different definitions. In general, design can be described as the manner something is expressed in order to attract the attention of others. From government to private sector companies, design is used in all aspects of economics and marketing in order make their ideas or products appealing to specific group they may be attempting to target. For example, a lobbyist for a tobacco company may present a statement to congress litigating the increase tax on cigarettes hinders the economic stimulation. The design of this argument would focus more on the negative aspect of tax increase than on the pleasing and more positive reason of lowering the amount of smokers and smoking related deaths.

Culture is the thought processes and actions in a population that abides by the norms of society of the specific group. The way individuals interact with each other, the laws that are created, and the overall lifestyle individuals take are all based upon the certain culture they live in. What an individual does outside of his or her culture that may seem normal to them, may be considered deviant or illegal in others. This solid distinction of cultures however, has been cloaked by the increase fusion of cultures dues to migration of individuals to new places, as well as to the introduction of new ideas by the media.

Language, may be it verbally or physically, is the way individuals express themselves and communicate with others. Language can be thought as written symbols, auditory expressions, body expressions, or even objects such as art. Although certain verbal language can change from culture to culture, many physical languages are shared world wide. From infancy, although highly debated, humans are taught to smile when they are happy and frown or cry when they are sad.

Culture, language, and design intertwine greatly and determine the overall success of all businesses. As mentioned previously, if a company wants to market its product to a specific target group it must take into consideration all three aspects to ensure a high chance of success. For example, if a pharmaceutical company was attempting to sell its new blood pressure medication to individuals older than 55, it would have to produce commercials that are directed to an older audience. First of all, the marketing group would have to take into consideration the time of day their audience is most likely to be watching T.V. Then it would have to make the commercial using actors of the target groups age, obviously would have to be perceived as enjoying their lives, and in a setting that most individuals of the target audience would say "hey those people are engaging in activities that normally do!" With outh taking into consideration culture, language, and design the field of marketing would not exist and companies would find it difficult to yield high profits if any.