Date : 13th March 2008
Time : 8.15PM
Listening to : Nothing
Where : Room

Let me bore you guys with my summary. ^^

Mistakes in Visual Communication (And how it led to Lomography)

Mistakes are generally defined as something bad, negative and unwanted. That is in general. This is human tendency; reject mistakes, reject imperfection. But in the world of design, “mistakes” are not mistakes. Mistakes could be regarded as an element that could push a particular piece of work forward. It really depends on how the designer looks at that particular mistakes made. Mistakes can be defined as an element of unpredictability. It leaves the designer not having a certain amount of control on his/her work. This creates surprises. Most people strive for perfection. But how perfect is perfect? A closer look at perfection will reveal imperfection. For example the period at the end of each sentence. Usually perceived as a perfect circle, if enlarged many times over will reveal jagged sides or smeared. Mistakes create but perfection put a stop to a particular work. There is beauty in imperfection. When things went out of control, the outcome could be surprising. And think about it, no two mistakes are the same. Nobody can achieve the same kind of strokes smeared. Nobody can achieve the same tear line on a fabric. Mistakes are therefore unique. It gives a sense of originality to a designer’s work. Embrace mistakes. Embrace unpredictability. In term of visual communication, mistakes done on purpose are able to convey message that perfection can never deliver. Mistakes give birth to new techniques. A few fine examples are misprinting, dirty (smeared) fonts, and collages. And also, human inability to be perfect always leaves room for creativity to bloom in order to make up for the flaw. Isn’t that what design is all about? Creativity. Finding solution to a problem. Look at “mistakes” in the classic, common formula 1+1=3.
When an original plan is deviated from its path, it may unfold better and more brilliant ideas. Design world in Visual Communication cannot be limited to only what is known to be good and perfect. The main aim of visual communication is to be able to communicate the message to its intended audience. There are still many things to be explored and one of the ways to discovery is through mistakes.
In context of mistakes that brought benefit to the design world, there are far too many to be mentioned. But one of them is Lomography. Lomography term is derived from the word Lomo, a manufacturer name: Leningradskoye Optiko-Mechanichesckoye Obyedinenie in Russia. It was a manufacturer that produced advance optical and medical equipment and also consumer cameras. The Lomo camera is a crappy and bad camera that produces images that has low quality by definition of the photography world. Photographers usually buy a camera that gives good quality pictures that are clear, good color and sharp. But why lomography? It is the low quality pictures that are produced by this camera that gave birth to the new breed of photographers; aptly called the lomographers. Lomographers are so charmed by the unique, colorful and sometimes blurry pictures that the camera produces. The actual attraction of the camera is actually its’ weaknesses. As ridiculous as it may sound, it is true. Vignetting is seen to add uniqueness to photographs, while inaccurate settings open up your creativity. Lomo cameras do produce amazingly beautiful colors although the colors maybe over saturated and the images may be distorted.
Lomography is a snapshot photography. The motto for lomography is “Don’t think, just shoot”. What is interesting about lomography is that the accidents or mistakes are not done on purpose. The weakness of the camera are the factors that tend to over saturate the colors, over/under expose and add noise to the images. But other that the weaknesses that make the lomo camera interesting, there is an advantage too. The camera allows the images to be taken under low light thus it is great to be carried around. Just point and shoot. No composition or lighting to be worried about. Another wonderful fact about lomography is that you can never predict what is the outcome of the snapshot. It is always full of surprises. Although critics may argue that the effects can be achieved through Photoshop, the original lomo is still better because unpredictability yields a more original and diverse result. Not able to be controlled by the user, the work has the freedom to be how it is meant to turn out to be. Lomography not only influenced the photography world but also extended into the cinema/movie industry, Now, how cool is that? Mistakes rock. Lomography rocks harder.

Labels: Design Method 2, On assignment progress, sharing