express : design :: tell : story

translation: adapting a word, phrase, or idea to a new context. a midsummer night's dream was translated to a more recent setting in italy for the movie. the lesson i learned from my nana after my father's passing are becoming words that i live by in all aspects of life. in history we talked about how the nautilus shell wasa source for golden proportions that are transferred into design. it was also used as a metaphor for the history of architecture and design. "architecture is the chambered nautilus shell of the human environment; it is the environment we build for ourselves (roth 3)."


cycle: nothing is ever lost. a lot of times, styles eventually come back. roth talks about how interest in history has influenced design, as egyption, asian indian, and other styles are being re-created (475). the houses of parliament are in gothic revival style. it was an attempt to return to the good values of the city during the gothic era. i chose this example because i first learned about it in art history last semester. the things we learn aren't bound to one specific class. they re-emerge in all classes.




artifacts: the objects around us are representative of culture, journeys, or experiences. they offer clues about the meaning surrounding it or the creator of the object. my five artifacts reflect the things and people that are important in my life and why they mean so much. jules prown talked about how artifacts can be assessed through description, deduction, and speculation. artifacts connect with the perceiver in a variety of ways as they try to derive meaning.


stories: "... if we wish to understand ourselves, we must take care not to eliminate the 'shell' of our past, for it is the physical record of our aspirations and achievements (roth 11)."everyone has a story, individuals and groups alike. we tell stories to convey a central message or meaning. i used my inspiration board to decipher the message presented in 'the three languages.' i also learned that the focus of 'a midsummer night's dream' was about love and affection expressed in different ways. architecture works the same way in that a building tells the story of the context in which it was built. listening and learning from these stories is important to make progress into the future.


overall, this week was about journeys and how we express these experiences though stories, artifacts, and other ways. these expressions give clues about the context of the creator and the time they were created. they are also ways to learn from the past to better understand where we are headed. as humans, we need ways to document our history as a way to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world.