MUSIC256A - hw0
- This textbook (Artiful Design - Ge Wang)
- My desk lamp
- The Terran marine, from StarCraft
Apropos of functional-aesthetic analysis, this textbook is unique in its somewhat radical deviation from the traditional template textbook. The text and background colors have been inverted from the traditional black on white, resulting in a “night mode” theme, and the text is presented via chat bubbles like in comic books. I will admit, it took a good while for my brain and eyes to reorient to this format. But the white on black is a pleasant deviation from the usual textbook monotony and, perhaps, a more familiar theme for the code savvy. Moreover, I believe, this textbook is both a means-to-an-end and an end-in-itself. It serves an external purpose—instructing design theory—while simultaneously being an end-in-itself—a comic book that can be assigned reading!? At first, I thought this textbook lied more heavily on the end-in-itself side of the function vs. form balance. But, having read it some more, I think it also functions relatively well.
My desk lamp is a very modern looking, adjustable LED array, with the ability to control the level of “blue” light being output; the LED array may be adjusted from a dim, orange-yellow for relaxing, reminiscent of fire light, up through a very white and blue-heavy light and everything in between. It swivels a full 360 degrees at the base and is hinged at two places thereafter. I enjoy pulling it way down low to the desk and illuminating textbooks in the late evening. I find this lamp very satisfying. I appreciate being able to turn it on and select the appropriate level of brightness and hue for the moment. My only dislike is the polished/glossy black finish will reflect the light from the LEDs if they're pointed towards the lamp body, resulting in some very bright, very visible LEDs.
The Terran Marine wears a very heavy suit, likely heavily hydraulic and armor plated. The boots of the suit are tremendously clunky, possibly intentionally so. It would appear the actual marine, inside the suit, still occupies some of the limb-space of the suit, though disproportionately so. The thrusters upon the rear-deltoid/upper-scapula region of the suit are bat-shit crazy, and I don’t agree with the angle of their burners—it looks like they would only ever accelerate in a forward and downward direction, resulting in some pretty intense orientation and trajectory. In fact, for a long while, I wanted to be an environmental systems engineer and design space suits that resemble the Terran marine, but with better thrusters—essentially, Mech Warriors. I would say the design is satisfying—it looks far more intimidating than the tiny humans inside of the suit—but the quintessential human physical attributes have all been exemplified, amplified, and wrapped in armor that looks nearly indestructible. Somewhat ergonomic-looking hinged plates line the low back, elbows, and knees, hinting at flexibility and durability in the suit. And some thick hydraulic-looking hoses or cables run where the hamstrings and Achilles tendons would, resulting in a very humanoid-looking final product.
Below, you will find my hw0 sample ChucK script that makes sound: