Some ideas:
Hats: Then and Now
Hats: From helmet to headdress
Hats and their worth
Hats
Hello from Hall of Hats
What are Hats?
The Language of Hats
Hats: Here and There
Fashion and Appropriation: A History of Hats
The Things You Put on your Head
Heads and What Goes on Top of Them
Haha-hats
Bedhead, you need a hat!
The Hat: A Visual Brief
The Hat: What's it all about?
The Hat: Silly, but Functional
Seriously thought, hats
The Hat: What Does It Say?
Why Would I Put Something On My Head?
Hahahahaha-hats
The Cat in the Hat: Children Stories and other uses of the Hat
Stuff Upstairs
Wanting the Hat: A Guide
Several Theories About Hats
Black and Blue: A History of Hats
Scooters and T-Shirts: What does this have to do with hats?
The Hat: Rich in History and Culture
The Hat: A Historic Fashion Statement
Hats and Their Uses
Bahahahahahahahahaha-hats
Stories about hats
Gandalf
Some Ideas About Hats
The Mad Hatter: A History of Hats
A Brief Lesson in Hats
Here Come the Hats!
Only Leaders Wear Hats
Slowly Descending Into Madness: A History of Hats
Hats!
Hats: Several Ways to Look at an Old Piece of Clothing
Hats: The New Religion
The Hat: Better Than God
How the Hat Revolutionized Everything
How the Hat Revolutionized My Life
How the Hat Killed JFK
Hats: Now In Technicolor
Several Hats, Several Ideas
Costumes and Uniforms: A Look at Hats
A Look at the Hat
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Evolution of the Infograph!
It all starts with a simple mind map...
It grows bigger and browner(?).
We are finally having content and organization in the organism.
The icons find their way into the habitat of the infograph, creating a symbiotic relationship with it.
There is a clear direction in the organism now.
It takes on a final form, but its organs are still developing.
Finally, we have a perfect specimen.
It grows bigger and browner(?).
We are finally having content and organization in the organism.
The icons find their way into the habitat of the infograph, creating a symbiotic relationship with it.
There is a clear direction in the organism now.
It takes on a final form, but its organs are still developing.
Finally, we have a perfect specimen.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Hats Research
Culture and history
The headdress once served as a symbol of authority, power. For example, in Ancient Egypt only the pharaoh could carry big headdress made of a striped fabric, which the crown was put on. All others classes, except for slaves, were content with wigs from a vegetative fiber. Wealthier the person, the wig was bigger and ringlets were more magnificent.
From the East the fashion on turbans had come to Europe. Turbans have received wide circulation. They were carried both by men and by women. Persians named a turban a fabric, which tied a head. The Persians spread this headdress widely across the Islamic world.
In the U.S. the baseball hat is a significant headdress. It represents sports, but more than that it represents a historic culture of people who are based around the national pastime of sports and family.
Society
Uniforms show different jobs and aspects of our culture that we choose to represent by the outward appearance. For example, a policeman can be identified right away by just his uniform.
Clothes speak louder than words or actions sometimes. Simply by wearing one type of hat or another, a person can speak about themselves in a variety of ways without even opening their mouths.
Teaching children to identify important figures within a society through clothing is an integral part of our society. We have already based many stories and figures such as Cat in the Hat and others simply on hats.
Protection
Hats started out to as a means to protect the head from weapons, weather elements or falling masonry. Therefore it is important to view hats as way of protecting the head.
85% of body heat is lost through the head. In inclement weather it is important to wear a hat to preserve body heat. Babies especially lose most of their body heat through the head so it is important to cover their heads to keep them healthy.
Wartime headwear has become almost an art form. For as long as humans have been fighting, there has been some kind of protection for the head. Since the head is the most vulnerable part of the human body, there has been much design between functionality in battle and maximum protection.
Hats are also a big part of construction protection. America’s first designated “Hard Hat Area” was set up at the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge construction site. This day and age, it is required to wear a hard hat in a construction zone, for the fear of something falling and breaking your head.
Economy and Fashion
Fashion has become a luxury in today’s economic conditions. Because of the shaky economy, expensive and new clothing is quickly turning into unnecessary spending.
Sartorial trends signify more than just simple material desires. As retail marketers know, they're linked to socioeconomic cycles. In times of uncertainty the most appealing apparel functions as a panacea; bursts of color and conventionally flattering shapes can soothe our troubled minds. This year would certainly qualify as spectacularly uncertain. The stock market rides up and down like a high-speed roller coaster, while the dollar drops ever lower. The U.S. armed forces remain mired in Middle Eastern conflicts. And the economy is in, or is dancing close to, recession.
Fashion, by nature, is about perpetual change, which raises the question: what comes next. This question in the context of fashion is not much different from the question policymakers are asking. The next shift in fashion trends will signify more than just hemlines. It will also potentially signify the direction in which the economy and the social mood are headed. If the prevalence of the dress is a reaction to our collective unease, then a shift to more unorthodox styles might signify greater social security.
Fashion and hats have gone hand in hand for a long time. Some of the strongest statements have been made with just the hats. If you wear the wrong hat with an outfit it ruins it. If you wear the right one, it makes the outfit.
Hat Production
Straw and felt hats are made using the same basic technique, this is called "blocking". Hat materials can be hand blocked using wooden forms (blocks) or machine blocked using aluminum forms (pans), these are required when using a blocking machine. There is also another type of machine used by hat factories, this is the hydraulic press, necessary for the mass production of hats. Generally the technology employed for making hats has remained the same for many years and could be considered to be "low tech". All hats are made by hand in even the most up to date factory.
Felt differs from every other fabric in that it is made of a myriad of short, single animal fibers which are interlocked by their natural tendency to "crawl" and twist when kneaded and manipulated in hot water and steam. Felt is the strongest fabric known because every fiber is interlocked in every direction with a number of other fibers. All other fabrics are made of fibers which are first twisted into threads and then woven by hand or machine. As these threads are always woven either in right angle or parallel lines, the woven fabric may be torn apart along a straight line.
The headdress once served as a symbol of authority, power. For example, in Ancient Egypt only the pharaoh could carry big headdress made of a striped fabric, which the crown was put on. All others classes, except for slaves, were content with wigs from a vegetative fiber. Wealthier the person, the wig was bigger and ringlets were more magnificent.
From the East the fashion on turbans had come to Europe. Turbans have received wide circulation. They were carried both by men and by women. Persians named a turban a fabric, which tied a head. The Persians spread this headdress widely across the Islamic world.
In the U.S. the baseball hat is a significant headdress. It represents sports, but more than that it represents a historic culture of people who are based around the national pastime of sports and family.
Society
Uniforms show different jobs and aspects of our culture that we choose to represent by the outward appearance. For example, a policeman can be identified right away by just his uniform.
Clothes speak louder than words or actions sometimes. Simply by wearing one type of hat or another, a person can speak about themselves in a variety of ways without even opening their mouths.
Teaching children to identify important figures within a society through clothing is an integral part of our society. We have already based many stories and figures such as Cat in the Hat and others simply on hats.
Protection
Hats started out to as a means to protect the head from weapons, weather elements or falling masonry. Therefore it is important to view hats as way of protecting the head.
85% of body heat is lost through the head. In inclement weather it is important to wear a hat to preserve body heat. Babies especially lose most of their body heat through the head so it is important to cover their heads to keep them healthy.
Wartime headwear has become almost an art form. For as long as humans have been fighting, there has been some kind of protection for the head. Since the head is the most vulnerable part of the human body, there has been much design between functionality in battle and maximum protection.
Hats are also a big part of construction protection. America’s first designated “Hard Hat Area” was set up at the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge construction site. This day and age, it is required to wear a hard hat in a construction zone, for the fear of something falling and breaking your head.
Economy and Fashion
Fashion has become a luxury in today’s economic conditions. Because of the shaky economy, expensive and new clothing is quickly turning into unnecessary spending.
Sartorial trends signify more than just simple material desires. As retail marketers know, they're linked to socioeconomic cycles. In times of uncertainty the most appealing apparel functions as a panacea; bursts of color and conventionally flattering shapes can soothe our troubled minds. This year would certainly qualify as spectacularly uncertain. The stock market rides up and down like a high-speed roller coaster, while the dollar drops ever lower. The U.S. armed forces remain mired in Middle Eastern conflicts. And the economy is in, or is dancing close to, recession.
Fashion, by nature, is about perpetual change, which raises the question: what comes next. This question in the context of fashion is not much different from the question policymakers are asking. The next shift in fashion trends will signify more than just hemlines. It will also potentially signify the direction in which the economy and the social mood are headed. If the prevalence of the dress is a reaction to our collective unease, then a shift to more unorthodox styles might signify greater social security.
Fashion and hats have gone hand in hand for a long time. Some of the strongest statements have been made with just the hats. If you wear the wrong hat with an outfit it ruins it. If you wear the right one, it makes the outfit.
Hat Production
Straw and felt hats are made using the same basic technique, this is called "blocking". Hat materials can be hand blocked using wooden forms (blocks) or machine blocked using aluminum forms (pans), these are required when using a blocking machine. There is also another type of machine used by hat factories, this is the hydraulic press, necessary for the mass production of hats. Generally the technology employed for making hats has remained the same for many years and could be considered to be "low tech". All hats are made by hand in even the most up to date factory.
Felt differs from every other fabric in that it is made of a myriad of short, single animal fibers which are interlocked by their natural tendency to "crawl" and twist when kneaded and manipulated in hot water and steam. Felt is the strongest fabric known because every fiber is interlocked in every direction with a number of other fibers. All other fabrics are made of fibers which are first twisted into threads and then woven by hand or machine. As these threads are always woven either in right angle or parallel lines, the woven fabric may be torn apart along a straight line.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Final Color Icons
Here they are.
And the color selection sheet.
After creating my set of eight icons, I expanded upon the system by bringing 2 and 3 color variations. First, I had to make the formal decision of how I would distribute the colors, without harming the original icons. At first I did this in two ways: by adding shadows to the hats, and by highlighting the an important element in each hat. In the end I decided to stick to the highlight because I felt it added another interesting element to the hats, which wasn't as present before. For the 3 color system I added the two previous directions into one, and it was even more successful. Again, I wanted a quiet hopelessness to all the hats, as if anyone who puts them on will be doomed. Or perhaps they already are.
And the color selection sheet.
After creating my set of eight icons, I expanded upon the system by bringing 2 and 3 color variations. First, I had to make the formal decision of how I would distribute the colors, without harming the original icons. At first I did this in two ways: by adding shadows to the hats, and by highlighting the an important element in each hat. In the end I decided to stick to the highlight because I felt it added another interesting element to the hats, which wasn't as present before. For the 3 color system I added the two previous directions into one, and it was even more successful. Again, I wanted a quiet hopelessness to all the hats, as if anyone who puts them on will be doomed. Or perhaps they already are.
Mood for My Icons
I want the mood for my icons to be a little depressing and sobering. I feel like the man in the story has a very sad past that doesn't give him much hope in the future. Therefore, his hats must reflect his view of hopelessness.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Color Swatches and Hat Styles
After taking samples from our compositions we put took the swatches and made them a color palette. First we wrote down the connotations for each color and decided if the color palettes were cohesive with our themes, and within themselves.
Then I went back and changed the color palettes to make them more cohesive.
Also, we had to come up with a style of color distribution in our icons that made sense with them, yet did not interfere with the original form. Here are my iterations.
We fist did them by hand, and picked several directions to translate into digital form.
Then I went back and changed the color palettes to make them more cohesive.
Also, we had to come up with a style of color distribution in our icons that made sense with them, yet did not interfere with the original form. Here are my iterations.
We fist did them by hand, and picked several directions to translate into digital form.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Final Icon Set
Well, here it is.
There are a few design decisions that I made to unify the set. First of all, I made all the icons geometric and straight lined. I also decided to leave openings and make the lines a little off balance in all the hats to make them feel a lot more playful. Instead of them being incredibly serious hats, I thought that it would be a better connotation for them to be lighthearted. Also, because they are such different hats, making them uncharacteristically geometric helped unify them into a better system. Some discoveries that I made were how making iterations at even the final stages of refining my icons helped a lot. Also testing the icons on people who don't know what the project is about and have never seen my icons before was very beneficial. They saw things that other people missed, and were very helpful.
There are a few design decisions that I made to unify the set. First of all, I made all the icons geometric and straight lined. I also decided to leave openings and make the lines a little off balance in all the hats to make them feel a lot more playful. Instead of them being incredibly serious hats, I thought that it would be a better connotation for them to be lighthearted. Also, because they are such different hats, making them uncharacteristically geometric helped unify them into a better system. Some discoveries that I made were how making iterations at even the final stages of refining my icons helped a lot. Also testing the icons on people who don't know what the project is about and have never seen my icons before was very beneficial. They saw things that other people missed, and were very helpful.
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