laika vs dolly

laika
Soviética e militante. Abdicou da vida de cão pelo partido
e pelo país… em prol do progresso.
"Um pequeno passo canino, um grande passo para a humanidade".
Laika é ideológica, directa e abrupta... treinada.

dolly
Pós-moderna. É fruto da cultura mediática e televisiva.
Tem medo patológico da velhice e da morte e como escape é fútil.
Sabe que podia ter sido uma ovelha no rebanho, mas é diferente.
Dolly é a cópia. É vedeta. Kitsch e simulada.

sketches [ 3 ]

sketches [ 2 ]

a conclusion, a provocation

If Frankenstein is the outcome of the Industrial Revolution, created at the beginning of the machine age after Mary Shelley had seen a Swiss collection of remarkable androids owned by Jaquet-Droz, the mascot is the final outcome of the digital age.
Bottom line: resistance is futile.
matteo bittanti

mascots are idols

Mascots are idols. The term comes from Greek eidolon which stands for 'image', 'ghost' (again!) but also "ideal". An idol is a representation or symbol of an object of worship. It is not hard to notice the negative connotation: idols are often regarded as false gods. And yet, they are objects of extreme devotion. It is a pure appearance that seeks for substance. In the "gadget-lover" chapter of Understanding media, McLuhan (1964) recalls the 115th Psalm: "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." To contemplate idols – which, in McLuhan’s terminology equals to "using technology"– makes humans similar to idols. There is no way out.
matteo bittanti

mascots are icons

The term comes from Greek eikOn, from eikenai, "to resemble". An icon is a pictorial representation, typically, a religious image painted on a small wooden panel and used in the devotions of Eastern Christians. The term has a negative connotation: often it is used to define objects of uncritical devotion. Icons are also graphic symbols on a computer display screen which suggests the purpose of an available function. The mascot comprises all these meanings: it’s both esoteric and functional, ancient and ultra-modern. Behind its apparent nonsense, the mascot condenses a plurality of meanings. Just like the religious icon, the mascot evokes an "Outer" dimension that does not own. The mascot is simultaneously sacred and profane.
matteo bittanti

dolly stickers

character design.

"character design é a mais universal das linguagem gráficas. as personagens funcionam independentes a qualquer contexto cultural ou estrutura narrativa. elas são inteiramente auto-referenciais, definidas por caracteristicas únicas e têm uma vida própria. quer sejam usadas como identidade corporativa ou simples ícones - o seu significado vai para além da sua função como mascotes. character design não só produz uma identidade universalmente reconhecível, mas também liga o espectador e o conceito num nível emocional, tornando estas representações simplificadas e abstractas em elementos fundamentais do actual mundo das imagens."

in - foreword by peter thaler
pictoplasma

the house of character design

sketches [ 1 ]