Brandon Chau
Tools as Human Identity
The intensive use and reliance of tools is a uniquely human characteristic. The use of tools to assist in accomplishing tasks in the analog, and now as well in digital, contexts have become essential to human existence. Furthermore the tools that we use are a reflection of our actions, our skills, our culture, and most importantly, our identity.
A tool is anything used as a means to facilitate the accomplishment of a task or purpose. Considering this, what tools do you use everyday and how do they tell a story or explain who you are?
In keeping with my profesorâs original vision of documenting the history of human tools, I have been making multi-tools that characterize particular human identities characteristic to certain periods in human history. After all, take into consideration the names of periods in history such as the âstone ageâ or âthe iron ageâ: the types of tools that humans have used over time have marked breakthroughs and evolutionary changes in human society. Iâm not sure how to go about this, but for now, Iâll just design as many as I can and see how many will survive the scrutiny.
Hereâs some samples:
"Live Die" (a dice made of iron): during the iron age, humans were beginning to establish complex social hierarchies that gave certain groups more power and opportunities over others. These social hierarchies were often determined at birth, and remained until death. Your chances of being placed higher than another was a matter of chance; you had to be lucky. Each dice represents a different social trait face has a symbol that depicts a different level of that trait. How your life turns out is determined by the single toss of the dice. The iron construction represents the iron age from whence it was created and the dense and heavy material communicates the permanence of each throw.
"O.M.G." (USB Pregnancy tester) this is a pregnancy test that is placed on a USB device. Whenever a woman runs a pregnancy, the event is often intense. The thought of possibly being pregnant can be nerve racking and cause anxiety. In order to cope with personal stresses in today's age, humans tend to blog about their problems, throw their thoughts and release them into the world wide web. If your internet fails during this time, you can save your blog entry and bring it to another computer that has internet.
"Wrenchware" (eating utensils attached to mechanical tools) One side is a spoon, the other is a socket wrench. This tool is from the industrial age, a time where there was a swarm of people flocking to the inner city to work hard, difficult hours in a factory. Workers were worked for so long and paid so little under terrible working conditions, the only things they had time to do were work and eat. After you finish eating dinner, you can go right back to work
Posted on June 12, 2008
possible directions/propositions?
HUMAN-FACILLITATED EVOLUTION THROUGH TOOLS
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[Rebeca Mendez: The history of tools] {VIDEO}
-list the most important tools through human history
-perform each tool
?find a way to transition between tools and people (as tools change so do we)
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[Nick Soni: we identify with our skin] {PRINT/POSTER}
-recognition of others
-interpretation through flesh
-relation to others/flesh itself
-social organization through flesh
?what is the visual language?
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[Chris O'Leary: Superheroes] {PHOTOGRAPHY}
-tools give us special abilities/superhuman powers
http://users.design.ucla.edu/~oleary/hero.html
http://www.hemmy.net/2008/04/19/the-impossible-art-of-li-wei/
?can this tie into tools?
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[Biocultural Evolution] {ANIMATION/STOPMOTION}
-crowd of people molding a human figure
http://motionographermedia.com/psyop/Together_Agency_640.mov
-self infliction (Renee)
-commercial power/social persuasion
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[Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs, Steel]
-Geography grants certain agriculture and domestication
-efficient food sources allow others to specialize
-specialization creates new tools that increase productivity
-weapons such as guns and steel allow conquest
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??GENERAL QUESTIONS
?how can i represent all humans at once?
-film in first person
-animate different people at once
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Orgesticulanismus/video/x59f2b_orgesticulanismus_creation
http://72andsunny.com/video.php?id=326
?should my environment be in space? its our one thing we will definitely share with aliens: environments in outer space.
Posted on May 15, 2008
history of human technology
source: http://home.entouch.net/dmd/chron.htm
Chronology of Human Technology
Age BP Oldest example of... Place Species
2.0 kyr continuous industrial worksite Bigo, Uganda Homo sapiens1
2.0 kyr grammar text Greece Homo sapiens2
2.0 kyr false tooth Essonne, France Homo sapiens126
2.3 kyr genealogy Georgia, SSR Homo sapiens148
3.0 kyr census Israel Homo sapiens3
3.0 kyr iron mine Velem St. Vid, Hungary Homo sapiens4
4.0 kyr 1200o C temperature Mashkan-Shapir, Iraq Homo Sapiens164
4.0 kyr oldest song Ur, Iraq Homo sapiens5
4.5 kyr Maya farming Belize Homo sapiens6
4.6 kyr New World City Caral, Peru Homo sapiens157
4.6 kyr Oldest paved road Egypt Homo sapiens162
4.6 kyr Oldest geological map Egypt Homo sapiens162
4.8 kyr fixed calendrical date Egypt Homo sapiens7
5.0 kyr oldest map of the moon Knowth, Ireland Homo sapiens127
5.2 kyr Oldest extrabiblical person Egypt Homo sapiens8
5.25 kyr Oldest historical document Egypt Homo sapiens174
5.3 kyr Oldest wheel Slovenia Homo sapiens169
5.4 kyr 2nd oldest writing Southern Egypt Homo sapiens128
6.0 kyr iron object Egypt Homo sapiens9
6.0 kyr existant ship England Homo sapiens10
6.0 kyr horse domesticated Ukraine Homo sapiens11
6.1 kyr oldest permanent building Malta Homo sapiens161
6.2 kyr corn cobs Guilá Naquitz Cave,Mex. Homo sapiens147
6.5 kyr gold jewelry Varna, Bulgaria Homo sapiens12
6.5 kyr astronomical megalith Egypt Homo sapiens129
7.0 kyr 2nd oldest wine Zagros Mtns, Iran Homo sapiens13
7.5 kyr two-stage domed kiln Yarim Tepe, Iraq Homo sapiens14
8.0 kyr oldest wine Georgia Homo sapiens183
8.2 kyr collagen glue Dead Sea, Israel Homo sapiens130
8.4 kyr dugout canoe Pesse, Netherlands Homo sapiens15
8.6 kyr oldest writing Jiahu, China Homo sapiens181
9.0 kyr fragment of cloth Turkey Homo sapiens16
9.0 kyr oldest beer China Homo sapiens189
9.0 kyr pigs domesticated Greece Homo sapiens17
9.0 kyr continuously existing religion Queensland,Australia Homo sapiens18
9.0 kyr earliest cotton use Dhuweila, Jordan Homo sapiens173
9.4 kyr boat paddle Star Carr, England Homo sapiens19
9.5 kyr sheep domesticated Turkey Homo sapiens20
9.5 kyr first pet cat Cyprus Homo sapiens184
10 kyr squash agriculture Ecuador Homo sapiens182
10 kyr goats domesticated Asiab,Iran Homo sapiens21
10 kyr wooden Australian boomerang Wyrie Swamp, Australia Homo sapiens22
10 kyr depiction of warfare Australia Homo sapiens23
11 kyr confirmed basket Danger Cave, Utah Homo sapiens24
11 kyr wooden arrow Hamburg, Germany Homo sapiens25
12 kyr city Mureybet Syria Homo sapiens26
13 kyr arrowhead San Teodoro, Sicily Homo sapiens27
13 kyr oldest rye cultivation Abu Hureyra, Syria Homo sapiens131
13 kyr oldest well in New World Blackwater Draw,NM Homo sapiens132
13 kyr oldest Native American skull Mexico City, Mexico Homo sapiens175
13 kyr flint sickle Middle East Homo sapiens28
13 kyr pottery Japan Homo sapiens29
13 kyr copper working various Homo sapiens30
13-14 kyr toothpick South Africa Homo sapiens31
13-14 kyr extant wooden hut remains Monte Verde, Chile Homo sapiens32
14 kyr oldest rice agriculture Sorori, Korea Homo sapiens131
14 kyr human portrait Grosseto, Italy Homo sapiens133
14 kyr fish hooks Europe Homo sapiens33
14 kyr h. sapiens religious sanctuary El Juyo Cave, Spain Homo sapiens34
15 kyr lunar calendar Lascaux, France Homo sapiens140
15 kyr oldest domesticated dog Eliseevichi, Siberia Homo sapiens176
19.3 kyr twisted fiber cord Ohalo, Israel Homo sapiens35
19. kyr fishing net Ohalo II, Israel Homo sapiens36
19.6 kyr basket or mat Meadowcroft, PA Homo sapiens37
20 kyr ivory boomerang Oblazowa, Poland Homo sapiens38
20 kyr village Sea of Galilee Homo sapiens120
23 kyr ground stone tools Malangangerr, Australia Homo sapiens39
25 kyr net fishing Willendra Lake,Australia Homo sapiens40
25 kyr oldest moccasins Sungir, USSR Homo sapiens134
25 kyr puppet Brno, Moravia Homo sapiens41
27 kyr impression of woven cloth Eastern Europe Homo sapiens43
27 kyr ceramics Dolni Vestonice Homo sapiens44
27 kyr 1450 deg C fire Dolni Vestonice Homo sapiens166
29.0 kyr impression of cloth in clay Europe Homo sapiens135
30 kyr human cremation Lake Mungo Australia Homo sapiens45
30 kyr sewing needle Kostenki, Russia Homo sapiens 42
32 kyr coal mine Landek, Czechoslovakia Homo sapiens46
32 kyr oldest H. s. necklace Mandu Mandu, Australia Homo sapiens136
32 kyr oldest star map(Orion) Ach Valley, Germany ?171
35 kyr fossil collecting Arcy-sur-Cure Homo sapiens neanderthalensis47
35 kyr oldest star chart Germany ?177
35 kyr European cave painting Fumane Cave Italy ?142
36 kyr bitumen glue Umm el Tlel, Syria ?48
36 kyr Neandertal necklace Arcy-sur-Cure, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis155
39 kyr cave painting Carpenter's Gap Austral. Archaic Homo sapiens49
43-67 kyr 7 note diatonic musical scale Divje Babe I, Slovenia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis 50,51
45 kyr Neanderthal flute Divje Babe I, Slovenia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis51
47 kyr successful surgical amputation Shanidar, Iraq Homo sapiens neanderthalensis52
47 kyr spelunking in dark cave Bruniquel, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis154
50 kyr shaman's cape Hortus, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis53
50 kyr ostrich egg canteen South Africa Homo sapiens168
53 kyr Oldest flued hearth Capellades, Spain Homo sapiens neanderthalensis124
62 kyr DNA from human-not modern mtdna Lake Mungo, Australia Homo sapiens143
60 kyr Neanderthal hut/tent Molodova, Russia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis54
60 kyr oldest canteen Klaasies River Mouth CaveHomo sapiens178
68 kyr Murder by spear Shanidar, Iraq Homo sapiens neanderthalensis55
70 kyr Lipstick Blombos Cave South AfricaHomo sapiens122
70 kyr European Rock art La Ferrassie, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis188
70-80 kyr Neanderthal art, pseudoVenus Wildenmannlisloch, Switz.Homo sapiens neanderthalensis56
70-80 kyr musical instrument-flute Haua Fteah, Libya Homo sapiens neanderthalensis57
73 kyr use of coal for fire Les Canalettes Homo sapiens neanderthalensis58
80 kyr First fingerprint Konigsaue, Germany Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis59
80 kyr anoxic chemistry--birch glue Konigsaue, Germany Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis59
80 kyr Homo sapiens wooden spear Mt. Carmel, Israel Homo sapiens60
80 kyr occupation of Australia Lake Mungo Australia Homo sapiens137
80 kyr Neanderthal bone tool Regourdou, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis61
80 kyr religious sanctuary Drachenloch, Switzerland Homo sapiens neanderthalensis62
90-100 kyr whistles Prolom II, Crimea archaic Homo sapiens63
110 kyr underground mining Lion Cave, Swaziland ?64
110-130kyr Neanderthal spear Lehringen, Germany Homo sapiens neanderthalensis65
120 kyr 2nd oldest H. sapiens footprint Langebaan, S.A Homo sapiens141
130 kyr burial Krapina, Croatia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis66
130 kyr food processors various archaic Homo sapiens67
140 kyr over-horizon sailing Australia archaic Homo sapiens68
140 kyr Shellfish exploitation Italy Homo sapiens neanderthalensis69
160 kyr European blade tools England Belgium Homo sapiens neanderthalensis70
200 kyr Oldest Ostrich Shell Beads el Greifa E archaic Homo sapiens186
200 kyr post hole Lunel-Viel archaic Homo sapiens71
200 kyr Neanderthal bedding Lazaret, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis72
200 kyr Neandertal living floor Grotte d'Aldene Homo sapiens neanderthalensis73
230 kyr human dung Terra Amata, France Homo erectus?74
240 kyr upper Paleolithic blade tools Kenya ?75
240-700kyr woodworking Gesher Benot Ya'aqov,Isr.Homo erectus76
250 kyr Invention of Mousterian tools Vaufry Cave, France ?77
300 kyr geometric engraving Pech de l'Aze Homo erectus78
300 kyr Siberia peopled-clothing needed Diring Yuriakh ?79
300 kyr jewelry various Homo erectus80
>300 kyr ritual corpse disposal Atapuerca, Spain archaic H.s.81
330 kyr Depiction of human form Berekhat Ram, Israel Homo erectus/archaic H.s82
>350 kyr stone wall Bhimbetka, India archaic H.s/Homo erectus83
>350 kyr Oldest rock engraving Bhimbetka, India a.H.s/Homo erectus138
350 kyr Oldest grave goods Atapuerca, Spain a. Homo sapiens172
350 kyr Oldest footprint of genus Homo Italy a. Homo sapiens179
355 kyr Oldest human footprints Roccamonfina, Italy archaic H.sapiens 170
3-400 kyr European huts Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus84
3-400 kyr paved social area Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus85
3-400 kyr oldest evidence of counting Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus86
3-400 kyr oldest religious altar Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus87
3-500kyr third oldest art Tan-Tan, Morocco a.Homo sapiens180
3-500 kyr oldest evidence of coloring Tan-Tan, Morocco a.Homo sapiens187
400 kyr wooden spear Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus88
400 kyr 3 component composite tools Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus89
400 kyr tools made by other tools Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus90
400 kyr wooden boomerang Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus91
465 kyr 500 degree C fire Menez-Dregan, France Homo erectus165
500 kyr case of syphilis Tangshan, China Homo erecuts146
500 kyr mineral collection Zhoukoudian, China Homo erectus92
500 kyr man and canine assoc. Zhoukoudian, China Homo erectus93
500 kyr Asian fire Zhoukoudian, China Homo erectus94
600 kyr scalping Bodo, Ethiopia Homo erectus95
600 kyr oldest Britain inhabitant Sussex, England Homo erectus152
700 kyr ocean travel Flores, Indonesia Homo erectus96
750 kyr European fire Escale Cave, France Homo erectus97
780 kyr nut cracking and nut crackers Gesher Benot Ya'aqov,Isr.Homo erectus158
800 kyr Asian hand ax Renzidong, China Homo erectus121
800 kyr Oldest home base Gesher Benot Ya'aqov,Isr.Homo erectus159
8-900kyr H erectus bedding Wonderwork Cave, S. A. Homo erectus98
970 kyr European structure Soleihac Cave Homo erectus?99
1.0 MYR tanning hides Swartkrans, South Africa Homo erectus100
1.0 MYR Oldest habitation of India Isampur, India Homo erectus150
1.0 MYR Oldest European Guadix-Baza, Spain Homo erectus151
1.0 MYR possible oldest nutcracking Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania Homo erectus159
1.2-1.4 MYR 2nd Oldest art/symbolism Kozarnika, Bulgaria Homo erectus185
1.36 MYR Asia north of 40o Lat.occupied Nihewan Basin, China Homo erectus123
1.4 MYR ritual dismemberment of Human Sterkfontein, S. Africa Homo erectus139
1.4 MYR oldest Acheulian hand axe WestNatron, Tanzania Homo erectus160
1.5 MYR evidence of fire Swartkrans South Africa H. erectus A.robustus102
1.5 MYR woodworking Koobi Fora, Kenya Homo erectus103
1.6 MYR oldest representational art Olduvai Gorge Homo erectus?104
1.6 MYR 480 degree C fire Olduvai Gorge Homo erectus167
1.6 MYR working with animal hides Swartkrans, S. A. A. robustus105
1.6 MYR bone tool Swartkrans, S. A. A. robustus106
1.7 MYR Human compassion E. Africa Homo erectus107
1.7-2MYR H. erectus leaves Africa Erk-el-Akmar, Israel Homo erectus125
1.8 MYR oldest human DNA Sterkfontein, S. A. A. robustus149
1.9 MYR Right-handedness Koobi Fora Homo erectus108
1.9 MYR Stones Thrown as Weapons Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania Homo habilis109
1.95 MYR Larynx capable of Speech Africa Homo erectus110
2.0 MYR Brain structure for Language Lake Rudolf Homo habilis111
2.0 MYR Windbreak structure Olduvai Homo erectus112
2.0 MYR Oldest Toothpick use Ethiopia Homo erectus113
2.2 MYR earliest occupation of China Renzidong Cave Anhui,ChinHomo erectus?156
2.5 MYR Genus Homo Lake Rudolf Homo rudolfensis114
2.6 MYR Stone tools Gona, Ethiopia Australopithecus115
3.0 MYR recognized art Makapansgat, South Afr. A. africanus116
3.3 MYR Bone tools Sterkfontein, S. A. A. africanus144
3.4 MYR TMJ Disease Laetoli, Tanzania A. africanus117
4.0 MYR second oldest Bipedalism Kanapoi, Kenya A. anamensis118
5.5 MYR hominid fossil Lothagam, Kenya Ardipithecus?119
6.0 MYR bipedalism Kenya Millennium ancestor145
6-7 MYR Oldest Hominid fossil Chad Sahelanthropus tchadensis163
Last revised 7-3-04
Posted on May 13, 2008
biocultural evolution
Biocultural evolution is a means of describing the influence of both biological makeup and cultural behaviors on human evolution.
SKIN:
-human activities/technologies have created holes in the ozone layer
-UV rays better able to penetrate through atmosphere
-tanning is culturally desireable
-skin cancer is occurring in higher frequencies
WISDOM TEETH
-modern diet and utensils render wisdom teeth useless
-more humans go through life without ever developing wisdom teeth
-those who develop them must have them removed because their mouths are now too small
MENOPAUSE
-50 years ago, most females did not experience menopause
-the human lifetime did not exceed the amount of time it would take to use all of a womanâs eggs
-menopause an expected part of a femaleâs life cycle
-lifetimes increase due to technology
NUTRITION
-corn syrup, transfat, white flour
-encourages fat storage and insulin production leading to heart disease and diabetes
-traits more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease are passed on
-in some cases, newborns with type 1 diabetes
BREAST FEEDING
-in hunting and gathering societies, breastfeeding may last anywhere from three to five years
-in western civilizations it can last as little as a year or even just months
-it is culturally undesirable to breastfeed for more than a year due to career and financial concerns
-western women become able to breastfeed for only about a year, whereas females in other civilizations maintain their ability for a longer period
FITNESS
-technology has promoted increasingly sedentary lifestyles
-the body loses its capacity to burn calories and maintain healthy function
-high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and other problems, are directly linked to modern diets and being sedentary
DISEASE
-due to antibiotics and their overuse, bacterial diseases have encountered adaptations which render them immune to many of these antibiotics
-the human race is now re-encountering these diseases once again and in greater frequency
LIFETIME
-average human lifetime is at an all time long due to technologies in medicine
-medicine technologies can combat infectious disease, genetic defects, and the like, which might otherwise kill humans
Fitness is only a temporary quality, and with a change in the ecological setting (both environmental and cultural ecologies), a behavior that was fit once, may no longer be so
There are three modes of selection;
1) Stabilizing selection tends to promote maintenance of the status quo, and functions as long as the environmental and cultural systems remain in equilibrium.
2)Directional selection acts to guide adaptionary changes to fit an environmental constraint. It is through this type of selection that most evolutionary events occur.
3)Diversifying selection acts to favor extremes of trait expression. It would tend to favor alternate forms of an expression, and tend to not favor a median form.
Further, I would consider the source of selective pressure;
1)the environment is the primary source of selective pressure, and is the ultimate test by which adaptions are measured for their selective value.
2)demographic conditions, such as population size, geographical distribution, and life table dispersions are also a source of adaptionary influence. Population parameters and interactions with the environment are the principal influencing factors towards adaptive success.
Posted on April 22, 2008
tools: a human trait
I have been approaching this project by distinguishing what makes humans different from other earthling species. The first thing I began researching was human consciousness, which I never really posted because the research was driving me crazy. I'm now researching tools, and I think it's too late at this point to switch anymore gears.
The nature of humanity is to make the environment adapt to his needs rather than adapting to the environment. This is accomplished through the use of tools:
Using tools has been interpreted as a sign of intelligence, and it has been theorized that tool use may have stimulated certain aspects of human evolution - most notably the continued expansion of the human brain.
Paleolithic [primitive tools]: Broken bones/stone tools
Cro-magnons [hunting tools]: knives, axes
Homo-erectus(great leap forward)[sophisticated hunting tools]: spears and MORE!
By the time of Homo erectus, small game hunting and large animal carcass scavenging were apparently becoming much more common. The evidence of this change in subsistence pattern can be seen especially at late Homo erectus sites such as Zhoukoudian. Literally tens of thousands of fragmentary food refuse bones were found there. They came from pigs, sheep, rhinoceros, buffalo, and especially deer. In addition, there were large numbers of bones from small animals including birds, turtles, rabbits, rodents, and fish as well as the shells of oysters, limpets, and mussels. Some of these bones ended up in the cave at Zhoukoudian as a result of large carnivorous animals rather than humans, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that by 1/2 million years ago, some Homo erectus were exploiting virtually every animal in their environment for food. They undoubtedly were harvesting vast amounts of wild plant foods as well. It would be a mistake to assume that Homo erectus had become an efficient specialized big game hunter. That development did not occur until more advanced Homo sapiens had evolved, several hundred thousand years later.
A clear measure of success in human evolution has been the progressive development of new food getting techniques and the inclusion of new food sources. These measures have made it possible for humanity to increase in numbers from a few thousand australopithecines in Africa 3 million years ago to perhaps hundreds of thousands of Homo erectus by million years ago. This trend of expanding and diversifying subsistence patterns making it possible for population growth continues to the present. In fact, it accelerated dramatically two centuries ago and is largely responsible for our burgeoning world population of over 6.6 billion people today.
Technology allowed for humans to expand into new territory as their tools allowed for more efficient hunting and gathering, they began moving further out into colder areas where meat was the main source for food. Fire was eventually discovered and utilized about 500,000 years ago.
The cultural developments of Homo erectus essentially began a new phase of our evolution--one in which natural selection was altered by cultural inventions. This has been referred to as biocultural evolution. Culture can affect the direction of human evolution by creating non-biological solutions to environmental challenges. This potentially reduces the need to evolve genetic responses to the challenges. Normally, when animals move into new environmental zones, natural selection, operating on random mutations, causes evolution. In other words, the population's gene pool is altered as a result of adapting to a new environment
Posted on April 17, 2008
What is a brand? www.brandchannel.com
"
That's right. We've all been using people as brand analogies for a long time (I regrettably told a client recently that their brand had just entered a stage similar to Elvis' cheeseburger and Vegas phase), but we are now starting to consult on brands that don't just display human values, they actually live and breathe them as well.
On the subject of Nike, there are no prizes for guessing the most obvious of the current crop of human consumer brands. That chap Jordan, with a range of shoes, clothing, fragrance and even a charity, all using his name in gain. Fair chance he fills out the professional category on his passport with the word "Brand".
So how does one become a brand?
Can one reasonably expect to launch their own (insert surname) fragrance? Most unlikely. You see human brands work in just the same way as product or service brands. They communicate values and perceptions - cool, sexy, athletic, funny or whatever, that resonate with the values of the target market. "Hey I'm a white, physically underdeveloped, girth over-developed man in my thirties, but hell, I want to be like Mike, so I'll buy his fragrance and then my friends will at least think I smell like him." Great.
Sounds ludicrous but this is the general theory with all brands. Share in something that appeals to you, and importantly, says something about you to your peers.
Brands conjure immediate perceptions of the consumers who buy them."
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what are we marketing? what is a human? what are humans good at?
who are we marketing to? audience?
what's the competition?
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Posted on April 10, 2008
Humanity blurb
What makes us different from other living species on planet earth? I tried to categorize the different aspects into as few categories as possible.
These are the special traits unique to humans against other known species on Earth:
-LANGUAGE: reasoning, expression, arts
-SOCIETY: social categories, families/nations, ethics, laws
-TOOLS:
-MANIPULATION: inverse adaptation
Another approach to define humans is by analyzing what makes up the term: humanities.
-classics (greek/roman culture)
-history
-language
-literature
-performing arts
-philosophy
-religion
-visual arts
-history
)) The first category, the classics, shows that this very academic definition of the humanities is based on the standard set by the greeks and romans around 1000BC or so. Yet "humans" have been around for at least one million years before the greeks established themselves.
SO although humans have still been physically humans for a while, we can see that there has been significant evolution of human standards within relatively recent history.
)) Listening to Megan's dad talk in our last class, got my mind working a little, as he put the project in perspective, and helped specify our subject matter and direct us towards an understandable purpose.
When companies rebrand themselves, they are renewing their image for the present. That is our goal for this project. Although the "classics" seemed to have defined humanity for many years, humanity in the 21st century has established a very different identity. Our goal in brand is to define and present that identity.
How and what makes us 21st century humans?
Posted on April 10, 2008
