Part 1: Taking Notice

Three things:
1. Propel + Powerade bottle on my desk
2. Focusrite Audio Interface
3. California Ave

Part 2: Means + Ends - Functional Aesthetic Analysis
1. Sports drink bottles:

Function: To hold my electrolytes + hydration in a manipulable / portable container. One is designed with active motion in mind (small waist, bottom not stable) and the other (Powerade) seems to be designed with side court/field placement for breaks and changeovers. Both are translucent to make clear how much liquid is left.

Aesthetic: Both have cool toned secondary / tertiary hues (purple, turquoise) and the geometry of much of the branding is slanted which gives a sensation of imbalance, not in a negative way but rather by way of giving the drinker a sense of motion and action departing from stasis. Both have cool palettes which read as "cold" and "clean" before I even take a sip.

Means / End: It's a delivery system for water + electrolytes. As an end in itself it signifies my workout routine / training mode or at least reminds me that I should work out that day.

2. Focusrite Audio Interface:

Function: Translating between the analog audio world and the digital audio world. Takes the voltage from my mic (or guitar etc.), amplifies it through preamps and converts via ADC to a PCM buffer my DAW can use.

Aesthetic: Simple, red and black, portable and square. Warm enough to have a noticeable present but simple enough to stay in the background. To me this reflects its important but seamless function. One that I couldn't function without but that slips into the background as one uses it. "Ready-to-hand" as Heidegger calls it. The knobs are simple, tell me signal level when recording, and are otherwise dormant. Same philosophy.

Means / End: It's a converter at the end of the day. As an end in itself, it turns my desk and room into a place of creativity and production intent that otherwise wouldn't be there. It focuses everything into the DAW and something I can put to file in a cohesive project.

3. California Ave:

Function: Social and commercial street connecting the Caltrain station to El Camino and campus. Lined with restaurants, cafes, and shops. Closed to car traffic and walkable with a Sunday farmers market.

Aesthetic: Everything feels very human scale, buildings are low, the street is wide and sparsely filled with tables / chairs. The mix of restaurants and unique shops makes the walk down different every time. The lack of cars gives a sense of calm. The design move was mostly subtraction of original function (the road for cars), but it adds so much to the aesthetic of Cal Ave.

Means / End: As a means its infrastructure for grabbing a meal, general commerce, and getting to the Caltrain. As an end in itself it's a place where I feel I can just "be" rather than passing through.

Part 3: Guerrilla Design - a poem I originally wrote in a journal entry but added emoji/visual aesthetic to - I intend to animate over itself with the words yielding the animation

talkin c to the c
all that 💸 imma c
fly off the track
i'm too fly i'm off the map
i'm not a pharmacy but
damn i gotta lotta weed
💥 i onomotop
a little bitta brita see i
filter all my listenin
i'm pistons versus wizurds
i lose it
when i flip that board
i split that gourd
i chop it off the top [board -> goard + chop the top off the a = gourd haha]
on my light 💡 peek 
flip a light switch see
call a bnb off the dnd
☮️  * [peace hand symbol] * 2 what's new i'm
talkin mountain dews gg phew
🛹♻️