The NY State Fair

A gathering of the most celebrated and unique characteristics of New York, the New York State Fair contains a plethora of designs. Here are some examples of good and bad design that I discovered during my adventure at the Fair:

This was a twist on the man on stilts- this costume incorporated with the stilts an animated mechanism resembling a dragon-like creature, to appear as if the performer was riding a live beast. The construction of the performer's costume and his pet was very intricate and exotic. Great design.

I glimpsed this fashion creation inside the Arts building. The artist constructed this figure completely out of miscellaneous hardware accessories, such as nuts, bolts and springs. The fact that the artist combined the innovative material with a feminine and fashionable character was much more effective than if they had simply used the materials for a figure without a personality. Good design.

While venturing through the Horticulture Building, I was looking over a selection of fresh grown vegetables and decided to document the natural forms and colors of these plants, which to the human eye are eye catching, and delicious looking. :) Good design, mother nature.

This was also in the Horticulture Building; I appreciated how this organic food booth designed a trash receptacle to resemble a tree with its narrow, cylindrical shape and bark print around it. However, even though it seems that this design was supposed to promote environmentalism, I get the message that they are using the friendly visage to cover up the bagged trash that will eventually be discarded in a landfill and joining pollution. Unfortunate as it is, good design doesn't have to be truthful design.

This was the craziest piano ever! It was one of those old fashioned ones that plays the song for you! Here's how it works: The music is recorded on a scroll of paper with morse-code-like holes punched into it. Once you insert it in the center of the piano, you alternate feet and pump two foot pedals, which rotates the scroll of paper. A system of vacuums then presses the keys down according to the location of the holes in the scroll. My friend and I actually got to play it, it was amazing! Great design. :)

This was the centerpiece of a quilt in the Arts building. I really enjoyed the bright colors used in the piece, and thought that the components of the quilt were structured together beautifully. Good design.

Although I'm not a huge fan of these dancing air figures, they certainly are good at their purpose of drawing attention to a specific location. It's hard to miss the sweeping gestures of these human-like figures towering above buildings and crowds. Good design.

This sign was wrapped around the top of a food booth. Its design gives off a retro vibe with its iconic lettering and neon lights. Combining these features with the classic America food that it serves, this food booth emits a recognizable and therefore comfortable and appealing image. Good Design.

Although I never found the legendary sandcastles that were supposedly at the Fair, I did happen upon this incredible butter sculpture in the Dairy building. It was about five feet high and kept in a rotating glass chamber, which I'm assuming was at a temperature that kept the sculpture from melting. I was most impressed by the cow "milkman" being able to hang out of the door of the milk truck. Yet despite its crisp construction and friendly theme, I couldn't help but be a little sad by the fact that all of the butter would probably be wasted. Nevertheless, good design.

These lemonade stands are my favorite thing at Fairs. Maybe it's because they are shaped like a lemon. Maybe it's because their natural ingredients make the tastiest lemonade ever. Maybe it's because they remind me of my childhood, when I played a Pico game with a pig character that drove a lemon car. Either way, this was a brilliant stand construction that perfectly represents the fresh and genuine quality of their lemonade. Good design.

Here are some designs at the Fair that I thought were less successful, although I had a harder time picking these out because there was so much GOOD design at the fair:

Although this design clearly depicts what snacks the stand is selling, I really don't like the design. It is a really bland two-dimensional image with an inactive composition and unattractive color palette.

This was the sign at the main gate, I thought that the design lacked creativity and the logos could have been more pronounced.

Crocs are a huge pet peeve of mine! Not flattering the foot whatsoever, this shoe looks more like a clump of rubber stuck onto a person's foot. Comfortable as they may be for walking around the Fair in, wasting money on this fashion disaster is a no no.

This door was in the Horticulture building, and it just stood out to me as very unattractive. In an environmentally aware stand, I would much rather look at and appreciate the simplicity of a nicely made wooden door, as opposed to one wastefully wrapped with a giant plastic advertisement, cute as the old man in it is.

The minute I entered the fairgrounds, I encountered this bizarre mascot. The idea of a giant platypus is pretty cute, but one being transformed into an alien with unreal neon colors? Not so cute. And the company could have put a little more effort into putting their logo onto a T-shirt for it to wear, instead of unprofessionally safety-pinning a print out of it to his shirt.

Before

&

After

All I have to say about this design: Recycling is a great thing, but putting trash in bags that A- are see through so that all spectators can view these unwanted objects, and B- aren't even strong enough to hold their required baggage isn't too great. Should have gone with Hefty.

This creepy character was outside of a scary walkthrough-ride. My question is, why make clowns creepier than they already are? I definitely wouldn't want my toddlers getting a glimpse of this frightening image. What's worse, they had a midget dressed up in a demonic costume walking outside the "attraction." Disgusting and unnecessary.

As soon as I saw this sign, my thoughts of sweet, delicious ice cream sundaes with chocolate toppings ran for cover. Eventually I discovered that this was made out of mexican ingredients, no ice cream involved whatsoever, but the name still sounds unappetizing.

Not to pick on these poor animals, but mother nature was being silly when she designed this certain breed of sheep. They look pretty bizarre with a body of white fur accentuated with black fur only on their head and feet.

Overall, there was a lot of great design to discover at the fair, even though there were some creepy and confusing designs as well. Nevertheless, state fairs are a great experience, and it saves you the task of traveling your whole state to get to know its quirks because they're all gathered in one area for you! If you haven't yet gone to yours, definitely check it out. :)