further adventures of the flying monkey brigade

Okay, so I have this online class.  It is called Design Team Production.  Basically it consists of working with a virtual team to design and create a board game for Tweens.  The basic premise of the class is really fun, and most of my team is great.  There are 4 of us, and Ashley, Kim, and I all work together fantastically.  We get shit done, we collaborate, and we come up with some fantastic ideas.  Member #4 - Rafael - is a total tool.  He never responds to emails, he half-asses all of his work, and he either doesn’t show up or is 30 min late to every single one of our live chats.  (This is after agreeing to be there on time, and after we switch the time repeatedly to meet his schedule)  When he does show up, he makes everyone want to tear their hair out.  He is obstinate, and in general a tool.  Last night we had another chat to get the assignment that is due tomorrow figured out.  Ashley had to leave ‘early’ (10:30 PM) b/c her daughter was sick, and Kim had to leave around 11 b/c his son has a college visit today.  They left me alone in the chat with Rafael, and this is what transpired (my commentary in italics):

Sun May 29, 2011 09:53:52 PM>Aubrey: rafael - do you have any changes you want to make to A3? (The rest of us had agreed on this at least an hour before this, but he still hadn’t given his opinion)
Sun May 29, 2011 09:56:29 PM>Rafael: well, I am still not sure about using primary colors. I still think that we need to use other colors…
Sun May 29, 2011 09:57:13 PM>Aubrey: did you read the research kim, ashley, and I posted? (All three of us had extensive research supporting the idea that kids and Tweens respond best to relatively bright primary colors - not so bright as to be too aggressive, but bright enough to stand out and get your attention)
Sun May 29, 2011 09:58:34 PM>Rafael: yes I did, but if you look at the pantone color website, primary colors are not the best colors to use in anything really (as far as I can tell this isn’t said anywhere on the Pantone site)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:00:58 PM>Rafael: why dont you ask the instructor, and she more than likely tell you to stay away from primary colors and use offset colors with different tints and shades  (see instructor’s response to our color choices at the end of this)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:01:49 PM>Aubrey: http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20892&ca=10 (this is a link to an article about why bright primary colors are the thing to use right now)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:05:13 PM>Rafael: exactly, did you pull the article? here is the link http://www.celebratewithstyle.com/site/hottest-fall-party-dress-up-colors (this article has nothing to do with the article I showed him, and it is about fall clothing colors for adults, it has nothing to do with Tweens)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:06:19 PM>Rafael: these are bright colors, (he is referring to his ‘research’ for the assignment which consisted of looking at a couple of websites devoted to how you should paint your Tween’s room if you want to create a relaxing environment) like the article says, but they are not primary colors. I have no objection in the brightness of the colors, just that I am not comfortable with them being primary colors, that is just to plain… (his color swatches were not bright at all - they were a bunch of muted jewel tones, mostly purples and blues - we are trying to create a gender neutral game, and his colors were about as far from gender neutral as you can get)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:07:33 PM>Aubrey: ashley’s research specifically says kids like primary colors. there is an abundance of research by everyone from psychologists to designers that says kids respond best to primary colors
Sun May 29, 2011 10:11:35 PM>Aubrey: “Bold reds and oranges may increase a child’s IQ as much as 12 points by attracting a child’s attention to details.”
Sun May 29, 2011 10:11:40 PM>Rafael: +———-
Sun May 29, 2011 10:11:41 PM>Rafael: * (I have no idea what these last two posts mean…)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:12:03 PM>Aubrey: “The ranking of color preference internationally is blue, followed by red, green, violet, orange, and yellow.”
Sun May 29, 2011 10:12:29 PM>Rafael: yes, but the research is aiming kids, we are talking about preteens, these are almost teenagers
Sun May 29, 2011 10:13:09 PM>Rafael: just take a look at the backpacks they wear
Sun May 29, 2011 10:13:12 PM>Aubrey: when experts classify kids they are from young children to preteen - teenagers and older are in separate categories
Sun May 29, 2011 10:13:54 PM>Aubrey: the preteens I know have backpack that are bright colors or black with bright accents
Sun May 29, 2011 10:14:07 PM>Rafael: are they primary colors?
Sun May 29, 2011 10:14:16 PM>Aubrey: red green and blue are the most common
Sun May 29, 2011 10:14:40 PM>Rafael: yes but are they the true primary colors? or are they tints or shades of them?
Sun May 29, 2011 10:15:00 PM>Rafael: I have not seen a preteen with a pure red backpack (btw - he has no kids, doesn’t live near a school, and as far as I know doesn’t even live near family who may or may not have preteen children)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:15:10 PM>Rafael: it is usually a darker red
Sun May 29, 2011 10:15:42 PM>Aubrey: orange comes in close as well. I see dozens of preteens every day when I take my daughter to school as thier school is next door to hers, I have seen tons of red backpacks. they are quite popular around here. blue and orange are quite common as well
Sun May 29, 2011 10:16:13 PM>Aubrey: the reds I see are pretty close to fire engine red. especially if they are sports backpacks (granted the school mascot is a cardinal, but he doesn’t need to know that)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:16:59 PM>Rafael: okay, we are just going to go on and on… go ahead and post the assignment like it is. I still do not think we should be going with the pure primary colors for the game idea.  (We never were going with ‘pure primaries’, we have some slightly milder colors that are almost true primaries, but not quite)
Sun May 29, 2011 10:17:54 PM>Aubrey: well, we can always change it later. as of now i think it is 3 to 1 on the primary colors idea, we aren’t all going to agree on everything, so I would have to say majority rules.
Sun May 29, 2011 10:18:14 PM>Rafael: yeah, bummer, that is how the world is…
Sun May 29, 2011 10:18:34 PM>Rafael: okay, have a good night. the next chat is tuesday, right?
Sun May 29, 2011 10:19:23 PM>Aubrey: yeah. 9 pm I think. I am sure ashley will send out an email reminder. have a good night.
Sun May 29, 2011 10:19:33 PM>Rafael: bye

This whole thing is after all 4 of us had spent 25 min arguing about the exact same thing earlier in the chat.  It was 3 against 1 at that point as well, and he finally said “Sun May 29, 2011 08:54:28 PM>Rafael: ok, we can go with those colors then”

I don’t even know what to do anymore.  The guy refuses to be a part of the team until he sees something he doesn’t like.  At which point he pitches a holy fit.  I am really glad I am not the coordinator for our team, b/c I would have flipped on him more than once at this point.  Ashley has the patience of a saint.

Oh yeah, and this is what our professor said when he looked at the color swatches that Rafael was so adamantly against:  “Your color choices are nice and really seem to have the same value to them…  You have done a great job on color determination based on target”

Take that jerkface!

Okay, I am done bitching now.  Feels good to get that off my chest.