Project 2 Comments

http://3331203.blogspot.com
http://elementofhiphop.blogspot.com/
http://z3333129.blogspot.com/
http://z3333692.blogspot.com
http://jnham01.blogspot.com/

Project 2

Project 2 - Upcycling Rationale

For my Upcyling project I originally intended to make a candle holder from beer tops. After some discussion and (failed) attempts, it was ultimately decided that I should pursue to create a light using these abundant objects. I decided to create a light due to its necessity in the home. Without artificial light, it would be near impossible to see or locate things at night. My aim was to create a decorative alternative to such a commonly used household item. However I also wanted to be ecologically friendly in the design. This was an important aspect to me seeing as most electronic appliances use up lots of power unnecessarily. Beer tops are commonly known as ‘crown’ tops. They are used to lock in any liquid stored in a glass container, such a as beer bottle or older soft drink bottles.

After numerous parties and social gatherings, it occurred to me that I, like many others just throw out these tops. The more that I thought about it, the more it became apparent what a waste we were contributing to. Observations led me to see bottle tops just lying on the floor or in bins. It became more apparent that these had no real use after they were discarded, they couldn’t really be used again. This is what really appealed to me for my project, as well as the abundance of such objects. They are virtually at any licensed liquor outlet or any party.

The actual design of my idea took many forms before I decided upon my final proposition. I had many intricate ideas that never really came to life due to a few reasons, such as the complexity of the material I was using. Seeing as though the tops are metal, there was only so much I could do to deform it before it lost its original look, and therefore would become undistinguishable as a beer top. Another problem was the size of my design, to make it plausible the size of the light would have to be ridiculously large, which would take some time to complete, as well as collecting thousands of beer tops. After considering these and many other factors, the design I chose was simpler, yet still sophisticated.

I incorporated the use of beer tops with another item that is discarded once broken, coat hangers. I used the wire to create a frame for the light, and then proceeded to thread the bottle caps on the frame. There is no glue used in the construction of the frame, they are all connected by hooking the wire or joined with cable ties. Having the frame cross over at the top allows it to be used as a hanging light, not just a stationary table light, adding versatility to its function. The frame not being perfectly straight or symmetrical was considered part of the design as it helps to disperse the light in various intricate ways. If all the frames and beer tops were the same, the light would be dispersed evenly and look the same. But by not having a uniform and consistent frame, the light reflects off the displaced bottle caps and scatters it variously across the room, giving it its own unique personality and identity.

The reason there is no switch to turn the light on and off is to conserve power. Many electronics and appliances use up electricity even when they’re not being used. This waste is sometimes referred to as vampire energy or standby power, which adds up over time to our electrical usage and power bills. By not having a switch, users are forced to turn it off at the wall socket, hence saving energy and being more ecologically and environmentally friendly.

Video Response: Design for Life

The ‘Design for Life’ documentary embodies modern popular television shows such as ‘the Apprentice’ in which a cast of hopeful and aspiring designers are vying for a once in a lifetime opportunity, to work with one of the worlds most prolific (and at times controversial) designers, Philippe Starck. Starck puts contestants through numerous challenges, with contestants being eliminated until one comes away with the ultimate prize.

Throughout the documentary, contestants are given tasks to complete, all relating to the processes of design. Most contestants are met with Starck’s blunt and brutal criticism, yet some shine through and give hope that there actually can be a winner.

The tasks are truly relevant from a design perspective. Contestants are asked to create concepts and develop them further to reach an ultimate goal, which is to produce and market a product that can be successfully manufactured and retailed. It’s obvious that contestants have strengths and weaknesses. Some find the technical drawings difficult to complete, while other find the marketing concepts hard to grasp. I believe that to be a successful designer, one must be able to understand and excel in each of the various stages; otherwise the whole idea can just fall apart.

The documentary gives a good insight into the work that is involved in the design profession. Many people outside the industry just take products and designs for granted, not really understanding the time and effort that actually goes into the reasoning for a products design, look, colour, packaging etc. The documentary really puts into perspective the amount of time a designer puts into their work. Many late nights and early mornings were portrayed as the continued to find solutions and develop their designs to a level that would please Philippe Starck.

The documentary helps to show the processes involved in becoming a designer and all the numerous hours of work and dedication that is needed to fulfill a brief, no matter how simple it may seem. It has really helped me to better understand the necessary amount of time and effort I need to devote to a project in order to fully explore its avenues, as well as account for numerous set backs and dead ends. In the end, this documentary has really helped me understand the necessity of time management and how important it is not to take short cuts or the easy way out, as it more than likely ends up backfiring.

Project One: Blog Comments

http://thatssoeames.blogspot.com/
http://z3333622.blogspot.com/
http://z3337777.blogspot.com/
http://z3332715.blogspot.com/
http://rebeccawomersley.blogspot.com/

Project One: Technical Drawings

Project One: Rationale

Through personal experience and observations, it’s quite clear that most, if not all children between the ages of five and twelve years are at some point unorganised and messy. This can be attributed to the fact that children find ‘clean-up time’ laborious and un-entertaining. After all, what child wants to experience the painful hardships associated with clean-up time? Especially after they have just been through the emotional highs associated with exploring their creativity and freedom.

A major concern during my childhood, and many others was the fact that we would lose pencils constantly after drawing or colouring in. This often resulted in packs of pencils depleting at an alarming rate, which resulted in children begging their parents to buy more supplies to compensate for the lack of organisation. To combat this problem, I have developed a ‘fun’ and ‘pleasurable’ way to store pencils.  The rationale behind my theory was that children would be more inclined to clean up if we made the experience seem less laborious and more entertaining. This notion was influenced by Volkswagen’s initiative entitled ‘The Fun Theory’ whereby they experimented to see whether people would be more inclined to take the stairs rather than the escalators if they made it fun (in this case making it like a piano). It turned out to be a very successful promotion with 66% more people than normal choosing the stairs over the escalators, therefore Volkswagen came to the conclusion that ‘fun can obviously change behaviour for the better’.

My final idea encompassed a pencil holder shaped as an echidna, with the pencils acting as the ‘spikes’ to help form it’s shape. I also added a detachable pencil sharpener at the front of the body, as I believed that this utensil could be beneficial, as it helps to bring together two related and necessary pieces of equipment that would benefit the users. After trialling numerous variations in form, I decided upon an ‘organic’ and ‘free flowing’ body that would resemble the shape of an echidna, yet not make it too obvious. The reason behind my decision was that I did not just want this product to be a ‘one hit wonder’; I wanted it to have some sentimental value, such as it being handed down from generation to generation and becoming an heirloom within a family.

This reasoning also lead me to choose ‘rubberwood’ (also referred to as White Mahogany) as the material of use. Rubberwood makes use of plantation trees that have already served a useful function, hence as it is a byproduct and plentiful, it is cheap. This ultimately helps to lower resource costs, which in turn can be passed down to the consumer and marketed as an ‘environmentally friendly’ wood. The colour I used was a ‘burnt orange’. I wanted something that was playful, yet would stand out in a cluttered mess. It also helps to emphasise the natural nature of the shape. The earthly tone has a connection with the echidna, whose natural habitat is in bush land. The paint was non-toxic which was a necessity considering it would mainly be used by children, who at times tend to put objects they shouldn’t their mouths.

The size of the pencil holder was intended to be a bit larger than traditional pencil holders. Because there were essentially two components in the design (the body and the sharpener) the product had to be large enough so as not to choke a child if they put it in their mouth. Having large pieces also makes it easier to spot, especially in a cluttered room or desk where it is intended to be used. Twelve holes for the pencils were also purposely done, as most packs of pencils I researched came in a ‘convenient’ pack of twelve, which seemed to be an ideal number.

Project One: Four Pleasure Analysis

Project One: Context Of Use

Project One: Hero Shot

Video Response: Objectified

Humans instantly forge a relationship with an object, whether it is consciously or sub-consciously, we have preconceptions of the object and later draw conclusions based on the assumptions we had made. We assume the object’s function, how well it performs its job, its cost and even how heavy or light it weighs. The overall appearance of the object also helps (or hinders) to make assumptions about its quality and integrity. The video ‘Objectified’ explores these subconscious decisions through the expert minds of the designer/manufacturer, as well as the consumers that purchase and use the objects. The video provides an exclusive insight into the minds of industrial designers and how they were able to forge a unique bond with the product they designed as they developed it over time.

The video emphasises to us the many everyday objects that we as consumers take for granted every day. During our waking hours during the day we use many objects in our day-to-day lives, often dictated by routine, such as getting bowls to eat cereal for breakfast, as well as driving cars or taking public transport to get us from point A to point B. As consumers we do not really put any thought into the amount of effort and time that has been put into the products we are using, we generally just take it for granted that it is there and cab be used. As industrial designers however, we become aware of the story behind each product and all the development stages and processes that are involved from it being an early idea to a final manufactured item.

One of the main processes used in industrial design and manufacturing is that of a hierarchical relationship. The video explores this notion in relation to Apple’s new Macbook Air. It highlights the numerous processes that have been undertaken to reach the final product, from initial ideas, concepts and development, all the way through to the final manufacturing stages and marketing ploys. Hierarchy is needed to prioritise specific areas of the design that have to be addressed in order to make the product better and more superior that its predecessors or rivals, which in turn should lead it to be more appealing. Despite the uniqueness of Apple’s products, they do not follow the traditional ‘form follows function’ which eventually causes people to question the design, thus attaching a certain stigma to Apple products.

The video explores the various views on the complex nature of design, as well as the many underlying factors that in the end influence the final product. It emphasises the complexity of design and the numerous stages undertaken to achieve the final product.

Task 5: Design Confusion V2 - PS3 console

Task 5: Design Confusion

Video Response: The Secret Life of Things

This video really captured the essence of most modern consumer products, and how they have been ‘poorly designed’ so as to become obsolete and useless. The video uses an animated approach to emphasise the idea of the importance of sustainability and the growing number of consumer products that become outdated after initial use. The video uses an example of a mobile telephone manufactured by Ericson. After 1 year of its purchase and use, the phone begins to feel withdrawal as it comes to terms of its obsolescence, as it has been replaced by a more moderns mobile, with added features such as a new sleek design and camera. It was interesting to gain an insight into the different materials a phones components can be made form, as well as their geographic location. It is puzzling that all the minerals have to be first extracted then shipped off to another country for the creation and assembly of the phone, which I guess in its truest sense, is the definition of globalisation. But most importantly the video really highlights the extremely short life span of products, especially mobile phones. In this fast paced modern world, we all strive to have the better technology, for ease of use and to help promote our social status. These are the main reasons that technology such as phones have a very short life span, and of not designed to become sustainable or reused, can be detrimental to the environment. The phones can end up in landfill, which can hurt the environment as the phone slowly degrades; however the phone can also be locked away in a drawer, never to be used again, just forgotten about and unseen. The video does show however, the more responsible ways of combating the planed obsolescence of the mobile phone, by suggesting alternative design options during the manufacturing and production stages. The ‘doctor’ suggests that the manufacturers should have looked into the process of ‘design for disassembly’ which enables reusable components and materials to be recovered with ease. Another alternative given was the option to be upgraded over time, so as to have up-to-date software, similar to that of today’s iPods. The final alternative given was to design for longevity, such as having materials that are of a higher quality and last longer, are compatible to be upgraded in the future and that have no planned obsolesce. All in all this video helped give a better understanding of what choices I have to make as a designer. It really accentuates the product life cycle, from gathering the minerals for materials all the way to its use once it is no longer needed.

Video Response: Emotional Design

Don Norman’s discussion on emotional design was really intriguing, as he expressed a new way to look at objects, especially their aesthetics and functions. He highlights how people now, especially himself are becoming increasingly more intrigued by and objects aesthetics and pleasing nature compared to their function, stating that “My new life is trying to understand what beauty is about”. As an example to his comments he talks about his Philippe Starck juicer, produced by Alessi. He goes on to say that “It’s so much fun I have it in my house, but I have it in the entryway, I use it to make juice”. In this instance, I believe Norman is trying to convey the philosophy that objects or designs don’t necessarily have to be functional to become consumer items, so long as they are aesthetically pleasing. He continues to talk about his juicer stating that the manufacturer’s instructions were “Don’t use this juicer to make juice, the acid will ruin the gold plating” In essence Norman is trying to convey that items are so technologically advances, that at times functionality can become obsolete, or at least seem unimportant compared to aesthetics, or the feel and pleasure a product brings.

Norman also talks about the Global cutting knife made in Japan, highlighting its pleasing aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality. He emphasises that the complete harmony between these three aspects make the product work, and induces a sense of enjoyment, building a positive emotional relationship between the consumer and the product, going as far to state that “it’s beautiful and it’s functional”. However what began to intrigue me was how he perceived these positive aspects to become interrelated, hence creating a reflective state of mind that would induce the consumer to look back on the past and tell stories, such as how the bought the knife, or their first impressions of its functionality.

Another aspect of Norman’s talk that engaged me was his notion of fun, and how it can subconsciously affect our perceptions of a product. He gives the example of a ping pong table with a projector over it, showing fish swimming. As the ball lands the fish swim away. He clearly expresses that this is not the most functional way to use the objects, but he does reassure us that it’s fun and playful, which is what attracts us as humans, it engages us enough to want more and experience the situation further. Throughout the video he points out objects that have functionality faults, but highlights their aesthetics and how ‘fun’ they are, which is what drives consumers to purchase them, even though they may not be the most functional product on the market i.e. the Mini Cooper.

In today’s world it seems that most objects’ functionality has been perfected or is close to perfection. It highlights the need for new avenues to pitch ideas to consumers. The notion of fun and emotional design is an aspect that is becoming increasingly popular today. As long as it makes you happy, people will buy it.

Task 4: Design Excellence:

Video Response: Human Centred Design

David Kelley’s video on Human Centred Design had some very interesting aspects into the relationship between designers and consumers. He emphasised from the beginning a shift in design philosophies over the years, stating that they “were focused on products, or objects, certainly technological objects”  but in recent times, designers have been focusing on “human centred design” which involves designing behaviours and personality into products. It seems that this shift has helped to promote products ergonomics and is helping to create a new interaction between the user and their chosen product.

For example the video showed the work Kelley and his associates were doing with the high end fashion store Prada, creating a unique interface for both the employees and consumers to use. It is this new technology that makes its easier for both employers and consumers to choose or suggest the relevant items to purchase while also saving time. He specifically talked about the RF tags that were attached to items in store, hence allowing scanners to display information about the selected item, such as the sizes available, colours and predetermined suggestions on how it may be effectively worn. This new technology is greatly beneficial to the customer as they can make informed decisions on the items they are able to purchase, but it is also beneficial for the employee, as they are able to have a greater understanding of their customer’s needs and wants.

Kelley stresses the importance of considering human behaviour, such as personality in a product, as it promotes a unique interaction with the consumer. It shows the large amount of research and development that takes place to create a link between the human centred design and the product. It seems as though the new way of designing is to make products and item more interactive with humans, thus creating a more user friendly and fun relationship between the user and their product. This can be seen as a competitive edge over rival companies, as most people would tend to choose a product that is easy and enjoyable to use. The example given in the video is the interactive wall in the London Science Museum that is “based on the London subway system…the goal is to bring some of the feed back that people who had gone to the museum are giving for everybody to see”.

In today’s rapidly changing world, designers need to find new and unique ways to set themselves apart from their rivals. Focusing on human centred design helps to achieve such an outcome by personalising and creating a unique interaction between the user and their product.

Task 2: My Design Career

As a young child I was always interested in building objects and exploring my creativity, whether it was playing with Lego, painting or drawing. I was a very curious child, always questioning the motives behind objects and their purpose. I would constantly destroy birthday and Christmas presents, just to see what was going on the inside of the toys, much to the dissatisfaction of my parents. As time passed and I grew older, that love never really changed, the only difference was that I was able to find new endeavours to promote my abilities. High school was a major contributor to the decisions that ultimately influenced my choice to undertake Industrial Design.

Through years 7 and 8 we were required to take woodwork, which I grew very fond of as it allowed me to physically create objects, combining technical precision with creative flair. This practical based design was different to what I had experienced before in primary school, it took patience, ingenuity, technical know how to fully create an object that one could be proud of designing. However it was in year 9 and 10 that I began to discover the wonderful world of CAD and its infinite possibilities. I was drawn to its versatility in being able to create three dimensional representations of objects on the computer, then being able to bring them to life through renderings. My fondness of CAD led me to choose Industrial Technology Graphics as a HSC subject. Through my HSC course I experimented with more complex CAD programs that once mastered allowed me to create realistic objects. Many of my teachers would comment on the time I spent on my HSC major work, saying that if I spent as much time on other subjects as I did in Graphics, my results could have been outstanding. But it was the puzzle like complexity, methodical thinking and realisation that when I was finished, I could be proud of my design, that spurred me on to spend what some would say a ridiculous amount of time focusing on one subject. It was at this stage during my senior years that I decided to pursue a career that involved me using and expanding my knowledge of CAD programs.

In the end undertaking a Bachelor of Industrial Design at UNSW was the most logical choice for me to reach my career goals. I was interested in the Faculty of Built Environment as a whole, and I was particularly drawn to its Architecture and Landscape programs, but ultimately it was Industrial Design that I believed to be a better fit, and that would allow me to explore and expand my current knowledge. However it must be said that my career ambitions have slightly changed. Recently I’ve been more interested in the product development stage and marketing techniques involved in selling a product, so if it seems that becoming an industrial designer is not for me, I would still like to participate in a similar field such as marketing or product development.

Task 1: Shape of a Scent

For Task 1 we were put into groups and given a smell to analyse. After smelling the scent, we had to brainstorm our initial emotional response, such as the feelings and thoughts that were associated with the scent. Our smell was very fragrant and floral, thus giving the group an indication that it may have been used by women. For myself, it brought back moments of nostalgia, suggesting it was worn by elderly people. The smell itself was quite sharp to begin with, but then slowly died away as it did not linger to tantalise our senses. 
We quickly brainstormed what we thought the scent's shape, line, colour and texture would be if we were to represent it in a plasticine bottle. My final idea of the bottle was to look like a cylinder that had been sliced diagonally in half. the top pointy end was to represent the initial sharp smell that we first experience, with the slope signifying the dying down of the scent after our initial exposure to it's fragrance. The other purple plasticince side was to replicate the same features of the cut cylinder, emphasising the sharp smell and its gradual decline.
However once we finally saw the results of our scent, we were shocked to see that it was actually marketed for men. This completely threw the whole group off guard, as we were all adamant that the scent was intended for women.