REUPLOAD - Design Confusion Poster

Upcycled Usability

GEO lamp – Upcycling Usability

The GEO lamp was inspired by using geometric shapes to create a rounded form. The idea of this project was to create a second life for the posters that have been used by JCDecaux. In essence the project called for a high end, flat packable light that can minimize the amount of wastage of the material.

Through different experiments and changes in design I was able to come up with this final design for the GEO lamp. The material itself is very durable and possesses plastic and paper like qualities. The way that the GEO lamp is fastening utilises this property of the material. The strength from the material attaching onto itself is what gives the GEO lamp its shape and form. The cut outs that are inside each piece of the light also compliment the planes that the original pentagons and hexagons possess.

Overall the GEO does have a high percentage of wastage, which is one of the downfalls of this lamp. However it is due to limitations of the material that the design was chosen like this. The material does not allow much light to be diffused through which would essentially mean only dim light can be seen. So through the cut outs light can be let out and easily seen

Peer  Comments

Ginny Kwok

http://ginnykwok.blogspot.com/2011/10/glamour-hanging-light-upcycled.html?showComment=1318910494416#c4113681600271022243

Raymond Tinyow

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5926462513440034618&postID=3235386318547221543&page=1&token=1318910666574&isPopup=true

Oskar Carabez

http://ocarabezides1031.blogspot.com/2011/10/upcyclced-utility.html?showComment=1318945051834#c5016437457486454446

Ghina Ali

http://ghinaali.blogspot.com/2011/10/hero-shot.html?showComment=1318944417276#c1006775629971387926

Kevin Peng

http://kevinpeng3373311.blogspot.com/2011/10/blossom-light-shade.html?showComment=1318944795264#c765044747555443203

What is design?

Bill Moggridge – What is Design?

Bill Moggridge states that everything that is not naturally formed and has been altered or changed by man, is designed. In his talk about “ What is Design” he outlines and describes the design process, design styles/genres their target markets and etc.

Moggridge begins his talk by describing what is good and bad design listing different designs and iconic products that have won international awards and recognition. He specifically talks about how designs that have been targeted for people with disabilities/difficulties are usually well designed for that market but are also well designed for people without disadvantages and disabilities. The company that was used to illustrate this idea, was the hand tool company called “Smart Design” their designs are made for people with arthritic hands and disabilities but turns out they are well designed for everyday people to use too.

A clip of Michelle Obama is shown to highlight  the importance of educating students about design. She discusses how children in America haven’t been shown their (America’s) rich cultural life, and stresses that the wants to open up new opportunities for children to come into contact with their cultural lifestyle and enter into the culture of design and understand how it surrounds their lifestyles. Which further iterates the importance of design in our lifstyles.

Moggridge moves on to show designs of Architecture, Industrial design, Multi media design. In these examples he informs us of the differences between good and bad design. Some designs and designers that were listed included,

• ·      Frank Lloyd Wright, designing the Guggenheim Museum
• ·      Frank Gehry and his interpretation of the Guggenheim Musueum
• ·      Charles and Ray Eames and their “Lounge Chair”

He then brings up a very peculiar bad design, “I Mode” which is part of the early Japanese internet mobile platform. Though this design had many users the extent of using this particular platform for a suggested use has been poorly designed. A clip of a Japanese woman buying a drink from a vending machine by her mobile phone, illustrates how difficult and complex this process is. Moggridge explains that the lack of prototyping and testing of a product in real time situations could lead the design into being effect or ineffective.

Moggridge talks about the process of design. You begin by understanding people, when you have an aim to design for other people, of various ages, ethnicity, gender or occupation. The process of design is to find out what the target market needs.

• ·      Observation, by watching people to find out what they do
• ·      Asking, engaging and conversing with people to find out what their needs are
• ·      Trying, by experimenting with people to get a grasp of their needs

Moggridge explains that prototyping can be done by making both physical and virtual designs and these come about in three stages: inspiration, evolution and validation. He explains that making models and virtual platforms can do prototyping but it can also be anything that allows you to communicate your ideas and intention for your project effectively and literally during the stages of your project.

Moggridge also explains expanding concepts of design and how design is mainly in three categories,

• ·      Personal, expanding personal ideas into design to incorporate their designs in light of health or interests.
• ·      Social, expanding design into social activities and how there are connected to different ideas of design
• ·      Environmental, expanding design so they are more eco friendly, and sustainable

Bill Moggridge’s video is very enlightening as it shows and explains how there are different aspects of the design process and design thinking that can change and influence how a designer forms their ideas. It shows that by understanding your target market and using different models and prototypes and testing a design can be pushed to its maximum potential. This video really enriched my ideas and thoughts as a budding designer and made me realise and understand that a design is a designer’s “statement” to what their personal, social, environmental factors has posed on them 

Peer Comments

Vivian Ngo, 


http://vindustriald.blogspot.com/2011/09/studio-1-project-1.html?showComment=1317038262827#c6484994763355656187


Dominic See 


http://dominicsee.blogspot.com/2011/09/habu-kitchen-knife.html?showComment=1317038421721#c8866112516407707657


Zhang, Xiao Ya


http://2011jj.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-one-experience-enrichment.html?showComment=1317038627848#c9048951717813511763


Oskcar Carabez 


http://ocarabezides1031.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-1.html?showComment=1317038976562#c2950686734443749943


Christine Liang 


http://mad-attic.blogspot.com/2011/09/experience-enrichment-project-motar-and.html?showComment=1317039407814#c5994436037358187802

Product Redesign

Swallow  - Rationale.

Swallow is an ergonomic hand tool, which is used to score fruit peel, mainly for fruits with a tougher skin i.e., oranges, grapefruit, lemon. This hand tool is redesigned from less commonly know “ring peel scorer”.

The redesign of something that is less commonly used around the kitchen its to help create a better possibility of control when scoring peels. The actual product is made from food safe bamboo much similar to the materials used in chopping boards. The curves are streamlined and curved to fit into the palm of the user with an “inviting” hilt for the thumb to rest on. With a high gloss finish on the material it creates a “glinting” and appealing form to the eye and hand, the thumb rest which allows for more than one finger to pass through also allow for various ways of holding and scoring to adapt into your accustomed position.

The rear of the tool is used to pry off the peel from the flesh of the orange/grapefruit, the end of the tool is almost like a wedge making it easy to use the tool to push into the fruit to take off the skin. The thumb rest in conjunction acts as a secondary grip, which allows for more control and steering force.

The streamline shape of the scorer mimics the likeness of a bird with the detailing in the thumb rest becoming an aesthetic of the product. This takes likeness to a birds face with the eyes and beak hence the name of the product “swallow” which is a bird and also an action of eating.

The Swallow is a successful redesign of the less commonly known fruit peel scorer, which many people have ceased to use. This experience has been heightened and increased in pleasure as allows the user to have more control, enjoy the “fun” aspect of the product and overall bring an added desire to an uncommon object. 

The Story of Stuff

[ The Story of Stuff - Annie Leonard ]

             Annie Leonard is an advocate for sustainability. In her video,  " The Story of Stuff " she explains that products that we purchase are put through different systems, which cycles as the life of a product. These systems are : extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal, these processes are called the "Materials economy".


             The life span of a product may look like it is from when the consumer starts to use the product to when this product breaks or  is replaced, however there is more to this cycle, and this phase is only a small section of the linear cycle of the materials economy and a linear system cannot be run on a finite planet. 


            The first process in the Materials economy is called extraction,  the world is running on natural resources to produce products for the consumer, however over the last 30 years alone, naturals resources have been depleted by a third. From looking at the statistics in the USA alone,  there is only a shocking 4% of natural resources to be consumed not only does the states only have such a low level of natural resources left, they out put 30% of the world's waste. This is an example to show if, all economies were running in such fashion, there would be not enough of natural resources to use, little alone have enough area to dispose our wastes.


            The second process in the materials economy is called production, this is where people are using energy and toxic materials to create consumer products, this not only uses natural resources to produce goods it also produces large amounts of toxic wastes and other by products through this process. The people that run these production factories are also victims of this linear system, because they have no other options to work or live, they have to function as the "sacrificial lambs" to the material economy in this phase. "Toxics in Toxics out " is the catch phrase of this phase and is exactly how materials, products, resources and people are being treated ing the production process.


             The third process in the materials economy is called distribution, this is where the corporations (which have more say in the about consumer products than the government does) work to maintain consumer product prices are low, so the consumers continue to purchase and consume their goods. This process is mainly done by externalising the costs of the making the product, which correlates to cheap labour to sell the product, outsourcing to third word countries to make products which accumulate to an external cost that is almost invisible in the final selling price.


              The fourth process in the materials economy is called consumption, this the process that people are most familiar with, a century ago, the average consumption of a person was half of what it is now, this is because this rise in consumption was designed to happen. Around the 1950s, designers started a new trend  to "design for the dump", this mean that things were designed to be replaced or thrown away.  Designers now played with a thing called "preserved obsolescence"  which mean things were being replaced and thrown away though they were still working. The lifestyles that we lead today also play a large factor into how this obsolescence works. People unconsciously respond to this and keep on consuming products, much like how fashions come in and out of date.


              The final process of the materials economy is called disposal, this is the end of the system, where products are thrown out into landfills and when landfills are filled they are taken to another country and thrown into some other persons backyard. This process is where the most harmful toxins that are put into our consumer products are let back out into the atmosphere and subsequently is were this linear system stops, these toxins can not be put back into the natural resources to be made into renewable energy or the like.


             Leonard suggests, that it is not time to change how the products are made or sold, but it is time to change out this linear system, and change it into a renewable and recyclable one so we can help the planet and lead happier lives. As a designer these are the mind sets and invisible guidelines to run by, to create  sustainable and renewable products that can cycle a different materials economy which can circulate itself.


           

Some design sketches

My Design Career

Why I want to be a designer? or more importantly an industrial designer?

I originally started my tertiary studies doing, a bachelors degree in visual communications, mainly because I didn’t know where I wanted to go with my studies and graphics seemed like a path which was easy to follow, but soon found that, it was a bit to limiting when it came to industry jobs. 

I first researched into doing industrial design when I saw a couple of exhibitions about product design and soon developed a liking towards this area, mostly with kitchen products. With further research and interest in blogs and other mediums. Previous students also gave insight into the course and what was being studied and what kind of work or projects would be involved. This left a big impression on my design career as it made me feel that graphics were not enough to satisfy my wants.

The big jump from a course that deals with mainly 2D interfaces into a more 3D oriented field. The choice to go to UNSW was due to a few previous students recommendation, and with some interest with the UNSW campus, this was the choicest university selection.

As with every university degree, there is a start and a finish, and with this Bachelor of Industrial Design degree, I hope that I will be able to work as an in house designer for home ware design companies. I take great interest in household items and appliances, and with this thought, I would like to be part of a company that deals with these types of products.

From the lectures and different tutors that have been involved with this years course, it seems that there can be many possibilities with this degree, not limiting it to just product design but it can also be stretched into architecture, jewelry design, and other fields. Jewelry design is also a field of interest and could be a possible area in the industry where I would like to end up in.

As a budding designer there are many things that need to be learnt and experimented with in order to develop each persons individual flair and expertise. With the knowledge that is gained from this 4 year course, it will most definitely sculpt the unrefined raw capacity that each person has to become a designer with his or hers personal preference. Though this will be a long and grueling period, this experience is what will define each of us. This can already be noticed with the group and individual assignments that have been given to us over this current semester and last semester.

A designer is like a chameleon that changes and adapts to different eras, tastes, audience, and purpose and this is particularly evident in industrial designers, becoming an industrial designer means to understand all of those aspects and bringing them all together to design and create something spectacular.

Overall, the design journey has just started and through this course and this experience, I hope to reap many different skills and have many interesting encounters for there is a creative journey ahead. 

Tri Tek Pressure Reduction System Poster

I was assigned the Tri Tek Pressure Reduction System that is module that is part of the Ergo chair series, this technology aides in the experience of sitting and also creates a more comfortable sitting space on the their line of chairs. The product as a whole communicates comfort and support, giving the chair a a sophisticated look, however though the technology developed for this chair adds to the ergonomics of this product, the overall image of the product is still rather ordinary, not giving specific aesthetics to the chair. However the seat itself provides function and cause to the whole product. 

More Human.........

[ David Kelley - The Future of Human Centred Design]

                David Kelley suggests that design focuses on products as it always has been, and that the consumer, still focuses on the products and how hi-tech or flashy they are. But Kelley also suggests that over the past 18 years that people are more focused on human centred design. He says that human centred design is "designing behaviours and personalities into products" to make our jobs and lives more enjoyable.

                 This change in focus can really be noticed in the design process, as designers are now not only producing static images and models to depict products they are designing them and getting the product in motion, to allow people to understand and emote more to the product and allowing them to have an experience of it. Kelley compares this to how "architects show people in their houses, as opposed to them (the house) being empty.

                 An example of human centred design that Kelley showed in his talk was one of his projects for Prada, they had to construct a new personality for the new Prada New York store, providing it with a new cultural and retail role in the consumer lifestyle. This meant that they had a task of designing new and customised technology for the store rather than using any old scanners or fitting rooms that were already available to the market. The new technology that the store has, lets the consumer become more involved in the process of shopping. So shopping a Prada no longer means just pulling an item off the rack, trying it on and then buying it. The consumer now can choose and item and watch it being modelled on the catwalk through the store monitors, and when they go to change into their clothes the fitting room recognises what clothes are in the room and can show their selection on more touch screen displays and with new liquid crystal display technology changing into clothes means you don't have to go in an out of a change room  just with a flick of a switch be able to change in privacy or show your new items off. This means that through these aspects, they have designed an experience for the consumer making it customised and personalised.

              Another example that illustrated this process more definitively was the video showing Scott Adams "Dilbert", an illustrated person, and designing a new office cubicle for him, most people thought that the office cubicle was too "cold" and make the person sitting in the cubicle feel very unwelcome, when the redesigned the cubicle they made it so the cubicle was more welcoming and comforting to be in, creating a more personalised and fun experience to be inside the cubicle. This relates to how people want designs to be more inviting and more user related, almost saying that designs not only need to be functional and aesthetically pleasing they need to draw the user in and provide an enjoyable and made to fit experience.

              David Kelley's talk about Human Centred Design, gave a lot of insight into how designs need to be relatable to the users and how people need to understand that as people progress, design is progressing to fit people rather than vice versa. This is very relatable to designs and products in our current society, and even off the top of my head I can think of a few products that are now consumer related. We can see how much this has and is affecting designs every day.

Design makes me <---- HAPPY

[ Don Norman on 3 ways good design makes you happy ]

                    Don Norman says that design is beauty and his new life is about understanding what beauty is about, which more than often seems to apply to our lives a lot. Norman suggests that things that we find " fun and neat" which might not necessarily be useful can influence our desire for these products. An example that he chooses is Phillipe Stark's juicer, it is beautiful and sleek but when using it, is actually quite difficult to juice. People sometimes buy these products for their original purposes but in the end find that they become a way to connect people through its peculiar design, as they draw attention and spark conversation or interest.

                    Don Norman suggests that design is split into three levels, the visceral, the behavioural and the reflective, these become a structure of how you can understand the emotions behind design.

                   The Visceral level is, related to the biology of design, how the product has feature which communicate to us on a subconscious level, where we can immediately join the dots between features of a product and feelings/reactions we get from it. Like saying we can relate things like colour and symmetry, have more appeal and draw us to it or saying we see things that are pleasing, glass water bottles compared to plastic ones, we don't buy the bottle for the water, we buy the bottle to reuse it later as a vase or room decor, rather plastic bottles we buy it for the water but only to reuse it for more water later.

                    Behavioural experience is also on a subconscious level, automatic behaviour and controlled behaviour is also part of this experience. Design relates to this because as a consumer, you want to feel in control of what you buy and what you own. Norman explains this in the video by comparing it to a consumer purchasing a high performance sports car and driving it into difficult terrains, and being able to feel the power and subconsciously feeling the control of your environment. He also says that behavioural design allows for the design to communicate, as it gives an emotive sense to designs, where it communicates when things are safe or dangerous and we emote by being relaxed or being anxious.

                      The final layer is, the Reflective level of consciousness, this is relating to the choices of a persons consciousness, where we can feel the right and wrong in products or design. Like how we can make different decisions about how we want to portray our choices. Norman compares this in the video to how we make choices about buying products which reflect our actions, like buying and electronically powered car so you can be more eco friendly. It is like saying when you see something that is sturdy you feel safe and will buy a product for that reason, whereas if you see the same product but it is slightly broken or dirty, it detracts from the original safe feeling and subconsciously you know you wont buy the product

                     Overall, Don Norman's explanation of the 3 levels of design gives and insight to how to achieve a good design and what we might have to overcome or experience before we can attain an understanding of it. Even though we feel we our lives can be mundane, subconsciously  we are progressing through everyday with the design experience, the things that we may come across in a short days time, all have their stories which we subconsciously understand yet we fall short to notice until you begin to get insights about how design works with us emotively.

                     Design make me happy, and every page of my design story fills with knowledge and inspiration.