May 28, 2007
Bad Blogger
Hello all.
My blogging skills aren't as sharp as most. I think I will be limiting my time here on my blog, even more than now. However I am an avid commenter on my friend’s blog, www.somerandomdude.net. SomeRandomDude's posting deal mostly with topics ranging from design (of all sorts) to the latest social topic. You can view my comments under the pseudonym, Wild Guess.
I wish I could have taken you on the train ride to Milan but that train has been decommissioned. If I have anything exciting or extremely relevant to write about, concerning industrial design, then I will.
Though I must say this…
I have been interning at an in-house furniture manufacturer. It has been a real fun and engaging experience. I can't even begin to tell you what I have learned. However, I can say that what I have picked up has been invaluable in my growth as a designer. The lessons were not solely about furniture but also design and what it takes to make a meaningful and important object. I think this could be brought across the entire spectrum of ID.
In a recent interview I learned a lot from a man who had strong convictions about design. What I got from that discussion was that it is not necessarily how you should design but why are you designing the way that you do. Who does it help, who does it hurt, and can I do it better. When designing an object try thinking about, "am I making this product the best it could be?" Probably one of the hardest things to do. Most can put a good style and form to a product but it should really go deeper than that. Challenge yourself and challenge the design's integrity.
I'm looking forward to exploring different avenues of design.
Posted by Will at 12:44 PM | Remarks (2)
February 05, 2007
Train to Milan
In the next series of blogs I will be discussing some furniture design. Though at the rate I am going my posts will be few and far in between. This will be a very long train ride.
I recently came across some old pictures an acquaintance of mine took when he went to Milan in 2004. I want to use these pictures so I can show you what the heck I am writing about. So the pieces I will be going over will not be that current but are still something fun to talk about. However, this will not limit me to the furniture that has come out in the time in between or the pieces to be coming up shortly in April.
Though not a furniture designer specifically I certainly do appreciate the aspect of design in furniture. I have done a couple of projects in school around furniture and they were very difficult. But the more I did and thought about them the more it really got into me how fun it all is. Experiences searching for the right material to truly express the meaning of the design are events that only some can truly grasp. Highlighting certain attributes about a piece that makes it really jump, or makes it lie calm. Making it is always the fun part because that is when you put down the think pad and get to doing. You realize sizes, dimensions, and how it feels; too low, too long, weird angle, or just right. It is fun to stretch the mind to really try something new and different to express your reflection of modern furniture.
There is a lot to be said about furniture and its design. Is it all about form, function, or a wonderfully blended combination of the two, finding a middle ground? What I find fun are the farthest reaches in either direction. When designers and craftsmen really get into their creation it can be wild. And that wild aspect is very important because why does the world need another chair? It is the creation of a fresh new viewpoint and item on an old topic that sustains the evolution of taste and modernity. So when a designer dreams up the craziest and produces a smartly crafted piece of design that object is their mark on the gigantic map of furniture.
That designer has just made a freakn' statement whether they realize it or not. This new object is them saying, “this is what I think of furniture and where it can go”. And the cool thing is that as designers we are never done. There is always more furniture to make and think of. Atomic chain reactions. Once you start going with one idea it can spur a dozen more. So the designer keeps creating, keeps going because there is always more. And why not? Just because you've done it once does not mean you cannot do it again. So let's keep making that furniture and making more chairs for the world to sit on.
Funny. Words like chair, seat, and furniture have different meanings to people. So when I say any of those words I am talking in the general sense because I like to mix words up. If I keep saying one thing over another it starts to sound repetitive repetitive. Unless I am being specific those words (chair, seat, furniture, object, and piece) will be used interchangeably, maybe. I am not sure yet. Sorry if this might confuse those with strict furniture design diction.
All this time and still I have not talked specifically about any one piece of furniture. Well I will save that for another time. Let this be the prologue before the action sets in.
Posted by Will at 06:25 AM
November 07, 2006
The Process of Design
So a good friend of mine has asked a most very interesting question:
"What is your process? What do you consider important? What is all hype to you? What works well in school but just is not feasible in the real world?"
Of course I am referring to the Random Dude's humongous question about how people's design process work. Well, ask a silly question get a silly answer.
My process usually involves thinking in the beginning; and I mean real thought thumping brain power going into whatever it is I am doing. Let's say I am designing something new about the toilet. In Industrial Design we like to know our user. Many times, at least as a student, designers will go and observe their users. Usually, we just watch and observe how our user uses what they use. The handy-dandy ID research kit usually include a small notebook, a pen, a camera, and possibly even a tape recorder. But enough about that - lets get into the gritty work.
With observations done and in-home interviews complete, us ID'ers like to stew and contemplate about our findings. "Hmmm", we say. "What can I do that is new enough to be different but not different enough that it might scare people?" After a lot of synthesizing and deducing through obscene graphs, charts, personas, storyboards, and brainstorming we come to finally drawing. Drawing is the most basic and essential tool in the ID arsenal, excluding of course the mind blowing thinking we do. Sketch, sketch, sketch...toilet, toilet, toilet.
So it is usually about here where things get a little more serious. Okay, we've been sketching and even computer rendering like crazy now and it is time to review. "Good idea, bad idea, scary idea, what the hell is that, why do you work here, that's not so bad, l kinda like this but can you use this over here and put it on this here, great...yeah." It goes like this for a while where more and more serious designer aspects come into play. Aspects like materials, color, form detailing, other refinements, and possibly manufacturing processes.
Finally, you get to the "do it or loose it" round - by the way I just totally made that up, like right now. Anyhow there is a lot of either "hey that's cool, real nice, this is coming together" or "I liked what you had two weeks ago, I think you're loosing focus, what happened to your concept, get out of my face, try looking at other people's work for examples and inspiration." Okay. So you either make it with little tweaks here and there or you get squished down hard core and still have to come up with something.
Regardless of your work there is still more to be done. You have to get the most amount of details figured out before you present it to your teacher or boss. Basically you go back again to the drawing board to make some adjustments and modifications. At this point you might have just figured out what you are doing because until now you have probably been lost trying to figure out your own concept. This happens most of the time. You are close to Jedi ability if you have a solid concept and know exactly how to execute it from day one. What was the subject again...oh yeah, a toilet. At this time your new and totally awesome toilet is ready to be unveiled with all of its awesomeness.
Here we go! (3-minute sketches to illustrate weeks of hard work)
That's right, the same damn thing that is already out there but a different shade of white.
It's a toilet that utilizes a monkey (with glasses) that flushes it for you.
I can't even begin to figure out how to use it. (AKA, the over-designed / over-engineered thing I need to take a dump in).
Or, the all that was needed was a better ergonomic seat.
So out of the group of designers or students this is what ends up coming out. One is picked and then brought through the production phase of sourcing materials and manufacturers to make it at a competitive price. However, there might even be a chance that it does not go into production at all. Then it all starts back over again.
Trust me, if I told you this in any other way you might have fallen asleep out of boredom. Yes, ID is possibly the funnest thing to do, EVER, but there is certain dryness to it sometimes. Kinda like British humor and even that is hard to get through. There are a lot of nuances left out of my article because each project is very different. There are about a million more things that go on and happen that are project unique.
By the way, this is just one of many methods that Industrial Designers use to create objects. There is another methodology that eliminates the research and the designers just design. They don't need to think and cram over copious amounts of data to design a beautiful object. They instead rely on their great talent and sense of aesthetics to get the job done. This is totally acceptable. In my mind there is no 100% right way or wrong way. There is just a way. It is up to you to find your way and apply it so. It is that kind of thinking that makes a designer unique and creative. If we all fit into the same mold of thinking and practice of design we’d still be using the candlestick instead of a light bulb.
Posted by Will at 06:08 PM | Remarks (5)
August 02, 2006
Glass Simplicity
The Pom Tea glass is a very interesting example of product design. First of all, it was an adventure trying to find it in the super market. One would suppose that these wonderful juices are located next to other beverages. Wrong! After approximately 21 minutes of searching, I found the Pom Teas next to the beer in a refrigerated corner of the market. (Very bad placement but that might be the grocery store's fault.)
Despite my struggle to find the POM drinks, the bottle design caught my attention when I finally found them. There are a couple of reasons why I think this is an appealing object. First of all, it is clean and clear, already nice and elegant to the eyes. The proportions of the glass bottle is also very attractive. Take a look. Would it be appealing if it were much more round and squat, or really tall and thin, or just a gigantic bubble-like thing? Proportions play a big role in a form's beauty. Too much or too little dimension in one direction can really create discrepencies with a product's form.
Now we will discuss the functional aspect of the product, which is the purpose of every object. (By the way, that was a very controversial sentence. Two words to further the thought: kid robot. I'll save that topic for later.) The glass' size fits nicely in your hands and it is a sensible shape. The cap and rim of the glass (where you sip) is very, very interesting. It is a huge freakn' opening! Just look at its proportions compared to a soda can, bottle of water, or even a bottle of beer. This quality in itself is fun, reminiscent of drinking from a traditional glass. This is not a good bottle for someone on the go (unless you are really careful), but rather a excellent bottle while keeping relaxed and sedentary. I have not done any experiments yet, but despite its tight seal, I would not want this container in my back pack. With a lot of movement and other objects in your bag, this cap could accidentally pop off. The bottle design forces you to stop, relax, and enjoy it in a calm manner.
I find the packaging strategy to be very innovative. The bottles are sold individually. But I can see them being bundled like a six-pack, so why not? Coke bottles have 3 or more fl.oz and they are sold as a pack. However a bunch of these POM bottles can get heavy and bulky. I think it is clever to only advertise the liquid and the bottle. No hyped-up, color crazy, trendy designs (vector graphics and gradients!) on the bottles or excessive packaging such as cardboard carrying cases, etc. Extravagent advertising is appropriate for some beverages but not POM tea. My point here is that POM emphasizes its unique branding and somewhat lack of a package design. This reflects the brand's mission statement, to advocate good health. They are not selling oversaturated sugar pop or decadence. No, they are trying to give you truth and well-being reflected through a very simple, understated, and beautifully designed glass.
Its shape and appeareance reminds me of a few things. The glass is almost shaped like a masonry jar or some kind of preserve bottle. But does its simplicity cause it to get lost amongst other bottles? Truthfully the POM glass does not "look" as entertaining or flashy compared to other beverage products competing for consumer attention. Does this mean that it is cheap looking? I think not. At the most, I would say that this is an odd-ball amongst its competitors. It does not have a screw-on top, yet it contains a liquid. If you notice, you will see that most containers have screw-on tops, caps (beer), pull tabs, or squeeze spigots (sport bottles). There are many ways to drink from a bottle. The Pom experience is reminiscent of drinking from a glass at home. Perhaps that's why I like it so much. The experience is comforting and familiar.
Another great attribute of this product is its sustainability. Besides being made of a recycleable material, this glass has the appeal of being used over and over again. 95% of products are turned into trash very quickly, from cradle-to-grave in the flash of a couple of months. However, when the POM bottle's jacket is removed (at first glance, you can't tell there is a piece of clear plastic wrapped around the bottle) it transforms the glass into something else, a keepable dishware with no advertising on it except for the POM logo. The removable plastic jacket contains all the ingredients and other adverising information. I know that as soon as I am finished drinking the juice, I will keep the glass. I think it would look nice as a longstem flower vase. Or a cup to drink cold iced tea. But obviously you could fill it with anything you desire.
Posted by Will at 12:39 AM | Remarks (2)
July 28, 2006
IKEA: places&spaces
Wow, this a loaded subject. But my focus for the hour is on this fancy-dancy new catalogue I recieved in the mail. Please excuse the images - I don't have a scanner. (And as for the writing, I have a weird mind. I don't know how I come up with things but all thoughts are my own.)
So...I open up the catalogue and I see products. Most look pretty good. There are a lot of cool and modern designs crammed onto the pages. Looking. Perusing. I realize then, that all of these products are in context shots. A definition of 'context shot' is what it sounds like... a product in its natural space. For example a blender sits in the kitchen, not a blender in the bathroom. So I'm looking through the catalogue and I begin to think about the invisible connection between a product and its space. I'm not just talking about a miniscule space on the counter or the table, I'm talking about an entire architectural connection--products in the entire house, the entire apartment.
It is very interesting to know that objects are created to be used. The same thing goes for buildings and their interiors. Everyone knows what a chair is, but people choose its form, dimensions, and material based on where it is going in the house. What I am trying to say, in a very round about way, is that there is absolutely no communication between architecture and designed products. People have to make these relationships on their own, by finding products to match the space. Places and spaces are made - different types of rooms built without furnishings (except for some things built into the structure like counter surfaces, drawers, cabinets and the such.) Your architecture is fixed, there is no altering the space unless you move into a new building or do alterations/renovations to your current property.
Despite one's fixed architecture, the products that adorn the space is whatever one can afford. It is like a set of scales. Usually its balanced. The quality of your furnishings fit the quality of your space. So what if you go on opposite ends: a dirt poor house filled with Alessi furnishings? Or you live in a huge freakn' place but own items from Clement street/Chinatown. This does not make a good relationship between the architecture and furnishings. Unless you are very poor there should be no scales to bind you and you can buy anything or nothing at all. Hopefully you will choose furnishings appropriate to your building.
Ok. a little off the point....back to my main topic. By the way, I am not always linear in my thought process. I usually go on tangents because I tend to get into every little possible detail. I jump around in my thoughts. Rarely do I get something and just run with it unless I'm being chased.
figure 1. My thought process vs. other peoples' thought process
Seriously. back on topic. What I am trying to propose is that it would be interesting to see a project where architects design a house and its spaces in conjunction with Industrial Designers, who create the objects in a way that coincide with the space; to spark some kind of mutual design language/dialogue between both fields. Maybe it has already happened. From what I can find, the closest thing to this relationship are toilets, showers, sinks, and refrigerators. Big basic objects already built in with the architecture. I mean, if you look at the IKEA pictures it appears as if everything is perfect. Every object fits in its space with proper proportions and color. What you don't see are the people behind the scenes building the set, painting it, and an interior designer coming in and placing the products for a great photo shoot. In this case, the interior is built to fit the products, not vice versa as it usually goes.
So what would my proposed project entail? Groups of architects and industrial designers getting together and creating a space, furnishing it, and adorning it at the same time. What this needs is a goal or a set of design specs. For example, "this space is for a young modern couple" or "this is to be disabled friendly," also "legal/illegal immigrant family new to SF". I mean, you can't just say to someone, "hey create a space"...we'll let you know if we like it. That just does not fly. (right PJ) I find that the more constraints and challenges that are imposed, the more clever, smart, and relevant the end result end up.
Posted by Will at 05:50 PM | Remarks (13)
July 26, 2006
OK so...
It has been a long time but now that I am out of school and unemployed I have a little bit of time to think and write, can I make this anymore of a run-on sentance? More to come.
Posted by Will at 07:26 AM | Remarks (6)
July 21, 2005
Summer Upkeep
Okay, so it has been a while since the last update.
Been busy with USF's 150th aniversary.
As you can see, some pretty crazy stuff. Unfortuneately, no assembly pictures. Before that grid was put up top, me and andother guy had to lash every single intersection point...12x12 grid so appx 144 points...with copper wiring. My arms were getting really cut up fabricating this thing. Not to mention we had to clean the bamboo because it was shipped in from two places: one in Marin for the little 8ft shoots / secondly those big bamboo timbers that measeure 12' with a 4-6" diameter.
Right now, working on a metal version but the opposite. Where this is a negative of USF's bell; the metal piece will be a positive. Lemme just say -cut and drill fest-!
For me, the boundaries between art and Industrial design are pretty distinct...sometimes, occasionally, often. And this is a conversation i have been having a lot with some Graphic designers... granted they are not ID people but they for sure are not in the dark about what ID is. I bring this up because of what I have been doing for USF recently. Yes, I would call this artwork - whether I had worked on it or had come across it one day. However there are some pieces of art that truely are designed or are created from feeling. I believe that Da Vinci is kind of a melter of boundaries. His paintings are some of the best artwork to survive from antiquity. Yet his pieces are deliberatly put together to guide your eye = form follows function, right? The form is his painting and the funtion is your observation of it.
Now wait just a second...have we properly defined design, art, form, or function. No. And I am not about to, that would be too painful to read or write in a big ugly block of text.
Going back to the original point of what I am doing. I am making these instillations for the 150th ann. Now they are art but I am helping to design and experience in the mind and the body...>especially for the bamboo piece. You can interact with it, it is symbolic, it creates feeling from movement and material, but also it actually does represent something----almost monumental (sculptural?). So is this art or design? I think it is art that has been specifically designed to make people feel, think, and remember.
Surely not industrial design because there was no research, no observations or interviews, no charts, no persona's,......wait.... there were sketches(numerous ones at that too), and there were models.....but there was no packaging, or any kind of mass duplication. Do we see how boundaries can get a little blurred here. The bamboo project is art but surely has some footing in (industrial?)design
Posted by Will at 09:34 PM | Remarks (1)