Video Reflection - Emotional Design

Beauty and Function......

This was quite a fascinating presentation on design by Donald Norman and as a user we interact with a product on a number of levels thus determining how we use and look at it.

The way we emotionally interact with a product

is so important, and surpasses the function of it all together. The very first product, the Philippe Starck juicer produced by Alessi really sets the standard for form over function. It's use ; that being a juicer is totally pushed aside by its quirky shape and free forming creature-like type shape. He speaks about having the limited edition gold plated release, and as he explains there is a large sign which comes with the juicer letting you know not to use it to juice anything as the acid from the fruit will strip the gold plating off.

This is irony in design at its best.... Here we have a product which was designed and constructed to be a juicer, and when all is said and done it doesn't actually achieve this well. But its fun to use, and fascinating to look at which makes it an effective product.

The next product I wish to talk about is by Hiroshi Ishii and his group at the MIT Media Lab. Specifically their projector ping-pong table, which has the coy fish project onto the table and ripples of water every time the ball bounces on the actual table, consequently making the fish sway away from the ball. The actual effectives of the product is quite easy, it needs to be able to bounce ping-pong balls. The addition of the projector doesn't actually make it a better table to play on, but it does allow the user to interact with the product on a emotional level unlike that of any other ping-pong table on the market.

The ability to make a mundane, normal object "fun" and more importantly fun on an emotional level is the absolute key to a good design.

Concept Sketches

DESIGN ONE

Here is a design I was looking at which was has the ability to screw apart into smaller pieces. This makes it very portable and because it is hollow, it is very cheap to produce and very lightweight.

DESIGN TWO

Here is the second design I was working on. This was a hybrid design, where I combined both the shaving cream and razor into one design. it allowed for the shaving cream to be detached and refilled with a new one.

Mood Board - Mens Razor

Here it is finally! The mood board... I tried to create a board which captured the essence of what my product will aim at. I chose to do a mens razor, the disposable single use kind.

I chose images which created the idea of speed, freshness, movement, surging of emotion and a sense of excitement you don't find with other razors. The lifestyle and lifestyle choices the user of my product lives is attempted to be captured with the bungee jumping, sky diving, snowboarding... its the adrenaline and the chase of that rush.

I hope you enjoy the poster and thanks for reading....

Possible Ideas.....Brainstorming

Here is a little bit of brainstorming I did using a cool free service called bubbl.us.So i basically concentrated on the bathroom, kitchen and lounge.Enjoy

Powerhouse Museum Sketches

Here are some sketches I did whilst I was at the Powerhouse Museum....

Task 4: Design Excellence Poster - Palatometer

So..... this is the Palatometer, yes I already know what your thinking... this is another fancy smanchy piece of post modern homeware which everyone must have but no one really needs. You'd be incorrect!!! it is actually something quite different and after winning the IDES 2010 Award for product design excellence in the interactive product experiences category, a few other people thought so to.

What does it do??? Thats the question I asked. Well after completing this designer poster I can safely say I know what it does and how well it does it. It is a device used to measure the way the tongue moves

inside our mouth. And it is expected to

change the way we deal with speech impairment

and learning more about how the mouth pronounces the words we learn.

I also added in of my sketches just to demonstrate some of my BRAINY brainstorm techniques....

Will it change lives forever?? Well hopefully for Michael its does because he will one a hell of a lot of money out of it, and thats always a good thing at the end of the day.

Below is the final poster which was created using Illustrator for the major creation of the elements and Photoshop was used for the final touches and exporting of the file. So enjoy the finished product and thanks again for reading...

Video Reflection - Human Centered Design with David Kelley

This is my own personal reflection of a presentation on Human Centered Design by David Kelley. The link to the video is at the bottom of this post.

I found this presentation to be quite fascinating. I think the topics chosen to be featured and spoken about by David Kelley definitely fit and succeed in solving the problems of Human Centered Design. The futuristic approach taken to the designing of the Prada Store is amazing and really sets the standard for products to come. It’s almost like a futuristic approach to design. They have created an environment which is totally interactive allowing a 21st century approach to shopping. It’s so exciting to see something as simple as something utilizing technology to its fullest. Its even just the little things like the three second delay on the mirrors which causes a stir in the audience, those small things which change something from a good design to an excellent one. The environment becomes integrated with the user.

Then when he shows the London Science Museum, it’s easy to see that they have taken a huge step in the ability to make information interactive. They have solved two problems; the information from comment boxes is now displayed as an artwork, and teenagers are educated on a variety of different topics with a huge interactive touch screen. And even when a design team attempts to recreate the perfect office cubical, its all about the question of getting the human body to be the centre of the design.

It’s almost as though the link between human and machine becomes gradually smaller and smaller as time goes on. Once he unveils the world premiere of the Spyfish its clear that this product has captured that link. They have designed a machine which allows the user to interact with their environment like never before. Never before has the ability to use an underwater camera been available to the general public. Even down to the remote used, it is all wireless, user friendly and user integrated. It’s a high range piece of underwater equipment in the price range of the general public.

Overall this video left me with a sense of excitement. The reflection on Human Integrated design in that presentation was very broad and touched on things which are going to change our society and will continue to change our society as that technology is improved and perfected over time.

My Design Career

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be a designer. It all started when I was probably about 10, I received a technical drawing kit for my birthday. I was so excited I opened the plastic wrapping to get straight into it. From that point on I’ve always surrounded myself with art and design whether it was music, film, television or a variety of other medium.

So as I made my way through high school, visual art and design and technology where always my strongest points. It was the favorite part of my school life that I can remember, sitting in the art rooms sketching away; and working my way through a variety of projects in the wood work room.

As I progressed into the later years of my schooling it became evident that this was where I would take my career. I excelled in both my Visual Arts and Design and Technology MDP’s. I received a nomination for the DesignTech Awards held at the Powerhouse Museum each year. I also entered one piece of my Visual Arts MDP into a local art contest and received a Highly Commended Award. Unfortunately I was short in receiving a spot into university at the end of my hsc.

I consequently went finished a Cert IV and Diploma in Digital Media, and then went on to work for nearly a year at Moreton Hire in the signage department. In those three years I gained a vast array of designing and graphic skills. That period of time in my life allowed me to truly realize that I wanted to go further with my knowledge of design and being able to build the pictures I was drawing. I had always wanted to go back to uni and try again. I came across Industrial Design and I had always wanted to look into this career. I decided to apply again and consequently here we are now at this point in time.

I hope that after I finish this course I pursue a career in something that changes the world. I have been to a lot of places and I think the world needs to change and creating something which makes the world a simpler, easier, better or just happier place is the key to design at its simplest form. In essence design is the way we find something in the world and strive to make that better than what it was previously; whatever that might be. If I can pursue a career which achieves this then that is design. I enjoy designing so much so I think no matter where my career leads me as long as I can continue doing what makes me happy then that’s what it’s all about.

I enjoy so many things and it would be hard to pinpoint where I would want to work, I could say that I want to work in medical research, but the truth is I would gladly work for Audi any day of the week.