Upcycling Unwanteds

I did a vase with photo frames, which can also be used as a lampshade. I made use of the shape of the coffee lids, and how it has different diameters of circles in one coffee lid, so that it can be stuck on the accurately cut-out polypropylene. The polypropylene and coffee lids are dependent on each other, because they act as fasteners. Without either one of the components, the final design wouldn't be achieved. As the transformation poster showed, no glue was used.

Besides being different from other products and glue-free, it also has the advantage to be customized. Since no glue was used, all the coffee lids can be easily taken out, without destroying anything. (Although they can be easily taken out, doesn't mean that it will fall off if someone touches it). Therefore, the coffee lids can be turned inside out depending on the user, giving the vase to have a capacity of maximum of 24 photos and a minimum of zero. The cut out bits (cut-out circles) of the polypropylene will not be thrown away as they will serve as circle templates for photos which fit into the vase.

Peer comments:

Jill Darbey

Hyo-Ju Cho

Julian Chow

Chelcie Nielsen

Daniel M. Kotzen

Seymour Powell: Designing Dream Machines

CFAAV 745.2/26

It's quite amazing how big companies like Seymour Powell also started their products by surveying the target market and brainstorming, which is the first step we're supposed to do whenever we have a design assignment.

The brainstorming session has no limits to it, so they just think and write down whatever things they want the market to sell. After that they choose the most useful and creative ideas out of all the ideas, and narrowing it down one by one. At this stage, they still don't know if it's plausible or not. Then, they sketch their concept ideas in less than 3 hours. After choosing the one concept that they think is the best, they make the model, ask other people's opinions and improving it over and over again. Up until the point where they're satisfied with it, they then make the real model. After that, they brought it to the market and put it on the shelf, then ask the marketing manager whether he likes it or not, whether it has its "personality" or character that distinguish it from the others. (It's the X-factor that leads us to buying the things we buy. X-factor is "Do I like it?", "Do I want it?")

In short:
Brainstorm > narrow the ideas > draw concept ideas > narrow the concept ideas > make model > make the real thing (after all the improvements until satisfied) > test it on the market (ask consumers what they feel about it) > go on production (if results are good).

For some of the projects, they need to survey their target market. So, for example, to design the Indian scooter, one of them went to India and observe, ask and investigate what the consumers buy and want, what they consider as good (the video shows that India has a different definition of sleek as angular and sharp, which is different from what Seymour Powell think of it). Then, they do all the brainstorming stage and went back to India to ask if they will like it or not, what they think about it. Then it goes on and on until the production stage.

What I learn from this video is that all designers start of by brainstorming and sketching their concept ideas, and the most important part is to ask other people's opinion, especially the target market. As designers, we have to receive whatever opinions are being given, so that we can improve our designs, because in the end, we are designing for the consumer and they're the one who's going to buy our products.

So in conclusion, designers work for consumers?

Annie Leonard: The Story of Stuff

http://storyofstuff.com/

Most of us don't know how the system really works, because no one teaches us about it. All we know is that we're using too much resources, and it's running out. (Although in the past decade we have been taught of recycling).

What Annie Leonard says is absolutely true - we don't know how much resources we use a day, how many people in this system paid with their future because they're forced to, etc. What's worst is that advertisements tell us that we're "wrong", except that they're the ones who's at fault for only showing us the shopping part, and not the extraction and production parts.

Also the national happiness fact that it has been declining is an interesting one. My father told me before about his childhood, and it sounds VERY different from my childhood. I didn't think about it very much, but now I know the reason why - because we choose stuff over families and friends. Some people think that stuffs can make them happy. May be. But not as happy as those without stuffs, surprisingly. Take the example of poor people, sometimes they look happier than we do. Why? Because those people have strong bonds between themselves.

Moreover, it kind of makes me feel guilty when she says, "... these (industrial) designers are so opened about it. They actually discussed how fast can they make stuff break but still leaves the consumer have enough faith in the product to go buy another one". But I realized that I am not them, so I don't have to feel guilty. And what I need to do is change this "System of Crisis".

Postal Present

I did a fruit bowl for my postal present. The design is very simple - it's just a flat tray bent with the help of a strip. The material used has to be bendable, strong and be able to retain its shape.

It is made up of 1 flat A4-size and a strip of cardboard. My initial idea for the material was metal, but then it would be dangerous because it will be very sharp. Then after talking with Peter, he recommended aircraft ply, but I asked the shop and it's very expensive (around $130 for 1200 x 1200). So another material recommended to try using was laminex, which was also too expensive. Therefore, I tried using polypropelene, but it wasn't strong enough. So I had to use cardboard.

The cutting diagram for the tray and the strip that holds it in place:

Peer comments:

Glenaldy Janto

Wawen Chen (Sarah)

Chelcie Nielsen

Susanna Li

Stanley Wong

Bad Design

'The Duet' Apartment has a very unique lift. You can't just press the floor number to get up, instead you have to press a 5-digit code number for YOUR floor, because it's different for every floor.

The designer most probably prioritize the safety of the residents, but it makes it hard to operate, especially for elderly.

My proposed improvement would be to change it to operate like a normal lift.

Ross Lovegrove: Organic Designs

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ross_lovegrove_shares_organic_designs.html

To be honest, this is one of the few inspirational talks I've heard. It is an emotional talk, and to me it seems like he's not having an easy time talking about it because it's a hard thing to explain why he is so into nature's organic design and his passion, although he enjoyed it. It's also very unbelievably incredible how he sticks to his philosophy of nature, no matter what people think. He doesn't care about standards, he just wants to take those "inspired-by-nature dreams" home. He's trying his best and reaching for his dreams.

His concept of DNA (Design/Nature/Art) is the thing that conditions his life, and based on this, he designs. His design of the Ty Nant water bottle looks different from the others, and its form touches people's soul and emotion just like what he said at the start of the talk about what he wants to talk about. However, I personally think that what makes that bottle special is the fact that it fits every hand (and he said that every bottle is different) with its unique form. Another very interesting design is the future car - no engine, everything's holistically integrated, less material, sustainable, aesthetically pleasing and useful both as a car and a street lamp. A very unique and thoughtful design.

In short, Ross Lovegrove aims for a fat-free, healthy and efficient products - using less materials and different and more unique forms. He believes that the most beautiful forms are found in nature, and only nature, and so he tries to learn and apply it to his designs.

Experience Enrichment - WHISK

Mood Board:

Poster:

My design is a squid-inspired whisk. I got my idea while I was thinking why whisks all look the same, and what if children use it (children who enjoys coooking, baking, etc.) Wouldn't it be more fun if it's more colourful? different, playful shape? Target market is children, mainly ages 8-13. Although, older young-at-heart people would also be interested in it. The value I wanted to imply was FUN, which is represented by the shape and colour. Striking colours are used so that it's appealing and inviting to children. The colours also generate happiness which in turn brings about creativity.

The whisk also has a new function added to it; it can hold water inside the handle and water will come out from holes on the tentacles. Open the top part of the handle (like opening a bottle) to fill water in, and twist the bottom part of the handle to let water flow out from the tentacles.

The real product will be made of silicone (handle) and strong plastic (tentacles). Also, it will be available in a variety of colours. There are no sharp corners for safety.

Physio-pleasure:

• different shape from other whisks, new feel to the touch of a whisk
• comfortable, good grip

Socio-pleasure:

• social identity (children, young-at-heart people)
• talking point because the product is unique and quirky

Psycho-pleasure:

• fun to use, so, fun in the whole process (cooking/baking) too.
• interesting new feature/function

Ideo-pleasure:

• fun and refreshing view for people in the kitchen as they don't see colorful whisks very often
• the squid shape can be used to introduce children to animals

*( Thank you to the little girl for being my model, and the parents for the permission (: )

Peer comments:

Fiona Lee

Nicholas Walker

Valerie El Khouri

Maria Park Eun Ji

Claudia Zhang Meng Lei

Yves Behar: Designing Objects that Tell Stories

http://www.ted.com/talks/yves_behar_on_designing_objects_that_tell_stories.html

What Behar focused on was values - creating and keeping in mind values in work that we do, so that we can change the world, eventually. He designs things that are not only attractive or functional, but both, and he wants to satisfy the human needs and create a difference, which can be seen from the works that he's done.

"... advertising is the price companies pay for being un-original"

This statement is absolutely true. No one really thinks about why advertisements all contains the same content, and talk about the same thing. So then, keeping this in mind, Behar went to start his own company, and work not just on the skin, but on the inside, outside; the whole thing - human experience. I think all designers should have a mind-set like this, and if they do, there will be no such thing as useless design, which will help the world be a better place.

Don Norman: Emotional Design

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/don_norman_on_design_and_emotion.html

Sometimes people buy things out of their necessities. The reason for this is because a certain emotion/feeling is generated when he/she sees it and they would like to feel it again. It's different for everyone.

Don Norman explains that when we are happy, new ideas come out, we think out of the box. However, under pressure, the brain defocuses, therefore we can't really think of anything creative. He also talks about the 3 levels of brain processing - visceral (e.g. typefont, colour), behavioural (e.g. usability, understanding, feel, heft) and reflective. Furthermore, he said that emotion communicates and interprets the world. That is what I feel the most important thing in this video.

I think everything that a person buys reflects what kind of person he is, and from the objects, he would like to show his emotions. Everyone's thinking is different, that's why there are so many things in the world. That is also, I think, the reason behind 'no design is bad'.

Good Design

The Passat CC by Volkswagen is a four-seater four-door coupe. The 'CC' stands for 'comfort coupe'. It combines the appearance of a sports car and the interior of a saloon. It clearly expresses elegance and high class by use of its colour and also the silver lining around the windows and doors. The shape of the car ensures aerodynamics, while the lines represent speed. The large sunroof may be the most interesting part of the car, it aims to provide a bright, airy feel while driving, as it occupies more than half of the car roof.

Completing this task forces me to analyse a good design, and consider how much thought was put into it. Also, it teaches me to not take something for granted.

David Kelley: Human Centered Design

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_kelley_on_human_centered_design.html

In the video Kelley talked about human centered design - design which takes into consideration human's behaviours and personalities. Therefore, design now has a broader definition which includes the environment and services in it.

He introduced a few designs that I've never seen and heard before, but the most interesting one was the high-tech Prada shop in New York. Careful thoughts of how to serve customers better was really evident in the design. Other examples - the Science Museum in London with its interactive walls, defibrillator, cubicle, e-magazine, Spyfish and the water recycling system, are all human-centered designs, which some of it we may have heard of, but may not have realized that it's made for the consumer to be closer to design, and that consumers are invited to relate with it.

This video is very important to designers, especially industrial designers, as it shows how advanced technology has become and how design is following the trend by incorporating technology into design. Also, it reminds industrial designers that they need to design products that are useful and accessible (reasonably priced) to the society, which makes lives easier.

Shape of a Scent

The main elements were:

-flowing

-feminine

-strangling (choking)

The final design, slightly changed from the previous one (below). The base was cut off because it didn't add to the meaning of the design.

The basic shape was a portray of a feminine figure, with flowing and strangling (as if choking) elements.

Inspired by flowers, because the perfume did have a sweet, floral scent. The flowing element was represented by the organic shapes.