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.