Monday, August 30, 2010

Task 5: Design Confusion

This task asked to find a confusing designed object or product which means that the user misunderstands the designers intent causing wrong usage and fustration. The confusing product I chose  to present is a fly screen door lock which operates confusingly. There is a misconception into how to open the door due to the multiple levers available.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Task 6: Life Pscycle-ology – The secret life of a little Mobile Phone

This short video animation reflects the life and value an object has, in this case, a mobile phone to a customer. It demonstrates the idea of built in obsolesces, meaning the process of a product becoming obsolete or not functional to a user after a certain period of time (e.g. a year) which can be planned or designed by the manufacturer or designer through its appearance, function, applications or influence by social life etc. It is seen that after a year a product can be put away and forgotten due to its in capabilities compared to newer models. It is conveying that a mobile phone needs new abilities and direction to succeed.

We are taken through the life cycle of the mobile phone from cradle to grave which is from the production of the mobile phone (materials it’s made of) to its resulting end of being eventually replaced. Through the simplicity of an animated approach of the video we are shown:

  1.  The mobile phone starts from little bitsof metal supplied by, ranging from gold from South Africa, Palladium from Brazil, Platinum from Russia, Silver from Mexico, Nickel from Australia and many more.
  2. There is then the transportation of it materials to factories.
  3. They are then formed to mass produce the same mobile phone.
  4. The mobile phones are sold and overly used by customers leading to disappointment of customers’ needs. Its functions are degrading, losing memory and durability of the battery.
  5. Leading to a replacement of a new more developed phone which acts more efficiently.

 The video continues to demonstrate how the obsolescence of a phone can be caused through the disappointing functional abilities it lacks causing customers to continuously replace them. With the new application of having a camera, the phone is replaced. The video also highlights how designers should take responsibility for the end use of the previous phone to avoid the disregard to waste of a phone. It points out that a phone should be designed better through:
  1. Design for Disassembly – recycle parts of the phone for re usability of materials or components e.g. shape, memory, alloy.
  2. Design for Longevity – to design with high quality materials, modular design, long lasting materials, appropriate coupling of materials, , upgradeable capability, not merely FAD fashion design, to avoid discarding meaning NO PLANNED OBSOLENSCENES. This only happens to 1% of 1 billion phones that get recycled to be reused.
  3. Designing for the environment – The end use of the phone is found in tips or waste yards but some are shredded to recover the most valuable pieces.  
The video ends by trying to present that we should value the mobile phones/products life as to recycle it for its valuable pieces after it’s obsolete to reduce its affects on the environment. This creates more money for companies by restoring the gold, silver Podidiam as they are rare resources to create new phones.

 
To see the video go to: http://www.thesecretlifeofthings.com/

Monday, August 16, 2010

Task 6: Emotional Design

Donald Norman’s approach to design is reflected through his opening statement “the new me is beauty”. His charismatic and humorous nature draws us in as he explains the importance of a products emotion as it reflects its end use. For example he has Philippe Spark’s famous orange juicer which he doesn’t use for juicing but it is a product he has for its pure beauty, emotion and sense of fun that it portrays. It highlights his theory of emotion which consists of 3 components beauty, functionality and reflection. For example the global cutting knife takes a wonderful fluid shape, its beauty is balanced to hold and feel, with the functionality of cutting effortlessly. He wants us to see and think of products the same way.

He explains how people are seeing products, their designs, but not noticing them. He clarifies this as the subconscious mind taking a design for granted. He is trying to make us understand that a products emotion, through its aesthetics and functionality should be fun and full of life. He states that “I really have the feeling that pleasant things work better...” For example he reviewed the mini cooper automobile, it was advertised to be a car of faults, although through his personal experience with the car, he found that this design can be neat, fun and controlled. It enables us to see that the emotion of a design can be portrayed through the physical being and experience one has with it. The idea of noticing the fun side of a product provides a better response for its quality than a review.

He moves on to explain how the emotion of oneself reflects on a products use. He demonstrates that a product needs to reflect a pleasant fun emotion for human interaction with it. He illustrates how intense fear paralyses you, it affects the way your brain works causing “depth first” processing as to focus and not be distracted. He gives the example were a group of students are told that an IQ test is going to be taken to determine their life. In a room two strings hang from the roof, they are told to tie them together but couldn’t due to this focus producing anxiety. Another group came in and was given candy. This made them feel happy and relaxed which reflected them solving the problem. It shows that when you’re happy your more susceptible to thinking outside the box, being more relaxed and creative. In relation to Donald Norman it shows that good ideas come out of a relaxed designer reflected in their work. The emotion put into a design then reflects the encouragement of consumers using it and how they use it.

This comes to my next point that the way a product is seen and felt to a consumer provides its different uses. Donald Norman states that human emotions are set “We dislike bitter tastes, we dislike loud sounds, and we dislike hot temperatures, cold temperatures. We dislike scolding voices, we dislike frowning faces, we like symmetrical faces.” This reflects our understanding and interpretation to products. He presents the idea of a visceral level of processing meaning when it comes to the design and emotion a product is portrayed through the colours, fonts, shape etc. which influence our emotion towards it. E.g. People buy the water bottle because of the bottle not the water, they keep it and not throw it away using it as a decoration they are emotionally connected. It’s about the visceral appearance. We use colour to portray emotion. The next level is behavioural design which is the feeling of control that a product should portray in usability, understanding, and feel. Emotion here is about communication and acting the way it is shown. e.g. The teapot shown, depending were the teapot is positioned expresses an emotion to the waiter that it’s finished brewing the tea. Then reflecting the ability to understand the emotions the design has.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Task 4: Design Excellence - Laundry POD

The Laundry POD, I see to be a product of great use to those who live in apartments, dorms, go camping and RV’s. It is a great innovative product for people living by themselves with a small capacity of cleaning that sensually replaces a big washing machine and house bills. It has an economical advantage. This award winning product was worth the prize as it has reduced many problems being a compactable device.

Analysing the product through line, shape, colour, texture, pattern, balance, rhythm, harmony, scale and proportion enables a greater understanding to the reason why a product looks the way it does and how visual communication affects a consumer’s reactions and understanding of its use.

Task 3: Product Sketching

This task was to go to the 80’s is Back Exhibition, the Re-loved Exhibition, the Australian International Design Awards Exhibition, the 20 years of Industrial Design Exhibition at the UNSW, the Workshopped Exhibition in Chifley Plaza and the Society for Responsible Design Exhibition. There we were surposed to sketch a total of 5 objects which were the best design. These are it:

 
One design that stood out from the 80’s is Back Exhibition was the Sony Walkman. It was the best design of the lot as I was able to see how technology has evolved exceptionally since the 80’s. I was able to compare how technology has changed from plastic cassettes to mp3/mp4 digital files to store music and how the consumers needs have changed from a simple want of listening to music to progress on having a devise that should be smaller, compact, big in capacity and stylish as well. Also being a person who owned one of these as a kid I was able to relate to this product, seeing how once it was the best way to listen to music on the move and how it was sought by everyone like the IPod nano is now.

  
From the Re-loved Exhibition, the design that was the best of the lot was the chair which was made out of one piece of plastic as if it was moulded to fit the human body. I liked this design the most due to its simplistic yet innovative approach enabling to produce a chair that is able to hold the average human weight in one piece.

 

The Australian International Design Awards Exhibition displayed a lot of innovative ideas but the one that struck out the most was the Signos Pocket sized Ultrasound system as the designer has reproduced an existing product making it portable. The ability of the design to do so has solved a problem when it comes to getting an ultrasound by pregnant women that may not be able to travel to a clinic. I was able to see the vital significance and convenience of the product and its ability to help women anywhere in the world that aren’t able to get an ultra sound.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
From the ID20, 20 years of Industrial Design Exhibition at the UNSW, the above object was the most appealing due to its shimmering and metallic exterior appearance.
 
 















From the Workshopped Exhibition in Chifley Plaza, The Chris Hardy – Oru and Powder Chair stood out the most as the most appealing as I wanted to recline in the chair and relax. It portrayed a firm and simplistic structure that can be sat in with ease.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The project by Xindong Che, Halo – conceptual surgical light from the Society for Responsible Design Exhibition, I found to be the best due to his conceptual idea of redeveloping a surgical light fulfilling its purpose but more innovatively. His design enbling to capture the light capacity in a surgical room by differing its shape to being curvature is brilliant.
 
These are other sketches I produced whislt at these exhibitions.
 




 

Monday, August 2, 2010

REVIEWING - David Kelley: Human Centred Design

David Kelley’s approach to design has more depth and intellect when it concerns a products interaction and centred need to humans. He gave examples of the Heart stream defibrillator that is saving lives and his recent release of the Zinio reader which in my opinion functions very similarly to Apple’s iPad. This technology deliberates on his expression of climbing “Maslow’s hierarchy” as a way to focus on human centred designs. He states that there is a “broader definition of design in products and services and environments” which highlights his philosophy on how design is changing to focus on human interfacing by designing behaviours and personality into products.

This change is seen as designers shift from building 3D models and rendering as an initial communication point to organising groups to take the designs and put them into motion to experience the man machines relationship and human interfacing. An example of this is the cubicles for Gilbert. This ultimate cubicle explored problems and extremes of a cubicle but also the endless possibility one space can have. Comments of feeling trapped, enclosed by people, feeling captive in a box also the sense of chaos were taken and explored to develop a cubicle.

This example clearly shows how through design and elements put into an environment creates a place with personality and behaviour. It elaborates on how this cubicle design in particular has focused on the human needs and wants in an environment and how the developing technology combine with design change in bringing two world closer together.

David Kelley talks about how human centred design, this change of focus of design, wanting personality and behaviour in products is to benefit the relationship products have with humans, designing them for their needs and specifications. For example the project on assisting Prada with technology in their retail stores was by designing a device that gathered and managed customer’s specifications. In doing so scanning items the customer is interested in, gathering information on a screen, looking at colour, size, appearance on a runway. This technology was developed for human purposes. It is able to show how humans are centring their designs to the importance of the fashion world.

The technology continues in the dressing room with the use of liquid crystal glass room doors that become opaque at a touch, while changing and open for opinion. Also the magic mirror which is a plasma screen of multi angle views with a three second delay, to view all angle of you. This project was to design custom technology embracing the idea of human centred design.

Through this example it is seen how David Kelley’s philosophy on design is accurate to our contemporary world. It provides a reason for the why we design things like the IPod touch, smart boards, touch cube, bionic ears, 3D visuals, Wii consoles, wireless systems etc. It is for our benefit as we are designing for ourselves.

Watching this video it gives you an insight on how the world is developing and how designing is becoming a part of our lives in ways to develop a better environment to live in, survive and be happy. It shows how designers address the needs of humans in most designs and the process they go through to satisfy the problem. Through the Appro Tec project of using manufactures in Kenya shows how we as designers make the world function through an economical advantage in helping others and ourselves. I have discovered the designing world interfacing with technology is growing and so will our capabilities to improve previous designs and past problems.

It is important for Industrial Designers to see this video as it allows them to see what capabilities we have and how we are affecting the world in a positive way. We are able to see other people’s designs and see their reasons and philosophies in doing so. We are able to aspire to become as great as David Kelley and know that design takes more than one mind but through team work as well.