Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Designing Dream Machines
The video showed a good example of brainstorming for a kitchen appliance first, a kettle and food processing unit. And not just any kitchen applience either, as through their brainstorming and thinking, ruled out some commom problems that appear in most other machines of this kind. Things like making the machine easier to clean, such as the mixing bowl, and giving it an organic shape so that it doesnt look like it should be hidden in a cupboard straight after use.
While Richmond Semore and Dick Powel's idea's and industrial design solutions are a number of steps above standard, what i really do take from the video is importance for designing for a market, that i changing, and will continue to change with their needs and desires and to be sucessful as a designer one should thouoghly understand their market.
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard
From the 19 50's we as people have been getting unhappier by the year, and it all seems to point to the idea of consumerism. Marketing ventures set out to not just inform you of a new product but to convince you that you need it, even and especially if it isnt necessary. And as has been this build up of stuff that everyone has that has been making people unhappy. Clearly consumerism has to ultimately stop being at the levels they are at the moment. However, unfortunately, we've built up ourselves a society that relies so heavily on either the success of corporate factions for jobs and money or the products themselves so much, that it would take such an enormous gesture from a government power to turn the situation around that i doubt we'd see any significant turn around in even the next half decade.
In saying that goals to turn the idea of mass consumerism around can be achieved at a smaller level by controlling what a comunity has access to, ie to make the purchasing of 'healthy goods' (healthy to the system) easier to obtain, as one example.
The goals that Annie suggest are good, not sure if they'd have a big enough impact, but her message is definately a point that should b heard by everyone.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Memory Web
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Bad Design - Bottle Lid
The Vinyl Wallet
Friday, September 5, 2008
Project One - Rationale
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Task 5 - Paul Bennett
Friday, August 22, 2008
Task 5 Yves Behar
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Task 5 - Ross Lovegrove
He opens up a box of possibilties, a box whose existence hasnt been known until now as material technology has advanced so far. I felt a really sense of progress as his ideas unfolded, and thought how people must have felt 200 years ago when aluminium was first being used and how vastly availble it is today. I cant help but see a revolution unfolding as Ross delves into what seems so logical to be our future, in design, nature and art.
David George
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Task 5 - David Kelley
His longest talk of the three delved into man vs machine and spoke about how difficult it is to gear both the human mind and instincts with the limited computerized intelligence of computers. I was suprised that he didn't delve into whether or not machines doing everything for us or knowing everything about us would be a bad thing. But he did show how good design ought to work in such a future where machines did a lot of the simple jobs we do now, that is to let technology tell us what it perceives the world around it to be, but to let us make the decsions.
David George
ARMARAC SERVER ENCLOSURE
Product Designer: 4Design
Product Manufacturer: Thureon Ltd
Silver – International Design Excellence Awards 2008
Shortlist – Australian International Design Awards 2007
4Design created a multi-featured enclosure for a small network, bringing a very original solution to a computing situation that has changed very little since the 1930’s. Armarac solves all the ergonomic, logistical, storage, maintenance and design problems, which all network servers of Armarac’s capacity have, all at once in a very clever, practical and unique design.
One prominent design change that defines Armarac from conventional network severs is the vertical orientation of which the network hubs are stored. This brings all the technical focus to a comfortable chest height and to go between network hubs the user literally flicks through the different hubs like a book! While this all looks a bit cramped for network hub storage, the hubs are spaced out inside the enclosure while Armarac’s superior fan cooling system provides a wholly revolutionised air circulation throughout the enclosure. The enclosure is uniquely wall mountable and uses a simply construction design to minimise manufacturing costs, to bring down the price for buyers.
Its futuristically sophisticated-look housing is offered in several colour schemes which are made available to suit the different and varying markets that this product will attract. Stephanie McLoughlin from Info World said: ‘The hinged doors open vertically, so the Armarac takes about 4 square feet of space when opened up, but since you're hanging everything on the wall, there's no squatting and bending to get access to the guts’. It features vertical clamshell doors for easy nothing-in-the-way access and the deluxe model even comes with a LCD screen and keyboard to access the network server directly.
4Design have re-invented the way we network severs, and have created a new and more harmonious relationship between us and computers and an extremely marketable product for an exurbanite amount of uses.
LINE – calm, solid
SHAPE – bold and prominent
CONTRAST – green window panels against black, stainless steel or red
TEXTURE – smooth, professional
COLOUR – industrial mat black, see-through industrial green, brushed steel
SCALE – life size, dominant
For more information visit these sites:
http://www.thureon.com/index.htm
http://www.networkcomputing.com/showitem.jhtml?articleID=199901909
David George