Bad Design

Project 3 peer comments

Phil Pulido

Hyo-Ju Cho

Jill Darbey

Chris Hui

Greg Shar

Upcycling. project 3

I tried to make a lamp shade out of the bottom of cans. Originally it was meant to be a more spherical shape but in the end I couldn't get the tensions to work right. The project was actually a little intimidating because I had a lot of trouble visualising how it would work. In the end it turned out okay.

The choice of material was primarily based on the ubiquitous nature of cans and the clean shiny surface you can get from them. I concentrated on limiting how much of the label surface was visible to the user so that also dictated the form.

Designing Dream Machines

This film gives an in depth look into the entire design process from start to finish. Though surely exhausting, the design process appears to be full of variety. From market research, concept sketching, client meetings, modelling. These designers probably don't get bored too often.

The film shows how it is important to be a team player. One of the key concepts regarding this is communication. Being a collaborative process, the designer needs to not only come up with solutions but also convey them. Strong communication skills are needed not just within a design team but also when addressing clientele, target market, investers, manufacturers... etc. Each discussion requires a different vernacular, a different tone and what not. I find this aspect of design very interesting because it necessitates that you know how to play the game , talk the talk and other kind of Jedi-mindtrick type stuff. Any designer hoping to lead a team would have to be competent in such sociopathic skills, and yet level headed enough to keep a team under them.

Annie Leonard - The Story of Stuff

Someone showed this video to me ages ago. I have mixed feelings about it. The film has as its core argument that our consumerist lifestyle, fuelled by a linear system of production, is not environmentally sustainable nor ethically justified. This is a world view which, I am lead to believe, is not inaccurate. So of course I would advocate change just like Annie.

However, I wonder about her methods. She uses, it seems, some skewed facts and figures designed to appeal to viewers emotionally, which is possibly justified as long as they are correct. The breast-milk toxicity is one of those statements. There are claims out there that some of her facts a plain lies but in this heavily politicised debate who can you believe. So I suspend judgement, I suppose.

Either way, designers should try to be world savvy, just like the rest of us should, and I am certain that watching videos like this does not achieve that. It does raise the question about how much the designer should be clued up regarding society and science though. More than the average person?

How much clout does a designer have anyway? In the film, Annie says that it was ID'ers that gave us product obselescence, but surely at the behest of manufacturers, right? So, are ID'ers gonna be able to make the changes or is it more likely to come from the manufacturers who employ us. Just like that video before, where Lovegrove whinged about Sony, implies . Maybe those ID'ers that make all the art stuff have some clout, being artists.

This issue of consumerism is pretty closely linked to ID. If we curb consumerism, does that mean that ID shrinks? Less consumer goods means less peeps needed to design them right? Or maybe we keep consumerism and just make it completely sustainable? Is that possible?

The Story of Stuff

peer comments: for postal presents

Valerie El Khouri

John Biet

Kiran Kashyap

Lucinder Waters

Sam Whipp

POSTAL PRESENTS

The idea to somehow make a tape dispenser from sheet material was a little spontaneous. I guess I liked it partly because it would be an object that was fully functional and not too hard to make.

I was also not confident that it would look especially good, so functionality was a priority for me on this project.

So basically my goal was to somehow celebrate sheet material qualities by focusing on how the 2D-ness of the material could be transformed into a totally functional 3D tape dispenser, aesthetics were secondary.

After tossing around concepts with chunky slots, hollow shapes and flimsy materials, I was given the idea of simply layering the material to create the 3d dimensional shape. I went with this suggestion because it would be stronger, thus more functional, and wouldn't require form-fouling slots everywhere, so would look better too.

The choice of clear acrylic was based on the need to see how much tape is left on the role, plus the strength and thickness properties of it. Perhaps a translucent colour would have fulfilled that need too. Nevertheless, I think the way the light bounces around inside the clear acrylic layers is pretty nice.

Ross Lovegrove: Organic Design.

Ross Lovegrove's designs are all about organic form and growth patterns. He also sees in nature a resourcefulness, 'fat-free', and constant self-refinement, and he uses these ideas to frame his work. Some of his designs are really quiet beautiful and sure designers should look to nature for inspiration. Our aesthetic sense is very responsive to nature, and is probably founded on nature. And, like he says, nature has solved a lot of design problems that we might do well to learn from when trying to improve efficiency, and sustainability. I remember a series on TV that was all about how nature 'invented it first', so his idea is nothing new there.

What I'm not sure about is his criticisms of other styles such as blobbism. I don't know what elevates his aesthetic over other 'funky' styles, except maybe his advocacy of resourcefulness, but he can't seriously maintain that he sticks to 'fat-free' design. If his designs truly are as practical and resourceful as he suggests than why aren't they selling all over the place? because they're damn pretty enough to. I think he's just trying too hard to justify his way of doing things.

peer comments:

http://fanruwang.blogspot.com/

http://stanleywong1.blogspot.com/

http://filpulido.blogspot.com/

http://julianides.blogspot.com/

http://z3255629christopherhui.blogspot.com/

Rationale

The pepper grinder idea was targeted at peeps in the city who wanna get closer to nature, but not too close. This consumer is attracted to the aesthetics and constructed ideals of nature rather than real nature with all that dirt and stinging nettle.

I tried to enrich the experience of using a pepper grinder by appealing to my chosen markets values. Firstly, on a visceral level, it's form is obviously derived from nature -- a weather worn pebble. It is pretty looking and nice to touch. Plus, I reckon there's a nice connection between the rock-ness of it and the action of crushing something.

However, Originally the item was not meant to suggest a rock. It was gonna be some kind of long levered device which split down the middle to accentuate the action of breaking something. The rock form won out because it was more ergonomic and pretty.

On a more reflective level my object is reminiscent of the times when people used stone tools for food preparation. Perhaps an age when meal times were more important social gatherings. Or simply when human life was not so removed from nature.

I had some thoughts about detailing the rock like a touch of metal or wood, or a little embossed Chinese character. But in the end I didn't trust my ability so I left it simple.

Project 1.

Pepper grinder

Yves behar: Creating objects that tell stories

This little TED talk starts out with an interesting idea. The speaker, Behar, has a desire to design objects that tell stories. What does this mean? I don't think he gives us a clear definition -- he's another one of those arty fellas who think it's cool to be cryptic, maybe? He gives some examples of a carpet and piece of furniture which had characters in various poses of action such as a hunter lancing a wild animal. I can understand that these objects tell little stories with heroes and beasts, but they do it like a picture book, with pictures. What about cars, toothbrushes, fridges and milk cartons, how do they tell stories?

Well, watch the thing right through and you notice a definite motif that pops up throughout. He talks about how products can communicate certain values to the user. For example, Alot of the new designs these days are biodegradable, come in recycled materials, are coloured green, and are more efficient. These qualities represent environmental values, which the user will respond to, subconsciously or not, agreeably or confrontationaly, or something in between. That Jaw Bone thing he talks about, I think, has some functionality to quieten ambient noise whilst using it. This implicitly reaffirms society's value of communication where ever we are.

So back to this 'products tell stories' statement. I think all he means is that objects can convey and reaffirm values for the user. Is that telling stories? I wouldn't say so, but it's still a cool fact to know. This is yet another way that design influences people. I bet Norman would see this as mostly happening at the reflective level, but I'm sure it permeates all three. This is an empowering tool. Society's values are changing all the time. Being reaffirmed, challenged, skewed, rejected, throughout the media, politics, art, research, technology, education and so on. Admittedly product design is not the most communicative of mediums but I can see how it does have a role.

Apart from those ideas, his video was a little bit of a confusing ramble. Also, I'm not sure I understand the need to give every dev. world child his/her own laptop. Surely most of them could get most of the same benefits from sharing desktop computers? Maybe then the saved money could go towards treating malaria, cleaning water and the like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGn8F4j6pH8

VIDEO REFLECTION: DON NORMAN: EMOTIONAL DESIGN

The Kelley video told us to make human-centered design, now the Norman video tells us how to do that.

The model Norman gives us is not an attempt to illustrate how human cognition, feelings and decision-making actually work, so people wanting more of an understanding of the psychology behind product interaction would have to look elsewhere. But I think the model is very useful in giving a starting point for thinking about the psychological human factors of a given product's design.

The model can be used as a framework for thinking about all kinds of human reactions to products and objects in general. From the predominantly visceral attraction to order and unity, probably consistent throughout mankind, to the various cultural tastes, the reflective level, and all the highly subjective experiences such as nostalgia and the like.

By chance I actually bought Norman's book at the beginning of first semester when I needed something to help me get through long commutes. Although I can't remember that much It's pretty interesting here and there. The video distils it WAY down so it pales in comparison to the book.

Anyway I think the important thing to take from Norman, like in the 'human-centered design' video is that there are so many facets of the human condition (such as the breadth-first/ depth-first thinking) that designers can exploit and utilise in making products that sell. I can't remember for sure but I think there was an example in his book about a clothing store that used disorder (nonsensical section layout) and loud music to cause a slight level of anxiety in the customer. So when the shop assistant comes up and 'saves' them from the disorder the customer become submissive, in-dept and grateful to the shop assistant and thus more likely to buy clothes. Marketing companies know all these things and I think designers should too. It does sound kind of psychopathic, manipulative, and unethical, but hey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQEoJaLQRA

The good design task.

Mine was the Peugeot 308 Touring. A weird looking car. It was hard trying to think of good things to say about it. It's more about function than form I think. But I like the sunroof feature.

What I learnt most with this task is how to use photoshop which I've only had for a few months. The assignment asked to 'discuss' the visual design, which from my essay writing days means put points for and against, but the assignment was called 'Good Design' and presumed successful employment of design elements so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to actually discuss it at all! So I just put in the 'good' designed aspects of the car. -- So yeah, reaffirmation that these arty classes are confusing.

Video Review: David Kelley: Human Centred Design.

David kelley, one of the founders of the IDEO design consultancy known for its innovative electronics, tells us that his business is moving towards a more human-centred design philosophy. What exactly he means by ‘human-centred’ is not made terribly clear in the video, but it’s not too hard to make an inference. By ‘human-centred design’ Kelley seems to mean making products that are not just functional and aesthetically pleasing, but that also exist as part of the higher levels of the human experience. In other words, designing products that don’t just fulfil a utilitarian and aesthetic need, but that engage users in the realm of emotions, culture, personality and the like.

Kelley admits that this is something that designers have been doing for a long time, and now his team is catching up. Some of the more notable of these design projects include the interactive wall at the London Science Museum which displays countless little thoughts and messages that anyone can upload and read, and the client data infrastructure at the Prada clothing store. The interactive wall, to my thinking, creates a public space where the given society’s current feelings and thoughts can be expressed with anonymity and without context; a mini zeitgeist observable in real-time. The designers mightn’t have intended it for such but I think an object like this would be a great sociology research tool.

The client data infrastructure tool at the Prada store also sounds awesome. People that live in smaller towns know the advantages that come with being friends with the staff at the places you shop at. However, in the big cities this is supposedly lacking. The Prada shop aims to alleviate some of this anonymity by keeping a record of the client’s shopping history. I imagine that this would allow for some semblance of a closer customer relationship. For example, staff might send out emails to shoppers when there is a sale on certain brands they know the shopper likes.

Some other designs shown in the video have a dubious, if any, relevancy to human-centred design, like the Spyfish, which I think Kelley just wanted to plug! It is just a remote-controlled diving video camera for underwater observation. On the website it says it goes for something like US$15,000. To me it seems to be just a really expensive toy that isn’t any more human-centred than most stuff.

Still the video puts out a good point. Sure, designers should be aware of the powers that we can have if we appeal to those higher levels of the human condition. Doing such will allow us to sell more products and appeal to bigger markets. But I think this is a bit of a no-brainer for most market-conscious designers. I guess, like Kelley says, IDEO is just starting to explore this. Regardless, it is something I am looking forward to understanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXndL3TNCmo

Task 1: Shape of a Scent.

Bottom one is the final submission.