Postal Presents

The postal presents project was a difficult project, in that we had to create something that met a long list of criteria, but it had to be good. I went through many idea over the past few weeks, including a ball, and boxes which could hang from the wall, to finally settling down with my final design, a pencil box shaped like a jet fighter.
I used a lot of polypropylene in the assignment as I thought it was an excellent material to use for such an assignment. I experimented with different folds and different ways of locking in pieces of polypropylene. I also researched a lot of products to find out they do it, and also on websites and blogs, as well as other students.
The final product first started out as sketches and paper mock ups. Eventually I moved onto the polypropylene to see how the material would react to the different ways of making the product. I had to get every detail as correct as it possibly could be. I cut out and sketched many different styles of wings and tails for the plane to give the right look. I eventually for a futuristic look and made it from black and clear gray pp, which gave it a shiny metallic look as well as a stealth look.
The product is targeted at young kids, usually pre-teen (under12), who would find machines like fighter jets fascinating, but also love the fact that you could make it from a few flat pieces of pp, and use at as a box.
The design I feel could have been better. There were parts in the actual making of the product that I feel could have enhanced the product and made it even easier to assemble and use. Overall I was satisfied with the final outcome.

Annie Leonard: The Story of Stuff

Annie Leonard pretty much sums what is wrong with the western world, and what is now creeping into most other cultures in the world. This concept of consumerism, and the vicious cycle of creating the products and what not, to fuel the economy and in the process destroy the poor and the environment.

Leonard talks about how products are designed to be discarded rather than kept, and how it was all started after WWII to get the economy up and running. She goes on to say how much we consume (and how much waste we produce in the process) compared from the 50's to now. I was amazed when she said that Industrial designer's were designing for consumerism rather than for need, and how they would design for the object to not last long so a new product could be manufactured and sold sooner rather than later.

Ive been fascinated with waste for a while and remember seeing a program that talks about creating products, not that can be recycled, but rather can break down quickly and be returned to the earth so new products can be made from them. An old example of this system is the Australian Aborigines who would only take natural things from the earth to survive, wood, leather and stones, which could then be returned back to the earth and the cycle could continue with no damage done.

Its not just the government and large corporations that are to blame, Its us consumers as well, for if we didn't buy crap, they couldn't sell us crap. Also we've become too lazy to fix our damaged goods. If a computer stops working we chuck it all out, If our car stops working, we buy another one, If our phone is outdated we a get a new one.

I hope that we are starting to see a change to this culture, the USA is so screwed economically, maybe the rest of the world will stop creating products just for the US market, and start thinking what the whole world needs, not wants.

Experience enrichment

I have decided to focus my efforts on redesigning a basic and common kitchen tool, the peeler, in particular the Australian peeler. The normal peeler is cheap, boring, and uncomfortable to use. My Carrot peeler tries to fix this by making the product more enjoyable to use and make the owner feel proud of owning one. The rounded shape came naturally with the shape of the carrot, and this made it much more comfortable for people to use around the kitchen.
With more people staying at home to cook food, this seemed like a product that these people would enjoy having around. The carrot design was inspired by vegetables that you peel, like carrots or potatoes, and also seeing an orange peeler, the idea just popped into my head.
The peeler would use stainless steel for the blade which is durable and resistant to corrosion. The handle would be made from plastic.

Product Sketching

Paul Bennett: Design is in the details

Paul Bennett's main message can be summed up in that final quote, "pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win". Bennett shows that designers dont have to do grand and groundbreaking designs to be successful at being a designer, you just need to design something well.

His view that we should look at things from the way that people will interact with the product, instead of what the client wants is a strong take home message. The Hospital was a good example of that, where he showed his clients a video of what it is like for a patient to lie in bed.

Also not designing things to look good, but to do their job in the most efficient matter according the situation is another thing I firmly believe in, and Bennett shows that is something that can sometimes go missing in the design industry. The water pump showed us how a good design does not have to be flashy, and can have a massive impact on the world around us. This seems to be something that I have taken out of all the videos I have seen, and its very inspirational stuff.

Yves Behar: Creating objects that tell stories

Yves Behar clearly has a passion for design, and his message that designers can change the world, is one that I believe, and is one reflected by other designers as shown in the other videos we watched over the past few weeks. the XO laptop is one good example of that.

Also the way he designs a product to have more than just one function, the water bottle, for instance and the folding stool and table. Also the way designers design more than just the outside of the product, but rather "design from the inside-out".

Ross Lovegrove: Organic Design

What Ross Lovegrove pretty much says, is that form is important, and that just by looking at nature you can find the perfect designs. He is pretty much saying we are doing natures work in a much smaller time frame.

He argues that design should be functional and the product should be designed to the bare minimum so that there is more efficiency. I agree with all this, I think its great to have a product that is extremely functional and efficient. Lovegrove is also a great fan of organic material and also new materials which still haven't been used widely, for example magnesium and bio polymers. These ideas are great, and some people would argue that he is ahead of his time, however a lot of people would also say his head is in the clouds, like when he was rejected by the people at Sony, when he said how they could surpass Apple.

Lovegrove shows that designers can lead the way in the technological and materials science parts of the world, and not just specialists in those fields. He finds practical ways to use new and better materials, but also shows how designers can be inspired by nature as well.