Monday, 15 August 2011

My design Career

Since I was young I always had an interest in drawing, put in art classes when I was 7 and from then my passion has grew. However being asian meet my parents never really supported a career in design wanting me to get a job in finance or medicine. I did work experience as an admin and also pharmacy, although the tasks were managable and easy, they failed to challenge to me and I could not see myself behind a computer all day or handing prescriptions to people from behind a desk. I wanted a career that would be stimulating, exciting, took me places and flexible.When choosing uni courses in Yr12, 'Industrial design' sounded like a cool name for a uni course, researching into it more. I found it suited me quite well, problem solving + a lil engineering+ design and flexibilty in design avenues. Tossing between UTS and UNSW, i choose UNSW for its credibilty over UTS.

When I create, I find myself emorsed in my own world, I can work on artwork from the afternoon to 3 o'clock at night, just experimenting with dyed water in a spray bottle and stencilling. When I was first introduced to Design and Technology in yr8 it was cool, we made plastic keyrings, metal badges and wooden money boxes. I remember how much fun it was designing your own object then make them and people would wear the badges and keyrings to school or give them to their friends and family. As well yr8 Design and Technology, I also did yr9 Information technology, one of the projects was to invent your own product and promote it. My group created the "I-shoe", a functional shoe that would have speakers and play music. It sounded awesome at the time because ipods and converse shoes were the big fads of high school. IT also introduced me to photoshop and movie maker, giving me skills to be able to experiment and develop animations, photoshopped photos and create short films. I think the best part of design was the reactions.

As like many I'm still apprehensive and little scared of whats ahead of me. I love watching documentaries especially ones nature or science.  Perhaps I will combine design and medical science and help design medical machines and utensils.Or go a little crazy and make products with the "fun-theory" in mind.

Friday, 12 August 2011

Mat & Tech- Honeypot Cardboard chair

As you can probably tell by the design, we had alot of fun while making this chair. Probably one of the most enjoyable assignments ive ever had.

Monday, 1 August 2011

Design Excellence -Scanpan IQ


 
Reflection
From my studiment of the SCANPAN IQ, I have learnt more about how form and function go together to create a human centred design. The IQ aestheticly appeasing form and sleek features have both a function as well as beauty. Such as the IQ lid which is differs from other lids as it is flat, streamlined with scilicone (removing noisy 'clanging') and and has hidden steam directs steam away from your face for a more enjoyable cooking.  This was an enjoyable and eye-opening task to further look beyond just the function and look at the design elements that makes the design excellent.

Sunday, 31 July 2011

David Kelley-Human centered design

 

In this video filmed in 2002 David Kelley (founder of IDEO) talks about how their is a move from product centered design to human-centered design. In human-centered design there is a large focus on human experience and designing personalities and behaviours into everyday objects. While in the past designers would present 3d computer renderings to their clients, IDEO has used video production to depict the man and machine relationship. Kelley shows some interesting videos his company has been working on including:
  • Prada Shop – "customised technology" usage including devices for staff members, a liquid crystal screen and magic mirror that has a 3second delay
  • London Science Museum – Interactive wall which tells you what people are thinking about and interactive games about exhibitions
  • CBS – Designing the perfect cubicle for Dilbert which included a flower that wilts when your not there and orange windows which follows the Sun's movement
  • Greenwich Watercycle Pavillion – A peaceful display celebrating water recycling
  • Spyfish – Underwater cameras to stimulate scuba diving experience without getting wet
  • ApproTec – making nonprofit products in Kenya
These examples give an idea of the sort of outcomes that design thinking can lead to. All of the outcomes are innovative in some way. They go about solving existing issues in new ways while also having a playful approach to problem solving. I think David Kelleys human centred approach is an exciting and beneficial approach to design. By creating human behaviours and personalities into things you can create more interest, enhance the user experience and educate at the same time.

Sunday, 24 July 2011

Don Norman: Emotional design

 
        Don Norman's talk on Emotional design discusses the importance of positive human viseral and behavioural response when choosing and using a product. "Pleasant things work better" a statement by Norman which suggests beauty, playfulness and positive aesthetic should be intrinsic within all products. 
He names the three emotional cues that a well-designed product must hit to succeed.  

Visceral: The most immediatel level of processing, is an subconscious experience in which we can perceive before significant interaction occurs.Visceral processing helps us make rapid decisions about what is good, bad, safe, or dangerous. It is apart of our animal instinct to respond, seen also within nature  the dart frog is one of the most the deadliest animals and has bright, neon purple and yellow skin to warn others.
“When a user interface promises ease of use at the visceral level—or whatever else the visceral promise of an interaction may be—it should then be sure to deliver on that promise at the behavioral level.”-Norman

Behavioural: The middle level of processing that lets us manage simple, everyday behaviors, which according to Norman, constitute the majority of human activity. Research on the human brain suggest intense fear paralyzes the brain from working. Interestingly  the surrounding fun or emotional environment can greatly effect our ability to function at differet tasks both positively and negatively. Communication=Acting Design that "speaks" is important for people, interacting with brings control and connection with the things we do.
“Designing for the behavioral level means designing product behaviors that complement a user’s own behaviors, implicit assumptions, and mental models.”-Norman

Reflective: —The least immediate level of processing, which involves conscious consideration and reflection on past experiences. Reflective processing can enhance or inhibit behavioral processing, but has no direct access to visceral reactions. This level of cognitive processing is accessible only via memory, not through direct interaction or perception. The most interesting aspect of reflective processing as it relates to design is that, through reflection, we are able to integrate our experiences with designed artifacts into our broader life experiences and, over time, associate meaning and value with the artifacts themselves.
“Designing for the reflective level means designing to build long-term product relationships.”-Norman