Wednesday, August 25, 2010

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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Design Excellence

Video Reflections

David Kelley: Human Centred Design

David Kelley’s video enlightened me as to new perspectives in involving humans in the process and interaction with marketed designer products. The recent additions to the design process of integrating behavioural aspects and personalities into modern products introduces what Kelley refers to as the “man-machine relationship”. There is more potential to a product than simply creating it and putting it to use, by use of human centred design designers are now able to stimulate affection from the user to the product, create an interest and basically customize a product to a target market. The fresh versatility in the designer’s job also involves them more into the business and marketing aspect rather than just basic decision making directly relating to the product and its functions.

The video struck me as being important as the various examples Kelley demonstrates to us explore the true nature of human centred design, and have allowed me to develop a more profound understanding on this concept. For example the famous Italian fashion label Prada, New York, a retail store wanted to explore technological advancements and integrate it more into the consumers involvement when choosing, trying on and learning about the products. A team of designers reworked the store into a high tech modern facility in which the dressing rooms boasted liquid crystal glass which could transform from opaque to translucent at the flick of a switch. This allowed the user to try on clothes and immediately receive comments and criticisms on them. Multiple screens in place of mirrors allowed the placement of a delayed screen, which allows a proper view of the back of the clothing. The addition of a scanner and screen allows the user to electronically track the products and interact with them for information. These creative revolutions to clothing stores demonstrate the implementation of human centred design in the sense that the ergonomics of a traditional clothing store have been changed in order better meet the needs of the consumers and in a way heighten the experience of shopping and knowing what you want. In this way, efficiency and celebrating technology everyday made shopping for clothes more enjoyable and interactive for the user.

A fun addition to a designers take on reworking an office working cubicle was a flower in a case that wilted in disappointment as the user leaves the room, and perks up in happiness as the user returns. This enlightened me as I had often assumed the use of novelty style products and humour being detrimental to a products success. The humour makes the user feel as though the user is wanted in the cubicle and brings life and potential to the room.

Kelley’s TED video explored new ways to make products more interactive for the user which I feel all designers should understand in order to bring personality to future products. I learnt that humour, when used well can be in fact a bonus to a mood lightening design, and that making the users experience in interacting with the product more intimate allows for a more satisfied and informed consumer.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_kelley_on_human_centered_design.html

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Powerhouse Museum Product Sketches

At the Powerhouse Museum and UNSW Red Centre Design Exhibition I discovered a multitude of incredible designs and concepts. Those which had the most significant impact and inspired me the most I sketched with a brief note.





My Design Career

As I progressed from elementary to secondary school I discovered I enjoyed working with design and arts as woodworking, computer design and other interactive media as it let me translate thought to paper, and paper to reality. By high school I had decided to pursue the career of a product designer, as the process would allow me to demonstrate my way of understanding a concept while slowly honing my ability. The Industrial Design course appeared to offer a promising journey with irreplaceable knowledge and technical ability to be acquired.

I have been told by friends, peers and adults alike that my clarity in understanding the requirements of a task often take the form of graphical and visual projects, as they are a vehicle for my expression to be translated from thought to reality. In this way I have always seen myself as an art-oriented individual, years of art tutoring with a close family friend seemingly preparing for such a career. Towards the end of my schooling career I was faced with the choice between Industrial and Graphic design, similar courses from many perspectives, but fundamentally different in purpose. From carefully considering my potential futures from these two subjects, I came to understand that industrial design offered far more potential to create working ideas into working models, prototypes and products in a 3-dimensional space, rather than depicting the concepts.

I often find frustration in the poor and deeply flawed designs of the world in which we live in and which we are forced to interact with in our day-to-day lives. Ironically many of these frustrating designs are within the design workshop with inconvenient and hazardous machinery. However the majority of these products which could potentially be so much easier to use, safer to use, less damaging to our ecosystems and so forth, mostly appear within society and its households. Taking the steps necessary to pursue a design based career is taking steps to help shape the future of design by reshaping faulty concepts into more practical user friendly designs.

I believe almost every problem in the world, both major and miniscule problem, can be solved in a functional, creative, revolutionary design. As a human in this wide world, I look to better the lives of those around us and those yet to be born by attempting to discover solutions to problems through the world of design. Towards the end of my time in UNSW, I intend to offer my ability and thinking to open minded design companies in order to steer the path for the products and designs of the future.

Shape of a Scent

The scent that my group experienced was sharp but pleasant, appearing to linger softly before reaching its strongest scent. We believed this to contain pine and citrus-like ingredients with the target market of older women; however it was revealed to have been intended to be a "father and son" colgone.

Below are photographs of my take on the implications of the scent's shape and texture in the form of a bottle like sculpture constructed with plastacine.







I created a very bulbous base, round and wide to represent the initial bluntness of the smell. As it progressed upwards it trails away to a point, reflecting the sharp finale of the cologne. The texture was kept as smooth as I could muster because the scent itself, while powerful and "loudly-spoken", remained similarly smooth and pleasant. The overall organic shape and leaf like shadows along the sculpture were utilised in an attempt to portray the organic freshness of the scent.