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Wednesday 15 December 2010

JOURNEY BOX ( FIRST YEAR)

For my first year project I was to design a 12 x 12 x 12 metre space only using ramps, stairs, bridges or platforms. I had to firstly read a book of my choice which was The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe and then design inside this space which incorporates the main points of the book. At any point in the space there should be a reading area which is suitable for one person to enter at a time. This was some my final work produced on sketch up:





DESIGNING MAKING PROJECT!


For my brief I was asked in a group to produce a furniture piece. Myself, Paula and Vikki designed a multi functional unit which could be flat packed and put together with cable ties. For our final design we used plywood and Formica (which is a type of laminate plastic sheeting) in red and white. As we had no skills in a workshop environment we found this project quite challenging but it came together in the end and worked well. We were unable to finish part of the design ( the seat and triangle shapes) because of the week of bad weather but during this time i worked on a manual for our design:






ASSIGNMENT 4 READING & REVIEWING

Assignment 4: Reading & Reviewing
Activity 4A

BOOK- DESIGN METHODS BY JOHN CHRIS JONES
Design Methods by John Chris Jones firstly evaluates traditional methods such as design by drawing and looks into how today's designers adequately address the difficulties within today's demands. Part two of this book addresses 35 new methods that have been used to support both designers and planners. Jones focuses on different methods which he has chosen personally by reliable sources to make it easier for designers to find a method to suit specific design situations. The authors goal is to improve the quality of design by responding to the rapid change in design tasks and to give readers a broader view of design.
Jones reviews the strengths and weaknesses of all the design methods to this book which gives a bias opinion to the reader. The main views discussed by the author are that the traditional methods of design by drawing are too simple for such a fast growing complex world. He believes that the new techniques in part two used are more successful although there is no evidence to back this up as they are so recently developed. Each method is hard to compare to each other as they are so diverse. 
One of the most interesting methods is Page’s cumulative strategy which aims to reduce the effort spent on form and composition that may turn out to be unnecessary in developing as a designer. An example is used here to understand the method in which pages strategy looks at how an educational space such as a classroom needs to be thought through before designing such as how the sunlight effects the room? Is the blackboard in the right position away from sunlight? material cost and what the future may bring to classrooms, designing ahead. Only then must design decisions be made this is to reduce the amount of trial and error design decisions. A good scientific and technical background is required for this process to succeed. This method may restrict designers flow of thought and creativity as they are unable to understand the complexities of technical experience although designers may fail if they don’t take this on board. 
Brainstorming is one of the most well known methods in this book for designers. The aim of this method is to produce many ideas very quickly in a group environment. No ideas are allowed to be criticised and all ideas are welcome its quantity more than quality. After sharing ideas    the most important ones should be improved and evaluated afterwards. This is a reliable and quick way of expressing different peoples thought process at any stage of the design process. The brainstorming procedure is recommended by Osborn (1963) in his text on the subject. He states that it is a worth while exercise as it reduces the time needed to order the results. Although carefully controlled experiments have been carried out by Taylor, Berry and Block (1958) which argues Osborn’s theory that although there maybe a quantity of ideas its doubtful that they are of high quality. 
Throughout this book John Chris Jones has a unique approach to the philosophy of design and throughout is questioning the aims, purposes and goals of different design elements. He is questioning what design is and if design is more of a way of living in itself rather than  designing with a product in mind?
JOURNAL- KILLER PRODUCTS IN THE ECOSYSTEM: THE ROLE OF DESIGN IN KILLER PRODUCTS BY MELEHAT NIL GULARI
This article explores the similarities between the ecosystem and the market space. Killer products are compared to ‘killer weed’ which is a type of alga that stops other plants from growing, therefore may be harmful to the whole of the Eco system. Products are often described as killer as they cause other weaker companies similar to them to loose money or even go bust. Gulari analyses technical products such as iPod, QWERTY keyboards and digital cameras and summarises what makes a product so marketable and also the role that design has towards the popularity of the product. 
In certain markets often weaker, less desirable technologies are forced to gradually disappear when killer products arrive. Killer products are usually seen as smarter and more technologically innovative to the mass market. Applications which are useful or particularly significant such as new features, applications or functions are more compelling for consumers to buy as they are more superior to other technologies. The author also explores the effects of positive feedback which may cause a snowball effect and the network effect. The network effect is when a service becomes increasingly more valuable as people use it such as mobile phones, house phones and Internet therefore people are encouraged to become part of a system which increases profit for companies. The example of fax machines is used to illustrate Metcalfe’s law (figure 1). 

Figure 1

Radical innovation which is also known as ‘disruptive innovation’ is often a significant factor for particular markets as they are replace older technologies. Secondary sources such as The Innovator’s Dilemma by professor Clayton Christensen are mentioned in this journal which explains how a new product or service is able to take over other companies and disrupt an industry. 


Killer products are sure to influence an individuals choice, identity and freedom. They also affect human relations and communication habits. Nowadays it is all around us from email  and facebook to mobile phones and often if we meet someone that doesn't have one of these we would class them as a bit odd or old fashioned. A killer product maybe one which we feel that we couldn’t live without such as a telephone, how on earth would we contact anyone? 
IPod unlike any other media player don’t play music files from other stores therefore they created iTunes which is a clever way of expanding more profit. IPodsipod is advertised in different situations such as movies like Firewall, the Bridget Jones’ Diary and also TV series House.   
In this article we have assumed that the designers main role in creating a killer product is the approach of developing new technologies, to understand the users needs and expectations and looking for gaps in the market to explore further. This is an on going design process which is sure to evolve over the years. 
ACTIVITY 4B
Design methods by John Chris Jones evaluated many different methods to be used in certain design situations. This is a very important book for designers and is inspirational in many ways, not only does it show us many different ways of tackling design issues it gives us certain situations that it has been used in and what the author thinks about these processes- the strengths and weaknesses. John Chris Jones is a very respected designer who is the founder of the design methods movement and has been highly praised in many international journals. I have explored into more detail different sources which Jones has referenced to through out the book such as Christopher Alexander who adopts more clear and natural design approaches which are similar to Jones opinions. Also reviewed George Sturt’s book The Wheelwright’s Shop which is mentioned in part one of the design methods book which looks into how the working lives of the craftsmen has dispersed due to the large use of technology these days. Design Methods is a book which every designer should show interest in as it doesn’t need to be read page from page you are able to just flick through which methods that are most suitable for your project. 
Killer products in the ecosystem by Melehat Nil Gulari has been written in a very different way as it discusses caulerpa taxifolia (killer weed) in the ecosystem and comparing it to popular products. Although the viewer may feel that there isn’t really any point in adding information about the killer weed as this may not be as relevant. The paragraphs about each subject aren’t intertwined together as one they are separate, therefore seem less important to review them both at the same time.This journal article is easily understandable as it talks about very recognisable products which are popular in today's market such as the iPod, QWERTY keyboards and PC’s  so is easy to relate towards. We are given a glimpse  into today's market and what the designers role is towards products. This subject on great design has been researched further as I have looking into how Steve Jobs who is the inventor of Apple iPod and how he brought in third parties such as PortalPlayer to design the iPod. The main criteria for the iPod killer design is to work from the inside out, add components then produce a sleek and simple design which is unique to the market place. It’s also interesting to mention how Apple work together in partnership with both Sony and Toshiba to make the internal components. 
The writer, Melehat Nil Gulari is also a very well respected individual in the design world as she has received an honours bachelors degree in industrial design and has worked in many projects such as designing Fiat cars and working in IKEA’s design team.  
Although the article on Killer products in the ecosystem is totally different subject from Design Methods I feel that they support each other as Design Methods is about how to make designers think in a certain way so that they can have a broader outlook on design therefore making better products for certain markets while the article is talking about how to make products more popular that they become killer products. Both indicate certain methods in their design processes. As Design Methods was written in 1980 it is less up to date than the journal which was written in 2007 making the journal more adaptable to today's society. 
ACTIVITY 4C
If I was to further my knowledge in this field of interest I would research which methods are more effective traditional or new methods? I would also inspect further into what makes a product popular and how it is effecting other businesses. Such as how much impact did the Apple iPod have on say stereo systems or Walkmans. The technology world moves at such a fast pace, that I would look into new designs that are being launched into days market and discuss why they are either going to be killer products or are not going to have an impact on any area. Would the impact of great design businesses have a bad effect on our ecosystem and are killer products actually a good thing in today's society or are they crushing peoples individuality and relationships?      
ACTIVITY 4D
Alexander, C. (2005) Alexander centering [online], Architectureweek building culture.
AlexF. Osborn: Father of the brainstorm [online], Sky mark.
 Crucial Marketing. (2006). Network Effect. Market Terms.com.
Isaksen, S. (1998) A review of brainstorming research: six critical issues for 
inquiry [online]. Creativity research unit.
Jones, J. (1992). Design methods. 2nd ed. Canada: John Wiley & sons, Inc.
Sherman, J. (2002) Inside the apple ipod design triumph [online]. Electronics design chain.
Sturt, G. (1923) The wheelwright’s shop, Cambridge university press: Cambridge.
Wallace, R. (2006) Be smart, be simple Design Management Review 17(2), pp 19-21

G CASINO FISH LOGO DESIGN!

As part of G casino's efforts to win the hearts and minds of the staff they are running workshops for all departments. 

The theme of these workshops is teamwork and customer service. One of the videos that they are showing is of a fish market in Seattle where the team have created a fun environment to work in despite working with smelly fish all day.The video shows how they encourage their customers to join in the fun and as a result they have crowds of people round their shop to see what is going on. G Casino would like to give all attendees a small gift to take away which will remind them of the messages that were discussed during the workshop.They were using the small t-shirts that you can stick on a car window and will have on one side the four messages from the fish video.

My brief was to design a fish that could be printed on the other side of the t-shirt.The fish had to be fun / cartoon style and incorporate the G Casino logo. 

Here is what I came up with and what designs were used for this:






Monday 6 December 2010

SNOW, SNOW & MORE SNOW!!

The past week for me has been absolute madness! Snow, snow and more snow! I thought as the weekend went by finally the snow has stopped and it'll be back to university tomorrow. How wrong was I! Woke up this morning to the usual 6.30am alarm just to look out my window to see heavy snow falling from the sky.  As I made my way to the bus station with my welly boots, gloves and scarf on I thought to myself I have to make it to university today I've already missed a week because of the weather. I even packed a toothbrush just in case I got stranded in Dundee but i didn't even get that far. Firstly the trains weren't running to Dundee so there was a good amount of people waiting for my usually quiet bus. 45 minutes passed and finally my bus arrived, only to be told by the driver that the bus was going no further and the buses were cancelled to Dundee. Hopefully tomorrow is a more successful day for me and i can actually make it to university... who knows though with the weather being this unpredictable!

Here's some very snowy photos: