Studioclues

Some quick sketches practicing arrows. Because stuff always needs to articulate, right?

A few months ago I did a friend a favor and illustrated some fitness concepts he was looking to market. Various types of concepts. Click on the images for a larger view.

Besides Industrial Design specifically, I tend to get involved and have a passion for issues on operation,process improvement, and workplace environmental impact. As designers it is our job to always find the faults in what exists so we can find a better way to create or do something. I love some of the points that this video brings up about the change in the workplace and how companies like Google are redefining effective ways to motivate their employees.

This very well done ten minute video by Daniel Pink cites 50 years behavioral science research demonstrating that monetary compensation can only get limited results out of people. What really motivates is mastery of skill and the creation of a “larger” purpose that extends past 40 hours of week at work.

An amazingly simple and entertaining illustration accompanies.

Via core77

Auto desk has announced an entirely new drawing program called Alias Sketch.And with my brief experience with it, I would say it might be a game changer when it comes to tablet sketching programs. I have never seen a drawing programs integrate vector and raster and have the flexibility of working between the two. Interface is also phenomenal.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=14963386

Building off of my previous post about combining the Wacom pen and mouse into one device. How can you combine the digital pen and mouse into one cohesive and well thought out device. For many design tasks I prefer to work directly on screen using the tablet pen. However when switching to web browsing or email related tasks it is obviously much easier to move to the traditional mouse.

I think the answer might lie around some sort of secondary support that helps the user glide across the work surface when in mouse mode.

Some sketch exploration from tonight…

Recently Gizmodo.com got a hold of a supposedly next generation iPhone left in a bar by some careless Apple employee. A lot has been said of the new aesthetic shown below. It is somewhat of a departure from the flowing, highly curvaceous back uni-body design of the original iPhone and 3G iPhone. The new form is now an extrusion with a metal bezel around the edge. A three piece design as it appears. But now the back seems to be covered with glass or plastic as it appears. Beautiful, yes maybe. But turn over your iPhone if you have one. Turn over your 3G or 3GS and typically you will find a multitude of scratches around the area which makes contact with the table. It’s inevitable.

The current G3 iPhone , when launched, was unveiled as a faster and slicker (G3 actually) version of the original phone. The back housing was changed from aluminum in the first version to a highly complex sculpted plastic form in the g3 version. Both generally good looking. But the plastic housing actually takes scratches more easily that the original aluminum version. A step backward in functional progress. But neither of these three designs were designed for the mobile world.

More…

I think we have all seen this before, human faces or bodies likenesses incorporated into products by mistake or by accident. You see it a lot in car headlights and taillights and sometimes some array of buttons on an electronic product seems to form a face on the top side of a remote. Or in the case of the Ikea lamps below the proportion and silhouette of a person is all that is needed. My thoughts on this idea and process are positive. Why not use the human bodily and facial gestures to emphasize the function or character of the product.   Human bodies and faces subtleties are easily picked up by other humans and convey a lot of messages.  I was sketching around on this little wireless security camera on the right and it evolved into this little guy that had a stern little stance like he was watching  me. Waiting for me to  screw up so he could rat on me. Quite expressive actually.

In anticipation of a long flight this last weekend I went to the library to see if they had any new branding or design books. I stumbed upon Do you Matter as I sifted through the design section. I pulled it out and read the cover. “How great design will make people love your company” seemed so true and straight and to the point. I checked it out.

In this 236 page book, Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery talk about how the intangible by-products of good design and positive user experience,  can turn your company into an unstoppable force. The title , Do you matter, is a tough question to ask about your company. Does your company matter in the hearts of your customer? Will your customers care if you go away? Or will they simply buy your competitors products when your company is no longer there to offer service. If you do matter and your existence is important to your customers, then you have a great brand that is difficult to copy.

These days good products can be copied, even with good IP a product can be mimicked or an alternate design that provides a trade off can produced. Your competitor has then a comparable product. You are now not so special.

Brunner and Emery explain that  to build true loyalty of your customers, a positive emotional tie must be developed with all contact you have with your customer. How do you do this? You have to build a  company with “design culture”. A good company with design culture is very difficult to copy. A good design culture pumps out highly innovative and passionate products over and over again. It’s just in it’s DNA. Good design cultures put design thinking into every aspect of their business from HR to logistics, once this mindset is set, it is difficult to copy. If every part of your business puts positive customer experiences first with not a penny spared. Those pennies will come back in the form of more sales. It some times takes a leap of faith and dedication, but the intangible emotion of good design can buy lifelong loyalty of customers.

The books points out dozens of examples of companies that have built a culture around this premise and have built long lasting iconic brands, such as Apple, IKEA, BMW, Harley Davidson, and Samsung. These companies put design and experience first and subsequently moved to the top of their food chain in their industry.

http://www.doyoumatter.com/

Some recent quick sketches for fun I was working on. Conceptual medical devices. These exorbitantly priced devices are used for examination and have a semi technical feel. With only necessary controls exposed from within the housings Most of the settings of these device would be programmed from an interface at an external terminal beforehand.