Studioclues

I recently stumbled across these videos and remembered seeing them on ABC a long time ago. I think this is what made me want to be an ID’er. IDEO is one most well know Industrial Design firms in the world and this story showcases a mock project from start to finish in three days.  What has drawn me to ID is the democratic process in which we work. All ideas are considered, evaluated, and then spit out into something physical in the end. Design is Democratic as Ikea would say..

I am not against the Facebook. But maybe I am? I used to love Facebook but then recently realized how limiting it was when it came to professional networking.It is perfect to keep up with old friends and current friends.But, to be honest I only spend half my life with them. There is 9 hours of my life I spend at work where I meet and converse with people that I work with. Everybody has a slightly different persona when at work, it is unavoidable.it would be nice to see a bit more of people to make them more human.

What social networking site allows us to interact with people we work with, maybe on a more casual level? Maybe it helps foster smoother communication and helps build teams across multidisciplinary levels. I didn’t know Nancy in accounting liked cherry pie!

I don’t think sites like Facebook do enough to foster and/or divide communication between our work lives and personal lives. Maybe there is that opportunity for Facebook to branch out. Maybe Twitter can move in?

I recently told somebody that design software was getting cheaper and they kinda thought I was either getting richer or was ignorant. I was serious. Here are some examples.

-Artrage is a highly featured digital sketching and painting solution and is only $20 for the base package. Try it out.It has more features than Sketchbook Pro

-Google Sketchup is free 3d design software. I know you can’t design a car or a boat with it. But it is beginning to become more mainstream as a valid solution for everyday people to experiment with 3d.Watch out for anything Googlish!!!

-Alias design was very expensive years ago( I do not have a figure) but is now $3995.00. It is very powerful and is standard in the automotive industry. It has dropped dramatically since Autodesk bought it a few years ago.

-Modo – $995 and probably one of the most comprehensive 3d modeling and rendering applications to date. It truly combines 3d modeling and photo realistic rendering into one seamless interface. Amazing for the price. STEAL.

-2d Software- Well there are dozens of free web based alternatives to Photoshop and Illustrator. One examples is Aviary. Others here.

-Keyshot is one of the intuitive and highest quality renders to date at only $995

-Sketchbook Pro is only $200 and is the best digital sketching software available.

To sum up, it looks like capitalism has driven prices down in terms of niche software like the stuff we rely on. 3d modeling software will always be a bit more pricey than 2d, but that’s inherent. But as competition increases, prices will decrease.

I am heading to China next month and I couldn’t be more excited. We have manufacturing in China and I  have worked with many people over there for years without ever meeting them. Without meeting people you work with there is always that mystery or that third dimension that you cannot visualize. The “name with the face”. I am very interested in learning about their work ethic  and how they feel about their job role in the company.

The thrill does not stop with the fact that I will be making new friends and acquaintances, but also the fact that I will be witnessing my product and my design come to life. I have had many product hit the market in the US, but now I will see how it is brought to life at the production line. I have been working for years trying to anticipate challenges in production without really knowing how it worked out. Sometimes I never heard of any issues and sometimes I would get an email telling me they are having problems assembling something. There is always that mystery in between.

And the greatest thing about going to China is just witnessing the culture and the mindset of the people. This is going to be the highest reward for me.

Following up on my previous post about researching topics on Twitter. I decided to post this information video on the basic workings of Twitter. Twitter, I feel is very misunderstood by the public. Maybe because they think it is just a place  for Aston Kutcher to post what he ate for lunch. Not true.

There are many ways to use Twitter, you can stalk celebrities, keep up with and message your friends, follow topics and network professionally.  I think it is most powerful tool to network in my profession. Never before has there been a tool in which people can interact with other people of similar interests so seamlessly.

I follow topics and people in subjects relating to sketching, design, and technology.

One of my Auburn University professors recently approached me and asked me to come back and help out critiquing  an Industrial Design studio in the Fall. We had talked in the past about maybe Black and Decker sponsoring a studio, but that is always difficult financially fora  sponsor and it was hard to get cash during this economy. But Professor Lu contacted me again and asked if I would come back as an Alumni and just critique a class on their projects as an individual and valued alumni.

I thought about it again and put myself back in freshman year of school when I was just hoping to one day step my foot in the field professionally, and I said yes immediately.

I remember but a few professionals coming into studio and talking to the studio about real life processes and production. I really admired those who who had products out on the market and had real world experience. I didn’t think I would have the opportunity to do what they did. But actually I do now, and not giving back to the students of the school, that taught me everything I needed to know to get started and get a job, would be a crime in itself.

To be honest,I didn’t fully understand what Industrial Design was until I entered Auburn. I never drew a thing until I entered design school, and when they showed me some professional design work that they said I might do one day, I  scoffed and laughed actually. I didn’t believe them.

To name a few of my professors that helped me work towards graduation and success…. Randy Bartlett, Tin-Man Lau, “Ahgn”,Rich Britnell, Chris Arnold, Brett Smith, and Tsai-Lu Liu.  All of these professors were highly influential in my college career and were great mentors. I thank all of them.

So I will be helping Tsai-Lu Liu with a class in the Fall and I am excited about the opportunity to work with the students that were once in my shoes.

Infographics are my favorite functional 2D art form. I would describe them as product design in 2D. When we practice Industrial Design, we are working to create a functional, but visually appealing product, that is easy to understand. In many instances these products have various levels of information and controls that need to arranged in a logical hierarchy, in order to create an efficient product experience.  Infographics  are essentially doing the same thing. They are created for the one purpose of communicate information to the user. You should not only get use out of it, but also be easy to understand. Compare a beautiful infographic like the one show below (via Wilfred Castillo). The amount of information and visual complexity in this design is beautiful and interesting. This is my art! Imagine how dry this type of information would have seem, if have been presented in Microsoft Excel. This is design at it best. Taking ordinary things and making them extraordinary.

Some links to fine infographics

http://chartporn.org/

http://www.coolinfographics.com/

http://www.fastcompany.com/tag/infographic-day

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/

http://www.good.is/departments/transparency

http://infosthetics.com/

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/10/30-superb-examples-of-infographic-maps/

http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/04/50-great-examples-of-infographics/

http://sixrevisions.com/resources/10-revealing-infographics-about-the-web/

Spurred from my thoughts on my previous post about the impact bottled water has on our planet, here is Karim Rashid on his latest design, Bobble.Karim’s latest design, attempts to address this water bottle problem by bringing the simplicty, sexiness, and  functionality  into a personal hydration solution.

Home and Housewares 2010: Karim Rashid on Bobble from Core77 on Vimeo.

One of my biggest pet peeves of modern daily life is the abundance of bottled water available these days. Growing up, people would scoff at the idea of selling water bottled for consumption. It is everywhere for free you know. I’m not saying that I’m not guilty of once in a while grabbing a bottle if there a case sitting around at a company function or a flag football game. I have done it. But those little actions, which are so preventable, are at the root cause of societies lack of concern for the planet that we walk on.

Here is a great infographic on this very big little problem.