Project 2: Lamp Design: Product Research

                            

Task 1d > Video: What is Design?

Bill Moggridge says, anything altered by man or there is a man-made thing we see, is a design.

After watching this video clip ‘What is Design’ with speaker Bill Moggridge, and the education I’ve learnt from this media I have come to my own explanation of ‘What is design’. The term ‘Design’ is a human-thought-up-concept(s), or imaginative-concepts and the human actually wanting to make the concept real, whether by physical means, through digital-media, software, or by story-telling, etc. And in that process-making and thinking, designers wants to communicate something, that something to help shape understandings – of our individuality and our relationships, our surroundings and livelihood, our living world and the natural environment.

Thus, Moggridge introduces to his audience of an individual who attempts to do these above things to promote understanding of our connections and relationships with people, the natural environment and the earth. The mentioned man that viewers and the audience come know is the Japanese designer and Anthropologist, Shinichi Takemura. Takemura brings his (earth) globe design to help communicate his understanding, ideas and values that could be appreciated by all of us, if we want to take better care of our one- and only living world.

There are good and bad designs everywhere, and Moggridge give examples of good designs by the award winning designer Jane Thompson, the U.S. Design Research Company and the Green Building Council. He also noted noteworthy designs produced by the Bauhaus and the architectural successes by Frank Geary.

Bad designs are evident when there are apparent problems between interaction design and technological design, and the showcase example is a Japanese design organisation attempt to allow the function of mobile phones to purchase drinks from vending-machine, which proved to be very inconvenient to any users.

Successful designs should harness the subconscious mind; remember not to design for oneself; make prototypes and test things; design to understand people; design in contexts of personal, social and environmental matters.

Moggridge specifically demonstrates knowledge to listeners that design processes has broadened very much, because today we have other design principles and we do not have just have design products and mechanics, but there are Service Design, Interaction Design, Web and Communication, Interior Design, Fashion Design and Graphic Design.

In other words I understood Moggridge words, is that design has evolved and improved by discovery of new technology, new materials, new thinking, new ideas, different (or new) values, importance and requirements for human needs and meeting challenges.

The First Lady of the America’s White House presented her understanding of the importance of designs that may influence the world for the better, especially in her ambition to improve education for the young in the U.S. She value thinkers and designers that may create opportunities for the future generation. Personally I think a quote that I’ve noticed that share the same principle of the First Lady’s speech is the Native American proverb, We do not inherit the earth from our ancestor; we borrow it from our children.

I think the message carried by this video should be well noted by industrial designers because the message is about increasing awareness of a global feeling in design- how design may make influence on matters and issues at individual, regional, national and global levels. Vice versa, how those aspects may also influence the making of design. And because there are negative side-effects generated by all of us that harms our planet, e.g. land clearance, using finite resources, polluting the environment, etc, it is of importance as designers to make good use of concepts to better the today and the future for new generations to come.

Peer Comments: Project One

1. Christine Chau's Spatula Design:

http://christine-x.blogspot.com/2011/09/spatula-concept-poster-hero-shot.html?showComment=1315990599618#c1421873967193855732

2. Rainbow Tam's Silver Ice-cream Scoop:

http://rainbow-tam.blogspot.com/2011/09/product-poster-usage-storyboard-and.html?showComment=1316075759123#c7933874622999470167

3. Rick Chu's Screw-driver design:
http://starocean01.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-1-product-poster.html?showComment=1316079914496#c3445634845219458695

4. Rowena Goodall's Garlic crusher:

http://rowenagoodall.blogspot.com/2011/09/usage-storyboard-garlic-crusher.html?showComment=1316085366545#c1253577144493055134

5. Sarah Howard's Tape Measure:

http://sarahoward1031.blogspot.com/2011/09/product-redesign-tape-measure.html?showComment=1316086222174#c2692035441840352203

Project 1: Rationale

My aim for redesigning the kitchen peeler is to produce a more aesthetic, ergonomically and pleasurable product. My research has discovered some other peelers in the market can tire users because of its smaller blades, thin hand grip and heavier materials.  

My ‘White whale’ kitchen peeler creates a solution for preventing fatigue by using light-weight plastic and ceramic materials. Instead of using wood which can be harmful to allergic users, plastic is safer for users and plastic are cheaper for processing in mass production. Also rather than metal blades which can rust and get blunt more easily while the sharpness of ceramic blade can last longer making ceramic the ideal material to be used in the design.

The sea animal Beluga also known as the ‘white whale’, its smooth and purely white anatomy has inspired me to design a peeler that will be smooth for touch. The features and physical outlook of the design is important so that user can see there are no angular edges that may cause discomfort and so the user will understand by the look and touch of the handle will be comfortable. 

The suitable angle of the blade that extends from the handle is also essential in reducing fatigue when peeling. 

To achieve ergonomic in the design, organic features in the handle were taken into consideration to put out a more natural firm grip/hold for the user. The shape of the handle is designed for comfort and prevents slipping. 

A more circular grip offer choices to user as they can choose how they will hold the peeler, because offering choices in a design allows the user to personalise their product, which add personal gratification and pleasure in using the product. 

Two finger grooves are introduced for either a thumb or index-finger to rest on the handle at the top of the peeler. The purpose of this was for comfort and pleasurability. A symmetrical design that offers to both right and left-hand users.

In the market there are blades that are immovable and I find that swivel blades are better in a way that it optimise the surface peeling as the blade can follow the contours of the vegetable/fruit.

The two triangular-pointy elements above the blade are there to aid the user in digging out blemish especially in potatoes. You can just turn the peeler around at about 180-degrees and easily arrange the peeler to scrape off any imperfection in the food.

In my design I made attempts in innovation by designing different organic shape and form in my ‘white whale’ kitchen peeler. The painted white and smooth surfaces are there to justify the aesthetic value in the product. The colour white is used not because of the actual pigment of the Beluga, but the particular colour is there to help emphasize the features of this design.

In this design I want to suggest to users while using the peeler, the imagery of white whales diving within the ocean. The whole ergonomic body of the white peeler and the smooth and organic features are the elemental principles of this design that will deliver pleasurability to users when using the kitchen peeler.

Project 1: Redesign Hand Tool

The 10-principles of good industrial design

Dieter Rams: "make a product useful and be innovative, aesthetically pleasing, easy to understand, honest, unobtrusive, long-lived, consistent in every detail and environmentally friendly, and good design is as little design as possible."

Task 1c > Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff

After viewing Annie Leonard’s video, I think that people living in wealthier countries maybe happier because they can afford luxury, e.g. HD-TV, mp3, vehicles, etc. Whilst, populations in the third world and developing countries that cannot afford the luxury are working in factories established by local and foreign companies in these people’s home-country. These workers suffer the brunt of mass production, as mentioned in the video, the presence of toxic gas, wastes and materials can affect the people’s health who are surrounding these processes because they needed to earn for their ‘butter and bread’. 

A. Leonard goes on about this system is unequally distributed and procedures taken to produce products is unhealthy. I am agreeing to this as well as to say another reason why I think western companies re-locate and establish in developing nations, is because wastes-maintenance is well-enforced in their western country and are also expensive to dispose the wastes. After a video I watched in Past, Present & Future [lecture] in semester-1, where there is a display of an immense collection of wastes in a dump site area in Kenya. Disposed computers, plastics, metals and electronics from U.K. are left in a location to rot and the toxic from these materials are affecting the land and the civilians living near the dump site.

I think because environmental and waste management policies are not well enforced and regulated in countries like Kenya, and in addition to low labour costs, and so perhaps it is extremely inexpensive for massive [western] companies to dispose of their wastes and just leave the dump in areas of developing countries. Whilst, western countries such as Australia have effective regulations in enforcing and promoting waste management because heavy legal penalties are given for inappropriate waste managing.

Annie Leonard had noted significant facts and considerations about sustainable designs to maintain and preserve the integrity and respect of culture and people, and the natural environment. After hearing these I realise as a design student I am encouraged to process and design ways to promote sustainability in designs. Keeping a safe world is a happy world. A noteworthy awareness for designer to look after our earth and leave behind benefits for the future generation to come.

Annie Leonard speaks of products that are designed to have short-life and are disposed by the user as wastes, and so user will move on to buy another. Her implication is that this system contributes to more wastes to be produced and resources consumed to create the product are wasted. I want to think that using the short-life system and thinking of sustainable design, because our today's world are influenced by many things, and our tastes and preferences will change and we buy something, then throw away, and buy another [new one], then throw away, and so on. 

Because people’s taste change and so designer expect their products will not last forever in homes and will be thrown into the trash-can (because people will want new things), it is only sensible (I think) to make designs that are short-life, and also should be sustainable and recyclable, in way to help take off the load of harm we did to our world.

I have an unoriginal idea which I will ask, why not design or not make anything at all. Just don't make and don't produce anything. If no products are made, then no harmful gas and wastes are produced, so no materials will be used, no leading to contribution of waste-dump, and so no resource extraction from the natural environment will happen. Would this not maintain the survivability of the planet?
Because every designers design for their own different reasons and goals. Design to help and promote national economy; design to solve daily problems; design to save and keep lives; design to earn income; design to maintain the organisation; and daresay design for the better for humankind and earth. We also have things because we all want things for the better and enrichment for our life.

What is optimistic about this message from the video, is we are aware and there are those who will care and are interested in being realistic about a system that doesn't "waste energy, sustainability, equity..." [quote from the video].

It would be nice that industrial designers take note of the message delivered by this video clip. Designers are to understand that planet resources is finite and so create better understanding of sustainability and equity that may preserve all livelihoods of Earth.