IDEO Video

This video put a refreshing twist to the typical image of the dull and uninspiring workplace- steady jobs do not have to be boring! This video made me realize that there are so many career options and that I would personally love to work in an environment like this. You could almost feel the positive energy flowing between team members as you were watching the video; ideas bounced off of each other in a nontraditional manner which allowed for greater ideas to be formed. One point that I really liked in this video was that no ideas should be out-ruled, especially the crazy, seemingly unrealistic ones. These ideas are the ones that ultimately allow for deeper thinking and can trigger even more successful ideas in the long run. It was interesting to see the company's process in recreating the shopping cart. It was so refreshing to see informal company dynamics. Everyone communicated as equals, which creates a comfortable environment for the flow of ideas. The prototypes they created were well thought out and each incorporated an element of improvement from the original shopping cart. In the end, a combination of all of these prototypes were used to create their final product, which was in their eyes the most successful. This was a good visual to what our end product in our prototype project is supposed to be. It is also helpful to see the process in action so we know what to expect. As a group, we can now utilize some of the strategies IDEO uses, like group interaction and their thought processes, to create a successful prototype for our object.

Tim's Lecture

9/26/2011

Tim’s lecture truly captured my attention: his background really inspired me and made me excited to think about my future, which is something that normally scares me. I thought it was awesome how he chased his dreams, although that meant ditching his degree for his passion. Even at that point, he kept an open mind and entered a career that focused more on photography than his specific interest in graphic design. However, after he got settled into his job, he was able to incorporate not only graphics, but also a little bit of his architectural background into his work as well. Another thing that inspired me was that although he scored a seemingly awesome job, he felt that it was time to move on and wanted to see what else was out there. He didn’t settle just because he had a good job, which I think is very cool. It reiterated the fact that I should never settle for anything less than I can get, just because it might be the easiest solution.

Writer's Toolbox Reading

MIND MAPS- Help give visual form to ideas. The goal is to create the map quickly, then synthesize possible connections. You can create a mind map using words or images and they can be handwritten or made by a computer program. In the end, the main goal is to consider the patterns and relationships that emerge. Also, you may want to go back and ask yourself if there are new concepts that need to be considered or re-mapped.

CONCEPT MAPS- Similar to mind maps in that they both concentrate on associative relationships using diagrams. However, concept maps allow for further analysis of conceptual relationships and meanings. Words are displayed in hierarchical order linked by propositional statements. They are excellent wayfinding tools, used to help understand and analyze complex information. Overall, they are also points of departure for deeper investigation of an object.

FREEWRITING- The process of allowing your thoughts to flow on paper without judgment or deep consideration- it “brings hidden ideas into the visible world”. It can be used in the preliminary phase or throughout the course of a project. Similar to journal writing, but it focuses on one main idea or question. The unfocused version gives a response to a broad thought whereas in the focused version, you are addressing a specific question. Set a timed period and write without pausing. Then you can use the “looping” technique to go back, pick out your most interesting idea, and write for another period of time starting with that.

BRAINWRITING- The written equivalent of traditional brainstorming by incorporating a collaborative nature. Members of a group use a template designed specifically for their team. Each member spends a certain amount of time writing a concise sentence, then passes it along to the next member who repeats the process. Once the form is completed, discuss among your team.

WORD LISTS- Quick way to use words for idea generation. Lists are concise and the quickness allows a variety of associations to develop in a short time. Start with a central idea and write descriptive words. When the list is completed, circle the words that stand out for one reason or another. Once you determine the most interesting words or ideas, explore these new words with different exercises.

Project One Reflection

When I heard that our first design project revolved around drawing, I was pretty intimidated to say the least. I took an ample amount of art classes in high school, but in none of them did I learn how to draw. So, needless to say, I went into the first class feeling overwhelmed and ultimately wondering what I had gotten myself into. It was not even a week later, however, that I started to relax. After learning several drawing techniques, I began to realize that drawing did not necessarily mean that a perfect replica of the object was required. In many cases, creating the form and body of the object was just as important as the specific details. After I realized that drawing was not completely over my head and actually very do-able, I really enjoyed it. It was fun experimenting with different techniques and using different art supplies that I had never used before. My favorite part, however, was designing the poster at the end. I had never used illustrator before, but it was pretty easy to get the hang of the basics. My biggest issue was deciding which thumbnail to use in the end! I ended up refining two posters and blowing them both up to actual size before I made my decision. One of them was the one that I liked the best and the other was the one that my classmates liked the best in my critique. After asking my roommates and considering which one had the best design features, I chose the one that my classmates liked the best to use for my project because after I reconsidered, I realized that maybe it did have the best design features. On the original thumbnail, my major critiques were that it didn't have enough negative space, that it almost looked too put together and geometrical, and that I should incorporate gray as well, because an all black background made it seem too harsh. Margie also suggested extending the measuring tape borders so it appeared as if they were going off the page. In the end, I corrected all of my critiques and my final poster ended up looking much better! The negative space on the top and bottom of  my poster contrasts the middle section with all of my drawings nicely. I also incorporated more negative space in the middle section by eliminating some of the backgrounds and shifting things over. However, I kept borders on most of the images to give the poster an overall sense of structure and movement. Also, the borders on the images reiterates the black border on the outside of the poster and the tape measure border which ultimately draws the viewer's eye into the drawings. Overall, drawing is not my most comfortable aspect of design, and the fact that I still really liked this project makes me very excited for the projects to come!

Reflection to Reading #1

The concept that stuck out to me the most was the fact that design is everywhere and our lives revolve around design more than we think. Design is more than just an attractive surface; it goes deep enough to the point where lives can be altered by good design. Another discussion that stood out to me was when the author said that design could not be defined. Although there are many designers in the world and many people interested in design, it means something different to each one of them. Since design is highly variable, it sometimes makes it different for people to pinpoint what design actually is. Finally, in the section of the last book in the reading assignment, I really enjoyed how the author splits design into categories to help pinpoint some of the ways design is effective: design as applied creativity, design as problem solving, design as learning, design as evolution, design as a social process, and design as a game. It was interesting to see that although design cannot be well-defined, there are still aspects of it that seem to come before others to different people.

Poster Thumbnails

Although drawing isn't necessarily my thing because I've never had any experience with it, I've really come to enjoy this project. Now that the drawing part is out of the way, we get to design posters for our object, which I've really liked doing. I'm much more comfortable with the designing aspect than drawing! Here's a few of my classmates' favorite thumbnails so far, but they're definitely still a work in progress.

My Five Most Successful Drawings

My classmates chose these drawings to be my strongest and I agree with them for the most part. The first drawing was fun to make: I filled in a picture plane using graphite and erased the background to leave the shape of the tape measure which emphasized positive and negative space. The second drawing also has to do with positive and negative space, but I also combined this with a little bit of value to make the drawing more interesting. I created the third drawing very quickly and with nothing but scribbles, however it turned out to be sort of interesting to look at. It was also fun to do! The fourth drawing is a combination of my sighting drawings. I noticed that they were all relatively the same size and drawn with the same characteristics, so I thought it might look nice to combine the three into one picture plane. The last drawing is my value drawing. I had some issues attempting my value drawings because I've never really drawn before, but was able to come up with something in the end!

Why My Object is Well Designed

The well-designed object I chose was a tape measure. It is functional, durable, and performs its task without giving any false hope of doing something greater; in Dieter Rams’s words, it is “honest”. The tape measure is a very common object, which suggests how effective and reliable its design is. Because of this, it is said to be “understandable”. A significant amount of its design features are internal, but the aesthetics are still not disappointing. It is sleek and pocket-sized to accomplish essentially any task. It is also innovative; one of the features is the tape measure lock, which conveniently locks the tape onto the desired measurement. Ultimately, my tape measure is designed exceptionally well to carry out its given function.