Sometimes I check my own blog to see if there is a new post

Hi guys,
So... We just finished our first "real" des com assignment and I must say I enjoyed it. This is the first time I have done a des com project that I totally understood the motivations behind. It wasent a load of superfluous fluff, it was "this is what you will be expected to do at a real job...do it".

That said I did struggle with it a little... Let me explain in a roundabout sort of way.

When I learned how to 3d model I basically went through a pdf tutorial for about 200-300 hours. It took me a whole semester at Wisconsin, but at the end I felt quite proficient and now feel that I am at a level where I can make just about anything I want. Doing that tutorial taught me 2 valuable things about 3d modeling. 1: it got me to think about objects in the right frame of mind to model them, i.e. where are the contour lines? is the object symmetrical? should I sweep this surface or loft it? 2: it taught me all the tools that I needed to know to operate the program.
with that knowledge I now can use the program to explore concepts and not get boged down in the details of how to create my idea.
To put it simply I learned how to use the tool and then got creative with it.

With illustrator and photoshop things are much more open ended...I often ask a person "how should I do this?" and they will just say "play around with it"... and then I feel like Im lost in the tall reeds without a clue what I am doing.

Sometimes I wish we just had a pdf to follow. step by step, and the at the end you can tell whether you did things correctly because there is something your are trying to copy. In that way we could just focus on learning the tools, before we start using them to design.

All that to say I enjoyed the first project but was a little overwhelend trying to navigate illustrator and create a pleasing design.

Doo-da-loo-doo, Doo-da-loo-doo, Doo-da-loo-Do-Do (nokia phone ring)

Nokia: USB Drive
For whatever reason, I have always been a fan of the designs that those crazy Fins at Nokia produce. They are usually rather quirky but lovable. Their mostly regular geometric forms with a slight curve added to the top or bottom edge has created a simple, recognizable aesthetic.
For my USB drive I will try to integrate this design aesthetic into a tiny lovable package.

Check out the final portfolio.
and the teaser.

who ya' gona call

Hey Guys,
I have a draft of my portfolio that I would love some feedback on. Check it out here.

Ever notice how there is a divide between what people think and what is really true, or perhaps how people gloss over the the middle steps and just think about the beginning and end of a process. Take for example the production of paper. The common thought is that trees become paper but there is so much more to the process. Not to say that I know all the steps, but my point is that there are so many things that happen and that those things have widespread effects. Where does the wood come from? What are the environmental impacts? Does the company pay their workers well, and create a safe working environment?

It can be very hard to know all the facts about everything but it is important to think about all the possible impacts of the things you buy as a consumer, and create as a designer.

The chicken sport

This is the work of a student in France, I think his work is awesome. You can tell that he has fun with his work. The baby chicks are super fun, love the one pulling the shoelace. And how appropriate is the brand of that shoe. The chickens are pulling on the chicken shoe.
Also look how playful the lines he has sweeping through his Rossignol composition are.
It really brings into focus how proficient you need to be to be a professional in this field, but also how much you have to love what you do.

In other news

Hello,
As a brief introduction here are some facts:
I am 23 years old
I hate chocolate ice cream
I think I am the most avid sports fan in DAAP
I collect trivia: like John Quincy Adams was the first president born in America
I have 10/20 vision (without contacts)
I built my own Bike
I have experienced no greater joy than having something I built, work.

I think this brail watch is awesome, the form is nice, but the idea is what really makes me love it.

My goals for the quarter are:

1) Get better at sketching.

I have made modest improvement during my 2 years at daap but I can not yet produce professional level work. That bothers and frustrates me. I feel that there are 2 main things I need to do to improve. Firstly, I think I need to invest at least an hour a day to just sketching. Secondly I need to both observe and get criticism from people who can sketch well, so that I can learn what they do and how they do it.

2) Learn to create illustrator/potoshop/painter renderings

I am hoping to pick this up in class and then develop my skills further, espically with my new tablet.

3)Learn solidworks/hypershot

In my co-op experience these 2 programs have come up as things that it would be helpful to be proficient at to that end I will have to buy a new student licence for solid works and then invest the time to do the tutorials.

4) I want to develop a good design process

Currently the design process seems a bit ethereal to me, designing is a cloud of; research, sketching concepts, creating models, testing and refining. It feels like there is no clear stating or ending point for each step and the confusion just builds as I move from one to the other. I usually arrive at a good solution, but I think that if my process was better my products would be as well.

5) I want to build my design vocabulary and my concept of beauty

To create beautiful objects I feel I need to get a firmer grip on what makes an object beautiful, how to manipulate proportion and relationships so that forms are expressive. to this end I will be building a file of cool stuff and researching famous designer's work.
To sell my products I need to be able to talk about then in a sophisticated manor. So I need to build my design vocabulary, I have a few books that I want to read on the subject (starting with "universal principals of design") and I will try to pick up other information from my peers and professors.




I am a designer who likes to put function before form. My main concern with things is that they work and work well, I feel that if something works well it will naturally be enjoyable. I will also admit that I may highlight this part of design because I feel that it is my strength. I am working on developing my sense of form (as per goal 5) and as I improve perhaps I will feature form more prominently.

More later...
-Steve