Niagara Falls

So the drive from Detroit to Providence is 734 miles but One of the most awesome natural monument is on the way, Niagara Falls. Look

Reflections on the quarter

So here we are at the end of another quarter of school. It never feels like ten weeks at the end, and it always feels like eternity at the beginning.
First let me get the orders of business out of the way:
My final storyboards can be found here
my final tea kettle can be found here
and my process book can be found here

I have enjoyed this quarter very much and I feel like I have improved, which is the point, I think.
As for my goals none were archived totally but all were at least started. As far as design process I feel I have found some quick techniques for expressing my designs and I understand better what I want to know at the onset of my work.
I purchased but have not started to go through the tutorials on solid works.
I have sketched but not nearly enough, no excuses, I must be more vigilant.

Hopefully over my next co-op quarter I can continue to work on these things and improve. I will keep on posting periodically to keep you up to date.

Innovation

Innovation is a catchword like ergonomic or sustainable. Everyone wants to be associated with innovation; and everyone has a different definition for it.
I believe that the technical definition goes something like this: the incremental improvement of a product, idea, or process such that it becomes more valuable.
Often I think people allow invention and innovation to be interchangeable, but they are not. The Wright brothers invented the airplane. It did not exist before they created it. Ford invented the assembly line, but he innovated manual labor processes. The car existed before ford built the model T, but it was made affordable by mass production and the assembly line.
I am reminded of the advertising campaign of BASF; we dont make (product x), we make it (faster, stronger, smaller). that is innovation. And it really is what the design process is all about. We research so we know what exists already and then we create new things often based on the creations of the past. We innovate.

Leaves water and heat

Hey Guys,
This is my second evolution of my tea kettle design. I added the metal accent on bottom to make it a better heating surface and the one on the handle is to stop the handle from getting too hot. There is a rubber grip on the underside of the handle but it is a bit hard to see because it is tone on tone. I wanted to do as little as possible to take away from the form.
What do you think? any suggestions for improvements?