Froject two: peer comments

Zhang Ke
http://cocodesignforever.blogspot.com/

Zhang Xiaoya
http://momentjj.blogspot.com/

Eunbi Yoo
http://eunbiyoo.blogspot.com/

Wei Qianwen
http://akiwei.blogspot.com/

Gu Yuliang
http://guyuliang1990.blogspot.com/

project two: upcycling

Recycling unwanted materials into a new product is very beneficial for the environment, it’s very important in modern times because of the excess waste in our society. When I started this project, I strive to use materials that we would usually thrown away after been used.

I choose disposable away chopstick, throw away chopstick makes up a large portion of waste in restaurants. The chopsticks I used are made from bamboo. Although growing and using bamboo has no negative impact on environment, disposing the chopsticks is a significant problem to landfills as the chopsticks cannot be recycled and take a long time to decompose.

My first impression of the material was that the bamboo chopsticks had given me a feeling of nature. My idea was to make something that is both stylish and functional, yet at the same time encourages the user to think of the environment and the consequences of his or her actions. I decide that the theme of wastes and reuse would be main focus of my project, for this purpose I constructed a fruit bowl using chopsticks that had been thrown away to remind the user that even garbage potentially still have a use.

I collected chopsticks from restaurants, however when I received them they were dirty and potentially unsafe to use due to the chopsticks possibly carrying disease. I first had to clean the chopsticks and sanitize them by boiling them. To construct the product I needed to connect the individual chopsticks together. I first tried to drill a hole on the end of the chopstick and connecting the chopsticks using toothpicks to maintain the natural feel of the piece, however I found the process too difficult as the angle of each chopstick need to be determined for a proper shape to me maintained. My eventual approach was to use pin and cable tie. Also use hemp rope to create a nature feeling of the whole product.

Task4(e): Design For Life

"Design for life" is a TV program. It’s about Philippe Starck puts weekly challenges to 12 British design students competing for the chance to work with him in his design agency in Paris.
Product designers effect every moment in our life, like the chair you're sitting on. Philippe Starck wants these students to question everything about the product design.

Design is about giving thing to other people. Design is routine of everyday’s life. Designer is not artist. Starck believes that a good designer is about to making beautiful, useful and sustainable object that’s can be enjoy by everyone.


The first project is every impress me. Students have 100 euro and 1 hour to find two products. The choices must be illustrate one of 3 themes: function, gender or ecology. Function means finding one product which is useful another which is useless. Ecology means finding a product which is environmentally sound, another which is unsound. The theme of gender is all about finding a product with male quality, another is female. Strack let students explain why they think it’s good or bad. I think this project could let students think about what they want and what they don’t want when designing things. Also I realize that the explanations are very important.

In the second project, the only information that was given to those students is to design a product that benefits humanity. This project is every challenge to students, because there are not constrain, but it’s really hard to design a product for what Starck expects from them. Also I think it’s every interesting, because students can designing whatever they want, any ideas can be worked to this project. At the end, the final presentation is not that good, but it also give me an idea of how to do the presentation. Everything you do should be well considered like what you wore should not have any conflict with what message your product is showing like what Elsa did. After watching how Ilsa present, I learnt that when presenting, you should make your presentation as straight forward as possible, so that it won’t confuse the client or make him feel bored.
After viewing this program, I understand that when design a product, every steps is important. No matter how good the product is, naming and advertising your product as giving people the first impression to make an eye attraction to them, let them to choose your product.
As a designer, you must be thinking about how the product is manufacture. You need think about the price of the material and price of the product is fit the target market or not.
In the conclusion, this video is very useful. I understand that designers always have lots of stress when they are thinking about a new product, but they also enjoy it. I also realize that the most interesting part of design is you never can imagine that the final product you are achieved.

peer comments

http://momentjj.blogspot.com/2010/09/project-1.html#comments
ZHANG, XIAOYA

http://akiwei.blogspot.com/2010/09/project-one.html#comments
WEI, QIANWEN

http://leechiehmin.blogspot.com/2010/09/experience-enrichment.html#comments
Lee, James Chieh-Min

http://thatssoeames.blogspot.com/2010/09/project-one-experience-enrichment.html#comments
Chiang, Wesley

http://japhop.blogspot.com/2010/09/project-1.html
JIN, YUEYUE

Project one:Experience Enrichment

Technical drawing:

context of use:

pleasure analysis:

moodboard:

product poster:

Rationale:
The target market I choose for this project is young adults about 25 and upwards who are just starting their careers and suffer a lot of pressure. So I chose to redesign a coffee mug in which improves the emotional connection between the product and its user.
Today, people are trying to find a balance between life and work and they are suffering more pressure from both work and family. And coffee is actually an irreplaceable refreshment for those whose work in offices. So the coffee mug becomes an everyday object for office people that they cannot live without. In so doing, it is important to find an easy way to make them relaxed devote themselves into work in high spirits.
Aiming to give people a pleasurable experience, the coffee mug is designed as an egg shape which is smooth and simple and it enables people to be peaceful, calm and elevated. In addition, there is a stirrer with the mug which is used to stir when sugar is added.
The coffee mug still keeps the dimension as a normal coffee mug. The additional cap makes the overall shape of the coffee mug more integrative. Having it curved and the smooth surface make the user has a natural grip when holding the coffee mug. A comfortable feeling when holding an object could make people more pleased.
The colour of white gives the product a sense of clean feeling to use. The material used to make this coffee mug is ceramic, which makes the product to be environmentally friendly and suitable for a longer last. Also ceramic has low heat conductivity, so it provides a protection from hot drink. Also I increase the thickness of the wall in order to gives a better protection from heat.
When it’s not in use, the shape of the product also gives a decorative feeling. The overall appearance keeps the product a natural looking to catch the attention of young adults. Also the cap could keep the coffee mug inside clean and prevent the dust from getting into it.
The stylish design also grabs other people’s attention. It becomes a talking point, and broadens the user’s social circle. This may be helpful in their business.

Video Reflection: Objectified.

Good design should be innovative, good design should make a product useful, good design is aesthetic design, good design will makes a product understandable, good design is honest, good design is unobtrusive, good design is long-lived, good design is consistent in every detail, good design is environmentally friendly. Last but not least, good design is as little design as possible.

This video is introduced different designer’s opinion with different culture background. I realized that design is the way that you look at the world.

Every design tells a story, I understand that every design has actually made for some purpose. Like the Japanese toothpick, we can break the end and use it as the rest of the toothpick. It contains a cultural context which has a kind of practicable propriety.

Design is about mass of production, the aim of design is make more people to buy. People want to catch the newest things. But however this cannot be achieved. Because, once a product is produced, there will be a similar product being designed with a fresher look. These product brought into society has designed to increase their price. The companies ask for a new design style for an existing thing. Like the macbook, the designers use a totally different way to design the macbook now when compare with the first mac they produced.

“Design dissolving in behavior.” people do not realize the connection between the products and themselves, because the designers are design the product to make people used the products without realizing. The designers have been workings creating a communication through the subconscious connections between people and products allowing a personal interation.

Now the designer need to concern about the implications of continues to produce more and more stuffs that had bad impact on environment. The stability of the products is not just about the pretty things. It’s about redesigning every single aspect, from the material to designing, production, to shipping, and also need to design a way that that product can be disposed logically. I realize that designers should continuously experiment and explore materials.
designers are expect to use the material that has less environmental impact, Its lead a restriction for designers, but once the product has been designed, it will effects on the environment after its life.
When people doing mind map, many more ideas that we never thought of are comes in. people continuously develop their mind though mind maps, that will lead a new world of design you never been.

Task 5: Design Confusion

Video Reflection: The Story of Stuff

The text book saids that the production system have 4 major steps, products move from extraction to production, then to distribution then to consumption and finally to be disposed. But in fact, there is a lot missing from this explanation. Annie Leonard’s video is showing a reality of process in production and to inform people that we should find a new way of production to save our environment.
People play a very important role in the whole production system. People from government and corporations have a lot of effect on the system, government has the right to control the whole system, this is usually done in the in the interest of public good, but as corporation grown, it’s become bigger than government, so it become more effect on the whole market and this in turn affect the opinion of the government.

Through this video, I realize that, the production process, not only brings benefits to the consumers, but also can also do negative things to the environment and our health. Extraction is the first step, factory taking the nature resource form forest, rivers. This brings us to our first problem, we are using too much resources, and we are running out of resources. In fact 1/3 of natural resources have been consumed. In US, only less than 4%of original forest left, so people decide to take resource from third world countries, but after a while the third world will also become trashed, however to the corporations the people who lived there have less ability to buying stuff, they don’t have much value.
The synthetic chemicals used during the operations another problem of concern. As all we knew “toxic in, toxic out”. Those chemicals are added into products and directly exposed to people’s body, it could also effects people’s next generation. The chemical waste is a tragedy to our live. It makes 40% of the worlds water way to become undrinkable. Government should protect people from been contact with those chemicals, but they encourages people to buy, market keep the prices down, keep people buying and keep inventory moving. An important process to the distribution, people are paying for the stuff they buy, this is called externalized costs.
Consumption is the golden arrow, it makes the production system work. In the fact, only 1% of product can be still in use after a longtime, 99% of products are designed for through away, this means that we are continue to buying stuff and repeat it over and over again. Another way to increase the consumption is to change the looks of the product.
Disposing those wastes is also a way to produce toxic chemicals. People disposing Trash by burning them in incinerators and dumped them into landfill. During this process, powerful toxic chemicals are released into the air, which is harmful to environment and people.

I thought it is the time to find a way to protect our environment. This video has deeply influenced me to be cautious about the stuff I buy.

reflection on emotional design

In this video, Donald Norman discusses the emotional response that product design have on the consumer. He point out that in his new life is consumed of trying to figure out what beauty is about, pretty and emotions. He talking about emotional design and divided it into three levels, visceral, behavioral and reflective, with different level, he also give examples to explain how these levels works in emotional design.

Norman argues that the emotional response of the consumer is influenced by how we view the product. A good design works on different emotive values.

The first level is the visceral level, this is how we see the product. This include the shape and colour of the item. For this he give us the example of the colour and the font of the stylized word visceral and how the red and curve of the word brings the word to our attention.

The second level in which a product affect us is the behavioral level and this are govened by our sub-conscious. Norman states that a product should engage our emotions.

The last level that the product should engage us is the reflective level. For the design to engage us in the reflective level then then the product need to affect our egos and ultimately how we think of ourselves. Examples of effective products that engage us on the emotive level change how we perceive others view us. This include the HUMMER and expensive watches which is more of a status symbol then functional.

Don Norman argues that ultimately a product's ability to engage us emotionally are more important than it's function. He give us an example of a juicer he have in his home, a special edition of the famous design by Phillipe Starck, he tells us that people do not buy the juicer for it's function but purchase it for its beauty. This made me realize that sometimes if the product is fun, it is enough reason for people to buy it. However, the ideal product combines beauty with functionality, the knife made in Japan which both have a perfect shape and is beautiful balanced, is an example of a better product , Don Norman said it’s a both a beautiful and functional product, a true delight to use.

I think the functional properties are not the only thing that let people to make choose between products but also aesthetical properties. To give an emotion response to the target user is becomes very important, but there is no way that a product only gives an aesthetically pleasing but without functionally. To design a product with not only looks perfect and neat but also gives fun and sense of security to user is what a designer will do in the future.

Video Reflection: Donald

Sketchs

Task 4: Design Excellence

The product i had is the GROHE rainshower collection. it's a series of shower system which is working on the principle of water saving. design a shower system to let people enjoy water and save water at the same time is the aim of GROHE's products. i have realised that the functional properties is more important than what it is looks like. To achieve both functional and aesthetic aespects,a designer have to put a lot of effort. Designers play a role to Upgrading a bathroom to a functional, design-focused space and makes it to become a simple and affordable option for everyone.

David Kelly on Human centred design

In the TED presentation video, David Kelly discussed the recent trend in the design industry. In general David commented on recent innovative consumer products being 'Human orientated', that is having human interaction and behaviour as the core design philosophy. I believe that this is a positive development in the design industry and a direction which is very similar to that of my own ideas about design.

First of all I was amazed by the technologies that they are using in the Prada store in New York. The thing that most impressed me was the ‘magic mirror’. This device allowed the customer to view them self from behind in the fitting room. I think it is so much more convenient for customers. The designers take the adventure of the technology to integrate the function of mirrors and the express the idea of the human centre design. Also the crystal display screen in the fitting room is another feature that I really like. It perfectly shows that what development on technology can bring to us. Those products make the Prada store more attractive.

The pavilion recycled water display is another effective use of design. The use of glass and the water flow represent the purpose of is pavilion very successful, it’s also create a sense of quiet and make is looks attractive.

The ‘Spyfish’ is another representative of the idea of human centre design. It is mainly focus on the people who cannot scuba diving by themselves. It made with a controllable bathysphere with camera to makes more people can experience the feeling of scuba diving. In the past, this kind of technology only use for discover hypo benthos. But now it is becomes more commercial and let more people have a change to have this experience.

After watching the video I am very pleased on the direction that design are taking. The products become less about profit margins and more about the end consumer and functionality. The products explained in the video is designed with the benefit of the consumer in mind and trives to make every day life simpler and more enjoyable.
I hope that the products that I design in the future will be able to make the life of someone a little easier.

Shape of a Scent

my design career

I Study Industrial design at UNSW because it is a good way to express my passion about drawing and designing new things. When I came to Australia aged 15, I realized the fundamental difference in education. In high school, I felt that the high School in Australia more lazed back and less structured. I believe that in Australia will give me a greater opportunity to express my creative output.

The first time I came into contact with design is when I was a little. My parents brought me to a design exhibition, I saw many designers product, and I was amazed and wondering how people can create things like that. My interest about design has rapidly increased from that time.

Also when I go shopping with my friends, I always saw a lot of interesting things in the shop, they are simple but beautiful and very practical. I realize that the product design is not only about artwork, is about the material and in shape as well.

After I just got my UAI, I wavered between industrial design at UNSW and UTS. But I’m thinking about to go back to China after I finished my study in University, so I thought studing at UNSW is a good experience for my future. When I submitted my UAC preference, My parents told me, industrial design in Australia is very different compared to China, people have different opinions when they face the same problem. I realized that it would not be easy. I had faced a lot of challenge during the first semester but also learned a lot and enjoy it. I believed that during my four years study, I will gain more skills and develop myself. Also learn more about the design processes. These will let me to become as a professional product designer.

In the immediate future, I would like to keep learning more about design and keep trying my best. After university, I want to go back to China and work for industries there, because China is a developing country with only a rudimentary design industry. I can a lot of potential for product design in China and whish to apply the skill I learnt to help others.