Materials Used

 The materials I used for my prototype alarm clock: a pizza box (cardboard) and tape. Well...lots of tape.

Our Progress

This alarm clock has a touch screen on the back and cushion on the top.

This alarm clock is round, has big speakers, and a big snooze button.

This alarm clock you must bounce to turn off

 

This one has a usb port.

 I think this is the one we're going with. It has a clip so it can be put on a bed post. The snooze button is "ZZZ." The front is touch screen.

IDEO Video

The only design that does not need to be redone is nature. The things mankind designs can always be improved. Design is not invention, so design is fixing what has already been invented. Leave the inventing to the nerds. However, sometimes we get so use to things, we do not think to improve them. IDEO likes to improve things, from a toothbrush to a shopping cart.They have designers working there, along with psychologist. I found that a good idea because, of course, you need to know a lot about the human mind and human activity to design for the human species. Also, they work as one. There really is no "boss" because they don't want someone taking over. To get to know the people they are designing for, they go out into the field to do research. For the shopping cart, they went to a grocery store.

The rules of IDEO are: 1) think in verbs, 2) do not interrupt anyone, 3) focus, 4) encourage wild guys, 5) quantity, 6) be visual, 7) NO judgment, 8) build on ideas.

Being playful is a huge part of being innovative. Fresh ideas come easier when the mind is relaxed and having fun. It is totally okay to be weird! Say your ideas no matter how weird and out there they are. You can build off them. Failing is part of the process.

The 5 steps for brainstorming are: 1) understand the market, 2) observe, 3) visualize, 4) evaluate, 5) implement new concept.

To make good ideas it takes a lot of time, teamwork, being weird, and disagreement.

Project 2

The job of a designer is to look at the world and keep improving it. For our second project, we choose 3 objects we thought were bad designs. We brought those 3 objects and sketches of them to class. We got into groups of three or four and picked one object to improve. The groups did a mapping of the object on a big sheet of paper. The mapping included what was wrong with the object, what it was used for, who used it, its purpose, and how to make it better. We came up with as many ideas as possible, from possible to the impossible. We are to interview ten people about the object, make sketches with improvements, and bring materials to make a prototype. Along with making a prototype, we will make an Imovie and a poster.

 

 

Finishing up

This project was a good experience. I enjoyed learning about the program Indesign and attempting to make a well-designed poster. I believe that making the hand-crafted poster was more fun for me than making it on the computer, though. The program involved a lot of information and a lot of mistakes. Also, printing the final project was a bit scary, along with putting it on the foam core. It meant no mistakes could be made!

 I feel my poster is a good design because it has color unity; I went with the colors black and red. It is an
asymmetrical design and has one image larger than the others so the viewer knows which one to focus on. I had fun using photoshop to alter the images on the final design. Hopefully, I will get better at design and feel more confident about  putting my ideas out there for people to see.

Reading One

As designers, we should try to fix things. We should try to make life better. A designer is someone who sees the problem and thinks of a solution; design something, make it better, design it again. In the reading, it mentioned a theater that was segregated. The students decided to sit by each other. People wrote letters to the manager, not in anger, but with happiness that he was fixing a problem. This was design. Design is such a huge field. It is hard to define what design is, but it is what humans try to do. That is the basic explanation of the word. "Design is to design a design to produce a design." Everything is design. The computer used to type this was designed. The font that is being used at this moment was designed. Maybe design can be bad, but I see it as the person who designed it liked it and, well, is not that the only audience that matters? Everyone is unique. We see things in different perspective. What I like may be horrible to someone else. The whole idea is a bit like eating food. I do not like sushi, but there are people who love it. It is hard to explain design, and maybe it should not be defined. Art people usually do not like to be defined by some textbook definition, so the word itself should be open like the people who do it.

Color Lecture

Color is a huge part of design. We do not think much about how yellow and blue together contrast. Or how red and yellow are harmonizing hues. Before the color lecture, I never stopped to notice magazine ads or t.v. commercials and how they use hue, chroma, and value. Color can make or break your design. As a graphic design major, I need to be able to understand the color wheel, balance, dominance, and transitions. Even changing the chroma of a color changes the entire design. Using a limited palette can create unity, but it can also seem boring. Color dominance is usually the best way to create unity. Keying the color can change the mood of the design and change the mood given to the viewer. Designers have to be careful when using the color strategies. A slight variation in the chroma can change the entire design.

Dieter Rams

Each to his own. Art is what the artist makes of it. However, as a consumer, what would you want? When I read Dieter Rams' "Ten Ways to Good Design" I started to look at objects in my living room, kitchen, and even in my car. I noticed a pillow that was too big for the couch. It had zebra print, which at this time it is fashionable, but that will soon be outdated. It is fuzzy and already has a hole in it after just one year. I discovered it is a terrible design. A good design is innovative, useful, aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, thorough, environmentally-friendly, and is as little designed as possible. To choose a good product, I thought of all these guidelines, walked around my apartment, and studied objects. I saw my measuring cup and instantly knew it was a well-designed product. I knew it was useful; I use it all the time. It may not be beautiful in a sense that most people think, but it is beautiful in a simple way. Its purpose is so obvious, it is impossible to not know what its purpose is. It does not attempt to be anything more than just a measuring cup. I believe it will be a long-lasting design; measuring cups have not changed too dramatically over the years. I know it is designed down to the last detail because there had to be some serious thinking to figure out the numbers. I do not plan on throwing it away and it is simple; it is not over done.
My intended major is graphic design, so of course I will not be designing objects such as a measuring cup, but this article gave me some idea of what I need to do to succeed. I can not just throw something together; it must be well-planned and thought out. I want to design within these boundaries, yet be original.

Don Norman

The three things Don Norman mentioned were visceral, behavioral, and reflective. When you design something, you want people to be happy with it. Making them smile would be best. People like pretty things; the juicer was pretty, but maybe not useful. As designers, we want to make people who view our designs happy. With this project, we need to make the viewer happy. It's best to make the viewer feel in control and feel that they understand the poster. Visceral has to do with the beauty of an object; we like sweets, bright colors, and beautiful things. Behavioral has to do with making the person feel in control and that they can easily understand what's going on. The reflective part has to do with the superego; the voice in your head that says "YES!!" or "NO!!" People like it when they can grab others attention and impress others.

Written description of Project 1

For project one, we were to find five objects that we thought were well designed. We explained in class why we thought the objects were well designed and decide which one was the best. I chose a measuring cup that was unique. After deciding on an object, we made a rough draft poster. Then, we downloaded Indesign. This program was new to me and I had to learn it as we went. We were to make a poster in this program that explained the best part of this object. It is 18x24 inches. We could use drawings and photos to show how and why this object is a good design. After designing the poster to the best of our ability we are to print it out on the plotter in the Mac lab and use studio tac to stick it to the 18x24 inch foamcore. Also, we are to record the process as we go.

Hallmark

I always like attending a class where they don't pound information into you and then test you on it. I learn more from that type of class then from a class where I'm too worried about the grade. The Hallmark lecture was great. I walked in there with the thought of maybe it was going to be a waste of time, but it was well worth my time. The best thing I got from that class was that artists fail and succeed. He had a few pieces of art work that didn't go as planned or sell as planned, but he also had ones that did. Maybe it's best to not measure someone by their failures and successes because to me that's a silly way to see life.