Yves Behar - Designing Objects that Tell Stories

It is undeniable that Yves Behar is a talented industrial designer, the designs presented in this lecture all oozes elegance and have originality to it.
Yves believes that designs should have a humanistic sense to them, and as designers, we really need to think how to create relationship between our work and the world.


There are some designs that I really like in this video: the light fixture for Swarovski; the watch for MINI COOPER; and Jawbone.


Morpheus Chandelier


The idea behind this is just spectacular, and the visual aspect of it is breathtaking. The design enables us to change the shape and texture of the light from computer. It's innovative and it's beautiful and pleasurable to look at.

The one thing that I'm disappointed about in this video is that (as one commenter pointed out), that Yves failed to include how each object tells a story. Sure, it's beautiful, but it doesn't tell a story (at least for me) and he didn't seem to try to tell the story behind each object. The key aspects of the lecture, for me is almost the same as those in Don Norman's lecture.

This lecture, although doesn't deliver what is promised in the title, is still important for industrial designer to learn that adding humanistic sense to designs will completely elevate them to a whole new level.


Photo of Yves Behar taken from:
http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/2b.jpg

Video available @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGn8F4j6pH8

Don Norman - Emotional Designs

In this video, Don Norman explains about emotional design. Emotional design is defined by designs which sparks some kind of reaction when people see it, even if it's useless or not as useful as other ordinary designs. He then went on to give examples, the first one is Phillip Starck Juicer by Alessi and the second one is the MINI COOPER automobile. Both has flaws but they're also interesting, and that makes the flaws not so unacceptable anymore. Although the gold-plated juicer cannot be used for making juices and the car has many faults, the aesthetics of both designs are exciting and different, it sparks a reaction from people.

I completely agree with his observations and view points, since I also think that pleasant design works better. The example (watches) that he has given proves that sometimes beautiful aesthetics triumphs over function. Even if an object is really functional but is not pleasing to look at, people will not wear/ use it, let alone buy it.

There are 2 designs that caught my attention the most; the ping pong table with an image of water and fishes projected on it, and the Jack Cress' chair.
Sure, the fishes are distracting the players from really focusing on the game, but it is fun and exciting to look at. I really like the Jack Cress' chair, and it is a good example of an emotional design -- people reacts instantly after seeing the image of the chair.

This is very important for industrial designers for them to know that sometimes design doesn't have to be all about function -- the appearance of the products matters too. Combining those 2 aspects of design is even better, just like the teapot which Don talked about in the video, the design is pleasing, interactive -- and it has a good function as well.


Image taken from: http://www.sd.polyu.edu.hk/de2008/images/day_images/don_norman.jpg

Video Available @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQEoJaLQRA

Task 3: Good Design - Poster

Product: X-System

This task has given me an opportunity to use Photoshop, a program which I rarely use. Making this poster has made me realized why I wanted to take Design in the first place. The beauty, function and aesthetic of this product is really good and well-balanced, and I just hope that one day I'll be able to create something like this.

David Kelley - Human Centred Design

I've learned alot from this inspirational video about David Kelley, discussing about him and his firm's works over the years.


The video is about David Kelly, who is a great designer, talking about how he focuses more and more of his work on Human-Centered Design, human centered-ness in approach to design, which involves designing behaviors and personality into products.

5 innovative works of his are introduced, which are all human-centered.

I think all of them are very innovative, since I've never seen anything like it, and I am particularly impressed by his work for Prada. The scanning device that enables people to see how it looks like in different sizes and in the runway, the Liquid Crystal in the dressing room, a scanner for security reason and the magic mirror. The magic mirror, I think will be sought after by many high-end fashion stores, since it can enable customers to see them wearing clothes in different angles. However, I think there can be improvement for the magic mirror. If only the customer is able to zoom in and out, so they can see them wearing the clothes from afar, whether it fits them perfectly or not.



The interactive wall in London museum and the interactive game are pretty good, since the combination of colors and lightings seems to match, enabling people who come to visit to see something beautiful and will be able to learn more about the museum as well.

However, the Dilbert cubicle, although good, seems to bland and I think, is not imaginative or playful enough for that kind of office environment.

The display for the London museum, I have to say is genius, since it oozes elegance and allows visitors to learn easily as well. The colors picked is excellent since it is designed for a quiet environment, and the dark colors, combined with the usage of bright colors, which aren't too bright are perfect in complimenting each other to achieve the feel of a quiet environment.

I have to say I am disappointed by the innovation of SpyFish, although still in development, the usage of cable which is connected to a device located on the boat can endanger the people on the boat. The camera (device), which is put underwater, if hits an aggressive predator (which it did on the video), I think, can possibly trigger an aggresive behavior which will make the fish try to eat the device (pulling of the device) which causes the boat to be unstable, and eventually loses balance and flips over, endangering the people inside it.

The last one that he talked about (Approtec), is important for designers, that is to inspire them to actually design for people who need it. The fact that the proceeds is going to charity and that it accounts 0.6% of Kenya's GDP is amazing.

After watching this video, I finally understand how designers can make people's lives easier using their designs, and also that in order to do well in design, I have to be able to understand many kinds of material and study them to be able to design something good or decent.

Industrial designers are encouraged to see this video because this man will inspire them to make something innovative, useful and able to help people who need it. It also teaches people that sometimes creating a good design can take years (the Spyfish project has taken him 8 years to develop!).

Image taken from:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Y_6VEo8Jf4UMkutXiRcigczFxk84tPL5hnSU5pYk1Uu2xW8vvpZ7nFFp6jUru6DvHtWcogPbtsTL-I_2wFHYx-IWyMSvr4Ia0LSxog6_OosiQ7m4oY2ftRuCtSvXo_cHghGbDx4xD2rH/s400/DavidKelley.jpg

Video Available @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXndL3TNCmo