PEER COMMENTS for Project 2

PEER COMMENTS:
- Jason Vergara

- Nina Harcus

- Cori Eom

- Julia Ruyu Xiao

- Fiona Lee

PROJECT 2 - POSTAL PRESENT

PORCU CD HOLDER

PORCU CD Holder is an easy to set-up CD Holder. It is inspired and modeled after porcupines, as is seen by its shape. For this project I chose to make this because I want to make something that I can use, and not only me -- I want people from all ages to be able to use it as well. I made the shape looks modern and contemporary, yet make it subtle and classic as well, using tinted-black colored perspex. I want the CD arrangement to look elegant when put in the CD holder, that's why I made it so that the CD can have different height arrangement.



I chose perspex for the material because I want it to have that tinted/ transparent look so that when each parts are slotted, it's gonna look better than if I'm using solid color. I wanted to use MDF, but then it's gonna look cheap compared to perspex, and it wouldn't be able to have that transparent look. I chose black because black goes with everything in almost everyone's house, and I personally like the color as well.

The shape is chosen because for my last project (Experience Enrichment) I already did a butter dish which resembles a toaster, so for this project I want to try to make something more elegant and abstract, yet is inspired by something. I want it to have curves, but not alot of them, so that it is still elegant, and is visually beautiful when seen with CDs in them.

It's made so that it's easy for people to set-up, because there's nothing more pleasurable for people than being able to set up their gift just in a matter of second and able to display it beautifully--and is functional as well.
For the packaging, instead of a normal C4 envelope, I want the receiver to know that this is a special gift so a special envelope is used as well.

BAD DESIGN

Well, for my bad design project, I chose the Palmolive handwash-refill, because I find that the font where it says "Liquid Handwash" seem to be causing problems, since it's too small. People from overseas, like myself, may think that it's for Bodywash, or a Haircare product, when it's actually a refill for the handwash.

"Conditioning" doesn't also make it clearer that what it's for, it may be a conditioner (haircare), conditioning bodywash, or..?---bottom line, is that it's not really clear what it's used for.


My suggestion (solution) for this is to enlarge the font, and make it so that it's big enough so people can see it. It's as simple as that. Oh, and as Andrew said-- maybe put some kind of picture of hands so that people can know that it's for handwash.

Experience Enrichment -- TOAST! Butter Dish

TOAST! Butter Dish.

Actually, it's more like a butter dish set, as the "Toasts" are actually butter knives.

My target consumer for this product is kids aged 3 to 6 -- male or female, although girls would probably prefer it more than boys.


The idea behind this is that I think breakfast is a way people start their day, so why not making something pleasurable that can be used during breakfast. When the father's have to go work in the office and the kids have to go to school, breakfast is the only time they can actually talk and discusses things.


The butter dish is shaped like a toaster and the butter knives/spreader as toasts, just to make it look more fun and cute, as it's what kids focus on.
I made the shape really simple and just focus more on the color, cause I think that's one of the foremost important things for kids -- it has to be visually pleasing, and nice, bright colors is the only thing that's gonna make it pops out compared to other butter dish that I've seen. My main focus for this is the colors, so I did put a lot of thought into it. I used unisex colors -- white, yellow and green for the lid, and orange for the bottom part-- with white on the inside, this is especially colored to make the butter looks better (... it rhymes!). The colors are also picked because the combination of colors is fun and elegant at the same time. For the real material, I would really like to use plastic, as it is lighter and environmentally friendly -- and it doesn't shrink when put into refrigerator, and can be easily cleaned.



For the 4 Pleasures :
--IDEO:
It has bright colors, and that makes kids happy.


--PSYCHO:
It is fun to use, especially because it's shaped like a toaster, and the knives shaped like toasts.


--PHYSIO:
The surface is really smooth, and it has round edges, which makes it safe for kids.


--SOCIO:
Kids at these ages (3-6) love to talk and interact with their peers, so the shape and the color of this makes it an interesting point for them to talk with other kids and also a talking point.


POSTER:


PEER COMMENTS:
1. Guida Arezzi

2. Glenaldy Janto

3. Lucy Zhang

4. Alissa Sanders

5. Kate Barclay

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.