feed videos or photo
views from windows
around the world
or just outside.
Portrait LCD Screen.
Webcam, MP4 player
or laptop
Friday, 31 July 2009
Digital Window
On windowless walls:
feed videos or photo
views from windows
around the world
or just outside.
Portrait LCD Screen.
Webcam, MP4 player
or laptop
feed videos or photo
views from windows
around the world
or just outside.
Portrait LCD Screen.
Webcam, MP4 player
or laptop
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Design Synectics
Uploaded by ASGuest8807
23 TRIGGERS:
subtract
repeat
combine
add
transfer
empathize
animate
superimpose
change scale
substitute
fragment
isolate
distort
disguise
contradict
parody
prevaricate
analogize
hybridize
metamorphose
symbolize
mythologize
fantasize
23 TRIGGERS:
subtract
repeat
combine
add
transfer
empathize
animate
superimpose
change scale
substitute
fragment
isolate
distort
disguise
contradict
parody
prevaricate
analogize
hybridize
metamorphose
symbolize
mythologize
fantasize
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Pound Shop Artisans
Design Brief:
1 Spend under 10 quid on items sold in a pound shop.
2 Dismantle and recombine goods to create an original piece
3 Display photo of artwork
4 Resell in Portobello market or online.
5 Repeat 1 to 4
Browse Poundland
1 Spend under 10 quid on items sold in a pound shop.
2 Dismantle and recombine goods to create an original piece
3 Display photo of artwork
4 Resell in Portobello market or online.
5 Repeat 1 to 4
Browse Poundland
Concept Generation
Set a target number of concept options to reach in an hour and number them.
e.g. arbitrarily 100
Start by making up word-pairs;
Try to visualise things in your head first. Take snap-shots by describing the glimpses as 'word-pairs' to form your own 'original' concepts.
For example if a goal is to make-up a new architectural feature:
001 wing-house,
002 roof-sail,
003 air-screen,
004 noise-wall,
005 wheel-door,
006 stair-tube,
007 mist-wall,
008 fire-frame,
009 water-blind,
010 sound-tiles,
011 street-bed,
012 swing-furniture,
013 spin-sofa,
014 rolling-chair,
015 jelly-cushion,
016 window-clouds,
017 mesh-pillow,
018 wheel-bath,
...
099 floating-floor,
100 cloud-picture,
ET CETERA
If running out of time and 'visualised' material swap one of the words in the word-pair for something that sounds more exciting or 'right'.
Beware of following sounds of words however. This may make for memorable names but it may lack the visual spark needed for the next stage.
Usually, after a while visualising gets easier and continues even after you have stopped deliberately trying.
Make sure to keep a note of these additional concepts too.
Keep going along with this as long as it feels constructive and ideas are coming.
Select music to get in the 'creative zone'.
Play loud.
Review the word-pairs you have.
Choose the most evocative and exciting.
e.g. arbitrarily 10
Spend 60 minutes developing these 10 concepts in free-sketches and words.
Get carried-away on paper or computer using the music as a muse to inspire flow.
Apply '23 Triggers of Design Synectics where useful.
If possible leave for 24 hours and 'live with' the concepts in a different setting. Keep notes of any other ideas that occur.
Review and select top 3 concepts to present.
Spend 20 minutes rendering each favoured route.
3 music-muse examples:
Underworld
Dubnobasswithyourheadman
Dark and long
LFO
Advance
Loch Ness
Vangelis
Blade Runner
Main Titles
(9am treetop window. clear blue london sky. autumn frost.)
e.g. arbitrarily 100
Start by making up word-pairs;
Try to visualise things in your head first. Take snap-shots by describing the glimpses as 'word-pairs' to form your own 'original' concepts.
For example if a goal is to make-up a new architectural feature:
001 wing-house,
002 roof-sail,
003 air-screen,
004 noise-wall,
005 wheel-door,
006 stair-tube,
007 mist-wall,
008 fire-frame,
009 water-blind,
010 sound-tiles,
011 street-bed,
012 swing-furniture,
013 spin-sofa,
014 rolling-chair,
015 jelly-cushion,
016 window-clouds,
017 mesh-pillow,
018 wheel-bath,
...
099 floating-floor,
100 cloud-picture,
ET CETERA
If running out of time and 'visualised' material swap one of the words in the word-pair for something that sounds more exciting or 'right'.
Beware of following sounds of words however. This may make for memorable names but it may lack the visual spark needed for the next stage.
Usually, after a while visualising gets easier and continues even after you have stopped deliberately trying.
Make sure to keep a note of these additional concepts too.
Keep going along with this as long as it feels constructive and ideas are coming.
Select music to get in the 'creative zone'.
Play loud.
Review the word-pairs you have.
Choose the most evocative and exciting.
e.g. arbitrarily 10
Spend 60 minutes developing these 10 concepts in free-sketches and words.
Get carried-away on paper or computer using the music as a muse to inspire flow.
Apply '23 Triggers of Design Synectics where useful.
If possible leave for 24 hours and 'live with' the concepts in a different setting. Keep notes of any other ideas that occur.
Review and select top 3 concepts to present.
Spend 20 minutes rendering each favoured route.
3 music-muse examples:
Underworld
Dubnobasswithyourheadman
Dark and long
LFO
Advance
Loch Ness
Vangelis
Blade Runner
Main Titles
(9am treetop window. clear blue london sky. autumn frost.)
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
'Back of a Fag Packet' Design
This is one of the early sketches of the suspension system for the mini.
Capture the idea on whatever paper-based material is around: Cigarette packets, napkins... etc
Monday, 27 July 2009
Love
Love is real, real is love,
Love is feeling, feeling love,
Love is wanting to be loved.
Love is touch, touch is love,
Love is reaching, reaching love,
Love is asking to be loved.
Love is you,
You and me,
Love is knowing,
We can be.
Love is free, free is love,
Love is living, living love,
Love is needing to be loved.
Lyrics: Love by John Lennon
Design Love: 2 decade creative partnership between Me Company & Bjork
Sunday, 26 July 2009
You Let Your Head Go
'Design to lift the spirit'
- Peter Miles [Miles-Carter furniture]
Hooke Park
MSc. Design Visualization & Renewable Resources
Bournemouth Univerisity
London - The Big Peach
New York has The Big Apple - which seems to have originated from a song in the early 20th century.
Bangkok has The Big Mango
Tel Aviv has The Big Orange
Design Brief:
What is an alternative big fruit suitable for London (or other famous cities)?
Does London already have an unpublicised name like this?
The Big Pear or Big Banana don't sound quite right.....
Minneapolis calls itself The Mini Apple
So maybe it would be something un-Big like 'The Sliced Lemon'
Or ....
What fits?
- The Big Peach ?
Oh, London Added 11 Sep 2009
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Bike Styling
Notable urban model from Specialized; Globe Vienna 1 2010. Comes in 'Amsterdam white'. Under 300 pounds. Just wash those tyres regularly:
Chris Boardman's concept bike
Square 'Bauhaus- style' bike
Quirky woolly street-bike plus others on this blog:
Chris Boardman's concept bike
Square 'Bauhaus- style' bike
Quirky woolly street-bike plus others on this blog:
Monday, 20 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Buffling
20 Business Waffling Phrases:
- Thinking outside of the box
- Touch base
- At the end of the day
- Going forward
- All of it
- Blue sky thinking
- Out of the box
- Credit crunch
- Heads up
- Singing from the same hymn sheet
- Pro-active
- Downsizing
- Ducks in a row
- Brainstorming
- Thought shower
- 360° thinking
- Flag it up
- Pushing the envelope
- At this moment in time
- In the loop
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Friday, 10 July 2009
All The Gear But No Idea
Or 'once I own that then I will be able to do x,y,z properly'
With digital technology it is possible to have all the latest equipment and yet not actually produce a final version of anything. Equipment magnitudes more powerful than in the analogue era.
Having the potential to do everything creates a certain feeling around it. It confers on the owner a sense of identity through those particular possessions and bestows a sense of superiority; I think of myself as the next Spielberg- Want to make films - have a mac with final cut;
I think of myself as the next Madonna- want to make an album - have a mac with logic.
I think of myself as the next Stephen King - want to write a novel - have a laptop with etc... or for ultra-portability and perhaps a better story should I really only have pen and paper and a great idea?
Seemingly forever increasing computing power means that if 18 months later nothing substantial has been produced the set-up is no longer industry standard - top of the range. The sense of pride has diminished and status has diminished to become something slightly disappointing with a whiff of embarrassment.
Why is it difficult sometimes to be creative when you have every tool you should need including the moon on a stick and unlimited collaborators (a.k.a internet access)?
Does the glowing screen put us into a trance? Typing, mouse-clicks, copying. Doing but not achieving anything worthwhile.
Maybe there is something to be said for trying to do 80% of the thinking off-computer and then leave the production side as much as possible to computer. As most people know - yes copying and pasting are easy. Yes computers allow for more professional results but mostly they do not save time.
Is it the time demand that makes us content to have bought the equipment, look at it and know the capability and go no further? At least for 18 months.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Global Design Principle
"Efficiency, in short, is at the core of every truly wonderful design or system."
The Global Design Principle is a response to human impact on the environment generated design problems and a design-science approach to solving them.
This may be a possible 21st century science-based strategy for use by nation-states, companies and special-interest groups to create radical and successful *products:
Design Brief:
1 Gather all current scientific knowledge about environmental problems.
2 Prioritise the problems in terms of current/future impact and cost/benefit.
3 Select the areas that require solutions in 3 categories; Medium, Long Term and Urgent.
4 Run competitions open to international contributors to quickly discover a wide-range of possible solutions.
5 Display the design brief for each area online in a similar manner to Mechanical Turk without sounding like a 'machine for turkeys'. However the reward will not be financial initially but will be incorporated into the final product perhaps in terms of named-credit or royalty if sold etc.
6 Design process not marketing-driven but the product will be developed, promoted and marketed as long as relevant criteria are met such as:
Does it deserve to enter the market because it significantly reduces or reverses environmental impact compared to similar product.
The Global Design Principle sequence of operation:
Perceived Environmental Priorities X Public Contributions X Scientific Solutions X Design Process X Promotion
The above proposal is in contrast to the typical marketing-lead creative design process that has generally been employed since the 1960's.
* products here refers to the output from the process. The item or items may also be a service or less perceptible than an individual product as usually defined.
Power vacuum (part two)
More critical thinking in design
Poundbury Design Principles
The Global Design Principle is a response to human impact on the environment generated design problems and a design-science approach to solving them.
This may be a possible 21st century science-based strategy for use by nation-states, companies and special-interest groups to create radical and successful *products:
Design Brief:
1 Gather all current scientific knowledge about environmental problems.
2 Prioritise the problems in terms of current/future impact and cost/benefit.
3 Select the areas that require solutions in 3 categories; Medium, Long Term and Urgent.
4 Run competitions open to international contributors to quickly discover a wide-range of possible solutions.
5 Display the design brief for each area online in a similar manner to Mechanical Turk without sounding like a 'machine for turkeys'. However the reward will not be financial initially but will be incorporated into the final product perhaps in terms of named-credit or royalty if sold etc.
6 Design process not marketing-driven but the product will be developed, promoted and marketed as long as relevant criteria are met such as:
Does it deserve to enter the market because it significantly reduces or reverses environmental impact compared to similar product.
The Global Design Principle sequence of operation:
Perceived Environmental Priorities X Public Contributions X Scientific Solutions X Design Process X Promotion
The above proposal is in contrast to the typical marketing-lead creative design process that has generally been employed since the 1960's.
* products here refers to the output from the process. The item or items may also be a service or less perceptible than an individual product as usually defined.
Power vacuum (part two)
More critical thinking in design
Poundbury Design Principles
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Hot House - Bauhaus
“Together let us create the new structure of the future that will be everything in one form – architecture and sculpture and painting – and that one day will rise towards the heavens like a crystal image of a new emerging belief.” Walter Gropius?
Bauhaus Modernist Maxim: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
"The good object can offer only one unambiguous solution: the type"
Anni Albers
Does identifying a physical location act as a magnet to help a creative movement develop and gather momentum?
In recent history a few that spring to mind are:
Weimar, Germany 1920's - Bauhaus
Hollywood, California 1930's - heyday of movie making
SoHo, New York for beat poets and musicians in the 1960's - The Factory, Warhol
Soho, London for writers in the 1950's
Liverpool in the 1960's - Beatles
London in the 1960's - music/ fashion - Swinging 60's Carnaby Street
London in the 1970's - punk - King's Road (Malcolm Mclaren)
Bronx, New York, 1980's - Hip Hop, wild style graffiti (Afrika Bambaataa)[*Kraftwerk]
Silicon Valley, San Francisco - 1980's ( Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs)
Factory/ Hacienda, Manchester - 1990's (Tony Wilson)
Shoreditch, London - digital music/ media in the 1990's - Last FM, Hoxton Square (Goldie)
The factory by Warhol was one of the most influential in recent popular culture being a catalyst for; Malcolm Mclaren, David Bowie, and Tony Wilson.
"Perseverance Works" in Shoreditch
Where do young designers and artists want to be now? Is web 2.0 really making a physical place irrelevant? What is the Zeitgeist today?
All those graduating or leaving school (or older) and finding it hard to get the job wanted - go to the new place where things seems to be happening and be part of the 'spirit of the time' and put it on the mainstream map.
Where is the future happening now?
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Frozen Fire
As an oxymoron it is perhaps appropriate that very few satisfactory images of Frozen Fire appear when searching Google: If two contradictory conditions cannot co-exist why would there be many images unless it was a particularly relevant phrase somehow....?
Although seemingly an impossible description of state it is quite logical for Frozen Fire to refer to a flame captured in a photograph; static never flickering.
The question occurs why think in opposites? Up, Down. Quick, Slow. Polar opposites. Clearly we were not taught all the pairs of opposites in school or anywhere else.
Are these terms for use on a continuous scale and knowing the opposites gives us a vector of direction? The importance sometimes in choosing left instead of right means you get where you planned.
What happens when the principle doesn't work? For instance, what is the opposite of 'sail'? Apart from NOT sail. Is it an irrelevant question or is there a word 'fly' for instance that would satisfy? This could be 'drive' if the setting is land; more like an analogy than an opposite. Or can tenuous justifications be explored for non-polar opposites that make sense figuratively or with poetic licence?
Pairings of 'A' vs. 'B' are not opposites; they are two arbitrary items arranged in conflict. If well chosen the comparison can be of interest or spark ideas through contrasting elements.
Although seemingly an impossible description of state it is quite logical for Frozen Fire to refer to a flame captured in a photograph; static never flickering.
The question occurs why think in opposites? Up, Down. Quick, Slow. Polar opposites. Clearly we were not taught all the pairs of opposites in school or anywhere else.
Are these terms for use on a continuous scale and knowing the opposites gives us a vector of direction? The importance sometimes in choosing left instead of right means you get where you planned.
What happens when the principle doesn't work? For instance, what is the opposite of 'sail'? Apart from NOT sail. Is it an irrelevant question or is there a word 'fly' for instance that would satisfy? This could be 'drive' if the setting is land; more like an analogy than an opposite. Or can tenuous justifications be explored for non-polar opposites that make sense figuratively or with poetic licence?
Pairings of 'A' vs. 'B' are not opposites; they are two arbitrary items arranged in conflict. If well chosen the comparison can be of interest or spark ideas through contrasting elements.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Design to Lift the Spirit
As outlined by Peter Miles a guiding principle for developing a classic product may be:
-'To design to lift the spirit'
SHOULD
- Make someone smile/ feel good when nearby.
- Tactile experience is satisfying.
- Fit for purpose.
- Better simply.
- Want to own or use it.
- Love something about the process of making it.
- Start with unprecious scribble and descriptive words
- Create broad range of visual mock-ups quickly.
- Live with each mock-up stage for at least a day before selecting a direction.
- Clearly identify the salient points in each particular design solution.
SHOULD NOT
+ Follow fashion
+ Add cynical elements
+ Assume elements of the item/system do not need consideration
ALSO USEFUL TO EMPLOY A PARAMETRIC CHART OF DESIGN CRITERIA (Weighted +/-)
STYLING LOOP
Idiom/Vernacular/ Philosophy
Postitioning of key components/ Arrangement of elements
Beauty/Lines/Curves (ogee)
Negative Space
Materials/Textures
Detailing
Finesse
-'To design to lift the spirit'
SHOULD
- Make someone smile/ feel good when nearby.
- Tactile experience is satisfying.
- Fit for purpose.
- Better simply.
- Want to own or use it.
- Love something about the process of making it.
- Start with unprecious scribble and descriptive words
- Create broad range of visual mock-ups quickly.
- Live with each mock-up stage for at least a day before selecting a direction.
- Clearly identify the salient points in each particular design solution.
SHOULD NOT
+ Follow fashion
+ Add cynical elements
+ Assume elements of the item/system do not need consideration
ALSO USEFUL TO EMPLOY A PARAMETRIC CHART OF DESIGN CRITERIA (Weighted +/-)
STYLING LOOP
Idiom/Vernacular/ Philosophy
Postitioning of key components/ Arrangement of elements
Beauty/Lines/Curves (ogee)
Negative Space
Materials/Textures
Detailing
Finesse
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Edublip
http://edublip.blogspot.com/
c0unt stats
Only the way an idea is carried out can be protected.
One sentence, A sketch, 1 second
Tips from a UK Business Messenger Robert Peston
- Who? Who was involved?
- What? What happened (what's the story)?
- When? When did it take place?
- Where? Where did it take place?
- Why? Why did it happen?
- How? How did it happen?
c0unt stats
Only the way an idea is carried out can be protected.
One sentence, A sketch, 1 second
Tips from a UK Business Messenger Robert Peston
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