Progress for Project Three

For this project I have been drawing tin snips. At this point I am enjoying making the tongs through each parameter, but the most challenging part has been doing twenty drawings for each. I think that maybe I am spending too much time on each one. But overall I am looking forward to putting all the different representations together in the end, and seeing the overall effect of my final product. I realize I still have a ways to go before this will be accomplished, but I am trying to stay creative and think of different ways to fulfill each parameter.

Understanding Comics

I thought “Understanding Comics” was a great reading, and brought up many interesting points. One of the most interesting things it mentioned was the idea that we make many things into shapes that remind us of human faces. And it was interesting to think about how we can recognize the human face even in its most simplified form. Another point made was about how the artist chooses how to portray the cartoon, and how much detail to include. By making the cartoon with less detail, it becomes more appealing to the masses.

The Finished Project

Last week we finished our redesign of an object that was only 5 bucks. I am happy with how our project turned out, and enjoyed presenting to the class the new kitchen tongs, and our poster. Below is a picture of our final product. I liked working with a group for this project, getting the input from different members, and having the final product be a culmination of all our ideas and work. During the design process I learned how important our prototype building was. We tried to build one model that we were convinced would be our final design. Yet when actually building we were able to see major flaws in the design, and we decided to change the product. I think this was an important lesson to learn, and overall I enjoyed this project!

In Class Work Session Pictures

Design for $5 Interviews

The Kitchen Tongs

The object with bad design I have chosen is this pair of kitchen tongs. I interviewed five different people asking how they would use them (1), what was good about the object (2), and what could be improved(3):

Beth:
(1) I would use them to get hot food out of pots and pans.

(2) Initially she said nothing was good about the object. Then she went on to say that they would work better than a fork to grab objects because they only require one hand. Another plus was that they were inexpensive. 

(3) She made a list of things that could be improved:

-Nothing was on the ends except metal, which could scratch the pan. 

-They were too short. 

-Your hand might get hot when the heat traveled up the metal. 

-The tongs don’t line up. 

                                            -The metal was too light-weight. 

Tom:

(1) I would use the objects to pinch people with (jokingly), but they would be useful on the grill to flip hamburgers or hot dogs. 

(2) He listed good attributes being that they could be used in the kitchen or on the grill, he felt they were long enough, and he also like the polished look. 

(3) He felt that things that could be improved was making the object more sturdy. Also, he felt the ends were too sharp. He did not like how they would conduct heat and make your hand hot. 

Dale:

(1) I would use them to pick things up, most likely in the kitchen, if they were either too hot or too messy to handle. 

(2) He liked how shiny the metal was, also he thought the ridges on the ends looked nice and would be useful. He also thought that it was nice they were able to be compacted together. 

(3) He didn’t like how loose and flimsy they were. Also, he thought they could have a nicer look to them, and maybe a fun element to them to make them stand out. 

Emily:

(1) I would use them for cooking, and picking up hot food. 

(2) She liked how shiny they were. 

(3) Her main problem with the tongs was how “noisy” they were, and how the metal was uncomfortable to hear when it joined together.

Shelby:
(1) I would use it to pick up food, maybe for salad.
(2) She really liked the length, and how it clasped together when you didn’t need to use it.
(3) She thought it was “ugly,” maybe could be improved to look sleeker and more expensive. She also didn’t like how it did not line up. 

Just a snapshot from my trip to Chicago this weekend... An interesting find along Michigan Avenue

IDEO Deep Dive Video

When watching the IDEO Deep Dive Video in class today, it was interesting to see how different their office was from a typical corporate setting. I feel that I can learn many things about how to interact with a group on a creative level from their design process. The concept maps we created in class today reminded me a lot of the way they started to brainstorm for their re-design of the traditional shopping cart. When watching the process, the level of disorder was apparent, yet seemed organized in the sense that so many ideas were created from their method. Another thing I would like to take away from the video is the research they did. They made the effort to think about, and talk to, consumers of the product they were going to design. For this next project we also get to ask others about the object we have chosen, and this seems like an invaluable technique in order to produce the best results. It was fascinating to see how successful this group has become, all because they take the time to act in a creative manner, rather than following a traditional business model. I also enjoyed seeing their final product and the improvements they made to the shopping cart!

The visual writing handout also provided some great methods for brainstorming. It was interesting to read that Leonardo da Vinci had sketchbooks filled with diagrammatic sketches that could be considered the precursors of brainstorm webs, concept maps, or mind maps. The goal of a mind map is come up with ideas quickly by going in multiple directions at once. Concept maps concentrate on associative relationships, and they focus more on systems thinking. Freewriting was another method talked about that can help generate new ideas and connections. The article talked about the traditional type of brainstorm, except that brainwriting is a way to also include those who are quieter. Word lists are another way to quickly produce ideas as well.