Yet again Its been a long while since my last blog post, but after seeing this quirky gadget I couldn’t resist. If like me, you travel a lot between places, then I’m sure you have had the problem of grouping all your gadgets together in one place when packing. Numerous times I have unpacked at the other end of my journey and realised I have forgot a memory card, or that classic one; the iPhone charger. Well, no worries because GRID-IT is here to save the day! An organisation system which uses configureable straps and pockets that you are able to customise to fit any accessory you have. Although the one above is for a MacBook Air, it is also available for a wide variety of other devices too. I think the manufacturers Cocoon have really nailed this one, and is definitely on my list of things to buy. If you are just as interested as I am, then give their site a quick look!
To be honest people, there is not much to say about this post. Its just to give you guys some idea of where I am working on my placement year as a Industrial/Product Designer.
Yet again it has been another long wait for something fresh to come up on my blog, for this I apologise. Its the same old excuse to be honest. Work. Anyway, better late than never I say!
I thought a few pictures from my visit to the 100% Design exhibition would keep the creative juices flowing for now until I put something a bit more worthwhile on here. I have a few things lined up in the coming months as regards to portfolio work and new projects, so keep your eyes on this space, you can’t get rid of me that easily Mr. Worldwideweb.
Top:
The Convertible by Tutto Tondo Design
Transforms from a dining table into a work station
I don’t usually tap into very serious and hard hitting matters on my blog but I thought now would be a good time to start. A close friend of mine has founded something I believe could help towards solving some big issues concerning homelessness in todays society (sorry about the pun, was not intented, honest!). Very few of us in this day and age have experienced being homeless, and hopefully will never have to, but it is still a very big issue in todays society with an estimated 400,000 homeless people on UK streets alone. For an individual that is homeless the experience can be a very traumatic, both physically and mentally.
Project Homeless aims to engage with users that may not be aware with the issues of being homeless whilst at the same time reach a wide audience to gather opinions & ideas on how the project can help improve the lives of the homeless in the UK. Project Homeless boasts a range of surveys that aim to challenge the users perceptions of the homeless, demonstrating just how alike homeless people are to the general public. The questions aim to gain some basic knowledge of the public’s point of view towards the homeless. Homelessness in today’s society is very real, & it could happen to anyone.
The project is also looking for the general public’s opinions & ideas on how they think the lives of the homeless could be improved, there is a section that allows anyone to upload ideas of how to improve the lives of the homeless, not all the ideas have to be design related or even realistic, sometimes the stranger the idea the better!
Click the image above to find out more and share your thoughts and comments, be it good or bad, it doesn’t cost nothing!
It is now the end of July and I have not posted anything for over six weeks now! The thing is, I am sitting here, thinking of what to write about and a title to go with it. A blank page definitely is one of mans worse nightmares.
The thing is I think I am getting off on the wrong foot here and missing the point. I started this blog to talk about Design related stuff, so I better start talking Design rather than waffling about how I am going to do it (Story of my life sometimes!!). But before you prejudge and think I am some sort of odd job that cant get his life into order then I have an excuse. Its not the usual ’The dog ate it’ one I will have you know. Its called ‘Placement Year’, which in essence is a year of work in industry which will not only help boost my employability after my degree but also gain invaluable experience and knowledge that is impossible to find in the academia world of University.For the benefit of you that don’t know it is sandwiched right in the middle of my degree just before the final year and after the second year. Hence the name ‘Sandwich Degree’.
So where am I working, you ask? Well I landed myself a job for a year in Project Management department at a company that produces Injection Moulded parts. So far it has been great experience, I feel like a sponge that is absorbing information constantly – I am learning something new everyday that is relevant to my degree. Everyday I start work there is always a design problem to solve and a job to do. Without a shadow of a doubt a placement year really does help. My duties as Product Designer are pretty obvious really – developing and creating existing and new products for the company. Well, thats a vague description to be honest, there is more to it than that – but you get the idea.
So far I have been on placement now for over a month now and I am already getting the hang of the way Product Design is approached in industry. Thing is I have been itching to whack something on here which is pleasing to the eye, rather than this black and white text which contains a lot of waffling. So check out these cool bits and bobs that I have come across on my discoveries. Enjoy!
Well I’m sure you have missed me guys, I sure haven’t missed you lot! I joke of course – Honestly, from April right up until the present my calendar has been pretty busy. It’s been a mix of Final Projects, Exams and Placement Interviews. I can now safely say that it was all well worth it as I have now finished my second year and getting ready to begin a year of hard work in industry.
So for the first time in my life I am going to be among the working elite and get a taste of what the daily grind is all about. You can get complacent being an easy going student and not having too many worries apart from when the next project deadline is. So I now have to start thinking about more ‘responsible’ issues, how will I commute between home and work? by car, train, plane, or hot air balloon? Well after much thought I think I have come up with it! (trust me on this one because the hot air balloon idea was top of the agenda until I released how big these things were)
The humble Car seems to be the answer, but what car you ask, because there are plenty out there to choose from! Well, first of all it has to be economical because of the stupidly high fuel prices right now, what with the middle east uprising. It has to be good on the insurance, and above all value for money. After spending copious amounts of time researching and visiting dealerships I have my eye on a Skoda. Honestly this is no typing mistake but Skoda have pleasantly surprised me. This is why I have my eye on the new five door Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo 1.2 70 bhp. Not only is this hot hatch easy on the wallet but it comes with all the modern trim that you would expect in a high end car, leather accents dotted around the interior accompanied by red stitching gives the car a sporty yet high end feel. Even the dashboard, although being the standard injection moulded plastic it still feels of VW German quality. In its standard form, the Fabia is boxy and nondescript, but with the glitz of the black gloss trim, the smoked headlights and the dark 17-inch alloys, it does take on much of the aggression of the sporting vRS. The red Fabia, in the land of the supercar, even turns a few Monegasque heads.
Comment and let me know what you think. My mind is certainly made up, but would love to hear your opinions! Check the videos below, especially the latter if you like Design.
Chairs, do you ever think twice about sitting on one? About what it looks like, how it functions and if its comfortable or not, and to be honest, most of us wouldn’t give a scooby because we have bigger fish to fry in this world of ours.
However there comes a time and place for such an interest. For some odd reason I have a big desire to design my own chair, not quite sure why; I just know I wanted to design my very own chair. So when we had a chance to write our own brief, I leaped at the chance of designing one. I wanted to pay particular attention to multifunctional chairs, the type you would find in a contemporary environment.
The brief
“The furniture company Vitra is looking looking to introduce a range of multifunctional chairs that can easily be implemented into domestic or commercial environments. The chair must be mass produced in high volumes and must also be stackable. The chair must have a distinctive contemporary appearance which promotes a shape that ensures freedom of movement.”
The images above and below show a few snapshots of the design process and the final outcome, which I have taken from the project. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
Hey you hungry bunch! Where have I been you ask…well cut a long story short, my MacBookPro hard drive decided to pack up two weeks ago, all fixed now thank goodness. Since then I have been itching to do a quick post about the iPad2. If you have not already heard about it then your head must be stuck in the clouds because Apple have thrown the second generation out there and what a gorgeous little number this one is.
Okay, so this post is not exactly up to date, bear in mind the iPad2 was unveiled on 2nd March. However I made sure I was watching the live blogfeed from the keynote on the night. Unlike me, you don’t have to adore Apple to realise the coolness of such a device. With the addition of a front and rear facing camera it really broadens the spectrum regarding the type of tasks the iPad can now do, which in turn I think has given Apple the advantage of widening the customer demographic. I think the introduction of Facetime on the iPad was a obvious move forward in the right direction along with a newly designed case which I think is one of the most smartest around. I think the idea of accessories being designed alongside the actual product is something that should be embraced a lot more in the future.
Anyway, I have whacked a YouTube clip below showing the features of the official Apple case, which for some reason reminds me of a Pixar short. Enjoy. And comment.
Milk, You use it everyday, but never think twice about the the container. Well after seeing this on the news the other day I could not help but geek out and post it on my Blog. In essence it’s a eco friendly take on a Milk container. It addresses the pressure which is being put on landfill sites across the nation by using a paper pulp type material, very similar to the material used in Egg box’s. The interior has a plastic bag on the inside to keep the Milk fresh and sterile, whilst the outside shell gives structure and protection to the bag inside. Consider the conventional HDPE Milk containers which are most popular in the UK can actually take up to 500 years to decompose, along with the quantity at which they are consumed (over 15million units in the UK alone) really highlights the benefit of this new design.
This idea has a similar take on the JUGIT system which has been stocked by Supermarkets nationwide. However this idea really captured my imagination because unlike the JUGIT system there is no need for that extra plastic container with all those moving parts. To put it simply this design just makes senses given today’s emphasis on sustainable design. The outer paper shell which you are able to rip apart after use can easily be placed in with all your other household recycling. I think this is a definite winner and will be very surprised if it does not catch on.
If you are a fellow Londoner then you can probably understand how cramped a London Underground Train can be. Have you ever asked yourself if the inevitable was to happen? and indeed It has happened before as we all sadly know in the 7/7 bombings. So fitting a system for passenger evacuation required DCA to come up with a design that combines space saving features with fast deployment.
This step-ladder system which safely clears the train coupler has now been fitted to the new S-Stock trains which will be first present on the Metropolitan line. I think the idea to use a strap to deploy the bridge quick and easily was a good choice, and addressed the need to save space whilst still maintaing a safe and viable solution. This would have been one system that could have proved life saving in some cases on 7/7, with some injured passengers finding it hard to escape from the train in a safe and easy manner without any obstructions. Definitely a great bit of design right here. Why not check the video out on the DCA website to learn more on how it works, or leave a comment!
