design thinking 2010

the ten faces of innovation

2010-04-01T00:28:00.003-04:00

learning:

-the anthropologist: observes everything, open minded, looks for new or unnoticed patterns, chronicles everything, intuition

-the experimenter: hands on, diligent, tries different ideas, expects and learns from failure, uses simplicity

-the cross-pollinator: has many interests, curious, good learners and teachers, open minded, draws inspiration from anything and everything

organizing:

-the hurdler: doesn't take "no" for an answer, determined, street savvy, looks for the simplest path, flexible

-The collaborator: enthusiastic, a team-worker, the moderator of a group, outspoken, encouraging

-the director: leader, behind the scenes, has high goals, builds teams, finds solutions to many problems

builders:

-the experience architect: designer, artistic, memorable, reinvents current ideas, focuses on the customer experience

-the set designer: strives to inspire others, utilizes personal inspiration, accommodates different situations, brings groups together physically, flexible

-the caregiver: sensitive to needs, friendly, patient, makes the customer feel comfortable, abides by the "golden rule"

-the storyteller: makes an experience personal, inspires, helps connect groups, generates interests, incorporates emotion into a project

After some consideration, I think I am a cross-pollinator. I have so many interests; music, photography, literature, history, nature, sports, entertainment, food. I want to travel the world and experience many things, and I'm constantly looking up new things and soaking up new information. I always seem to surprise people by how many things I do, and what I want to do. I also think I'm a cross pollinator because I also have storyteller, caregiver, director and experimenter traits. I am open minded, hands on, a need to help, and I love to tell and hear stories and experiences. It would really depend on the project the group picks but I know that I'd bring in my own experiences, would help lead if needed and try different approaches.

Learning, organizing and building are all key components in any project. You have to have knowledge on what you are doing, and then you have to organize all that information along with your plan of execution. Then after creating a foundation, you can build upon your basics and finish the project.

2010-03-28T16:21:00.003-04:00

1) Vitruvian Man

2)What's Your Adrenaline Rush?

3)Let's Dance

4)Watch and Learn

5)Dream Team

6)If the Shoe Fits...

7)400 Metre Hurdles

8)Dragrace

9)Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

10)What Would Nike Do?

http://www.breitbart.tv/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/gym2.jpg

barriers and bridges

2010-03-17T22:17:00.002-04:00

I chose to further explore the Exercise Study/Office Chair. Office and students always complain how they are sitting down all day and can’t get exercise so having an exercise chair might help get some exercise to those who need it.

Barriers/ Bridges

Not everyone is the same size/ make multiple sizes and forms for the short, tall, skinny and heavy

The chair would cause unfocus/ have options to make the chair less moveable

Customers won’t like it/ do questionnaires about what they would be looking for

Offices would ban them/ do studies to prove how the chair would help

Would be too big/ modern material could help the product use less space

Too expensive/ keep design simple

No one will buy it to replace old chairs/ have test subjects and do trials to let customers experience it

project

2010-03-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

here is my list of projects:

1) Rain Barrel Collectors- smaller, more lightweight design to encourage people to use and recycle water

2) Light-Weight Plant Holder- for rooftop gardens or traditional gardens, also for windowsills

3) Weight Grips- improve grip on dumbbells to improve exercise experience.

4) Up-side-down Peanut-Butter Jar- so you can get all of the Peanut-Butter out when it gets empty

5) Exercise Study Chair- a chair that gives support but also engages muscles in little ways to improve health for those sitting down all day.

6) Key Beeper- A small device that you can either put on a key-ring or on top of a key that beeps when you "call" it so you can find your keys

7) Refillable Ink-Cartridges- Cut down on plastic used and decrease cost, also won't have to remember what type you need.

8) Collapsable plastic storage boxes- When you need them you can pop them into shape, when you don't you can fold them flat

9) Solar cellphone charger- for if you're out camping or in a place where you need to charge you phone without an electrical outlet

10) Biodegradable Cutlery- disposable cutlery that can dissolve in landfills.

The products strive to either promote green practices or to ease everyday problems such as health or stress.

home is where the brainstorm is

2010-03-01T19:00:00.003-05:00

As our big group fast approaches, our need for a space that not only has visual ideas but also space and human inspiration is critical to a successful project. Located on the edge of campus, is a small shop called Tate Street Coffee, a small but cozy shop buzzing with creativity and lots of caffeine (for all those who need a little help in the morning). I feel that Tate Street Coffee is a perfect greenhouse, because of all the creativity that fills the space. It is not too big of a space, so we would be close together, but not so small that we wouldn't be able to move. I also think that since our projects will have something to do with people, the many people that step in and out of the shop can allow us to observe and incorporate into our products. With all the visual creativity and a perfect space for our small class, Tate Street Coffee is a perfect place for our project to grow and flourish.

prototype this!

2010-02-24T16:27:00.003-05:00

I have only watched a few clips of the show but it looks awesome. It reminds me of mythbusters but will more of a toy approach. Everyone wants to have the latest and greatest gadget and these guys on Prototype This! seem to like to play around with the possible future products of the world. My favorite was the water slide simulator; it looks amazing and I want to try. The guys seem to use the trial and error approach. In most instances they build a small model and test it, to work out any kinks before they build a full size model. Then they test out the real deal and hope that it works according to their calculations. People probably also like it because its like tinkering with toys for big people, and it fuels their imagination, and makes many start thinking of new things they can build or try.

power point design 2

2010-02-24T15:23:00.003-05:00

Rachel's power point was very well put together. The opening slide was intense, with a fire-eater, and the text was simple and didn't take away from the fire. The rest of the slides were much more matched, with a simple background, and black and white pictures in the same place. All of the transitions were smooth and clean, and if she was giving a presentation, the audience would have been able to view the visuals while also paying attention to Rachel. The last slide would have been a bit better without so much text, but I did like that it still followed the theme of the rest of the slides. Her design overall, was clean and simple but had wonderful visuals that helped bring her point across.

power point design

2010-02-24T14:53:00.003-05:00

I tried to keep my power point simple, but visually engaging. I looked for pictures that were either very stereotypical of the hot group archetype, or someone famous who was famous for being like that certain archetype. Being my power point, I liked all of my slides but I think my title and ending slide was the best, although the star trek geek and Franknfurter are my favorite pictures. There was a lot of blue in my pictures, so I unconsciously did some color theory and made the background different, but still simple as not to take away from the pictures or text. The text was simple, because I wanted the focus to be on the picture and on me, the speaker, as I told them about the power point. I tried to keep the pictures in the same place, to keep the transition of slides smooth, but I didn’t keep the pictures the same size, which would have made it better.

hot groups

2010-02-17T22:02:00.001-05:00

After taking the change style inventory, I got a glimpse of some personal qualities that our class exhibits (all positive I might add). My personal result, being very close to the middle, I thought was very true. Sometimes I am more progressive, sometimes I’m more traditional, but I like being in the middle. When thinking about people in hot groups, I wanted to encompass a range of people to give the best ideas, both progressive and more traditional. Perfect size would be about 6 to 10 people, with people of many different disciplines and backgrounds. I think the more variety there is, the better ideas the group will be able to produce. I would want some scientists, some artistic folks, and some business people and some other disciplines, to give a rich variety. But I don’t know how I’d put all these different people into a group, although a personality quiz much like we did would be very helpful.

and my type result was Courier, although archer hairline would be my second result since one of the questions was half and half for me.

Cubing

2010-02-15T20:15:00.002-05:00

During class on thursday, we discussed several brainstorming techniques. While looking up more techniques, i stumbled upon one and I thought it was kind of cool. It is called cubing, and it provokes the brainstormer to think about the brainstorm idea in six ways, like the six sides of a cube. The brainstormer is asked to describe it, compare it, associate it, analyze it, apply it and argue for and against it. By pulling the idea in several ways it allows the brainstormer to look for new ideas and any connections between the different "sides." It can help one look for patterns and get a better sense of of the idea. On brainstorming for different disciplines I would think that most techniques would work for most disciplines. Some people might have to alter or skip some steps but I think the main core of the techniques can work for anything. In a group, one of the best ways to deal with apathy is to incorporate group exercises, where everyone has to give an idea or opinion. And for those who disagree, we can give them they're opinion but at some point the majority must move on with the more popular idea.

water bottles

2010-02-10T16:17:00.003-05:00

Everyday millions of water bottles are thrown away, where they will just sit, taking up space for thousands of years. With a growing population, a growing movement for “green” practices and a growing mountain of empty water bottles, we have to find a way to incorporate many problems with simple solutions. As a college student with a “green” conscious, I have thought of an idea to suffice the growing demands by using empty water bottles as various building materials. Incorporating water bottles in house or building construction could dramatically reduce many factors, such as construction costs and landfill piles. Be it in foundation or filler, insulation or even to keep manmade “islands” afloat, the plastic bottles could be very useful as the growing population builds eco-friendly houses. The water bottles are going to last a long time whether it be in a landfill, taking up space or as part of a house that helps the earth have a bit more elbow room, so why not use the bottles to solve our many problems.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H4rniyeYe6Y/RsJBQoDZb9I/AAAAAAAAAL4/7rhrSJxCbDc/s1600/bottle1.jpg

revamp idea

2010-02-08T21:41:00.002-05:00

Watching IDEO inspired me to design and create, but thinking about something that could be revamped was really hard. I kicked a few ideas around and the best idea I could come up with a stoplight redesign. A lot of the spotlights still are the old big boxes that sway in the wind on a wire. When I go visit my family in Tampa Florida, I saw several new stoplights that were fixed on metal bar that extended out above the road. To me I thought this seemed much safer that traditional wire lights, especially with all the extreme storms that Florida gets. I thought that the revamp could go farther. The lights could be replaced with LED lights, which could last longer, and solar panels could be attached to the top. The stoplights could basically run its self and would require less maintenance. Any extra energy could be sold back to the power company to be used by other people. LED lights are also much brighter than traditional lights so smaller lights and boxes, using less materials. Of course it would take alot of money to change all the lights in the US but I think that the money that the stoplights would give back would be worth it in the long run.

Design thinkers as a whole

2010-02-01T14:53:00.003-05:00

During class, we have been bombarded with design thinkers across all disciplines. I myself did not realize how many people are design thinkers in some way. By learning about these people, my thoughts about design thinking have changed a bit, but for the most part has stayed strong. Design thinking is taking and idea or problem and tinkering and/or perfecting it for a more convenient or more practical or more truthful product. All of our design thinkers have had some idea or problem and have run with it, and made it better or more interesting. Einstein made his field more truthful, and expanded the knowledge of physics tremendously. All have also relied on their surroundings for inspiration and have had a team or partner to help them. Madame Marie Curie is another design thinker that I found. She is a woman (hadn't had many of those yet) and became the first person to win two nobel prizes and became one of the first woman scientists. She discovered a new element and expanded radiology immensely. She also worked closely with her husband, but after he died, was more recognized for her work. Without her thinking, our modern radiology, such as chemo and x-rays, would not have been the same.

working spaces

2010-01-27T18:51:00.002-05:00

The Eames' work space really interested me. I loved all the colors and pictures. I love taking pictures of everything, and other pictures definitely inspire me, either to travel or cook or take more pictures. My work space is usually messy like the Eames' but not always as organized, but too clean distracts me. I also liked all the knick-knacks, some from around the world and some just personal favorites. I have bottles, shells, and glass birds on my personal shelf, and pictures on the wall, and they always inspire happy thoughts and thus, my creativity can flow. So as I looked for an inspiring work space, I looked for color, and individuality. I also hate sitting down for too long so I didn't want boring cubicles. Thus I found Pixar. The animation studio is based on creativity so work environment has to inspire to continue the creative process. Pixar is colorful, playful, and doesn't have boring cubicles. They have interesting cut outs with arches and some cubicles are really garden sheds that the animator has decorated to their liking.

James Dyson

2010-01-23T12:45:00.006-05:00

Charles and Ray Eames’ were true design thinkers, who strived to create products with more efficiency and with new design and looks. As I began to think about a design thinker of my own, I tried looking at medical designers but none had done many designs. I was looking for someone like Ray and Charles, who kept working on new products and had widened their field of design. Thus I found James Dyson, a modern design thinker. Early on, Dyson had been an art student and attended Royal College of Art in England where he found a passion in architecture. But instead of designing houses, Dyson designed a high speed landing craft, and soon after the Ballbarow, a wheelbarrow with a plastic bin, robust feet and instead of a wheel, a big red ball that wouldn’t sink in the mud.
Then Dyson was on his own and soon created his product that he is most famous for, his cyclone vacuum. Becoming inspired from his frustrations of his conventional vacuum losing suction, and the huge cyclone machine he observed at the local sawmill, Dyson made 5,127 prototypes and created the DC01, the first vacuum that didn’t lose suction and used cyclone technology. Dyson faced challenges as UK and US markets wouldn’t sell his product, but he found success when it was launched in Japan and it became widely popular. Problems aroused when other vacuum manufacturers began copying his technology, but his patent helped settle the case in court.
Since then, Dyson has continued to improve his vacuum cleaners, his latest model incorporating a ball for easier maneuvering (and it is quite fun, I love vacuuming with it). His company in England employs more than 350 engineers and scientists that help him create and improve the designs. His designs have reached beyond vacuums now, with a high-speed hand dryer that scrapes the water off of your hands, to a bladeless fan that uses airplane technology. Dyson is also experimenting with textiles and has also created an optical illusion water fountain for an art exhibit call The Wrong Garden. He strives to create products that are more efficient and more convenient, and also encourages young designers and engineers by holding contests for creating or improving designs.

http://www.dyson.com/homepage.asp

powers of ten

2010-01-20T21:55:00.000-05:00

In class on Tuesday (1/19/10) we viewed Eames' film Powers of 10 which explored the universe as we know it, from the tiny protons and neutrons to the vast emptiness of space. What I took from Eames' film was the more obvious "there are bigger things out there" but also how miraculous we as a species came to be. The universe is harsh and it just so happened that our little rocky planet was just close enough to our little sun to allow life to flourish. Nature was not in mankind's favor. We are built by microscopic atoms, and thus far, have managed to survive and thrive on Earth. Going along with that is the other message from the film, the bigger issues. Our species has been at war constantly, either with nature or each other. Our problems today, such as global climate change, energy shortages, recession, and war are really insignificant when one looks at the universe. We are insignificant to the universe; so small and vulnerable. I think Eames' was trying to point that out, that are problems are nothing compared to the rest of the universe. Yet I also think that in showing us our insignificance, Eames' hopes to show humanity that we are all together in the universe. Instead of fighting against, we should work with one another to better our small world.

On another topic, we were asked to ponder the definition of "design thinking." To me, design thinking is the process of thought that is used to fix or better or even figure out something. That something could be an actual design, such as for a new cell phone or a house, but also for everyday life, i.e. how to get to class on time or as we experienced on Tuesday, finding an empty classroom to hold class. I truly think we use "design thinking" everyday, and I guess some may even go as far as calling it "problem solving," but I like "design thinking" better.

As for my picture, I chose Leonardo Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man." I think Da Vinci was using "design thinking" when he sketched this, and it also shows the amazing design of our species.

http://hilarygardner.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/man-leonardo-da-vinci1.jpg