Project Two: Upcycling

Seat belt webbing is a very durable and strong material; making it perfect for incorporation into designs such as bags, where this material property is put to use. This material appealed to me as a fitting choice for this assignment, as it is effectively at its end of life when the cars in which they are found are sent to landfill.

I sourced the seat belt webbing from some car wreckers in Blacktown called Pick 'n Pay. Each belt cost $5, being almost 2 metres in length. For the design of the bag that I made for this assignment, approximately 4 and a half seatbelts were used. This product is able to be mass-manufactured, as it only requires the supply of seat belt webbing, used recyclable bags and a sewing machine.

As a material, used seat belt webbing is easy to source, from car wreckers and car heaps. Each car produces four seat belts, each belt measuring about 2.2 metres in length. On average, one auto recycler landfills over 270 kilograms of seat belts every month.

This bag effectively upcycles seat belt webbing, fulfilling the criteria of the brief. The design of the bag is reflective of the style of objects found within a boutique store. The bag is made from seat belt webbing, with a lining of recyclable shopping bags. The front of the bag is held shut with velcro strips. This is a simple and sturdy design aimed at people who carry numerous books to work or university. The sleek appearance of the material allows the bag to fit nicely into an office environment.

Task 6: Design For Life

The Design for Life television series hosted by world-renowned designer Phillip Starke was a series that placed great emphasis on the design process and the expression of individual creativity. Each of the six episodes within the series followed the Journey of 12 competitors from the United Kingdom, each battling to win a six month placement within Phillip Starkes school of design in Paris. Through viewing this series a great detail of insight and understanding can be gained on the different approaches to design, and how different ways of design thinking can be embraced.


According to Starke, good design speaks life. It represents sex, flesh and sweat. Starke is known as the 'bad boy' of design. With a talent for capturing attention, his design philosophy is simply that good design is beautiful, useful and sustainable. With the selection of 12 competitors from hundreds of design entries, through the series Starke is looking to discover the best new talent in the UK. The search for new ideas where the designers go out of their comfort zone to open themselves up and give everything.


The competitors began the competition in Paris where their design decisions would be challenged and critiqued. The highly critical nature of French culture would motivate the competitors to generate 'good design'. With the commencement of the first project, each designer was allocated the same brief; to find two different products within a supermarket that represented two themes: function and ecology; one item being useful and one being useless. Through the undertaking of this project, Starke was given insight into the designers different ways of thinking, so that he could better understand how their creative minds work. This brief encouraged the competitors to look for the stories behind the products. A myriad of product were brought to the table, ranging from a glass mixing bowl, nappies, batteries and a childs water bottle, right through to condoms to name a few. The end of the first episode saw two people eliminated from the competition, where their design ideas were too simple and not developed enough for Starkes expectation.

Product designers effect every day of our lives. Every product is the result of a design decision, and it is these decisions that will affect our lives in the future. For many designers the most exciting parts of design are the beginning and the end. From the generation of all forms of limitless creations, to when the product becomes a realisation of all of the creative efforts and technological restrictions undergone by the designer. Starke is regarded as the most prolific designer of the generation. His democratic products embrace the future through their sustainability. Through this competition, Starke is looking for a creative mind that can embrace his thinking and design approach; a designer that can push ideas to the limit.

After the elimination of two competitors at the end of the first episode, there were only ten competitors left at the commencement of the second assignment. With a brief to create a product that will help humanity and reflect evolution, Starke aimed to seek out the most ambitious thinkers. It was up to the competitors to find out who in humanity they were trying to benefit, and become familiar with their target by understanding how they live: observing human behaviours. With such an open brief, the competitors returned with completely different and creative ideas through their individual interpretation of the brief. Concepts such as fabric lint, floating communities, personalised t-shirts, water meters, a bamboo bin and an interactive tunnel were just some that were presented as ideas to help humanity interact better with their environment. This was a very interesting episode to watch as the competitors wasted so much of their time tossing around ideas, that it restricted the quality of their final presentation. This resulted in two competitors being sent home, as their ideas failed in the exploration of the brief in a creative and extensive manner.

The expression of creativity and ideas rely on self belief and confidence. Some believe that it is ninety percent perspiration and ten percent inspiration. With the incorporation of performance in a design presentation, the pitch of an idea can be greatly influential on the audience. When designing for a target market, you should design through experience. Where the designer can immense themselves in the world they are designing for, to understand the lives of others. To think, feel and experience.

Within the third episode, the competitors failed to impress Starke in their response to an open brief. The brief stated five simple guidelines; the product designed must be ethical, democratic, ecological, non-electronic and be a product of daily use. For Starke, the goal in design is always invention. Although each of the designers came up with a design invention, their lack of research and knowledge in the area they chose to focus on let them down. Starke decided not to eliminate any competitors, but rather have them each re-do their designs and produce a model; as individual competitors. Teamwork in a competitive environment in this case meant that the dreamers were restricted, and the level of work was levelled; not one competitor stood out from the others at this stage.

With the revision of their designs in the fourth episode, the eight competitors returned to Starke with their ideas. Only four people made it through to the next episode, with designs of a childrens posture chair, anti-mugging glove, magnetic dinner set and an aged walking frame. I found this an interesting episode as the designers became very stressed with the pressure of the competition, hindering the quality of the designs that they were producing. Even after a warning from Starke about their lack of performance and laziness, some of the competitors returned with models that reflected no effort or attention to detail whatsoever. Not surprisingly, these were the four people that were eliminated from the competition.

Through his design career, Starke moved onto form not function. From huge scale interiors to things within the home; democratic design and affordable products. A successful product designer is one who can generate ideas through experience and observation. Where there is a definite technical understanding. For industrial designers, the craft is working out the engineering. With Starkes favourite project always being the next one, his standards are only as high as he sets for himself. As a prolific and influential designer, many of those within the design world find it hard to escape his shadow.

For the four remaining competitors, episode number five saw the opportunity to have their designs produced into prototypes. With the requirement of technical drawings and finalised ideas, Starke was looking for those who had the most successful and feasible designs. Although the posture chair was an extremely clear and researched design, this failed to impress Starke as the internal mechanism of the chair was too complicated; for Starke, less is more. The anti-mugging glove fell to the same consequence, it too failed to impress Starke, mainly due to the lack of research and understanding of the technicality of the product from the designer. Only the Magnetic dining set and aged walking frame made it to the final round, leaving the last two competitors, Mike and Ilsa to battle for the six month placement at Starkes school of design. Within the world of design, ideas are only turned into prototypes if a client believes it has a potential as a solid investment.

With just two remaining competitors in the final episode, the opportunity to win a placement at Starkes design agency would launch the successful designer straight into the heart of the design world. Both Mike and Ilsa made it to the final round as their products were ambitious and inventive. They met the criteria of the brief and appealed to Starke as they were both highly functional. The opportunity to learn about design advertising was experienced by the competitors, and ultimately would have the last point of influence on Starke. With both products being a qualified success, the aged care walking frame won as it was a more ambitious product. It sculptural form appealed greatly to Starke, resulting in Ilsa winning the six month placement in Starkes design agency, where for the next six months, she would have the invaluable opportunity to work alongside one of the worlds most renowned designers.

Design is about making things that can be done, not just about dreams.

Project One: Experience Enrichment

Icerush is a stainless steel hand tool designed to cruch ice for making cocktails. The size and shape of the design allows for the user to crush ice inside a generic cocktail shaker, before the other ingredients are added.

The design is easy, simple and fun to use. The shape and size of the handle is easy to grip and comfortable to hold whilst crushing ice. The unique shape at the base of the crusher allows for ice to move to the edges while whole pieces of uncrushed ice can remain centered for easier and more effective crushing.

The target audience of Icerush are females aged between 20-35 years, who enjoy entertaining. For the out-of-home female who loves to get dressed up and entertain in a classy manner.

Referring back to the brief, the Icerush product design promotes a pleasurable living relationship with the user, as it makes the experience of making cocktails easier, and therefore more enjoyable. The process of crushing ice creates a feeling of gratification, as the user is able to achieve a 'smarter cocktail' through the use of this product. The shape of the handle is large and easy to grip, making the ice-crushing experience comfortable, where the hand is not stressed by the repetative action.

Task 6: Objectified

Everything that fills our world has been designed. The manifestation of creativity is evident, even if in the smallest detail in everything that exists. Take the post-it note for example. Something which is so commonly in existence, that people don't even consider that at some point a team of designers have sat down and taken the time to design this product. Through the video Objectified presented by Gary Hustwit, the personal interpretation of design and how it is understood is explored. This is a beneficial video for industrial designers to watch as it gives a great detail of insight into the world of products from a designers perspective.

Good design should be innovative. It should make a product useful, aesthetic, understandable, honest, unobtrusive, long-lived, consistent in every detail and environmentally friendly. Last but not least, good design is as little design as possible. Good design distinguishes you. In recent times, people and companies have not been on the search for good design, but rather, more products. Wanting what is 'now'. The original archetypes that have been revisited and modified, mass produced and standardised for the consumption of millions of people. Designers have become a way for companies to 'add value' to products. Producing products that will stand the test of time. Products that become worn in with use rather than wearing out.

Apple is one of the few companies that takes design seriously. Creating products which reflect efficiency and beauty; a calm solution. Where so much consideration has been taken with each and every detail of the design, in material and form, so that each one part provides so much functionality. The refinement of the manufacturing process has created products of beauty; the simplicity of form speaks to the user about how you are going to use it rather than the troubles of designers and engineers.

As a designer, you are defined by the way you look at the world. Constantly questioning why things are like that and not like this. Design is the search for form. As a designer you should look into the future to see what is going to happen, not what has happened, to create an appropriate environment where people feel good. To be an emotional energy of what you see in it. Designing for target audiences should involve analysis of the extremes; the athletes, the strongest, those with arthritis. Through understanding the extremes, the middle will take care of itself.

Every object speaks to who put it there. Many assumptions are made about objects; what it does, how much is it going to cost, how heavy it is. People react positively when things are clear and understandable. As quoted by Henry Ford "Every object tells a story...if you know how to read it". Design has seen a new generation of products, where form bears no relation to the function. Before digital, during the analogue days of design form followed function. Where with examination of an object, you could most likely work out its designed function. But design is moving from intangible and material to increasingly intangible and immaterial culture.

Through the viewing of this video a better and more in-depth understanding on designers perspectives to product design and the emotional experience can be gained. Where in the world of good design less is more, and products become better with use. Where the memories of people add to the value of their timeless objects. Design is everywhere. It can have such an amazing effect on the lives of people who don't care much for it.

Task 5: Design Confusion

Task 6: The story of stuff

Through the documentary-style video The Story of Stuff presented by Annie Leonard, the focal audience of industrial designers can gain a far more in-depth insight into the materials economy. This understanding is highly beneficial in terms of design, as it is the responsibility of the designer to be aware of the lifecycle of products and 'stuff' as it moves through a system. In this video, Leonard explains how the process of production in a linear system cannot run on a finite planet indefinitely.

The corporation and governmentally influenced materials economy can be broken down into five different stages; extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal. This is the process in which stuff exists; or in short the lifecycle of a product. The quote captured from Victor Lebeau "Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate" marked the wartime boom, where the materials economy was kick-started by corporations to reach the levels of production and consumption as we see them today.

If we take a closer and more analytical look at each stage within the materials economy, it can become more obvious as to where the problems lie and how solutions can be proposed to create a better system. The first stage within the system is extraction. Natural materials are exploited, and at current the world is running out of resources as a result of the over production of stuff. After the extraction process, materials move along the system to production. Natural and synthetic materials are combined to produce a myriad of toxic-rich products. This is a harmful step in the production process, not only to the factory workers who are exposed to dangerous chemicals, but also to consumers and the environment. A study was conducted revealing that the United States produces 4 billion pounds of toxic pollution annually, demonstrating that revision of the system is crucial for the realisation of a better environmentally sustainable solution.

The third stage of the linear system is distribution. Leonard explains how within distribution prices are kept down, people are kept buying and the inventory is kept moving. This is maintained by the externalisation of costs, where within previous stages of the system people and communities are wasted through loss of their natural space and clean air. Following this stage is consumption. The consumption of products is linked to the distribution by the 'golden arrow', or the heart of the system. At this stage advertising and media play a big role; making the population feel unhappy about what they have, inspiring them to fix this problem by shopping. Buyers are sucked into advertising but through product advertisement, the media effectively hide the extraction, production and disposal environmental impacts associated with that particular product; these occur outside the buyers vision.

Consumerism has increased to create a society with materialistic values. During the 1950's the concept of designed obsolescence caught on, where products were designed to break quickly, but leave the buyer with enough faith to go and buy another one. This is otherwise known as planned obsolescence, where a product has been designed for the dump. A classic example of this is computer hardware. With rapid technological development, computers are getting smaller and more compact but also causing models to become 'out of date'. As Leonard points out when closely examining an older computer model against a newer one, the only differing element of the design was one small piece, which, across each newer design had been slightly varied in shape, making it impossible for the consumer to replace that one piece; therefore forcing them to discard to old computer and buy a brand new one.

On the other hand the term perceived obsolescence relates to the buyers throwing away goods that are still perfectly useful. In society today, people have more stuff but less time for things that make them happy. This results in an endless cycle of consuming, earning money to consume and watching advertisements that tell them to consume more. This all occurs at the 'golden arrow' within the system. An example that can be used to explain this is within fashion. The world of fashion alternated between wide-heeled and narrow-heeled shoes featured as being in style within a bi-annual cycle. Through the footwear bought by people in response to these changes in fashion, society is able to judge and point out those not contributing to the 'golden arrow' or the fuelled endless cycle of consumerism.

The consumption stage is directly followed by disposal. The final stage within the materials economy creates a huge environmental impact. It has been calculated that one percent of products purchased are still used six months after the date of purchase. This means that ninety-nine percent of products become waste. For every one garbage bin of waste produced within the home, seventy garbage bins of waste of equal size have been created during production. The pollution of air, land, water, landfill and incineration of waste has resulted in the release of harmful toxins and super toxins into the environment; creating a problem that needs a solution. The introduction of recycling has reduced the pressure on the disposal and extraction stages, but this concept will never be enough to maintain today's level and methods of production, or get to the core of a problem associated with a system in crisis.

Through the analysis of the linear materials economy system at every stage of a products lifecycle, Leonard comes to the conclusion that a new school of thinking should be introduced. A system that is fuelled by sustainability and equity, where ideas such as green chemistry, zero waste, closed loop production, renewable energy and local living economies can be made a reality. Although many people may consider these proposals too idealistic, Leonard supports her school of thought on the basis that people created an old way, so why not create a new one?

Project 1: Mood Board

Task 4: Design Excellence

Task 3: Product Sketching

Task 6: Emotional Design

The human subconscious plays an important role in determining the interaction between people and design. By watching the video featuring Don Norman titled Emotional Design a better understanding of the relationship between design and the human emotional response can be gained. This would be a beneficial video for industrial designers in particular to view, as it gives a better insight into product personality and the different levels of emotional response that design triggers.

Don Norman believes that in the world of design many things are effectively functional, but ugly. Design should be fun. In product design the functionality of a product falls into last place on a hierarchical scale. Firstly for a product to be affective it needs to be pleasurable. It needs to stimulate the sensors and be visually appealing to its target audience. Secondly a product must have good usability. If a product appeals to the customers sensors and has a 'good feel' to it, the object has basically sold itself. But lastly the object must perform a function. A good example of pleasurable product design is the Alessi Juicer designed by Phillip Stark. The design stimulates the sensors but when it comes to the functionality of the product the user is informed that the object should not be used for its designed purpose ; to create juice, as the acid in the juice will damage the surface of the product. This proves the theory that functionality in design is of least importance on a scale with usability and pleasure.

There are three different levels of design processing that occur within the brain. The body's sensory organs are stimulated, causing analysis on three levels; visceral, reflective and behavioural. Norman discusses visceral analysis as being on a subconscious level, where the beauty of the design can be recognised and the aesthetic qualities can be appreciated. This differs to the behavioural level of analysis. Although they both occur on a subconscious level, the behavioural reflects usability and understanding, and the feeling of being in control. But finally the reflective level realises design association and image status. So all in all the analysis of a good product must look good, feel good and reflect well on the owner of that product.

An example relating to Normans theory that aesthetics matter and attractive things work better is a New York Times review written about the Mini Cooper. The article states that although the car does have several faults, the audience should buy it anyway. The playful design with rounded dials and curved edges create a fun aesthetic which, as Norman suggests override the functionality of the design.

Another level of thinking that Norman introduces to his audience is how different working environments can greatly affect the final result of a design. Using the analogy of walking across a plank of wood at great height, it is explained that stress can help to focus the mind. The environmental influence causes the designer to create a solution with little consideration of its aesthetic details, to produce an object with higher functionality than pleasurable qualities. On the other hand, an IQ test performed by a psychologist examining human emotional responses produced the result that happy people are able to more effectively problem solve. By giving an identical problem to two separate groups, the first group given nothing and the second group given lollies, it was determined when only the second group could solve the problem, that happiness encouraged brainstorming which lead to 'out of the box' thinking. Through this theory it can be assumed that creativity is released through happiness.

Through different levels of analysis, a products pleasurable, usable and functional qualities can be appreciated. Although many people believe that products with higher functionality represent good design, Norman sticks to his theory that pleasant things work better.

Task 6: Human Centered Design

Video Review and Reflection:

It is important as a designer to keep in the know with the ever-changing world of design. The constant development of new and better ideas, or even an alteration in the approach to design itself. The Video Human Centred Design featuring David Kelley is a good representation of some of the changing designs and design philosophies within the commercial market as we see it today. Within the video, produced by New Talks Each Week the concept of human centred design is discussed. As an industrial designer, this would be a beneficial video to view, as it gives an interesting insight into some of the more recent developments and directions of products and design styles within the design world.

A number of new products are analysed within the video. I feel that one of the most innovative designs was the RF tags and scan devices created for use within Prada stores. This retail product aimed to possess a cultural role. For this product, scanner devices are made available throughout the store for use by both customers and staff. By scanning items of clothing, the user of the device is able to gain a more detailed level of knowledge by viewing related product information displayed on LCD screens throughout the store. The interaction between the customer and the clothing represents the affective generation of a human-centered product.

Another suave human-centred design developed for Prada is the magic mirrors within the change rooms. This mirror design allows the customer to view themselves from the back by having a three second delay within the display. Not only does this design effectively solve one of the dilemmas experienced by every individual when trying on clothing, it represents human interaction with the design. My personal discovery of these designs has not only broadened my knowledge of recently developed products, but has created a myriad of ideas within my creative design potential.

Spyfish was a new product design that had my attention 'hooked' throughout the entire product promotion. The design consists of two cameras built into one device to effectively allow the user to scuba dive without getting wet. Controlled by a wireless remote, the camera is simply thrown off the side of a boat and navigated to a depth and compass setting of choice. The only restriction of this design was a maximum depth of 500 feet. With built-in lights, a view of the underwater world can be experienced by users in whatever light conditions. I found this a very interesting design concept, especially as it had been advertised as a consumer product rather than a research tool.

A design for a deep well, low cost manual pump was discussed within the video. Developed for the use of farmers in Kenya, this product allowed the growth of crops during the dry seasons when the lack of rain had previously restricted crop production. I found this appealing as this was a design being produced on wide-scale production at low cost, to help people in countries who would otherwise not have a solution to their food shortages. Human initiative is reflected through this design with the consideration of a human-centred influence.

Through the viewing of the video Human Centred Design, a better understanding of different concepts and ideas within products available on the commercial market can gained. A strong influence of human centred design can be recognised throughout each of the products presented within the show, representing how the consideration of behaviours and personalities have been incorporated into the different designs. As a result of successful design and design approaches, designers are becoming further integrated into the business strategies of companies.

Task 1: Shape of a scent

Helen Holman

This task was to experience a scent, and let your sense of smell co-trigger your emotions and creative imagination. Your individual interpretation of a particular scent then had to be transformed into a three dimensional plasticine form. The scent for my group was Estee Lauder: Beautiful.

Task 2: My Design Career

I have always been a person inspired by design. The way an idea can be transformed into a three dimensional object of all types of materials and working parts. Product design captivates me. I am not only interested in the aesthetic of a design, I am forever pulling things apart to figure out how they were created. Looking at the shape and texture. The different materials that were used, and why. Figuring out how the designer accommodated particular target audiences.

But I do not simply take interest in destroying products. Drawing and building things have always consumed a majority of my spare time. I enjoy the design process. The deconstruction of a problem and expansion of ideas to make a design realised within a three dimensional form. When with the creation of a product, you can sit back and admire all your hard work.

It is this love for creating things that has stimulated me to propell myslef towards a career as an industrial designer. I have grown up forever sketching on scraps of paper and designing solutions to self-assigned briefs. Turning my ideas into objects of all sorts. And it seems that I have found a career that was almost personally designed to encompass all of the different aspects of practical creativity that I enjoy to engage myself within.

The offer of studying industrial design at the University of New South Wales was an opportunity that would not pass me by. It is the environment where I will gain all of the skills necessary to come out into the world as a budding designer. I am keen to gain the knowledge that will allow me to undergo the design process at a professional level, where one day my own designs will be realised within the world of design and commercial market.

28.07.2010