Monday, September 20, 2010

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.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

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.