looking back

Overall I found this course pretty interesting and certainly informative. Coming from a landscape arch background and having already taken several design courses at OSU, some of the material was more like a review for me, but there was plenty of material covered that was brand new to me. The assignments were all pretty fun and made me think about things differently. I was a big fan of Cradle to Cradle, but not so much of Very Short Intro. Also, as a minor in design, I feel like it's important to note that there is a lot of overlap between this course and design 230 (the course specifically for minors, which I also took this quarter), but that's not really a huge deal. I think this course must be pretty difficult to teach and make interesting with such a large number of students, but I think it was executed well. All in all, definitely a course worth taking.

J10: in closing

Overall, I feel good about our project. I think we had a good idea and were able to execute and explain it pretty well. Our team worked well together, no one stepped on anyone else's toes and we split up the work load as equally as we could. As far as personal contributions, I focused mainly on executing the redesign of the logo as well as the majority of the packaging design. I contributed a fair amount to the development of the product, but I feel like I could have done more as far as the kiosk design. I also took on the first phase of putting the presentation together, which we got together and finished as a group. I definitely think there were some areas where our project was lacking, but given our time frame, varying levels of experience and skill, and the fact that we were given a pretty rigid framework we did our best.

links:

J09 
J08 

adam 
carl 
stuart 
telina

coleman for the home, finishing up

I can safely say that our group will be more than ready to present our project later today. We finalized everything (aside from some last minute finishing touches) last night and we are all happy with the finished product. The team has worked very well together. We haven't had any major conflicts and everyone has contributed an equal amount. As far as my contribution, I ended up focusing mainly on the packaging aspect. The packaging was what I was most interested in from the get go, so I'm glad that I got to spend most of my time on it. I also set-up the first draft of our presentation, which we edited last night as a group. Below are some images of our progress:

Final logo concept

Final packaging concept (ended up being changed for final)

 links to teammates' blogs:

adam
carl
stuart
telina
 

progress

Our group spent last week mainly brainstorming ideas for our project. We started with the idea of a storage locker that would be able to deodorize its contents, which would be useful for both outdoor gear and other products, such as clothing, pet care products, etc... After some research and discussion, however, we decided to switch and focus instead on a product that would help keep houses warm during winter. This product would essentially be an improvement upon current heating solutions, specifically plastic sheeting used typically to cover windows in older houses, preventing cold air from coming and warm air from leaking out. We realized that there haven't really been any advances made in this type of home heating for some time, so we feel that this idea is worth exploring. So far we've been working pretty well together, aside from some minor disputes about what our focus should be and which of the ideas we've brainstormed are worth dedicating a significant amount of time and effort to develop. On Monday, we briefly discussed who would be focusing on which aspects of the project. I'm more interested in visual design, so I have been and will be contributing more to the packaging and overall appearance of the product and exhibition booth. I've been doing some work on making a new logo (see sketches below), but I think maybe I could be contributing more to the development of the product itself. I've also set up a dropbox location for us to use, which ought to facilitate collaboration quite a bit. At this point, I think we just need to divide the workload and focus on our respective contributions and, later in the week, put everything together for next week. Overall, I'm feeling good about this project and I think we can produce something really great.

Ideation notes and logo sketches

links to teammates' blogs:

adam 
carl 
stuart 
telina 

very short intro, ch 9-10

The last two chapters of this book brought up some very interesting points. The bit about small and medium enterprises was especially interesting to me. I think it's strange that big companies can get away with selling lots of poorly designed products, but smaller companies can do just as well selling fewer well-designed products and services. It makes sense in the reading, but I had never really thought about why that is before. I was also really interested in the role of design in government. I was unaware that a relationship existed between governments and design, let alone that these relationships have such a long history. I have to say, I'm not all that surprised that the US doesn't have the same type of government promotion of design as other countries. The final chapter was interesting as well. I definitely agree with the statement that drawing is an irreplaceable skill for designers, no matter how much computers advance in the future. All in all, I found this book very informative, but I must say, not all that exciting of a read.

week 7

The marshmallow challenge... really? I know I'm biased because, as I said in class, it's the third time I've had to do it in the past year, but I feel like the marshmallow challenge is old news. Aside from that, the Cobego presentation was pretty interesting. I always like to see how people in design fields operate in the real world. The projects they showed us were all pretty cool and I've looked at coroflot a few times since and seen some nice projects on there too. The Eames videos were also pretty interesting. It never ceases to amaze me how productive those two were.

cradle to cradle III

After this week, I can certainly say that this is one of the most interesting and informative books I have read in quite a while. There were a few parts of this reading that were of particular interest to me. The idea of biological and technical material flows bought up a good point. I used to think that if every product could be made out of biodegradable materials, it would solve the problems associated with many products. The idea of technical nutrients, however, points out that it's not really about what products are made of, but rather how many times they can be reused that determines their environmental impact. As a side note, I recently found out some interesting eco facts while doing research for another class, which relate to the idea of technical nutrients. First, I found out that asphalt is actually a pretty great material ecologically, as it can be recycled countless times without using value, and it can be recycled on site or off of site. I also found out that Ohio is actually one of the best states when it comes to recycling asphalt; 90% of our new roads and road repairs are made of recycled asphalt. The concept of products of service was also very interesting to me. I think it might be difficult to implement, however, as it would force a lot of people to change their ideas about what products fundamentally are. I was surprised that LEED certification was not mentioned in chapter 5. I know that a lot of forward thinking architects and landscape architects take issue with LEED. I, for one, am not a big fan of the LEED program, as it has historically been exploited by construction managers as a way to earn tax breaks. The results may or may not actually be more eco-friendly and, more often than not, have little or nothing to do with aesthetic sensibilities. I was also pleased to learn in chapter 6 that Nike is pursuing more eco-minded production methods, as I just bought my first pair of Nike's ever a few months ago. Chapter 6 also brought up the issue of genetically modified produce. I just saw a documentary called The Future of Food which brought up similarly disturbing information about GM plants (i.e. the fact that they are probably not 100% safe for human consumption, but they are very good at competing with non-GM plants). Overall, I really liked this book and found it both inspiring, and a little bit scary.

outdoor/indoor

(5) outdoor products
backcountry 
slumberjack 
coleman 
REI 
campmor 

(3) outdoor tradeshows

http://www.deseretnews.com/photos/midres/5044307.jpg

Columbia trade show

http://www.chums.com/images/chums/homepage/Slide_OR.jpg

(5) indoor products

hpii 

rubbermaid 

robinson 

homegoods 

realgoods 

(3) indoor tradeshows

http://pgsgrow.com/2009-trade-show/images/tradeshow19.jpg

http://www.trendedit.com/resources/images/blog/dsc01187.jpg

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/img_dir/2010/09/09/2010090901070_0.jpg

(3) specific indoor products

Air Purifier: http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/airpodinnursery.jpg

Blender: http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/kitchen_aid_blender.jpg

Alarm Clock: http://contemporaryclocks.org/wp-content/uploads/modern-alarm-clock.jpg

so what exactly is a home good?

I was unable to find an exact definition of the term, so I'll keep it simple: a home good is any product designed to make life easier, specifically intended for use inside of the home.

letters

 A

 C

 E

G

H

 i

O

 P

S

T

 U

X

Y

don't mind the fine print

I'm not gonna lie, legal issues bore me. Nonetheless, it is crucial to understand them. I've always been interested in freelance work, but before this week, I felt like I didn't have enough of an understanding of how not to get ripped off. I'd still like to know more, but Monday's lecture was definitely helpful. My dad used to be a lawyer, so through him I've learned a lot about the law, but not so much about contracts and copyrights as they apply to intellectual property. The movie we watched was also pretty interesting. As one of my classmates pointed out, it was kind of one-sided, but it made some valid points nonetheless. I have mixed feelings about Girl Talk as an artist. On one hand, I don't think his music has as much value as original (or so-called original) compositions, but I don't really think that what he's doing is wrong. His songs are definitely different than the samples (I don't like AC/DC as much when it's not in one of his songs) and what he's doing is certainly creative, but I can see why people might be pissed at him. Either way, it's pretty ridiculous to see the lengths to which corporations will go to protect creative work, as well as scientific work. I think it would be nice if copyrights didn't exist, but at the same time, I'm sure that there are people out there who would blatantly abuse the system and just rip other people off for profit. Overall, it's a slippery slope, but I think it's pretty easy to judge the difference between an original work and an outright rip-off.

cradle to cradle II

As I said last week, I'm very excited about this book, and it has yet to disappoint. I'm still amazed at how deep the authors' understanding of environmental issues is. So far, this book is both uplifting and depressing. The fact that the Exxon Valdez spill boosted Alaska's GDP was very surprising and pretty scary. It reminded me of an article we read for studio last quarter about H.T. Odum's concept of "emergy" and "emdollars." The idea is that when a consumer buys something, they see not only the amount of currency it costs, they also see the associated costs of energy and environmental affects that went into its production, quantified as a value of currency. In this system, Alaska's GDP would certainly not have gone up. It's an interesting concept, but it seems like it would be too easy for people to just ignore it. I think this concept fits in with much of the book's content, in that it wouldn't make people do less bad, but rather more good. If, for example, someone buys a product or pays for a service that benefits the environment, they will see a positive value of emdollars, despite the fact that they are in fact losing money at the moment in exchange for the product. At any rate, I thinks it's an interesting idea. The ideas of "less bad is no good" and "eco-effectiveness" are also very interesting to me. In the past, I have tried to do less bad and I have put a high value on efficiency, but these chapters made a strong argument against that mentality. I really think that more people should be aware of the ideas in this book, as well as their implications for the future.

design + environment

In recent years, environmental issues have become much more prevalent in design fields than they were in the past. It is the role of contemporary designers to develop products, places, and services that serve not only the individual, but the environment as well. Form and function are no longer enough and ecological concerns are of much higher importance now than they have ever been. Below are 5 examples of environment oriented design.

Square Coke Bottles
Andrew Kim's new design for coke bottles has the potential to make a significant impact on the beverage industry. Utilizing a square shape, rather than the traditional round bottle, allows for more bottles to fit into each shipping container (meaning less need for fossil-fueled shipping) and the ease with which the empty bottles crumple up makes them take up less space in a recycling container.


square coke bottle


Scioto Mile
Right in our own back yard (downtown that is), the new Scioto Mile park sets a great precedent for eco-friendly landscape design. Replacing the old floodwall with a massive bioswale allows for 10 city blocks worth of stormwater runoff to be filtered before entering the river. Stormwater causes a great deal of pollution to enter the river, but slowing it and filtering it through plants significantly cuts down on the damage done.

scioto mile

Clever Little Bag
Like the coke bottle, this design illustrates how making a rather small change to a design can have a big impact. Replacing the typical cardboard box with a part cardboard and part bag package means less cardboard is used, as well as less plastic. Also, like the coke bottles, these take up less space when shipping.

clever little bag 

Wind Power
Wind power is nothing new. Atelier DNA's design, however, puts a spin on the traditional windmill. The "windstalks" are less noisy and (perhaps) more aesthetically pleasing. They work as efficiently per square foot as windmills and provide an interesting addition to the landscape.

wind power


Rain Filtering Umbrella
Argentine design firm Synopsis's new umbrella design is one of the strangest examples of green design I've seen. It's an umbrella that collects and filters rainwater, making it potable. I am not sure how many people would actually use it, but it's an interesting idea nonetheless.

umbrella

 

week 5

While Monday's lecture was pretty much a review for me (I took Color Theory last quarter), I really liked the environment lecture on Wednesday. As I mentioned in my response to the weekend's reading, I was raised in a family of environmentalists, so environmental issues have always been deeply important to me. Of the videos we watched, I found the one about biomimicry the most interesting. Benyus made some very good points about how nature solves problems compared to how people do. I also liked William McDonough's lecture. He seems more level-headed and realistic than a lot of environmentalists who just expect people to completely change their lives. It seems like he understands not only what the problems are and how to solve them, but also why it is that some solutions wouldn't work. 

fifty things...

... about a walk in my neighborhood

1. it is way too cold to be walking around out here
2. also way too slippery to be walking around out here
3. there's a section of sidewalk that never drains properly and it really bothers me for some reason
4. that house on Northwood almost burned down a few days ago
5. i think the trees around here are older than most of the street trees in Columbus
6. Patterson turns into "Turpie St" on the west side of Neil, but the street sign says Patterson
7.  it's hard to tell that the river is so nearby
8. a lot of houses around here are on built-up mounds
9. or maybe the street was dug into its surroundings
10. the hill from Patterson to Maynard is mellow, but it still sucks to walk up
11. Ramlow Alley; sounds kinda dirty
12. it's hard to tell that Neil and High aren't parallel
13. i wonder how ling it'll be until OSU owns this whole area
14. this neighborhood is officially "Old North Columbus"
15. they used to call it "Washington Beach"
16. a Washington Beach is also a drink; PBR in a fancy glass with a lime on the side
17.  they have to keep water in Tuttle pool year round or else it'll collapse
18. the sign says "Tuttle Poo" cause someone went over the l with marker
19. there's a totally unnecessary bridge by the pool
20. off the bike trail near Dodridge, there's a BMX course
21. it's also a hobo camp
22. last year we played a made-up game there that involved a broom and a kickball
23. there are an ungodly amount of fireflies by the river in summertime
24. the river is almost frozen enough to walk on, but not quite
25.  Chemical Abstracts is not a company I trust, based solely on their name
26. also, not a big fan of the huge turf field
27. from our backyard, we can see the fireworks from Picnic with the Pops
28. i've never seen anyone playing baseball on the diamond at Tuttle
29. we saw a moth the size of a sparrow there last year
30. the new Damon Day mural is sick
31. i have no excuse for not having gone to Damon Day for the last two years; it's practically in my backyard
32. we went to a DIY show at the little shelter thing a while back
33. we also used to skate there in the winter, but not any more
34. if they took the dams out of the Olentangy, the park would be a lot bigger and the river would be better
35. but that'll never happen
36. there should really be a skatepark at Tuttle
37. i wonder when the buildings on High St were built
38. i wonder if there's ever not a cover at Dick's Den
39. why did they change "Oldfield's on High" to "Kobo"? what about it is asian?
40. someone spray-painted a shitty tag over the Vinchen piece on the side of ShiSha
41.  Alanna's is probably the only restaurant around here that i'll never be able to afford a meal at
42. i can't wait for dumpster-diving season
43. why aren't there ever block parties around here?
44. (most) people (really) suck at graffiti 
45. it's weird to think that i live so close to a funeral home
46. they sell the strangest products at Faye's
47.  my boss tried to climb the dry cleaner's by Maynard when he was my age, and he fell off and broke both of his hands
48.  the ravine by the blood-bowl should really be a public park
49. i hope they replace the White Castle with something good, not another Turkey Hill type place
50. Blue Nile is closed from 3pm to 5pm every day
 

cradle to cradle

I have to say, I'm very excited about this book. It's been recommended to me numerous times, and while I've meant to read it before, I never have. I was already familiar with the basic subject matter of the book, but it immediately surprised me just how in-depth it is. Both of my parents are dedicated environmentalists (i.e. they both have the word "sustainability" in their job titles) and have been since, as they put it, "before it was cool." As such, I was raised in a house where we turned the lights out when leaving the room, recycled everything (even had to get an extra Rumpke bin to fit it all), and walked, bused, or biked just about everywhere. Suffice to say, I feel that I am a bit more aware of my impact on the environment than most Americans. Nonetheless, some of information in the introduction of this book surprised me. I never considered the tiny little particles that come off of my furniture and into my nose, or the fact that my shoes will never serve another purpose. I love the idea of finding environmental solutions that don't limit people's lives. This year, I made a New Year's resolution to never use new plastic bags when I buy things. So far, I've slipped up once, and overall, not using the bags provided for free has made me feel a bit self-conscious. It's not normal to buy groceries and then load them up in a big messenger bag. I don't really care if other people find it strange, but I can see why most people prefer to just use the bags provided. I've not bought a single beverage that came in a plastic container since the beginning of the year either. My beverage choice is now down to water, coffee, milk (from a cardboard container of course), tea, and (occasionally) alcohol. It's not a big deal, but it does kind of suck to be unable to partake in the variety of options offered. I think that's what I find most exciting about reading this book; the idea that there are solutions (or at least could be solutions) to help both the environment and the individual, rather than limiting one or the other.

found it

 Clue 01
The Barcelona Chair was originally designed by Mies van der Rohe. The trademark rights are currently owned by a company called Knoll, but there are many knock-offs of the chair which have caused them considerable legal trouble over the years.

Clue 02
This is the Coconut Chair, designed in 1956 by George Nelson. Nelson's intent was to design a chair that could accommodate any possible seating position. Here I'm reading L'Arca Magazine.

Clue 03

Controversial Design: Eisenman has been critiqued for his design due to the fact that after just 10 years the Wexner Center required a 10 million dollar renovation. 

 Clue 04

Philip Johnson's design of the Science and Engineering Library is about as boring as... well science and engineering. I do kinda like the big arches though.

Clue 05

Fun Fact: Thompson Library's latest addition was designed by Acock and Associates, but they chose to restore the original East facade (designed in 1910) rather than designing a new one.

How we did it:

Our method was pretty simple; I already knew the first three due to the fact that I spend so much time in Knowlton and had to take an architecture history course my first year, and we just googled the other two. Carl  provided the computer, while Telina organized the info and, as the person who's spent the most time on campus, I helped us get around as efficiently as possible. We took turns taking photos and ended up doing the research individually.

Week 4

The first thing that I absolutely must say about this week is this; landscape architects (NOT architects) figure out curb cuts. Also, landscape archs design the ramps that get you to the building. Sometimes architects do, but usually not well (see: example in the lecture). Aside from that, I thought the ADA lecture was pretty interesting. We deal with ADA restrictions all the time in landscape arch, but until now, I was unaware of how ADA plays a part in other design fields. I think that universal design is a really great concept. I hate seeing places and things that were clearly not designed to be universal that were later adapted to fit the needs of disabled individuals. It seems a bit irresponsible to be a designer without thinking about the needs of every possible user and figuring out how to accommodate them. Granted, this is rarely easy and sometimes impossible. For example, no one will ever design a bicycle for paraplegics. As far as the scavenger hunt, it was interesting to learn about some of the buildings on campus. I grew up in Clintonville and spent a lot of time on campus in high school, so I'm already familiar with how to get around, which definitely made things easier. Also, I spend a lot of time in Knowlton, which made a couple of the clues really easy.

Five Faces

 Front yard tree 1

 Front yard tree 2 (same tree)

 Mr Clean

 Big mouth sink (kinda looks like a muppet)

Silly (and a bit creepy) smile

Identities and systems

Overall, I found these chapters much more interesting than previous ones. I thought it was interesting that Japan has the highest rate of plastic surgery in the world. I saw a video on Vice Magazine's website a while ago about "donut heads," people who inject saline into their foreheads. In the video, they said that this practice is becoming pretty common in Japan. Not to sound xenophobic, but there's something odd to me about putting saline in your head. Also, I recently heard that women in a lot of Asian countries wear pupil enhancing contacts. I think the fact that people go to such lengths to present themselves a certain way is very telling of the importance of identity, whether for individuals or corporations. The point about how people reacted to the new British telephones was interesting too. In Banksy's documentary, Exit Through the Giftshop, one of the pieces shown is an old style British phone booth that's been modified to look like it's been chopped in half by a pick axe. I didn't really understand the point of that piece until reading about the negative attitude people had about the new phone booths. Near the end of the chapter, Heskett made a point ab out how quality of service is still important, regardless of identity. Right after this, he used FedEx as an example. I thought that was kind of funny, given that FedEx, while more innovative in the past, is really not a great company compared to, say, UPS. A friend of mine once saw a FedEx semi plow right into the side of building, and while it might seem like an isolated incident, it's really surprising how often FedEx drivers screw up. They don't have as strict of qualifications for their drivers, and they actually get into accidents pretty often. Also, I don't understand how having one headquarters in Memphis doesn't limit their efficiency. The systems chapter immediately made me think about infrastructure, which is what we're dealing with in my current landscape arch studio. I've been getting more and more interested in infrastructure over the past year and I think it's one of the few things that relates to both my major and my minor. The last paragraph of the chapter was the most interesting to me. Heskett seems to be under the impression that designers don't deal with reconciling natural and artificial systems. Maybe a lot has changed since 2002, but reconciling these systems is probably the largest, most important focus of landscape architecture. I get the impression that a lot of designers are unaware of what landscape architects do, and I think it's kind of a shame, because we focus so much on eco-friendly design and other fields could learn more from ours.

Week 3

It was a short week, but interesting nonetheless. I really liked the video about IDEO. I found it a bit strange and surprising that so many of the people on their staff don't have formal design training. I thought it was kind of cool how one of the team members turned down medical school to work there and I think I would do the same thing in his shoes. I've seen some videos of other firms, most recently in the documentary Objectified, but none of them look as laid back and innovative as IDEO. We're reading Tim Brown's book Change by Design in my other design class this quarter, so I've been getting a lot of exposure to the IDEO way of doing things. I have to say, I would really really love to work there some day, or somewhere with a similar mentality. I had a lot of fun with this week's assignments, especially the survey one. I decided to try to do all of the icons myself, but I ended up having to do a lot of tracing in Illustrator. Still, it was really fun to give it a try.