Tag Archives: #industrialdesign

design applied to products that are to be manufactured through the techniques of mass production

Not So Fast Company

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Via Core77 comes word that Fast Company magazine’s June 2005 offering is an “all-design” issue. I have to admit, from what I’ve read online I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, any publicity is good publicity… right? But with articles like “How to Act Like a Designer” and “ … Or Just Look Like One”, is this the right message when the biggest problem in the professional design world is the general perception that Design is superficial? and something you can farm out overseas for free (the cost of design being wrapped up in other, higher-cost program items like tooling)?

I know. Some of the articles address that problem. Let’s just hope the guy who rushes out to buy his black turtleneck and tre’ cool specs gets that far before he starts using those articles for toilet paper.

[Note: I’ve fixed/updated the links to the two articles. Fast Company apparently updated the headline on that second article a few weeks after it was originally posted; the two articles originally came as a pair. And as you can see via their time stamp versus when this post was published, they were updated as a pair.]

Jobs Machine

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Wired online has a nice write up/excerpt from the soon-to-be released unauthorized biography of Apple’s CEO and pitchman, Steve Jobs. The article is about industrial design, the iPod, and a washing machine. I found the washing machine bit especially interesting since, if I recall correctly, Nissan’s former design guru Jerry Hirshberg went through a similar ordeal. I think he bought a European machine as well.

RadTag Tech

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RadTag Personal Security Device

Last year I did a quick little project (image above) called RadTag for a design competition. Didn’t get any notice (although I may have screwed up my entry) but I had fun with it. Aside from figuring out a business plan around this thing (a radiation detector that is a peer-to-peer networking device and personal locator), I also did a bit of technology research. One piece that saved my hide on this concept was a child location device I came across that used a wireless signal and cellphone towers. Looks like a better option may have surfaced. I just came across an entry on defensetech.org for a radio chip from Rosum Corporation that probably does a much better job, and I expect the intent is to facilitate exactly the kind of device I dreamed up last year. It’ll be interesting to see where all this leads.

In the meantime, I’ve had some conversations with Jerry Paffendorf (of the Second Life Future Salon blog) regarding the integration of augmented reality and services like Google Maps. He’s been following this stuff and has posted an entry that ties Google’s acquisition of Dodgeball into this. And you can read my comment there as well. Assuming you care….

Nike iD A Zombie?

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Nike iD image

A few years back I gave a presentation to the marketing group at the company for which I worked. The presentation was effectively about what I’m blogging here: the return of product development to a more “craft” age – courtesy of emerging technologies that allow us to create more complex, ornamental, personal products. One of the examples I used for that talk was Nike’s “design your own” website. It was a great idea and I was surprised that none of the marketing folks were aware of it (or the other similar “customization” efforts going on at the time). Then again, I suspect you had to be paying close attention since I don’t recall any Nike advertising for their little project.

Fast forward to Nike’s resurrected (?) customization effort called “Nike iD” (which makes me wonder if some concept work I saw on the Core77 forums last year, done by a Nike director, is related). Anyway, courtesy of the intriguing AdverLab blog, comes a nice link to an article on Clickz.com which includes this interesting quote:

Nike’s iD division, which lets shoe buyers customize their own footwear according to color and design, is reportedly becoming a more important part of the shoe maker’s overall strategy.

Any wonder why Nike rules?

(addendum – check out the Nike site at: nikeid.nike.com . There’s more than footwear to customize. )

Parametric People and the Worlds They Inhabit

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The CG Channel website has a short piece opening up a discussion on next gen digital humans. I tend to agree with the author: building virtual characters will become increasingly simple. Where I also agree (of course) is that there will be rising demand for designers. Over the past few years I’ve been watching the videogame job market and I’m finally now noticing a big jump in calls for “Environment Artists”. Translation: as game worlds become increasingly immersive, there is a need to fill them with 3D objects; not just copies of real-life products (which raises some sticky IP issues), but newly designed objects. It’s a trend I’ve been expecting for some time and it’s nice to see it finally kick in. The next ten years are going to be a blast.