Brandon Leedy - Industrial Design Blog

Thanks for stopping by...

2010-08-01T14:01:00.002-04:00

I've finally moved to my own place,

www.brandonleedy.com

and you'll find all my new blog updates, portfolio, and contact info.

There's still a few rough edges, but I really like how it looks so far, and that its fairly reliable and customizable. (Thanks Tumblr!)

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you soon.

The Chair Project Critique - Spring 2010

2010-06-10T18:09:00.002-04:00

Well, here they are!

The Third & The Seventh

2010-01-14T23:21:00.002-05:00

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Some of the most beautiful CGI I have ever seen. In many scenes of this short film I was finding it hard to believe that it was computer generated. Oh, and it was all done by one person. ONE. Stunning.

Watch in Fullscreen, HD for the full experience.

Ranked and Defiled

2010-01-12T22:37:00.009-05:00

Recently the Wall Street Journal posted a Best and Worst Jobs of 2010 list, and it seems to be making the rounds on twitter and blogs.

I don't understand why people believe this list holds any water at all. It seems that no one has looked into the group that has done this analysis nor have they looked into the methodology of what determines "best" and "worst".

The company who determined this jobs list is CareerCast.com. If you read the about us section on Career Cast you'll find that they're an online classified advertising company. They're business is classified advertising online for job positions. Not only is the CareerCast site littered with ads but if you follow the "JobsRated.com" site link to the Job rating list, it just redirects to CareerCast.com. My guess is that these numerically-based, spreadsheet-calculation list posts are merely meant to pull traffic to their site from The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal holds the eyes of tons of traffic, traffic who are potentially looking to hire new people. If that traffic sees "CareerCast.com" and assumes credibility because WSJ posted the article, then boom! New money for Career Cast. Anyways, that's beside the point...

Now to methodology:

CareerCast lists their 5 criteria for determining position on the list:
Environment, Income, Employment Outlook, Physical Demands and Stress

You can see their explanation of methodology HERE.

Let's look at this:

1) Environment is measured numerically in two categories:

Physically and Emotionally.

In both instances an undisclosed group [RED FLAG] is rating facets of Physical and Emotional Environment on a numerical basis where Physical Environment equals Emotional Environment [RED FLAG]. Ranking pre-supposed Physical and Emotional Environmental standards is ridiculous when most of their standards are entirely subjective! "Contact with the Public" is considered an Emotional Environment standard... however some would find this good and some bad. "Degree of Competitiveness" is also on the standards list. Most would agree competition is actually good UP TO A POINT... but this list either assumes only negative influence or that all competition is bad. Physically, standards such as "Stamina Needed" and "Necessary Energy" aren't defined at all... I bet there are programmers who go home more tired than carpenters and vice versa because their stamina and energy come from different places. Would you want a job where you're so physically tired that when you come home you fall asleep, or a job where you're so mentally drained, all you want to do is watch TV? What is worst? Who decides that? It's subjective, and to measure it numerically is ridiculous. [FLAG] [FLAG] [FLAG]

2) Income

Do I really need to say this? Predicting Income and Growth Potential in a market where your job could literally be gone the next day is insane.

Have we somewhat stabilized economically? Yes.
Are we out of the forest yet? Hell No.
Will we be by the end of the year? Do YOU think so? I don't... and guess what, neither does any of the financial forecasters, because they can't accurately predict future economic stability as it is! [FLAG]

Don't believe me? Check out the astonishing Act 5 of a recent episode of This American Life HERE where the "Planet Money" team interview some of the world's leading economic forecasters who admit that they barely understand what happened to the economy two years ago, much less be able to predict what's going to happen this year.

We can partially assume Income as an average of what people are being paid now, but we have no idea about Growth Potential in today's world [FLAG].

3) Employment Outlook

See "2) Income".

But honestly people, our own government can't keep straight unemployment records because once someone runs out of unemployment benefits they are removed from the unemployment rolls. Are supposed "improving job market" is really just their calculations gradually kicking off the "dead weight" of all the people who lost their jobs and are still unemployed but have been unemployed for so long that they no longer collect benefits. We can't properly predict Employment Outlook for receiving jobs when we don't even fully realize how many people are STILL unemployed. [RED FLAG]

4) Physical Demands

"...we awarded higher scores to jobs with greater Physical Demands and lower scores to jobs with lesser demands. "

So, if you are in a predominantly physical labor job, you score higher and are ranked worse. [FLAG] So the more sedentary you are, the better job you are in... Wait, What?! [FLAG] While sitting is nice, its what got us into the overweight mess that America is in right now. Just because I sit at my job does not make my job better. I could be pushing paper all day on my butt and then "go postal" (see the origin of that phrase). In contrast, I could be building homes for disaster victims all day and while physically I'm beat, I'm mentally and spiritually rewarded from the work I do for others. Physical work as a factor of "best" and "worst"? Come on. [FLAG]

5) Stress

The most glaring thing here is how physicality in a job again nets the most points which raise your score, giving you a "worse" job. [DOUBLE FLAG] But in addition, the list of 21 Stress Factors are mostly subjective... Quotas, Deadlines, Meeting the Public, Initiative Required, Advocacy, Win or Lose Situations... these are all things that ARE GREAT for a worker. These are things that make a job fulfilling because they are things to measure achievement from. If I had no deadlines, never Won, never needed any initiative, and never was asked to help someone else I would have a wholly UNREWARDING job. Now note, that may be different for others, but the point is that this list can't measure rewarding aspects of a job because what's rewarding is subjective and can't be measured by numbers.

I think the biggest proof in my suppositions here are in the results given.
Number 1 job: Actuary.

Actuary.
A risk assessor who's job is primarily numbers and statistics concerning death and tragedy. Sure he sits back, punches number and makes the big money... but how is that THE BEST? How many actuaries have a rewarding and fulfilling job? and how would anyone measure that? Good luck, maybe you should get a software programmer, seeing as they're number 2 on the list. I bet they all would love to do it.

Conclusion:

The truth is that having the "best" job isn't measured by the amount of physical work you do, whether you have to "have initiative", or even how much money you make... the "best" job comes from your own definition of fulfillment and reward. Why people are even giving these lists the time of day is beyond me. As an industrial designer, I noted that our position fell from #9 last year to #35 this year... does that mean I should have a worse job? I don't. I'm in a better job, a more fulfilling and rewarding job with more deadlines, quotas, and win/lose situations, but I am loving every minute of it. What gives?

I'm sure there are Actuaries, Software Developers, and Computer Systems Analysts who hate their job. They probably feel under-utilized and could be buried by bureaucracy of the company they work for and be in threat of losing their job due to an economy out of their control... But hey, on this list they rank pretty high.

THEY should be the happy ones.

My Most Played Albums of 2009

2010-01-03T21:43:00.010-05:00

iTunes says that my most played albums from 2009 were:

Click to enlarge, it's pretty cool.

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
3. Passion Pit - Manners
4. Discovery - LP
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
6. Dinosaur Jr - Farm
7. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
8. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9. Florence and the Machine - Lungs
10. John Mayer - Battle Studies
11. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
12. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
13. Baroness - Blue Record
14. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
15. Norah Jones - The Fall

I was surprised to see a few 2009 albums not be in the top 15. These 5 Artists all had albums from this year that I enjoyed but must not have listened too so much:
The XX, Neon Indian, Dirty Projectors, Noah and the Whale, and Spinnerette

Finally, I have to note that the song, "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga had the 5th highest play count of my songs from 2009. Haha, I blame that entirely on our studio... though I must admit that "The Fame Monster" was a great EP from Lady Gaga. Also, Modest Mouse's "No One's First and You're Next" was a great EP from 2009. So there's that.

Well, what were your favorite albums from 2009?

Still Worth Showing...

2009-12-14T19:15:00.004-05:00

Despite my feelings toward this quarter, I did enjoy my work and the reception it got from those observing during end of quarter show.

Here's my final board:

(Click to enlarge)

Here's a photo of my final model:

(Powder Print & Hand Crafted)

...and a photo of my deliverables at show:

(The easel held storyboard images of current problems, which I used in my presentation to critics. They were hand painted in Photoshop.)

Critiques and comments welcome. Thanks.

Evaluate

2009-12-14T17:57:00.007-05:00

My Work:

Well, I feel like I've made some headway in terms of understanding why I do certain things... as for improving them, it is a daily process. I need to be more loose and fast with my sketches which sometimes border on line renders. But, I am aware of the problem, and that's the first step to change, right? ;)

I feel I had one of the most enjoyable renders (and projects) this quarter in my Fleur coffee maker. I actually learned to make a decent HDRI environment so I could control lighting in my render and get a highlight where I wanted it. I feel like that really gave me some in-depth experience with Hypershot.

I also enjoyed my paintings I did for part of my storyboard. I seem to have found a method that is impressionistic and fun to do in a digital painting environment. I hope to try my hand at that for products in the future as a way to show an in-use emotional shot.

As for ID work, I think the critique for all of us said it well: "You need to all push it farther. We don't see anything new here." First, I must justify my project's existence: the use of historical time period as a design cue had a purpose. Also, there will be a niche market for high-end executive furniture that isn't pressboard, plastic and alien forms (no offense to the knolls and steelcases, but there will be).

That being said, I had recognized too far into the quarter that the area for innovation was in collaborative environments, not in the executive. So I corrected my focus and I feel, adjusted my project well despite being in the wrong end of the spectrum. If I had to do it again, I would have never gone down this historical route, but it was a good study of the period. And despite a lukewarm critique, the general public at the end of quarter show seemed to enjoy it. As I sat back to relax, I noticed many people stopped to get a more detailed look. I received compliments on my render, model, and choice of time period... (proof at least that I'm not the only one who enjoyed things like Mad Men from that time period). While public opinion doesn't necessarily justify my project as good design, it was a nice emotional counter to the critique. I believe one of my critics put it best:

"You've researched this thoroughly, but I think you're trying to solve a problem that a lot of people are struggling with... Herman Miller, Knoll, all of them... and they can't solve it yet either. 'How are we going to work with each other in the future?' Now you've got a solution here that solves one part of it, but not the rest. You have a good start for a next stage of design, and better yet, you already know where not to go."

DesCom As A Course:

I cannot endorse this course highly enough. I truly enjoyed this quarter of descom. There was a great balance of teaching via lecture and teaching via demo. Then that teaching was followed by active learning where we were applying knowledge from the demos/lectures. The portfolio and presentation lectures and subsequent class conversations were extremely helpful. Having such an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and interested professor in Michael Roller was key to the great in-class experience. Even when class had ended, Mike would stay to discuss a concern or talk about projects in I.D. (which wasn't even his class!) and that was truly helpful this quarter, I'm extremely grateful for his help outside of the course.

My only discrepancy was with the order of projects, I felt the storyboard project and dining project should have swapped places. If earlier, we'd have more time on the dining project which required sketching and rendering. Also, the storyboard project would be better suited later in the quarter when our solutions were nailed down and could be better utilized. However, that was a minor concern, the class was truly a highlight of my week and proved to be one I learned an immense amount from.

ID As A Course:

This quarter's I.D. class was much like most every critique we received at the end of quarter: lukewarm. While I take responsibility for some of my aesthetic choices, there was a severe lack of critical help this quarter. The process utilized in the development of the workstation project was front-end heavy, moving so fast that I feel many of us settled on mediocre B and C stage renders that were completely unlike the finals we turned in. Instead of the steps we were taking in design actually making a difference, they were merely "finished" to meet an arbitrary week apart deadline. The amount of work was not the problem, as we knew and acknowledged that it took around that amount to decently explore a problem in the quarter. However, the work was so compressed by time, that the quality and/or concept development suffered.

When we presented our professor with questions about his opinion on specific parts, he would ignore them and then focus on minor elements, further ignoring larger concepts. This constant focus on small details like radii and cushion thickness instead of larger concepts like interaction between parts of the system and general form was frustrating. [Looking back, we could have desperately used critique from people like those professionals in our final critique who called out key issues we wanted to address, but were told not to worry about.] In addition, many of our design choices were driven by research or human factors knowledge... these things were heavily encouraged by our professor to be "right" but the results were uninteresting and uniform. When questioned by critics, we responded with research or ergonomic claims... which many of them ignored, wanting a more innovative form/function, damn the research and consequences.

Many of us, by the 3/4 mark of the quarter were so fed up with it, that we moved to working without feedback from him. We sought critique from fellow classmates and our descom professor, Mike. While this did help, it was probably far too late for most of us. Finally, I believe there was an inherent belief (encouraged by our I.D. professor) that we needed to design "real" things that weren't "concepts"... however, in reality, the only one who wanted that was our professor. In hindsight it almost seems that our best course of action this quarter would have been to redefine the stages of design to our pace, doing what we wanted in all areas of design and receive critique from outside professors. This system would require more personal responsibility, but I feel if it is in exchange for a far superior design, it would be well worth it and more than capable of achieving.

Here's to next quarter of class...

Fleur - A Siphon Coffee Brewer

2009-12-01T10:15:00.009-05:00

Click to enlarge.

Remember how I was intrigued by the Vacuum/Siphon Coffee Maker? Well, here's my take on that way of brewing coffee. My intention is to make this siphon brewer a sculptural centerpiece for the after dinner coffee ritual.

Modeled in Alias, Solidworks, and rendered in Hypershot.

Blog Posts - Vanity in a Vacuum?

2009-12-01T00:47:00.003-05:00

Evaluate the use of a blog as a communication tool about design.

Well, I'm going to get down to brass tacks, and hopefully hit some points that other people aren't. I'm sure quite a few people will probably say this:

- Its instant desktop publishing. No mediation, no need to pay.
- In theory, thanks to Google, bloggers are on an even playing field with the big players in design news and opinion.
- Not only is blogging an easy way to self-promote, but you can show long-term development on projects in semi-real time and express opinions that are more complex than may be addresses in conversation.

These are all true, and wonderful. But there is a somewhat disheartening reality when one steps out into the digital plane of the web: you start at the bottom and working your way up is not easy. No one is listening for a very long time, and it takes consistent improvement to gain and keep an audience with the web.

Blogging these days is in a weird state. Especially if you want to be "successful" and have an audience. Few write for the web because few are willing to read things longer than 2 or 3 paragraphs. Small ideas are spat out as "statuses" on twitter or facebook and are generally undeveloped. So, as a blog you can either post a LOT of short articles at a fair clip (see Core 77) or you can sit back and write big, well crafted essays every month or so (see 43 Folders).

As for us as design students, I feel we all are apart of the white noise that exists in the world of design blogging. Student blogging (especially on assignment) is probably not too interesting to read unless you know the student. So, how to stand out? Focus. Merlin Mann of 43Folders suggests that instead of being "Design", "Tech", or "Star Wars" you need to be the go to expert on one aspect of those broad topics... because no one will find you if they search for "design". I think that's a reasonable theory to go by.

So, we are posting for ourselves mostly, in the vacuum that is the internet. But we don't have to keep on being the white noise... what are you an expert in? Good work or good writing will eventually rise to the top and gain an audience. So, what could you write about?

[Hint: When Christmas break rolls around, this blog (or another one completely) will have a new focus all its own.]

3 Approaches to Coffee

2009-12-01T00:29:00.002-05:00

While doing research on the ritual of brewed coffee, I found three different ways to make it, each with its own distinct visual style.

First, the classic: Mr. Coffee drip-brewer. Its clean and sanitary plastic form belongs right on your kitchen counter.

Second, the cool kid: The French Press maker. It's utilitarian form comes in many materials and makes coffee more of a personal experience rather than a foreign one full of packages and filters.

Finally, the mad scientist: The Vacuum Press / Siphon Brewer. This form has been around for quite some time and embodies its odd, ritualistic, and somewhat magical, process of making coffee.

I personally had never seen the vacuum press and was quite intrigued to explore that method... more on that later.

3Q With A Pro-Designer

2009-12-01T00:27:00.003-05:00

--Still Awaiting Response--

Placeholder.

Goal Accountability

2009-12-01T00:14:00.002-05:00

Well, a brief check back at the goals for this quarter show me that I need to reinforce those goals with some accountability because it seems I never kept to my original goals... or at lest kept to them to the same degree I intended to.

1. Consistent Efficiency
2. Professional Review

As my last post showed I still have problems with consistent efficiency and motivation. However, I have learned how to control it... by basically putting myself in the most conducive environment. My goal for professional review also failed, as I never managed to get weekly posts of my work up, or consult one professional on my weekly work. However, this quarter I did make of an effort to go around our studio and really talk with people about their work, and they with mine. I feel I also had some of the most valuable descom critiques from professors and T.A's this quarter. I think they were so successful because I felt like I was having a true dialogue about my work and performance, rather than being told what was wrong and then moving on (which occurred in previous descom classes).

Baby Steps.

Strengths

2009-11-30T22:28:00.002-05:00

Self critique is both the easiest and hardest thing one can do. It seems that if you do it properly, it can be rather difficult. However, if one wants to gain nothing but a big head, it can be very easy. I was asked to analyze my strengths as a designer, but I can't avoid also analyzing my weaknesses.

Strengths:

1) Rendering Composition - I always try to incorporate dramatic angles, highlights and some form of expressive motion into my renders so that it makes a connection with the viewer. I think this comes mainly from my long time love of comic books. I feel that if I'm going to devote such a large amount of space to an image, it needs to tell a lot about not just the form and function of a product, but the feeling as well.

2) Story/Talk - I've been told that I can tell a great story when it comes to talking about my design. Many times I find that I can talk through a problem with others or even find solutions by, oddly enough, talking to myself. I think that being able to communicate ideas with emotion and inflection is just as important as having a board that communicates well. There are just some human traits that one cannot convey in print.

3) Attention to detail / Complete-ness OCD - I think that my work at a Point of Purchase company got me in a habit of fast and complete turnaround, in conjunction with attention to minuscule details. I realized first hand how even 1/32 of an inch matters in the long run... and now that translates to my model making as I fidget with tolerances. It even has translated into my sketching as I take extra time to hit some details with a little more care or some color.

Weakness:

1) Loss of a project's 30,000ft view - I've been finding recently that my attention to detail is becoming a detriment because I spend too much time on details in areas where they, while nice, are unneeded. Especially in the sketching department, I find myself spending too much time on one ideation because my sketching-OCD won't let me make looser sketches, as they feel incomplete.

2) Inability to storyboard - I believe that my ability to speak eloquently has in some way hampered my ability to storyboard as well. I can create great imagery, but to connect the storyboard images, I generally need to explain more than I should, instead of being able to convey at least the basic story through the images. People still leave with a similar feeling as I intended, but if I don't explain things, I find that I'll be asked questions about things I really need to convey with my storyboard.

3) Motivation Loss / Distracted - This one is unpredictable, which makes it all the more dangerous. Sometimes I'll find myself doing something that is completely unrelated and unproductive to my design. I actually end up catching myself and have to take drastic measures from getting distracted again (turning off internet, moving to a different area to work). In some ways I think I'm subconsciously un-motivated and so I act upon it... However, if I take some precautionary measures I can generally work straight through for a few hours without stopping. I think is a detriment in the sense that I can't work well in studio environments where distractions are aplenty.

So there, some strengths and weaknesses... what'd I miss. Please be kind with compliments and harsh with criticism, its the only way I'll learn.

I'm Dreaming of THE White Christmas.

2009-11-14T23:49:00.015-05:00

Irving Berlin's - White Christmas (1954)
Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, & Vera Ellen.
Running Time: 120 minutes

If you just saw those three lines at the video store or on Netflix you might think, "Wow, a Christmas movie starring that cast? How can I go wrong?" ... and you'd be right! "White Christmas" is a staple of holiday cinema, surrounded by the likes of "It's A Wonderful Life", "Miracle on 34th Street", and "A Christmas Story".

So, you would think that an adaptation of White Christmas for the stage would be just as heartwarming and full of holiday cheer? Well sadly, this performance was more like Christmas in July.

A disclaimer: I am in no way trying to be a Grinch here. I love Christmas. I am the person who listens to Christmas music in mid-November and has been thinking about holiday plans since Halloween. I hold Christmas in regard not as just a secular or religious holiday, but as a time of year when people are and can spread happiness, regardless of the rough situations we all face. White Christmas is one of my favorite movies because of that. It starts in one of the worst places to be on Christmas, the midst of a war zone. Yet, they're trying to keep their spirits up because its Christmas, and despite everything, they're ALIVE. So you know, I wanted this to be great. Did I expect some changes for the stage? Of course, but not to the extent that I saw tonight.

If you have, or are considering purchasing tickets to White Christmas at the Aronoff Theater in Cincinnati, I'd suggest you read this review. Distinct changes were made for the stage version that may disappoint or put-off the purist expecting a near-movie adaptation.

There were two big changes I'm going to highlight (for the sake of efficiency): Cast importance and song choice.

Cast importance:

The top four characters on the bill (Bob, Phil, Betty, and Judy) are on the top for a reason: they are the performers who's storylines need the most detail and time. In addition, they generally perform the most because they're the main characters. This holds true for the movie of White Christmas, but not the stage performance. The focus on the main four characters constantly shifts away to the General, his granddaughter, and his nosy-concierge, Martha.

All three characters now sing. Martha, played by a shrill Lorna Luft has three numbers, including a solo number! These numbers are bearable at best because she sings in her character's voice, which is neither funny nor impressive.

The General is played as a boisterous and slightly overweight blow-hard; instead of a calm, steely, but respectful commander. Also, after the general gets turned down from the army, he writes the president and gets reinstated. This detail only confuses things and adds a ton of dialogue to the final speech he gives to his "men".

Finally, the general's granddaughter is no longer a teenager, but a loud mouth child with her own superfluous plot line about writing a history paper that only exists to fill time. She also annoyingly tries to horn into the show Bob and Phil are putting on. Sadly, the audience endures a performance by this girl, leaving us all to wonder why?

Oh, and I almost forgot, there are more unnecessary characters! There's a "flaming" show director who works for Wallace and is constantly yelling. There's a rotund "country bumpkin" who works as stage hand for the show director and exists to get yelled at. Both are slightly offensive stereotypes, but no one seems to mind. They also have a back-and-forth with the show director and bumpkin whereby the director yells at him; the bumpkin takes a while to respond with a slow drawl, "Yes'm." This is apparently funny, and so it's used multiple times.

Song Choice:

White Christmas is a musical movie. IT ALREADY COMES PACKED WITH SONGS. Now, for those of you who don't know, the song "White Christmas" actually comes from an earlier Irving Berlin movie, "Holiday Inn" It's debut was so popular that it basically moved the studio to make a movie highlighting the song. But, that is not the only song in the movie. No, a great number, "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" is also in the movie. This song was immensely popular for the time. Thankfully, both these songs stayed in. However, some songs, like "Choreography" are cut for other Irving Berlin songs. These full songs, such as "Blue Skies", are good numbers but feel completely out of place. These cuts and replacements feel even worse when the classic songs are either cut short, or sung by different cast members. For example, "What Can You Do With A General?" is sung by Bob, Phil, and Martha the concierge. It completely loses its message and falls away unnoticed. Another huge example of poor song choice is the performance of "Falling Out Of Love Can Be Fun." Again, Martha is in this number for some reason, and the use of this song makes Betty's leaving for New York a jaunty scene, instead of something sad and bittersweet.

Once again, I'll state: WHITE CHRISTMAS COMES PACKED WITH SONGS. Frankly, for an adaptation to stage, they shouldn't have had to change anything. But they did, and they changed the most pivotal song of all. White Christmas is supposed to end with its namesake song, as the barn doors open and snow falls. The two couples find each other, and the Inn is a success. Instead, we have the General come out to find the troops, sing a few bars of "Counting Your Blessings" (yes, it's awful), and then Bob asks the audience to sing along to White Christmas. Finally, the curtain pulls back and it looks almost the same. They open the barn doors on the last lines and we see its snowing. They all take their bows and then move into "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." Snow begins to fall from the ceiling (fake snow, but a cool effect.) They sing that song in its entirety, wave goodbye, and the curtain drops.

If this sounds odd, it was. The couple next to me actually said, "What?" The whole execution of the pivotal White Christmas song was poorly timed. I'd like to think this was all a tech thing, but it seemed deliberate. Why end with a different song, and not make snow fall during White Christmas? When I watch the movie, I'm consistently left with the warm feeling of the holidays even though I know what's coming... because its executed perfectly. The song builds, the snowfall is revealed, everyone's happy. This was so disjointed, I left feeling unimpressed.

I can't help but wonder if all the unnecessary changes, rearranges, and additions were made for the sake of adding time and giving more songs to the actors who don't sing. The stage performance is a half an hour longer than the film and I can only think that in order to find spots for more songs, they had to make up plot changes concerning the general, his granddaughter, and Martha. These changes all affected the four main characters, causing cuts of great songs while adding ones that weren't nearly as well known. To try and make things clear, minor characters end up with more lines and songs, leaving major characters undeveloped.

Now, I realize I sound like I am merely complaining that "things changed" but its something more than that. The distinct holiday feeling you leave with when you see the movie is completely lost in this stage adaptation. If you're a purist like myself, you end up being confused the whole time as to why changes and re-arrangements were made. If you're not a purist, or haven't even seen the movie, you'll likely be equally confused because so much has been changed or removed that the plot doesn't make complete sense. Overall, the singing and dancing of the main characters were good, especially the woman playing Betty (Kerry O'Malley). [It's hard to compete with Rosemary Clooney, but she did.] In fact, the caliber of the main actors makes it a real shame that the adaptation is so poor. They only had to follow the movie near-verbatim and the actors would have carried it beautifully. However, the whole performance seemed to be a victim of unnecessary change.

The point is, you'll likely leave the Aronoff this holiday season disappointed or confused if you go see White Christmas. While talking with my equally confused family, I likened it to going to a fancy, authentic Italian restaurant and then being served Olive Garden. Sure they're similar, but a lot of the details are different... and those details are what make the experience immersive and satisfying.

My suggestion: Save yourself the money and instead gather your family, make hot chocolate and cookies, and watch the DVD of this holiday classic. I guarantee that the experience you get from just being together and seeing this classic in its original form will bring you far more holiday spirit.

Lego Sushi

2009-11-13T00:01:00.002-05:00

02
Originally uploaded by "Big Daddy" Nelson

Redefining Dining? I'd say so.

I was cruising for dining inspiration and found this awesome piece.
Lesson: Make food a play thing and have some fun with it.

[Photo credit to "Big Daddy" Nelson, one of the cleverest lego fans out there. Be sure to check out his many sets on flickr.]

Storyboarding Workout

2009-11-11T22:03:00.004-05:00

Here's the first run of my storyboards explaining the problems of the executive office, and the solutions I intend to bring with my designs.

Problems:

Improvements for the revision: Do every problem panel just like the three on the right: dramatic angles, vivid colors, and contrast to evoke emotion. The panels on the left were digitally painted from photos/pieces of photos like the ones on the right... but those left-side photos weren't so great. Ideally, the problem panels should look emotional and real because they address real human problems.

Solutions:

Improvements for the revision: Add silhouettes of people/actions where sparkles are in the images. Also, the imagery will be taken from renders of the final models.

---------------------------------

As always, critiques and comments are welcome, leave them below!

Industrial Design Limericks

2009-11-11T12:22:00.011-05:00

Inspired by Douglas Bonneville's great post on Bonfx of Graphic Design limericks, I thought we should try our hand at some for I.D. To get us started, I'm sure we can relate to one of his Graphic Design limericks about Adobe:

There was an “Adobe Updater”
Who’s button said “Update me later”.
Whenever we’d work,
It popped up like a jerk.
And so we are “Updater” haters!

So leave your Industrial Design limericks in the comments below or tweet them to me! (@brandonleedy) As soon as I see them, I'll add you to this post! Also, be sure to give a screen name or a link to your site so I can give you credit!

-------------------------------
As I think of limericks, or people send them in, I'll post them here!

There once was a designer named Chad,
whose only design tool was CAD.
When asked to sketch,
an excuse he'd stretch,
and claim that he forgot his pad.

-@brandonleedy, 11/11/09

There once was a designer named Jonny,
whose godly designs were all bonny.
But they weren't from a chapel,
for with Steve Jobs he'd grapple;
You see, Jonny designed things for Apple.

-@brandonleedy, 11/11/09

Here's a great one from Douglas of bonfx.com!
He's the guy who inspired the search for I.D. Limericks!

There was an ungainly device,
Whose buttons were not very nice.
A cost saving trick
Made the buttons not click,
But certainly lowered the price.

-Douglas, bonfx.com, 11/13/09

Define Design

2009-11-08T18:59:00.003-05:00

Our design communication teacher, Michael Roller has prompted us in class to give our interpretation of three widely-used, but vaguely defined concepts. They are as follows:

Good Design -

What is "good design"? Honestly? "Good Design" is not enough. "Good Design" loses. Right now, as students, we do "good design". Occasionally we do great design. "Good Design" is settling. Great design is crushing it. Great design is patience, its thoroughness, and its thoughtfulness. Great design surprises the user and leaves them not wanting more, but wanting to give and share.

Innovation -

What is "innovation"? Innovation is learning to connect. People think innovation is creating something amazingly new and never before seen. Innovation is not magic, its not like the iphone or the internet was made of something never before seen... it was taking existing technology and just connecting it. Innovators are the people who look at the world and say "there is a need -here- that can be filled with -this- and I will get it to them -this way-" The best innovators, however, look at the world and say "there WILL be a need -here- that WILL be filled with -something like this- and I will create all of it."

Design Thinking -

Design Thinking is the use of the creative process to solve problems in the real world. Design Thinking is a process that looks at the existing problem and uses creative iteration to solve that problem. Design Thinking to me, is "innovation lite". Where innovation says, "I'm going to make something new to create connections"... design thinking says, "I'm going to find what already exists to create the most efficient solution right now." This is just my opinion, but I consider design thinking as a way to hit par. Sure it will succeed / make money, but it will soon fall behind because of innovators. Design thinking will get you to "good design", innovation will get you "great design."

Levi's - USB Final Renders

2009-11-08T18:41:00.004-05:00

Spring-boarding off of the last USB Visualization project, we continued to make a sketch render and final render of one of our concepts. I've continued development on my previously posted, "With Denim" high-end set of flash drives.

Here's the sketch render:

...and here's the final render:

Notes for the future: find a better way to make rubber texture and use less detailed textures on the sketch render. I spent nearly the same amount of time on the sketch render as the final render (which frankly, defeats the purpose of the sketch render). Onwards and upwards, to more improvements.

Comment and critiques are welcome below, Thanks.

Cinematic Storyboarding - El Coro

2009-11-08T16:30:00.004-05:00

In a previous post I mentioned a member of Massive Black Inc. named El Coro.

El Coro, (Justin Kaufman) is one of my favorite concept artists from Massive Black. I purchased his cinematic storyboarding tutorial last Christmas and Coro's personality and style really made an impression on me. He has this ability to be loose and fast, yet capture an great amount of detail and value in his storyboarding. I tend to draw and ideate in a state where I can't seem to move fast enough. I sometimes obsess over little details and therefore lose the big picture. Coro's ability to quickly block out value is something I envy and I'm currently trying to emulate in our current storyboarding project. In addition, his use of dramatic angles and lighting really draws the viewer into every panel and motivates them to continue viewing. Just check out some of the storyboards from the tutorial below:

I would again suggest those in I.D. who want some amazing help with their storyboarding to check out Coro's tutorial, its well worth it. Not only do you get to watch how he lays it down, but he narrates his technique and gives great "from the gut" commentary about creating.

The trailer for his tutorial below has a great quote at the end I think we all can learn from...

... as much as I have said that criteria or boundaries from the client can help give you motivation to push higher, convention is something different. Convention is not why you do something, its the how. If you approach every problem the same way, with the same method, you'll inevitably come up with failure or the same boring solution. In my case, watching this tutorial reminded me that I can't approach storyboarding in the same way I approach product sketching, because I'm looking for different solutions. More to come on storyboarding...

...till then, comment below, thanks.

Levi's - USB Visualizations

2009-11-08T15:49:00.008-05:00

Have you seen this commercial?

Levi's "Go Forth" campaign really strikes an emotional chord. It doesn't show the Levi's logo till the end, but it rather conveys the feeling of exploration and America something that is key to the Levi's brand. In a way, they don't need to show the Levi's logo, because it just feels like the brand.

Using that brand identity for a project in our DesCom class, I created two families of USB drives in Illustrator. In theory, these flash drives would be included with a pair of jeans. The first family, Elements, are considered low-end. They are semi-glossy and have a plastic housing with graphical or embossed treatments. They convey basic elements that you would come in contact with while wearing Levi's.

The second family, With Denim, is considered high-end. They are made of brushed steel, leather, and textured rubber. These three materials all are considered man made but as enduring as the denim you're wearing. They also are key materials in the history of the exploration of America.

The next step will be perspective sketch renders and final renders of one of these concepts. I've decided to go with the high-end "With Denim" set.

Comments? Critiques? Leave Them Below...

Inspiring Designer - Kemp Remillard

2009-11-08T14:32:00.003-05:00

Up to about a year and a half ago I was an active member on the site ConceptArt.org. The community there was extremely helpful and encouraging. While the site's main focus was on Concept Art, they welcomed Industrial Designers, Illustrators, and Photographers. We all had a common goal in mind: getting better; but we came from different backgrounds which helped each other in critique.

A year and a half ago, the community seemed to fall apart. Not fall apart in the sense that everyone stopped posting, but rather that many other people started posting. Naturally, because the site was useful and popular with those who wanted to seriously develop their skills, it attracted other people looking to improve. However, this new crowd was generally younger. They posted work that was lacking any sense of effort and they mostly just gave useless pats on the back as their critiques. In addition, the site admins changed the way new posts were organized and how long they remained on the front board. Soon, it got to the point where you would post a genuinely good piece that would normally get critiques and discussion, and instead it would go unnoticed because so many people were posting and commenting on the same 5 or 6 "popular" threads. Eventually, it had become fruitless to post there, much less look for other people's work as inspiration.

However, during the prime of ConceptArt, I came to find out about Massive Black Inc, a production concept artwork and asset studio. They've worked on popular video game titles like Infamous, Red Faction, and Killzone 2 among many other things. ConceptArt is owned by Massive Black as a way to encourage new artists in the field and bring acknowledgement to the industry. Members of Massive Black are frequent posters and in the past, gave critiques. While I've fallen away from Concept Art, there are still many members of Massive Black who I look to for inspiration: Marko Djurdjevic, Andrew Jones, and El Coro (to name a few).

As of recent, I've gone back and watched some of the tutorials you can purchase off their site. One in particular was Vehicle Concepting with Kemp Remillard. This set of tutorials were still extremely helpful to me, showing me another process of work, similar to our own in I.D. Kemp walks the viewer through the thought process as he's developing these vehicles both in 3D (Sketchup) and in rendering by hand. The most enjoyable thing about all the tutorials was that Kemp was not pulling any punches in his explanation. By the end of the tutorials, I really felt as if I knew a bit about Kemp and his style. The most inspiring thing about Kemp is that he shows that being iterative and working for a client are not damaging constraints, even in the world of production concepts. Kemp combines the fantastical concept in his head with designs based in reality that make his concepts futuristic, but believable. Through methods like this, we can still be creative designers under constraints of the client. In that way we can thrive, because now we have a wall to push against and excel. I would highly suggest that I.D. students check out Kemp's tutorial, and the many other tutorials on Massive Black if you're looking for help with photoshop renders, modeling, or just want to break from I.D. and do a little painting.

You can check out Kemp's own site at: www.kempart.com

It's Finally Here...

2009-11-08T03:10:00.005-05:00

My 2009 I.D. Portfolio. Check it out.

[Click on the portfolio image below and it will go to a fullscreen viewer.]

Like the work? Need a co-op? Leave a comment or contact me.

Look into the Future.

2009-11-06T14:41:00.006-05:00

This quarter I'm tackling a redesign of the executive office. However, in order to be on the cutting edge of design, we sometimes have to look into the future and find nascent technologies.

When looking into the future, the biggest technological advances seem to be focused on the area of communication. Whether its digital panels, tele-communication, or creative tools, technology is going to break down barriers between people.

1. Transparent, Ultra Thin LED Panels -
New advancements in the LED and OLED market have created the first generation of transparent and micro thin LED panels. However, the current price of these panels is too high and the size is too small for them to be efficient in today's products. But, in the future as infrastructure and demand increases, this new generation of panels will be utilized all over the office, making surfaces and panels a communication device.

2. Video Teleconferencing & Universal Communication Between Devices -
Bandwidth for data transfer is increasing exponentially. With new bandwidth we can transfer more data, faster. The biggest way to take advantage of this is through communication. Currently Cisco has a large, expensive system for video conferencing. In the future, videoconferencing will be high quality, cheap, and standard. Many will be able to do it from their homes, or in a crunch, on their mobile devices. Those devices will be constantly connected to a data network, allowing easy transfer from one workspace to another.

3. Touch/surface technology -
Finally, creatives like us will have a field day with this. We need easier ways to interact with our computers, and what better way to do so, then with touch? In the future we will take advantage of built-in touchable surfaces on many places you wouldn't expect. Being able to create collaboratively, organize images and accept into on many surfaces through touch will not only increase efficiency, but allow for unbridled thoughts and ideas.

2001 : A Space Odyssey

2009-11-06T10:41:00.006-05:00

Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is easily one of the most visually dramatic movies ever made. The story behind "2001" is also deep and complex, addressing human nature and the ideas of the known/unknown. So naturally, it is a steep challenge to create intrigue about a story so multi-layered. However, this trailer does an excellent job of it.

From the opening, the narrator gives the groundwork for the start of existence... and then, using swelling orchestration and eye catching effects take the audience into the future. We are introduced to a mysterious monolith and are warned about it. Ominous tones and triumphant tones clash with bright colors, dramatic close-ups, and a godlike sense of scale to emotionally tie you to this brief trailer. By the end, the trailer experience is so immersive that you can't help but be intrigued.

Kubrick was a perfectionist and a surrealist, pushing his viewers minds to new depths and places. But what does this trailer have to do with designers? Well, aside from another example of perfectionism paying off, designers can take away a fey key elements. First, the hero shot: much like the money shot, the hero shot expresses the subject as triumphant or successful. Kubrick's shots are tight and meticulous, reflecting the actors in many different emotions and seats of power. Second, tone setting: We use layout and organization, Kubrick uses music. By setting the stage the characters are in with a tone, our expectations are managed for what we are about to see. Finally, Kubrick uses drama: Heavy contrast, one color scale, close-ups, the unknown... these all are dramatic elements that we can use to catch people's eyes while directly giving information to our viewer.

Go see 2001. Let it change your ways of thinking.

Hobos and Gypsies, the costume of choice.

2009-10-25T23:42:00.014-04:00

This week's episode of MadMen ended with a brief Halloween sequence, showing young Sally and Bobby Draper Trick-Or-Treating. The date would be October 31st, 1963 (about a month before Kennedy is shot). As shown below from this episode still (courtesy AMC) Bobby and Sally are dressed as a Hobo and Gypsy from things they've found around the house. (Mad Men fans, note that Don and Betty are in a costume of their own in this scene: "the big happy family." But I digress.)

Earlier in the episode, Sally pleads with Don to let her get a Minnie Mouse costume from Woolworths. However, Don responds with "Its a costume you'll wear once. Plus its a cheap piece of plastic." Basically, it was too expensive and too poorly made.

After a little digging post-show, it seems that Sally would probably be a gypsy for quite a few more years to come. It turns out that most kids, even as far into the mid 70's, were dressing up as gypsies and hobos. This was due to mostly to economical sense from the parents. Even in this ad I found for Woolworths in 1978, the costumes are barely anything more than a vacu-form mask and piece of litho-printed plastic you wore as a sort of shirt/jump-suit.

Notice that even in '78 the costumes weren't exactly "replicas" as some kids costumes are today. The Darth Vader and Hulk have decent masks, but the shirt things have the character's faces and names on them. The Spider-Man shirt is the completely wrong color too. I read that during this time, the licensing for characters was much looser. It rarely required that the license holder, in this case Marvel, have say over usage of the character or even that the character be printed in the correct colors. So, if Red was too pricy to print, Spider-Man suddenly became yellow.

Talking to my parents, both of which were born a little after 1966 (keeping it vague for my Mom's sake), I found that "hobo" and "gypsy" were indeed still popular choices throughout the 70's. There's probably a few pictures of my Mom as a gypsy and if I find one I'll post it here for kicks. In addition, my Mom also remembers hearing the same reasoning from my Grandpa as to why they couldn't get the Wonder-Woman costume unless she pitched in her own money. Even at the "barebones" price of $2.38 - $4.17!

The times have certainly changed... or at least the prices have. Though, I know that as kids we all have shared in the odd plastic smell and weird sweatiness of trick-or-treating behind cheap plastic masks. Fond memories.

As Halloween approaches, I'll throw a few more posts in concerning candy and horror movies, since its a fun topic. (Along with those design posts I'm supposed to be doing... sorry Mike!)

UPDATE: My I.D. friend Laura, who loves Halloween, told me that in the third grade, she was a gypsy for Halloween. Nobody knew who she was. So she told everyone she was a fortune teller. Perhaps the time of the gypsy has passed?

On A Completely Unrelated Note...

2009-10-18T16:41:00.005-04:00

Yeah, this commercial creeps me out.

I'm not sure if this is how the world is supposed to look before or after I eat McDonalds. In fact, this whole thing raises a lot of questions:

Why do all hamburger characters have eyes, but only 2 of them have bodies and hold civil servant positions?

Why do fries grow on bushes and come pre-packaged in their little fry-envelopes?
Note: The fries have no human characteristics whatsoever... second class citizens maybe?

Also, I can only assume these 2 children have allied themselves with a strange man dressed as a clown because its better than wandering through a land of trees that offer them fried apple pastries.

However, upon arriving to McDonald's why do they not report this strange clown's presence to adult McDonald workers?

Finally, note the yellow clouded sky and return of active volcanoes, are we to assume McDonaldLand exists somewhere in the near apocalyptic future? or California perhaps?

This is brand identity at its strangest.

Think Different? No, Work Hard.

2009-10-06T01:34:00.000-04:00

Apple... or should I say,

Good golly. What a brand...
Someone had to bring them up right?

I'm not sure if the fine folks at Apple Computers have their lead designer, Jonathan Ive, drinking the blood of Dieter Rams or what, but they certainly have eye catching designs. Designs that make people obsess, lust, envy, and love. Apple makes physical objects that make people exhibit emotions as if they had purchased a living being.

So where'd the love affair come from? Why is Apple so strong at design?
Well, I think for two reasons... and of those reasons are ones we can adopt, should adopt, and in many cases, we already know!

1. Dieter Rams. Pay Homage, for the force is strong with him.

All kidding aside, Jonathan Ive has many times mentioned Dieter Rams as a source of inspiration and direction in Apple's design theory. When looking for the quickest window into the minds at Apple, check out Dieter Rams' 10 Principles For Good Design:

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design helps us to understand a product.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is durable.
• Good design is consequent to the last detail.
• Good design is concerned with the environment.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

2. Do not be afraid to work hard and still say no... to almost everything except your best.

Steve Jobs is an auteur. Some say he is a crazy maniacal dictator, but the fact is, he makes the trains run on time... and he makes sure those trains are beautiful unibody "aluminium" trains. We all need to be a little Steve Jobs when we work. Your work is a representation of you, and Apple is a representation of Steve's work. When Apple products suck, Steve sucks... and Steve does not like to suck. When your design work sucks, the same applies... you suck. However, the big difference between Steve and many of us is that we get complacent with sucking.

Imagine: It's 6 AM, you have final crit tomorrow and you made a blemish on your paint job of your model... its visible but not a killer. You have time to sand it down and repaint before your 9 AM critique... or you can squeeze in 3 hours of sleep.

Most of us (and don't lie, we've all seen this) say "UGH! *Expletive* this! I just want to be done." So we leave the model, blemish and all. I assume Mr. Jobs, when in the same predicament would be equally as annoyed as you, but would suck it up one last time to get the perfect paint job... and if you worked for Jobs, you'd best pull the all-nighter to get the paint job right, or you're fired.

It doesn't matter how early or late in the process... Sketches? Should be worth looking at. Models? Should be the real thing. Jobs doesn't settle, his team of designers doesn't settle, and neither should we. It shows in Apple's work and it will show in ours.

This is where I feel Apple differs most from other companies. Everyone says they work hard, but how many people really work hard? How many companies are willing to pull extra hours, milling out tens of different models that differ by millimeters in dimension or curve? Not that many I suspect. But Apple does. They have a team of 13 Industrial Designers. 13. 12 plus Jony Ive. Those 13 designers have every Apple product's design on their shoulders. Could we do that? Could we even be apart of that team? I'm not sure.

The designers at Apple seem to be on a whole other plane, and in that sense it becomes easy to just dismiss them and aim lower. But personally, I see 13 great designers who learn from the past and are willing to put in the countless hours to find solutions for the future. They are experienced, but not unattainable. We can be the Apple designers if we want it bad enough, we just need the hours.

Astro Studios - ASTROTHEORY

2009-10-01T23:11:00.005-04:00

In studio I had the print copy of Astro Studios book, ASTROtheory. While its not exactly a product portfolio, it definitely has "fit". Also, there are great uses of the grid and dramatic photography to catch your attention.

Many people were interested in looking, and I'm happy to post a link to the digital copy of the AstroStudios Book. I recommend viewing it in full screen, since the images are well composed and have some quirky details.

You can download it here.

Portfolio ProTip - The Art of The Money Shot

2009-09-30T23:04:00.004-04:00

When we were asked to share a post about portfolio design, I knew I had a few in the hopper. One of the best posts I've read concerning a critical element of the portfolio is "The Art of the Money Shot" by: Billy May, a guest post on the Coroflot Creative Seeds blog.

Here are some great takeaway quotes to get you intrigued to read the full article:

"In trying to break down the subject of immediacy it's useful to look at it from the perspectives of accuracy, environment and simplicity."

"Thinking like Socrates, the best execution is the one already present in the viewers mind, needing only your image to spark its recognition."

"Just because your modeler comes with a free renderer doesn't justify spending three times as long producing the same quality image you'd get with a third party plugin like Maxwell or V-ray."

"Most designers are aware of basic rules of composition and layout, but less obvious might be principles of color, contrast, saturation, focus and depth; just because your render comes out flat doesn't mean you have to leave it that way."

Also, I love some of the great imagery used by May to illustrate positives and negatives of money shots... with an enjoyable amount of wit in tow.

I think I enjoy this post so much because it cuts through the cruft of advice for renders and makes it simple. May reminds us that a money shot is about the design. Its not about the tools you use, the lens flare you add, etc... it's about getting a good descriptive shot of your design that has an integrated background. Drama, story, and even some glam are indeed apart of the formula to create a great money shot. BUT May reminds us of the core competencies that renders must fulfill.

Stick to the core competency, get the money shot.

Now read the article! "The Art of the Money Shot" by: Billy May

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If you liked this story, check out two more I had in my bookmarks that are more than helpful in making portfolios:

- A Portfolio Doesn't Speak for Itself, by Jim Best of Pensa

- The Grid System, the ultimate resource site for grid usage in design

Now For Something Completely Different...

2009-09-29T22:15:00.006-04:00

A Pancake Sorting Robot.

Someone designed this to fulfill a need... and that need was to sort pancakes efficiently. Jump to 1:15 to see the real action get going. Also, note the buffer shelf where the bot can place pancakes for shorter stacks that appear later.

Awesome. [Many thanks to @jkottke for the find!]

Managing Expectations, Creating Goals

2009-09-29T12:46:00.005-04:00

I'm Brandon Leedy, an Industrial Design Student. It's what I do these days.

Like many designers out there, I'm always working to improve my skills. In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell says that true professionals generally reach excellence after 10,000 hours of work. I wonder how accurate that observation is, but regardless I'm on my way to the 10,000.

On the ChangeOrder blog, the article "The Enemy of Great Design" makes the claim:

"We choose to lose ourselves in a flow experience, rather than opting for key moments in our work where we gauge our level of effort versus the result."

Our design careers will indeed stagnate if we can't stop periodically and look for how we can improve. So what are some goals I can personally aim for to improve this quarter?

1. Consistent Efficiency - I personally have problems with doing the same level of productive work every day. Some days I have these bursts of super productivity where I accomplish days of work it seems, and then the next day I barely do anything. While my work still gets done, I sometimes run into a backup of work and have to rush.

So, I'm keeping a set of 3 design related tasks every day, concerning projects in our studios. 2 of the 3 tasks will be worked on every day. With a post on this blog at the end of the week of my progress. (This will help with documentation as well.)

2. Professional Review - The weekly post of my daily work, in an effort to stop and gain outside evaluation, will be sent in link form to an outside evaluator (as well as being spread on facebook and twitter for anyone wishing to view it). This outside evaluator will be either a professor or upperclassmen.

Do these goals seem attainable? Comments welcome, Criticism appreciated.

Robot Apocalypse? Yes Please.

2009-08-06T00:33:00.005-04:00

Just thought I'd share some videos showing proof of the coming robot apocalypse.

They can run and withstand our shoving:
[This new Toyota Robot can run fast and take a shove, much like the always creepy, "Big Dog" tactical robot.]

They can perform lightning-fast feats of agility!
[This will matter more when the robots learn to catch bullets]

Robots can now be cute and distract us with their emotions!
[Luxo Jr, from the Pixar short of the same name, is a wonderful show of emotion in animatronics. Honestly, it's the delightful little stories, full of character, that make Disney such a fun place. Thanks robots.]

Of course I'm kidding about the apocalypse (...the robots require I say that...) but it is amazing to see some of the more recent accomplishments in robotics. What's going to be neat is when they create a robot that runs, plays catch, and seems to have fun doing so. Then again, who plays catch these days?

Gruber's Thoughts? & Uninteresting Sandwiches

2009-07-08T18:44:00.014-04:00

Google Chrome OS has been causing an overflow of buzz... it seems rather unwarranted for an all text blog post. We haven't seen anything. I finally got to read the post on Google's blog in full and I was distinctly reminded of this from the WWDC 2007 keynote:

“You can write great apps for the iPhone: they’re called web sites"

John Gruber of Daring Fireball called this announcement a "shit sandwich":

If all you have to offer is a shit sandwich, just say it. Don’t tell us how lucky we are and that it’s going to taste delicious.

I agree with that statement when concerning the iPhone OS. The device at the time, the network efficiency, etc. just couldn't handle it. Now things are different, and we can actually develop apps for the iPhone OS platform.

So, how ironic did I find it when I read this line in Google's blog post:

For application developers, the web is the platform.

First thing I thought was "shit sandwich", but after some contemplation, there are some major differences between the iphone situation and the ChromeOS:

Network: Netbooks and Tablets, with 3G/EVDO/Wifi have more hardware support power to run more robust apps in the browser.

Hardware: The hardware compared to an iphone is generally more robust. More RAM, processing speed, battery, screen size. So web apps aren't limited by processing power needed to operate.

Software: People who use this won't be "power-users" in the sense that say, a designer/video editor would be. However, assuming the Google Apps run better in ChromeOS than they do in Chrome (gmail for surprisingly seems to have a lot of issues) then people could be very productive on just Google alone. There are also a number of cloud based apps that can take care of a multitude of other needs.

So why announce the OS with nothing else in terms of proof? Well, normally developers need to know so they can develop apps for the OS... but there apparently is no OS to develop for. Google doesn't want native apps, just web stuff.

What am I getting at? Well, there are other Operating Systems that wanted people to use netboks/tablets as cloud devices with essentially just the browser. Those operating systems fall under the Linux umbrella... and they aren't doing so well in the netbook market. The sour point for me with this whole thing is that ChromeOS just sounds like a flavor of Linux that Google is hoping will catch on because it's using the Google name. There, I said it.

If the platform of development for ChromeOS is the web, then no one is going to develop or be motivated to develop web apps that only work when accessed via the ChromeOS. If the web market gets inundated with ChromeOS users, then I could see the web app development quality increase... but I'll still be able to access it as long as I have a browser.

Honestly, I'm not ragging on Google here, I've used chrome/iron for a long time (till I just a week ago when I went back to firefox) because it was a very well built and simple interface. It was also fast, resource friendly, and secure... the point is, I just don't see this being anything more than a Google branding exercise so that someone could carry around a G-Book that has offline and cloud access to google apps and other web apps. I can see an ChromeOS netbook that takes advantage of Wave, Docs, Mail, etc. being a decent seller, that's it.

So Google's not selling us a shit-sandwich, but what they're selling is just not a particularly interesting sandwich. If Google's got something up their sleeve other than a branding iron, I'd love to see it.

I wonder what John Gruber thinks of this whole ChromeOS thing...

Update: Gruber did tweet that "in a nutshell" he thinks the future of computing is "client services" so that is something worth mulling over for now (it makes sense). [I forsee/hope a longer essay piece is in the works... I think this is a big topic. Hopefully I don't sound demanding.]

Birdfeed

2009-06-28T23:02:00.011-04:00

Birdfeed, the newest twitter client for the iphone/ipod was released to the iTunes store a few hours ago. While it seems that these days twitter apps are a dime a dozen, Birdfeed is different.

Birdfeed is created by @nevenmrgan (of Panic Software) and @buzz (Cocoalicious and Podworks), two of the best in the Mac development realm. I think they've created one fine piece of software worth some of your hard earned consumer dollars.

In the crowded world of twitter apps, Birdfeed stands out because of the special attention paid to design, functionality, and logic. Text is clearly laid out and rarely, if at all, feels crowded or lacks polish. Also, extra functionality like caching (great for a touch user like myself) proper notifications, and Favr'd integration give this app the extra inches to make it worth the $4.99 price tag. More than any of that, this app was developed to "feel like it came with your phone" and it certainly does. Reply chains and tweets are structured to look and feel like conversations from SMS, a nice touch. Overall, the app feels and operates like a great amount of thought went into it, which is something that I can definitely appreciate.

The site and itunes page are currently getting up to speed [update: site is up now] due to Apple's arbitrary approval coming on the middle of a Sunday (go figure?) so here are some screenshots I grabbed just a bit ago. Now, if you're interested, purchase a copy.

Update: There is one bug I've found: when you exit Birdfeed it forgets your account and you have to re-login. However, I bet I am safe to assume this is a zero-day bug and will be fixed shortly. Update 2: The bug only occurs if your username has capital letters in it, and will indeed be fixed shortly, so no worries!

Molotow - Spray Utility Light - Process

2009-06-15T11:14:00.004-04:00

I'll go into more detail soon, but for now I thought I'd post the process pages for this past quarter's project: A utility light for graffiti artists. As stated in some previous posts, I chose the spray paint brand Molotow as my jumping off point / guide in design. These pages are apart of a much larger magazine style process book our whole class is creating to highlight this quarter's work. When that goes live, I'll be sure to post the link to that as well!

Click on the pages below to enlarge to fullscreen.

Junior Chair Studio Timelapse

2009-06-07T14:24:00.004-04:00

Ever wonder what the last few days of a project at DAAP look like? Well, DAAP Industrial Design Junior Ross Velazquez just posted an awesome time lapse video of the Junior Chair Studio in their final days before critique.

I'll be doing the Junior Chair Studio next spring, and I'm both excited and frightened by the prospect of it. But seeeing this year's group of chairs was really inspiring. They did a great job at their critique on Friday and the chairs looked stellar. You can see the photos of other chairs from the crit here.

Till then, enjoy the video, its fun to see the ebb and flow of people and the gradual progression of some of the chairs in the background. The music is: Sievert - "By the Light of Arcturus".

You can follow Ross on twitter: @shamblingcat.

Was I Supposed To Be Blogging?

2009-06-04T23:34:00.004-04:00

Whoops. I was doing that whole "working" thing!

I'll be mass updating here in a few days.

Till then, enjoy this teaser for Toy Story 3.

...its Vacu-form Polycarbonate ya know.

And, Toy Story 3 comes out on my birthday next year! Awesome.

Where Its At...

2009-04-15T00:05:00.004-04:00

The great Michael Roller, on his Strategic Aesthetics blog, recently posted a blurb about U.C. Seniors and their use of Ning as a way to stay connected.

Go checkout the post on Mr. Roller's blog and also check out the Ning site for DAAP's class of 2009. Its great to see their own social brain trust... like an internet clubhouse. All I can say is that to me, this makes way more sense than facebook. I imagine that one day, the social network will collapse and from the rubble will spring many little social networks like these.

This ning site is focused, and about people who they legitimately care about. We all have people on our facebook's that we've fallen out of touch with and when we see their updates we think "Why am I seeing this?"

Now, note: I am the first to try new social networks... but the voice in the back of my head has a point: The more we fracture ourselves with hundreds of "internet/facebook/twitter" friends, the lower the quality of ACTUAL, REAL, LONG TERM "I'VE GOT YOUR BACK BROTHER" friendships we end up having. Those friendships are the ones that matter 5-10 years down the road when we look back on our time at DAAP. Hell, they're the ones that matter NOW, when your project breaks 10 hours before the crit and you need help at 3 in the morning.

In my philosophy of technology class we learned about a theory. The theory stated that technology creates an equal amount of good and bad consequences to society. However, technology works in a cyclic fashion and if we wait long enough... or innovate long enough, new technology will solve its own problem.

Maybe, focused social networking, like the 2009 ID students have created, is just the cycle starting over again. The idea of a social network as a way to connect to hundreds of people all over the world is dying... or rather, evolving into a way to stay connected to the select amount of people who really matter. Instead of knowing that Joe in Colorado is eating a sandwich, we'll know that a studio mate is going out for tea 5 minutes down the road... and ya know what? You wouldn't mind joining them... to be social.

Drill Down on the Brand

2009-04-14T18:15:00.014-04:00

Here's some more in depth analysis into the brand, Molotow; research includes a mindmap, history, product examples, etc.

'Right Click' over the slideshow to go Full Screen.

Some preliminary sketching is the next step, so things are going to get interesting. Forms and Concepts on the way... keep an eye out.

New Project, Let's Go!

2009-04-11T13:47:00.014-04:00

It's the start of a new quarter and that means a new project. This quarter's I.D. Studio project concerns light and branding.

Design Prompt :

Create a completed concept for a lighting element that embodies the qualities of a brand that does not currently have offerings in the lighting product category.

Objectives :

To understand the unique power of brands in the successful product mix. To learn about the manipulation of form, graphics, and product behavior as they relate to brand.

The first action to pursue is choosing a brand. The brand chosen must be both interesting to the designer and also not be already producing a light. The product designed should fulfill a task for the users of the chosen brand's product.

When looking for a brand, I wanted to try something out of my normal design habits. Possibly try something counterculture, and design for something that some consider wrong. In addition, I wanted something with a distinct style and a strong user base. After a day or so of contemplation, I decided to design for a graffiti brand. The first that came to mind was the Montana brand, which is sold here at DAAP.

However, after research, I found that the store in DAAP sells Montana "Germany". Montana Germany is considered a "poser" in the graffiti world because it stole its brand name from another Montana... Montana "Spain". Montana Spain has been around longer and is higher quality. I continued my research and wanted to find the best brand of paint as judged by graffiti artists. After many searches on forums and blogs, one name came up repeatedly:

Molotow (pronounced Molotov) was created in Germany and not only makes the best paint for graffiti artists, but they support the artistry both by events and promotion of the artists' works. They have a great sense of style and a determination to be the best. In addition, they have street cred. Credibility is huge in the graffiti world. My only hope is that my designs and head first dive into the world of writers grants me enough cred to make a product that is accepted by the community at large.

Here's the first presentation I made, debuting Molotow as my brand of choice.

Looking for Cues

2009-03-24T00:08:00.007-04:00

I'm happy to report that I'm set for my next co-op quarter of the Summer of 2010.

Prior to this news I was intensely hammering away at my new portfolio. I intended to keep the same design format and just update the work, I had no time for a redesign.

However, now I can concentrate on a complete overhaul. My portfolio, my website, this blog, even my twitter page. I'd essentially like a comprehensive experience for anyone who looks at my work. I'm working on a clean logo (either using my full name or an abbreviation) and design cues that are recognizable in other areas. Ideally, I'd like to make an experience that visually looks the same, but depending on where it lives, will have a slightly different color pallete. For example, if my portfolio is white, then my website will be black but with the same visual cues.

So, now I need distinct visual cues... and ones that can translate from the web to print... and back again. This is where the work really begins, I need a framework to plug all my projects into that doesn't interfere with my designs and is also easy to use. So, to help me, I'm looking at the best people in the fields of web and print.

Who do I like on the web? Well, both Flickr and Photoshop.com have beautiful online slideshows that are ideal for putting large works on display. I'll definitely want to integrate that/carry it over from my old site. I also like the idea of the navigation bar on Apple and Facebook. Having something out of the way and above it all should be both recognizable and a useful evolution of my old design. Finally, I like the idea of vertical progression that twitter uses. Being able to see the most recent work first helps both new and returning viewers.

What about print? Well, my two favorite things to look at in print are Ikea and Crate & Barrel catalogs. They both show products from different views while clearly showing information. I definitely want to take visual cues and grid placement from those sources.

So, that's where I'm heading, I'll be posting some prototype images soon to get some feedback.

Thanks for hanging in there. I'll be back to full blogging steam soon.

Gmail, Smart and Smug.

2009-03-08T22:52:00.012-04:00

While working on ways to de-clutter and simplify the text in my portfolio, I thought my current email address might be a bit confusing as it has a dot between my first and last name. I went to register my name without the dot only to find it already used! So after a bit of grumbling I decided to see if I already owned it and forgot about it. I sign in to my name without a dot and it took me to my normal email account! How surprising.

So now I'm thinking this is gmail's doing to lower confusion of emails. I make one last test and send an email from my normal address to this new one I believe I also have. Low and behold it sends the email to my own inbox. I look at the sender's details and gmail is it's same old smug self: [Click to zoom in and look at the "To:" area]

Gmail is too smart for its own good. I imagine that if this were real life, gmail would be the postman who delivers your letter and looks at you, "Yes Brandon, you just sent a letter to yourself. Idiot." The Gmail postman then turns around and goes about his day, leaving you to shout at him like a crazy man, "This was just a test! I'm not that dumb, come on!"

Turns out gmail reserves all variations of your email address concerning capitalization and periods when you register! According to the big G:

"Gmail allows only one registration for any given username. Once you sign up for a particular username, any dot or capitalization variations are made permanently unavailable for new registration."

Well isn't that nice of them? Its a very small step, something that probably took a few more minutes of coding on their part, but it saves all of us a lot of confusion. Now, I can link to my email address without the dot and make it easier on prospective employers. Also, I don't run the risk of getting other Brandon Leedy's emails. That at least helps the three other Brandon Leedy's I know of!

Also, in its mind-reading fashion, Gmail noticed I was emailing a variation of myself and gave me a link as to why I got my own mail and answering my question in full! So yes, I got some arrogant sass from Gmail today, but I learned quite a bit about good design:

1. Take precautions in the front end of a design to simplify down the road.

2. Recognize where questions may arise and offer solutions or help in those specific instances. Giving help in those small, specific instances is not only far more memorable for the user, but shows that you went the extra mile to help in situations that seem insignificant.

What's Old Is New Again

2009-03-05T20:31:00.012-05:00

"Notalgia is a twinge... it takes us back to a place where we know we are loved."

- Don Draper, MadMen

That paraphase comes from a particularly stirring pitch to Kodak film as to why their film projector should be called "The Carousel". The show MadMen has been hugely popular because of how well it has been written and acted, drawing us in with its complex characters. But also as equally important is how accurate the show's creators replicated life at the time of the early 1960's. The scenery, props, and costume creators go to huge lengths to make the illusion exact and complete. There are no jarring mistakes take you out of the nostalgic dream of that time.

We like to see that time period, those situations, because life then seemed less complicated, more peaceful, and... happier. It was a time of manners and values, honesty and integrity. Sure, there were problems, but when put up against today's near-apocalypse of issues, the past seems like a stress-free vacation. We want that time period, want to live that nostalgia, because we don't have it here.

So what does this have to do with me, design, or you? Well, what's old is new again. Sometimes, the slow train of progress takes a wide loop and ends up back in a familar station. The people who make the products you buy know that you want those times in the past, or at the very least, the feeling of safety, honesty, and values. So, if they can make your surroundings... your props the same... then you might feel a bit better. Buying these things might make you feel a bit happier, more content. Nostalgia is truly potent, and in this case, fun.

So what throwback products are coming our way?

1. Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback.

Pepsi and Mountain Dew will be released in "Throwback" versions (shown above, courtesy of TheDieline.com). Both will have their classic retro-logos once more and will be made will real sugar as opposed to the Fructose Corn Syrup used now. This is kitschy and lovable. Its interesting enough to make me pay a dollar or so more for a bottle. The logos manage to create nostalgia in me, and I never lived in that time. The only thing that could be better would be to get these in glass bottles.

But, what I find sad though is that "Made with Real Sugar" is a plus... its something we now have to pay extra for... as opposed to Pepsi just always using real sugar. Its a reminder of the past... the past was genuine with real ingredients. Now are we settling for something less than?

Will people buy this? Yes, of course. Will I buy it? Maybe twice or more. Stuff like this puts a smile on my face... and it reminds me and you to want the genuine product, no substitutions.

2. Throwback Gneral Mills Cereal Boxes

Photos courtesy of TheDieline.com

There is nothing more memorable as a kid than waking up on Saturdays and eating a big bowl of cereal in front of morning cartoons. Its something you probably get to do only for two time periods in your life... first, as a kid and second, with your kids. Both are times of safety and of happiness. Saturday cartoons were when you were allowed to eat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching Looney Toons. Your parents were probably near you... enjoying this special time because of how much it meant to them as a kid. Cereal is how a lot of us wake up... or should wake up. Its become a mainstay in society.

General Mills is now helping us remember the importance of breakfast and of those times as a kid with these great throwback cereal boxes. Completely re-created in logo and design, these boxes show the simpler side of cereal. The trix box is subdued compared to today's explosion of ecstatic colors and sparkles encouraging kids to eat this sugary cereal. There's something endearing about the characters again... they aren't stale and overused. They become fresh. What's old is new again. They work so well because they try so little.

Also, in the instance where characters don't exist, you sometimes just have to enjoy straight retro graphics. My favorite box out of the whole series has to be the Kix box. Again, I never lived in the times of these original boxes, but I can't help but know how the period felt when this box was on the shelf.

This box should say "kid tested, designer approved" That's how much I enjoy the balance of the lettering and color on this box. The visaul is simple, uncomplicated. The orange is so vivid, bright.

Nostalgia in a box... can't beat that. Will these or the drinks above bring about some social change? Probably not... but if these small distractions put a smile on someone's face, make them feel that twinge of nostalgia, then who am I to argue. Maybe nostalgia is what we all need. In Don's pitch, he says "nostalgia is Greek for 'the pain from an old wound'". Well maybe, its time to open that old wound and start remembering how we got it and what we need to do to heal. We all have a hand in that, and apparently, so does design.

Most Telling Quote of the Day: Artist or Designer?

2009-03-03T20:12:00.010-05:00

"I'm not much of an artist anymore, I'm just a designer."

- LD, via this post on GBOT.

First let me give a little shout out to Kyle Louis and Lauren Davis for their daily video blog, "Good\Bad\Other Thing" (affectionately called 'GBOT'). Every day these crazy kids record a short video about their respective days and post it to the site. Bam. Content created, no muss no fuss. If you want straight vlogging, no annoying intros or youtube-like subscription whoring, just two great people talking about their day, go check them out. [Oh, and they're both from DAAP... so you know they're good folks.]

Plugging aside, there's something to be said for self analysis. LD's comment struck me because its honest and kinda profound. When growing up, when did we stop being "artists" and start being designers?

As a little kid, I'm sure some relative called you "an artist" at some point. As a kid, when you drew or painted, you probably considered yourself "an artist" as well. Or, at the very least, you thought you had some artistic talent. Somehow, I doubt that an 8 year old who draws cars and monsters considers himself a designer. So when does that title apply? Why do we feel the need to use it?

I find myself correcting people sometimes when they say artist: "I'm a designer, not an artist." I'm not against people being artists, but I want to qualify myself and my work. I like saying, "I'm an Industrial Designer" Its like wearing a badge, it says I'm apart of something and I'm working towards something. Also, on a subconscious level, I think it pre-conditions people to who you are... it stereotypes you in the way you prefer and manages people's expectations of you.

But like Lauren, there are times where I feel like, "I'd like to use charcoal again..." or "It'd be nice to have time to play my guitar." If I get the urge to draw Spider-Man, I'm technically creating comic book art, not comic book design. I'm still creating though. What should it matter? Is it our busy schedules or is it what we're conditioning ourselves to think a "designer" should be doing?

To answer the question, I think its a bit of both. In the case of DAAP, we want to get a good co-op job and really make our time at DAAP worthwhile. To get the good I.D. job, you gotta have a good portfolio. To have a good portfolio, you need good sketches and good pieces. You're gonna have a rough time getting your dream job at IDEO if you show up with oil paintings. So we believe our time is better spent sketching than painting or playing music.

It can be balanced... you just need to pull double duty and work on both design and art. A fair amount of concept artists started in Industrial Design and need the skills of a fine artist as well. They generally eat, sleep, and breathe concept art. They put in a lot of hours... moreso I'd wager than a regular Industrial Designer. It can be done... its just difficult. Doing too much can mean that instead of doing one thing well... you do a bunch of things and end up just being average.

To sum it all up: Is it a bad thing that to be a passionate designer, you have to give up a bit of your artist?

----------------------------------

Thanks again to Kyle and Lauren for making great videos everyday over at GBOT.

EVERY - DAY! That takes commitment people!

You can find them on twitter:

Lauren is @Laurenddddd

Kyle is @Kydlo

10 Commandments of Design

2009-03-01T23:57:00.010-05:00

You may have seen a link to this article at Design Sojourn as I did, or maybe this is new to you. Either way, Dieter Rams' "10 Commandments of Design" are something that all Industrial Designers should peruse every once and a while to help re-evaluate themselves as designers. Especially in today's changing design world, Dieter's commandments are reminders of what some of us should be trying to move towards as industrial designers.

Dieter has been referenced many times by Jony Ive, Apple's lead Industrial Designer, as a big inspiration and influence. Dieter's commandments are reflected well in Apple products. So much so in fact, that I bet Jony has a nice big poster of these next to Dieter's picture in the Apple design studio.

1. Good Design is innovative
It does not copy existing product forms, nor does it produce any kind of novelty for the sake of it. The essence of innovation must be clearly seen in all functions of a product. The possibilities in this respect are by no means exhausted. Technological development keeps offering new chances for innovative solutions.

2. Good Design makes a product useful
A product is bought in order to be used. It must serve a defined purpose – in both primary and additional functions. The most important task of design is to optimise the utility of a product.

3. Good Design is aesthetic
The aesthetic quality of a product – and the fascination it inspires – is an integral part of the its utility. Without doubt, it is uncomfortable and tiring to have to put up with products that are confusing, that get on your nerves, that you are unable to relate to. However, it has always been a hard task to argue about aesthetic quality, for two reasons.
Firstly, it is difficult to talk about anything visual, since words have a different meaning for different people.
Secondly, aesthetic quality deals with details, subtle shades, harmony and the equilibrium of a whole variety of visual elements. A good eye is required, schooled by years and years of experience, in order to be able to draw the right conclusion.

4. Good Design helps a product be understood
It clarifies the structure of the product. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory and saves you the long, tedious perusal of the operating manual.

5. Good Design is unobtrusive
Products that satisfy this criterion are tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained leaving room for the user’s self-expression.

6. Good Design is honest
An honestly-designed product must not claim features it does not have – being more innovative, more efficient, of higher value. It must not influence or manipulate buyers and users.

7. Good Design is durable
It is nothing trendy that might be out-of-date tomorrow. This is one of the major differences between well-designed products and trivial objects for a waste-producing society. Waste must no longer be tolerated.

8. Good Design is thorough to the last detail
Thoroughness and accuracy of design are synonymous with the product and its functions, as seen through the eyes of the user.

9. Good Design is concerned with environment
Design must contribute towards a stable environment and a sensible use of raw materials. This means considering not only actual pollution, but also the visual pollution and destruction of our environment.

10. Good Design is as little design as possible
Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Portfolio M.D.

2009-02-01T01:17:00.011-05:00

A quick post today: Just wanted to mention that I, and my good friend, Kyle (@kyleakoch on twitter) are doing a joint blog over at:

http://portfoliomd.tumblr.com

We'll be using the tumblelog as a place to post any work we do to our portfolios as we get them ready for the new round of co-op interviews. We hope to gain critiques from our peers and motivate each other to work more on our portfolios.

Both Kyle and I are posting pages as we complete them... so you'll get a new post from one of us most days. I've currently made two posts displaying a new vertical portfolio format.

Head on over and check them out! Critiques welcome! Thanks.

We Interrupt This Program

2009-01-21T22:16:00.005-05:00

If you want a sketch fix, go check out idsketching.com
Not only have they redesigned and added new work,
but I could not recommend them enough if you wanna sharpen your skills.

I'll get some of my sketches up ASAP people, thanks for bearing with us.
Till then, Later.

-----POST EDIT-----

This obligation to my lack of readers is kind of a burden which I seem to be bearing for no reason except to gain sketches. However, when I look at what's on my plate design wise already (redoing my portfolio for Co-op Round 2 and refining all work within being the biggest on the list... then redoing my sites) I can't help but feel burdened. So I'm cooling off with such strict and arbitrary self imposed deadlines. I'll keep sketching, but this need to upload is just stifling any pattern of work. When I get time, I'll upload. Easy as that. Till then, people will have to wait and be impressed/disappointed on those days. Thanks again for bearing with us.

50-ish Sketches

2009-01-18T21:22:00.008-05:00

So a few weeks back I may have mentioned I'd be doing 10 sketches a day? Heh heh... well it hasn't exactly been every day. [I've apparently fallen victim to Wii-based A.D.D.] But, I have quite a bit of sketching for people today!

I've been in a good groove recently and feel like I've finally found that perfect time frame in which to do the sketches. Also, I've realized that I need to do a topic that I'm excited about, usually go with my first initial feeling for the day. Finally, I'm adding another rule that it doesn't have to be 10 different ideas I'm sketching. I'd much rather stop and sketch from different angles if I hit a gold idea. Already, I have at least three ideas in the running for making additional portfolio pieces. This daily sketching is definitely paying off in terms of keeping me honest with my own skills and keeping the habit. I'll stick with my original plan of 30 on Wednesday and 40 on Sunday from here. Here's the goods:

Tech Stuff - At least 2 portfolio ideas here

Artsy Lights - Wanna model & render in Hypershot for practice.

Hot Wheel-esque vehicles... meh

Robots Themed from Wall-E!

Bicycle Helmets!

Throw me some crits...
like: "Use Bigger Paper/ One Sketch A Page", "Color", or "Learn the Head in Perspective"

Thanks!

PS. I'm trying a new color scheme (it matches that Moleskine board I did earlier). I'm not liking it too much for the blog... or a website. The orange is nice... but it clashes with a lot. Maybe just grayscale? Kinda sick of pure white or pure black. Suggestions welcome.

I Made This ...And You Can Buy It.

2009-01-09T22:52:00.007-05:00

A few days ago, I mentioned that I finally got to see one of my designs finished for production. On that note, here are some photos of my work on a Crest Whitestrips product... and then some explanation.

[Note: The existence of this product is not a secret, and is not only shown on the Crest website, but samples can be procured via Crest themselves on major outlets such as Facebook.]

This was something I did a few months back in the first quarter of co-op at Alliance. I was asked to design the structure of a bonus pack that attaches to pre-existing boxes of Crest Whitestrips that holds a bonus "Advanced Whitestrip" in the box and also some form of information (be it coupon, or pamphlet).

Now while this doesn't seem like a big deal, this was my first project that I designed on my own from start to finish. Being able to do this from start to finish, and actually SEE IT ready to ship is so satisfying.

I started the design by looking at the form of the "Advanced Seal" box and wanted to mimic that shape to create a reference in the user's mind. The advanced seal strips are a stronger product and should reflect that by being almost incongrous to the original product. I took measurements and created a very basic flat design in SBS board. I then took to solving three problems.

First, I had to solve the issue of making a box that's small enough to not seem ridiculous, but big enough to hold a Crest Whitestrip. Second, I had to create a pocket, or some way to store coupons or a pamphlet. Third, this design had to be almost entirely assembled via robotic machinery that can fold and use minimal glue.

I started iterating ways to fold the box together and where to put the pocket. After multiple iterations and sending a few designs back and forth between the Crest brand rep, they found the one they really liked. The design chosen used minimal material, all in one piece giving ample room for graphics on the box and on the back of whitestrips container. The "foot" below the product helped stabilize the product and bonus pack as it traveled through the shrink tunnel. Also, the pocket (seen on the back photo in between the container and the board) can hold materials securely and prevent people from easily tearing into the package before purchase.

I submitted the structural design so that branding could place graphics on the bonus pack. This meant sending the 2D CAD files that would later be turned into cutting die for mass production and some pre made white samples of the final product, exactly as it would look without graphics. I continued on with co-op and then left to return to classes, at which time I hadn't heard anything except that it was being used. When I returned, they showed me the final production pieces that came back to us with graphics applied. I was pretty psyched to see it.

Apparently these are shipping before or along with the release of Advanced Crest Whitestrips (which you can see/sample on the Crest site and other places, so I assume its okay to talk about) in early Februrary. So, be sure to look for the design in stores if you buy Crest Whitestrips!

Its not much, but it was a start. I'm proud of it. Thanks.

10 A Day Sketching. Get Ready.

2009-01-02T00:45:00.005-05:00

Hello again to all, and Happy New Year! So for 2009 we're gonna try something new. 10 a days.

10 sketches a day. What determines "a sketch" will change every week, but rest assured there will be 10 things sketched for every day. I will try and split up the week posting on Wednesday and Sunday nights. If I miss a Wednesday, people will get a mega post of 70 sketches on Sunday. Either way 70 sketches a week will be accounted for and you will be the ones holding me accountable. (... and for those fellow designers out there, if you wanna join in too, lemme know!)

So coming this Sunday night you will get the first 40 (covering January 1st -4th). Topics include: Bicycle Helmets, Toy Robots, and two other topics I haven't picked yet... you'll have to wait to find out!

I have some other things in the oven as well, including more refinement of my gallery website, a new portfolio, and a redesign that unifies my sites.

To tide you over, here's a comic that sums up my mental approach to this upcoming year.
(Click to enlarge.)

Here's to a great 2009.

Top 25 Albums of 2008 - My Design Soundtrack

2008-12-21T21:04:00.004-05:00

I find it hard to work in complete silence, and whether that's bad for me or not, there is no doubt that music affects how many of us work and live. So here are the top 25 albums I designed things to this year (with 1 sentence explanation as to why for the top 10). As deadlines approached, models were being built, or ideas were being sketched, these were playing in headphones or in studio during 2008.

25. The Last Shadow Puppets - "Age of the Understatement"
24. Mogwai - "The Hawk Is Howling"
23. MGMT - "Oracular Spectacular"
22. M83 - "Saturdays = Youth"
21. The Hold Steady - "Stay Positive"
20. Jason Mraz - "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things"
19. Santogold - "Santogold"
18. God Is An Astronaut - "God Is An Astronaut"
17. Deerhunter - "Microcastle"
16. The Dirtbombs - "We Have You Surrounded"
15. Death Cab For Cutie - "Narrow Stairs"
14. The Kooks - "Konk"
13. Lil Wayne - "Tha Carter III"
12. Hot Chip - "Made in The Dark"
11. Ratatat - "LP3"

10. Britney Spears - "Circus"
'Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself'; Britney surprises with this amazing comeback.
9. TV on the Radio - "Dear Science"
Cascading and thoughtful "art rock"... if that's a genre.
8. John Mayer - "Where the Light Is"
John, completely real and on top of any song: old, new, cover, blues or otherwise.
7. Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
Brian Eno + Coldplay = songs with emotion that don't put you to sleep.
6. Los Campesinos - "Hold On Now Youngster"
Happy shouts, claps, and destruction; try listening to this without smiling.
5. Cut Copy - "In Ghost Colours"
Its a dance on a colorful floor of synth and electric sound.
4. Fleet Foxes - "Fleet Foxes" & "Sun Giant" EP
From nowhere, the Shins' musical grandparents appear with this timeless & heartfelt album.
3. Kanye West - "808s and Heartbreaks"
Kanye West maturing and trying something new, sadness and autotuner.
2. Girl Talk - "Feed the Animals"
Imagine hundreds of your favorite songs actually becoming one album.
1. Vampire Weekend - "Vampire Weekend"
This album is infectious, refreshing, and extremely enjoyable.

Well, there they are. Wondering why I don't "get" Portishead? Do you disagree with something else? Let me know in the comments or just leave your favorites.

THE Final Board

2008-12-13T23:28:00.001-05:00

Hello, its me again. The guy who runs this joint. The end of quarter, as always, is rather chaotic and keeps me from blogging. But I'm back with work to share and some new concepts for articles in the future, so get excited.

The following is the ultimate conclusion to one quarter's worth of work. This is my point of purchase display for Moleskine notebooks. At its core, its meant to attract via gentle and subtle plays on a person's curiosity. It would be placed near a shelf stocked with Moleskine notebooks in a bookstore such as Barnes and Noble. The display itself is there so that a person can experience the opened product in a controlled environment that reflects quality and solitary peace. In addition, the inside of the books would have information about the history of the Moleskine and the details about the materials in each book. I also have built a half-scale, lit model in all white soft materials. However, I'd like to get some good photos of it before posting. So for now, my material 3D render will have to do. [Built in Solidworks, Rendered in Alias, learning to re-render it in Hypershot]

[Note: If you click the picture, it will re-load in a new tab, much larger so you can view details. PS. Apologies for the pixelation, this board was originally 24" x 38", so downsizing this much really crunches things.]

As always, critiques are welcome!
...and be sure to stay tuned, I'll be back soon with more content.

Autodesk Looking to Control All Industrial Designers

2008-12-03T23:49:00.000-05:00

I frequent SolidSmack, the Solidworks blog run by the great Josh Mings. Well, today Josh posted some great footage via the Develop3D blog. Autodesk previewed a software similar to I Heart Sketch, which allowed your freehand sketching to create actual curve networks to be used downstream in modeling. However, the nice thing about this piece of Autodesk software is that it has a great set of sketch tools plus mirroring, warping, etc. Then, on top of all that goodness, we have the fact that your sketch has become a curve network and can be manipulated in 3D. Oh, and it runs on a Mac. Guess I'll be working on a Mac in the future because I do not want to pass this program up! Unfortunately, Autodesk doesn't have a name for this software (I recommend: "Autodesk SketchCAD Jesus") nor do they have a release date. But still, its coming eventually!!

This could really change the way we design, streamlining that process between sketch and getting the first curves down for your 3D model. Not to mention, beautiful freehand sketch curves with actual tension and acceleration can be transferred to 3D without losing their human look. I'm really looking forward to a program like this and can only hope that I get a chance to use and practice with this before I graduate. Well done to Autodesk and please hurry, because you'll get my money once this hits shelves.

Check out the video below and feel free to visit the blogs I linked to above, they are a great source of 3D modeling knowledge and are extremely well done.

Autodesk Sketching Tech Preview from DEVELOP3D on Vimeo.

I am Now Publishing on AddsYou.com

2008-11-28T20:11:00.000-05:00

http://www.addsyou.com
username=MjAwOC0xMS0yOCAyMDowNjowMw==

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, addsyou is just a way for my blog to expand its audience a bit... maybe profit a little? Ha, I'm not that hopeful yet. But gotta start somewhere.

Appliance Render Final Detailing

2008-11-08T16:12:00.000-05:00

Here's the final appliance render with detailing, temperature, and different album art. Also, this version features a top down view in line work. This was the copy I turned in and it was pretty well received. I'm pleased, but I think I would change the buttons to more rounded and make the 3 LED lights linear. I enjoyed making a fairly believable brushed metal and "nailing" where the glass meets the metal. Overall this was a good learning experience and feels pretty solid.

As always, critiques are welcome!

Coming Up: 70 Ideations of Microwaves. Oh yeah! Boxy, shiny, Microwaves!

Media Player Render

2008-11-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

So here is what comes out of those 120 appliance sketches... below is a more detailed sketch with materials and then my first draft of the render.

Essentially the pitch is that people still want to enjoy their CDs from time to time but want it integrated into their digital players. So, the Sonos brand CD player would use Gracenote and connections to Pandora and Last.fm to provide cover art, titles, and lyrics on the screen for the cd currently playing. The player would also do what Sonos players already do and help people transition from analog cds to digital by recommending music, scrobbling tracks, or creating Pandora stations.

As always, critiques are welcome!

Device Sketching

2008-10-29T23:57:00.000-04:00

For Design Communications we had to make 120 thumbnails of electronic devices with glass or plastic screens. They had to be just of the front panel (or panel with the screen) so no perspective needed for these! Well here's the 120... and yes by the end my hand was a little in pain. But let me just say, keeping a timer really helps. I gave myself 3 minutes for each thumbnail and that seemed to be the sweet spot. After re-sketching 15 of these at a larger size, we have to render the most interesting one in Marker, Photoshop, or both!

As always, more to come and critiques are welcome!

Display Concepts

2008-10-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a gathering of the six final concepts for a quarter long project:
A lighted point of purchase display for Moleskine notebooks.

These would be placed in the middle of the store.

These would appear near shelves holding the product.

These would be placed in the cafe area to entice users with an experience.

As always, critiques are welcome. What display do you think catches the most attention? What agrees with the product? What would make you inquire further to purchase this product?

Hello Again, Old and New Faces

2008-10-04T23:51:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my design blog.
I'll be posting work and things of interest concerning design... more to come.