Product Design

The 'Why' Manifesto

2011-12-09T04:49:00.000-08:00

A good article for about product design internship, by Julian C Caraulani.

Please follow the link to read more......

http://productdesignhub.com/2011/12/the-%E2%80%9C-why-%E2%80%9C-manifesto/

PearsonLloyd on their furniture design career

2010-11-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Design-as-a-profession/Films/PearsonLloyd/

"The design industry’s been quite inward-looking. Designers are designing for designers, you know, and magazines and… and I think it’s been, a lot of the design has been quite lazy, and I think we’re all going to have to work harder to create the things we create. And that’s a good thing."

Tom Lloyd

Apple Product PDF Drawings

2010-08-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have come across an official apple page with PDF dimensioned drawings of the apple products.

These details are released for manufacturers of Apple accessories, for cases and covers.

Follow the link below to check out these PDF's

http://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi/cases.html

Portfolio Preparation Tips and Suggestions by Stu Constantine

2010-07-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

by Stu Constantine

http://www.core77.com/design.edu/portfolio_tips.asp

These days you need to go beyond the ordinary to make your portfolio stand out. Here is an overview of what to do and how to excel.

A strong portfolio opens doors, a weak portfolio closes them. Your portfolio is often the only thing a person sees before deciding whether or not to contact you, and in many cases you may not be present to explain it (particularly on-line portfolios). There are fundamental qualities that all outstanding portfolios share, and a variety of principals and techniques that can help take your portfolio from average to excellent. If at all possible, your portfolio should be appropriate to the situation and reviewer, and all portfolios should show creativity, skills, range, thought, and ambition. It is the overall combination of these, plus that "special something," that makes one designer stand above the others.

The Right Type
There is no single "right" way to prepare a portfolio. A different presentation is appropriate for each person, each situation and each interview. You need to understand what kind of portfolio you are creating. Is it to get into school, to get an internship, to get a first job, a second job? Each of these will require a different selection of projects. Also consider what type of presentation are you preparing. Is it an on-line portfolio, a leave-behind book, a one-on-one interview, a cold call, or something else? Each of these scenarios calls for a different type of media, so you should spend some time thinking about what you will show in each of these cases and prepare accordingly.

Skills
The level of presentation in your portfolio must be excellent. Indeed, if your book is full of beautiful photos, renderings, sketches, and finished projects, you have only met the minimum requirements for designers these days. The pages in your book must demonstrate that you can quickly and effectively communicate complex ideas in a professional manner. Excellent, interesting and varied compositions are expected. Dramatic use of scale, focus and color will make your work stand out. Make an effort to communicate your level of skill with a wide variety of tools typical for your chosen field. This may include any and/or all of the following: a plethora of software packages, drawing skills, color, composition, model making, production techniques, manufacturing/fabrication, CAD, 3D modeling, and an understanding of basic engineering.

Range
Your portfolio should celebrate your ability to work on different types of projects. This lets the reviewer know that you are flexible and can work in a variety of situations. If possible, use examples from different product categories, demonstrate your familiarity with a variety of media, or indicate experience with a range of technologies. Integration of varied disciplines is always interesting and shows a willingness to collaborate with a variety of people, another important skill. Make an effort to show your contributions to a project from concept through production. This demonstrates a holistic design sense that is invaluable to most employers. Also, make sure to show a full range of abilities, including sketching, rendering, model making, finished products, photography, 3D modeling, etc.

Ambition
A designer who can take initiative, resolve a wide range of problems, and manage projects from beginning-to-end is a valuable addition to every team. Your portfolio, combined with a written résumé, should illustrate these traits. Self-driven projects are great examples of this. If possible, show measurable contributions conceived and implemented by you, repeatedly, on a wide variety of projects. Indicate that you can work with limited supervision. Show that you can generate ideas—no one is looking for a designer that needs someone else to think for them. Make an effort to fill gaps in your employment history with an interesting variety of projects and activities.

That Special Something
If your portfolio has excellent examples of everything listed above, congratulations—you are free to compete with thousands of other hungry designers. To rise above the rest and truly stand out in an extremely competitive field, your work needs to go the extra mile. Your projects should show insightful, conceptual foundations, indicating that you think about your work on many levels. Layers of meaning in your work allow people to explore and enjoy your projects repeatedly. Beautiful compositions that show a variety of techniques, colors and scale make your work stand out. If you are particularly strong in one area—typography for example—make sure every entry in your book celebrates this fact, but without throwing it in the reader's face. The quality of your work and your presentations is much more important than a fancy, unique, or tricky presentation. Keep it simple, and let the work speak for itself.

This may sound like a daunting task, but it is the reality in today's design world. If you take the time to review and select your work, and put together a well thought out book, you'll be rewarded many times over throughout your career.

Product Design Tips Ebook Giveaway

2010-04-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

We are giving away 3 copies of our ebook, for your chance to win please send a brainstorming sketch page or sketch design from a currect project. Please email the scanned JPEG or PDF to James@eye2eye-design.co.uk

We are looking for good quality sketching techniques.
Winners will be announced on Friday 30th April 2010.

Good luck

Tuvie- Design of the future- Gadget concept website

2010-03-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.tuvie.com/

This website is dedicated to talk about techs and gadgets in the future, some of them might still even be a concept.

Readers can also submit their work to the website.

Some interesting ideas and good visual product renderings.

MINI Product Design Competition

2010-03-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

Reference- Dexigner

www.www.dexigner.com/product/news-g20270.html

MINI Product Design Competition for the Centre Rail in the New MINI Countryman

In keeping with the brand's "Creative Use of Space" philosophy, MINI is holding an international design competition to celebrate the launch of the MINI Countryman in suitable style.

The competition invites creative people around the world to design potential tools for the unique MINI Centre Rail in the new MINI model.

The Centre Rail runs in a straight line between the seats of the Countryman, linking the front and rear of the interior, and offers a multifunctional platform on which to fix various travel items.

The designs submitted will be assessed by the MINI Design team headed by Gert Hildebrand.

The three best ideas will be presented to the public as prototypes at the 2010 Paris Motor Show in October.

Deadline for entries is May 11, 2010.

Technology giants woo 14-year-old iPhone app designer

2010-03-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

Guardian - Miranda Bryant
15.02.10

A London schoolboy who designs iPhone applications is being flown to Spain to act as an adviser at a technology conference.

Dylan Maryk, 14, from Kensington, was given the assignment after industry chiefs read an interview with him in the Evening Standard.

Organisers of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week have asked Dylan to report on the conference to help CEOs from Google, Spotify and Vodafone attract young people to the event.

He said: “I'm really looking forward to Barcelona — it should be fun. They emailed me the same day the story was printed.

“I'm mostly looking forward to the exhibitions that show new phones and technology that haven't been released yet. There's also a special section for app development.”

His latest app — launched for Valentine's Day — allows people to flirt using their iPhone. iWink-users choose from a selection of kisses and hearts and hold them up to their valentine.

Dylan said: “My dad gave me the idea. It's the first app that I've coded myself.”

He started designing the software a year ago so that he could contribute to his school fees for Ashbourne College.

His first app, AlarmMusic, has been downloaded about 3,000 times and he is looking for a business partner to help his company, MicroApps, expand.

Dylan's father Denis is also going to Barcelona. Mr Maryk, 60, said: “I'm very excited that he is going to be introduced to some of the leaders in the industry.”

Design an emergency shelter

2010-02-02T06:53:00.000-08:00

Core 77 . com

Brief:
Pop-up shelters have been a favourite exploration of designers for a long time, and in the light of the earthquake in Haiti and the necessity of creating short term emergency, this is a 1 hour Design Challenge inviting designers to create innovative and appropriate pop-up shelter solutions. Your designs may be specific to Haiti or generalised to address emergency shelter needs accross various contexts. We are looking for simple , effective and appropriate design interventions.

How to enter:
Up load your images to the discussion board and provide a short text description. (3- sentence maximum) You can use sketches, renderings, story boards, cartoons, stick figures, or diagrams to explain your design.

Time limit:
In the spirit of all 1 hour Design Challengesm the work you post must be original for this competion and be completed in 1 Hour maximum.

Criteria:
Judging will be based on inventiveness, utility and appropriateness.

Prize:
Core 77 will donate $500 to Architecture for Humanity's Haiti Earthquake Support Program in the name of the winner.
work: www.oneoakdesign.com
DVD: www.thebriefdvd.com
Tweet: http://twitter.com/jonwinebrenner

Product Design Resources

2008-11-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

Product Design Resources is a website with articles that will interest like mind design enthusiasts. Please follow the link and check out this useful resource.

http://www.productdesignresources.com

2008-10-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

Credit-Dexigner-Levent Ozler

Flatshare Wins Electrolux Design Lab 2008

Stefan Buchberger, from the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria, has been chosen winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2008 competition for inventing Flatshare. Flatshare is a modular fridge with individual compartments for people who live with several roommates.

Flatshare consists of a base station and up to four stackable modules. The modules allow each individual user to have his or her own refrigerator space and can be customized with various colorful skins as well as with add-ons like a bottle opener. Handles mounted on the side make it easy to transport the modules.

College students, grad students and young professionals often share living spaces... and kitchens. With Flatshare, never again will they have to endure another person's moldy cheese or old leftovers.

"I got the idea to create the Flatshare fridge because in many shared flats there is a problem with the refrigerator, says Buchberger. "It gets filthy because no one person feels responsible for cleaning it."

Reinventing the Fridge
The jury was impressed by the ingenuity. "A fridge is a tricky thing to reinvent," says Henrik Otto, head of Global Design for Electrolux and chair for the jury. "Flatshare, however, manages to be new in a fun and expressive way. A shared refrigerator is also very relevant from a consumer-insight perspective, managing to resolve the needs and wants of the target group."

"This concept stood out, in color as well as design, and the fact that you could personalize your Flatshare modules added an interesting emotional value," adds Yves Behar, award-wining Swiss designer and fellow juror.

The Design Lab 2008 award is a prize of € 5000 and a six-month internship at one of Electrolux global design centers.

The award for second place went to iBasket by Guopeng Liang from Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Third place went to Coox by Antoine Lebrun from L'Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique.

The 2008 Electrolux Design Lab, the sixth edition of this annual competition, challenged undergraduate and graduate industrial design students to create home appliances for the Internet generation 2-3 years from now. Entries were to address food storage, cooking, and/or washing.

The competition targeted the upper-age segment of the Internet generation comprising brand-conscious, busy young professionals between 25-35 who are independent, concerned about the environment, and whose lives are intertwined with technology and online social networks. This year, there were more than 600 entries from 49 countries.

iYo-Yo Iphone Charger

2008-09-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

Swedish designer Peter Thuvander has designed an induction-powered yo-yo charger for iPhones and other Apple handheld devices. Housing a lithium ion cell, and based on the OLPC crank and this dandy wind-up remote, Peter is betting that the physics are close to there. "The remote control needs only 30 cranks--which is nothing when you yo-yo," argues Peter. He's also thinking about what road warriors call "opportunitic charging": "I think I'd at least use it as an emergency device for all the dead iPhone moments I have."

Or at least to change the channel when you've seen one too many "HI, I'm a Mac..." commercials.

Learn more at www.peterthuvander.se.

Credit- www.core77.com

2008-09-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

CREDIT: www.coolhunting.com

Fine dining and plastic utensils don't often fall into the same sentence but Demelza Hill wants to change that. The British product designer, whose works seeks to shine a different light on everyday products, created Snap and Dine, which approximates the traditional three-course meal using an interconnected mold of disposable plastic plates and cutlery.
Easy to use, the meal setting comes in a single, transportable format. The plate and utensils have the decorative flourishes traditionally reserved for fine china so that the user can then add a touch of class and elegance to the low-key occasion of a picnic or bag lunch.

Useful Product Design Website

2008-09-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

Design Engine

http://www.design-engine.com/

This website is a useful link for students, designers and people interested in Product Design.

Please follow the link and browse some of the features.

There is also information on CAD training courses and links for Jobs.

Ponoko ID Makes Custom Designed Goods Accessible

2008-09-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

Credit- Dexigner

http://www.dexigner.com

Now shoppers can have their goods designed and made just for them at the lowest price possible.

Ponoko ID is the world's first shopping request and match making service for manufactured goods.

It's the latest offering from Ponoko, the unique online marketplace that brings together consumers and designers of individualized goods.

Shoppers use the new service to post requests for custom-made individualized goods.

Requests are sent to a selection of Ponoko's pool of more than 10,000 members who then have the chance to put forward a bid to make the item.

Ponoko Chief Strategy Officer Derek Elley says Ponoko ID is a way for shoppers and designers to collaborate to create something unique and special.

"What's exciting is that Ponoko ID makes getting something made just for you as easy as sending an email," he says.

"Shoppers no longer have to accept 'one size fits all' mass produced goods but can now save a bunch of money to get their ideas turned into reality by expert designers worldwide."

http://www.ponoko.com/

2008-09-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

Credit-Design Sojourn

http://www.designsojourn.com

Michael DiTullo, Design Director at Converse, sent a note about Core77’s new Show and Tell series that features his sketching techniques in a nice 4 easy minutes.

Have a good look at his techniques of shading, line weights, market use and hatching that can give any sketch a lot of punch and definition.

http://www.designsojourn.com/sketch-techniques-with-michael-ditullo/

Follow the links to watch the videos on the design sojourn website.