benarent.co.uk

Our first project for my 4th year is to create a new sandal for Pentland Brand. We had a briefing from Pentalnd to create an eco-street uni sex sandal. The brief was really left open, I started my research by investigating into the existing market, new materials and current market trends.

Pentland: Overview of Sandals and the footware market.

DISCOVRING HIDDEN PLEASURES IN TECHNOLGOY RELATEDRODUCTS.

An ethnographic study investigating ‘late majorities’ experiences and interactions, with technology-related products in relation to Lionel Tigers framework of pleasure.

I have been working on my dissertation, and have left my theme and topic quite open. I have attached my PDF submission. Watch this space for insights into my ethnography.

The full 3 page dissertation proposal submission.

This is my new desk, the photo was taken with my new Nokia 6120, and uploaded straight to my blog. Isn’t that geeky!

The facebook dub, a personal design project, has been selected for further development on the CrowdSpirit Platform.  The product has made it to the Market Place, for further development of the idea. Keep an Eye on the website for more information on its development.

After watching the new eco-program on Channel 4. I noticed that there is a apartnet problem with consumers recylcing habits. This program also highlighted the problem of recycling in the UK, and this is the complete lack of caring / putting in the effort.

In the coming weeks I hope to design a better recycling bin to make this process a lot easier. I hope to build on my EnergyTree project, and will also look into SocialCollecting, to create closer links with neiherbours and statiscal anaylsis of the worse offening non-recylcing streets.

Watch this Space!

Collector
Collector makes use of the community spirit in today’s web 2.0 online societies. The system will be online, and accessed via the touch screen of the EnergyTree. The collector is there to encourage people to recycle and take recycling to the depot to be processed. Once at the depot the collector will get extra green points. Although every person could take there own Re-Tree Bins, not everyone will want to and not every local government can afford to collect and sort the recycling as effective as lots of dedicated collectors.

Problem context :

We are currently bombarded with multiple RSS, Mini Feeds and E-mail every half second of every day. With services such as Yahoo Pipes, and social networking services like Digg, we are able to filter out most of the noise, but the problem still exists of what is the best way to view and interact with all of this content. I also do not want to have to close my applications to load my “windows sidebar RSS reader” to check on my RSS, I want the information to be ambient, and easy to interact with.

Proposed Solution :

I propose Reel Display. Reel is a new external display, which allow for streams of data to be constantly updated, and viewed in an ambient manor.

Reel uses a conveyer belt loop of re-printable paper (Similar to a white board), Reel prints to this display using a “cradle to cradle” reusable ink. When the story reaches the end of the roll, the news print is recycled.

For interaction a user can use a whiteboard marker which will be read by an OCR on the back of the display. This will allow users to “star” stories and get more information from the reel.

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This is one of my concepts for the CrowdSpirit Project. They will be going out of BETA in two weeks.

When picking your A Levels there are many choices and many different options to pick. When I was doing my A-Levels I picked 4 A-levels. Product Design was my favorite of the subject and I would like to give an example of my A Level work.

What happens during my aqa as product design?

During your first year of your course you will notice a big step up from GCSE product design. The course will be broken down into 3 sections

1. Materials and Components.
2. Design and Market Influences.
3. Processes and Manufacture.

You will not be taught these on there own but as a more ‘holistic’ overview. At the end of your AS you will create a project, in retrospect my AS product sucks, but the vision and ideas behind it were clear. My product was let down by the manufacturing technique (Ply Board).

What happens during A2? Exams?

For my AS project you get a lot more chance to explore deeper Ideas, along with a final year product you will also have a couple of exams. One in Materials, One in Electronics , one in mechanics and 4 hr Design Challenge type exam. For the design challenge you will get a brief at the begging of the exam, and you will need to create a product solution for the exam.

For my final project I create a new design of mountain board. Potential ATB.

For your final year project, I would reocmmend getting as much third party help as you can. You will most likley not have the training to weld, or play with epoxy resins.

After A levels, What I wish I had learnt during my time at 6th form.

1. If you want to do Product Design, improve your sketching.
2. Pay more attention to you basic electronics, stick with it and it will come in useful.
3. Learn to Design before you Learn to CAD.
4. Have fun, this will be the most enjoyable learning experiance of your life.

I would recommend checking out the AQA AS /A2 Design specification

Mike was a 3rd year Middlesex Product Design Student. I only took a few classes with mike, but want to wish him the best of luck with his product release.

2008 Update -

I have had a lot of web traffic looking for Mike. If you want to get in touch with him contact.

Michael Hsin Yu Chen
07727293150
Futurestatedesign@googlemail.com

(Good luck. Mike)

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/see-me-turn%21/reactiv-cyclist-protection-jacket-is-safe-looks-coolish-291003.php

“How do we deliberately add more emotional qualities into the products we design?”. First i would recommend reading Donald Normans “Emotioanl Design”, this is a very easy read an a good introduciton to the subject. I don’t really belive in all of Mr. Normans views, and thing “the design of future things should be more interssting”. The other book i would recommend is Design and Emotion, from the 3rd 2002 design and emotion conferance. It may be 5 years old, but the book contains papers all based on emotional design. Split into subsections, which are

Generative tools,
Evauative Tools,
Emotive Effects of Visual Properties,
Emotive Effects of the Other Senses,
From Design to Emotion,
Affective Usabilty,
Attachment,
Product Character,
Theoretical and Ethical issues,
and
Emotion in Design.

There is a paper for just about everthing, and there are only 4 - 5 pages long. There website design an emotion .org Has many resources for free.

Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things £4.20

Design and Emotion £48.67